Help and advice needed please!

~Beanie~

I think you have a bit of an attitude problem, people are only trying to help you!!

At the end of the day you came on here asking for help with reducing your outgoings and then you are snapping at anyone who tries to help.

You may not be able to completely get out if you are still under contract with Sky or your mobiles but quite often you can lower your package.

I agree with John1993, I'm off.

tindalletta

I'm sorry if I sounded like I have an attitude, I really don't. I'm just really stressed about all this and because I've written it all down and on paper it doesn't look like theres an issue, I feel even more stressed! I'm looking at it now how everyone else is - how can a couple who earn £3084 a month have any financial issues?! I think I need to just get my head around it myself.

John1993_2

tindalletta wrote: »

I'm sorry if I sounded like I have an attitude, I really don't. I'm just really stressed about all this and because I've written it all down and on paper it doesn't look like theres an issue

OK, one more try.

Your statement of affairs shows a comfortable surplus, yet you have large debts. Were these debts acquired when your incomings and outgoings were very different, or do you think that there is spending that is not listed on your SOA?

At the moment, the numbers do not add up.

tindalletta

Yes, the cards were built up when we had a lower income, now we have a higher income but we also have more expensive rent and household bills. We are also still paying for some bills from our old house that were large and we were unable to pay off in full.
The house move was forced on us btw, our old landlords sold the house.

Malkin157

tindalletta wrote: »

I'm sorry if I sounded like I have an attitude, I really don't. I'm just really stressed about all this and because I've written it all down and on paper it doesn't look like theres an issue, I feel even more stressed! I'm looking at it now how everyone else is - how can a couple who earn £3084 a month have any financial issues?! I think I need to just get my head around it myself.

The answer is to do a spending diary. I imagine - for example - you spend more than £120 a month on groceries without realising it.

Anyway what you also need to know is the APRs on the debts, then you can have a plan to tackle them, so that if you do really have £400 spare a month - you can snowball those debts away pretty quickly. Even if it is less than that - say £100 it can still be put to intelligent use.

John1993_2

OK, next question...

Over the last few months, what has been happening with the surplus that you list? It still looks as though you should not be slipping into arrears.

This is quite common, that people write down all that they think that they have going out, but find that the theoretical spend is quite a way below the actual one. If this is the case (i.e. you look to have a surplus, but don't), then you should perhaps consider a spending diary, listing every last thing that you spend. You can make it a bit easier by allowinng yourself, for example £20 "petty cash" that you take out and use for newspapers, a can of drink, etc, instead of needing to write down tens of items that add up to a small amount.

Malkin157

There are two things to sort out here:

One is the overall "what's happening to the surplus"?


Secondly is the immediate cash flow problem for the 28th.

By my workings your husband wil lget paid twice in that time, so you will have incoming £746. On that date you need £698. So you will have an spare £48 from his pay.

You need to know exactly

- what is in your account now
- what else is due to go out by that date
- what else have you got on in that time (general costs i.e. travel)
- taking all that into account do you have a surplus in cash or a deficit until the 1st Nov (or next pay date after debts are due)
- do you have food in the fridge/cupboards if so how many meals can that make
- how many days short of food is that?

You have 14 days to get to the 28th and a maximum of 18 until you next get some money in.

sourcrates

My opinion is this, you are probably spending more than you think you are, which is quiet common and we all do it, take away here, meal out there, soon adds up, TBH if you want to regain control you need to stop paying your non essential debts for a while and take stock, concentrate on priority debts, rent council tax and utilities etc and see where you are, work out what you can comfortably afford to pay and just pay that for a while, obviously you will have to inform your creditors of your situation, and your credit will suffer, but with the income you have coming in you should be able to pay off a few of the smaller debts after a few months, leaving you more money to pay the larger ones, and ultimately get back on track, otherwise you may end up going round in circles and the arrears spiralling out of control, its not the end of the world to withhold payment for six months or so, nothing will happen except phone calls and letters, I think drastic action needs to be taken to get back in control of this.

tindalletta

A spending diary seems to be recommended by a few people here, so will definately get onto that. The 'petty cash' idea is a great one, thanks. Will give the hubby some 'pocket money'. I'm going to sit down tonight with all my paperwork and do exactly what you're all saying and work out exactly what needs to be prioritised and what doesn't. Hopefully that will give me a plan and I can get back on track and stick to my monthly budget.

Thanks for the ideas and again, I'm sorry if I sounded ungrateful in my earlier posts.

Heffi1

Hey don't apologise, we all had that awful feeling once we realised how bad the situation was, you are looking to make it better now, and that is the best option.

Try to work out when each bill is due and if possible ask if you can pay weekly, or 4 weekly on a Friday if it helps you to budget better, companies would rather get a regular payment than none at all.

Keep coming on here and ask as many questions as you need to, until you understand your finances inside and out.

One day you will be able to tell exactly where you are, what you owe and to whom without even looking.

It does get easier and we are here to support you if you need help along the way.