New and bit scared

David72_2

Thanks all.

So good to know that there is someone else there it is hard for me to talk about finances at home and I do feel a bit alone with the burden of it.

I will do the full SOA later on.

Yes I appreciate that we have a good income and I am not expecting anyone to feel sorry for me. I also don't want to alienate anyone or be judged by the fact that I spend money on tennis and gym lessons for my children. I would rather go without myself than deprive my children of these things if that makes sense.

Anyhow, thanks all so far - I'll be back later with the proper SOA - I am sure that even with my technological failings I can do it!

triple_choc_chip

David72 wrote: »

Which leaves £1091 to cover food (there are 4 of us we shop at asda and are not extravagant!) birthdays haircuts school costs car parking car repairs/mot and cost of childrens extra curricular sports etc (about £350 a month which I know is a lot but my son plays tennis at a very high level and to stop would crush him). It should be doable just (and there won't be any contingency) if I can just reduce the amount of interest. 24.9% on Mbna 18.9% on barclaycard and 23.9 % on Santander. Tesco 0 % at moment though that rate ends in January.

I think it all went wrong as we bought a house we couldn't fully afford - interest only mortgage as well.

It's a bit embarrassing putting all of this so nakedly on display!

You're not naked yet, just down to your undies :rotfl:If you do the mse statement of affairs as others have suggested, we can then get to the details e.g. how long has the bank loan or dad loan got to run? This will indicate when payments can be re-directed towards the high interest ones and start snowballing that debt.

It's do-able now, if ASDA shop came in at £300 per month, tennis at £350 that would leave £440 for all the other things mentioned, which seems generous.

For many of us on here it was only when we were forced to stop living the way we had that we thought hard about making changes. I was unable to gain any more credit and subsequently woke up to my bad habits and paid off £32k over the next 5 years. You have the means to do the same - getting interest rates down is good obviously but it isn't the only inportant thing - changing spending habits is essential in the first instance.

Cut out the unnecessary spends; ebay stuff and de-clutter; batch cook and freeze to stop waste; turn the thermostat down a notch and throw all these savings onto the highest interest card. You'll be amazed at the difference.

triple_choc_chip

David72 wrote: »

Thanks all.

So good to know that there is someone else there it is hard for me to talk about finances at home and I do feel a bit alone with the burden of it.

You must share this with your partner because her agreement to sharing the new 'reduced spending' mentality is crucial. But don't pose it as a problem, show her the solution you're working on here at the moment. You're in this together and a problem shared really is a problem halved.

I will do the full SOA later on.

Yes I appreciate that we have a good income and I am not expecting anyone to feel sorry for me.

No worries, there'll be no sympathy here! But loads of constructive criticism - sometimes hard to swallow but always posted with the best intentions and from personal experience.

I also don't want to alienate anyone or be judged by the fact that I spend money on tennis and gym lessons for my children. I would rather go without myself than deprive my children of these things if that makes sense.

Making just a few tweaks will make this more affordable, and we are not on here to judge, just to help.

Anyhow, thanks all so far - I'll be back later with the proper SOA - I am sure that even with my technological failings I can do it!

I'm subscribing to your thread because I believe you're going to fly once you get your head around the figures. Good luck.

David72_2

Thanks Triple Choc Chip. Much appreciated. I think it is just tweaking and I am going to do a daily spending diary. My wife is on board with this too!

Here's the SOA. The interest rates on the cards scare me as does the amount we seem to spend on shopping each month - the ASDA comes to about £400 per month but it's those little top up shops (I work very near to 3 supermarkets!) that are the killer, though I don't think it's anything extravagant - usually fruit and the odd diet coke.

I'll await the (hopefully constructive!) criticism and advice. I am hopeful I can get by with tweaking and changing spending habits, rather than anything more drastic.

Oh, and I wasn't quite sure where to put everything but I think it's all down here.

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 2585
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1407
Benefits................................ 134
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 4126
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 877
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 136
Electricity............................. 84
Gas..................................... 63
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 36
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 44
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 32
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 600
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 19
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 82
Other child related expenses............ 30
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 20
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 19
Buildings insurance..................... 19
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 56
Other insurance......................... 31
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 35
Holiday................................. 30
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Car loan................................ 234
Mobile phones........................... 44
Tennis/cricket/ballet/gym etc........... 300
Total monthly expenses.................. 3158

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 290000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 8000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 298000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 260000...(877)......3.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 260000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................9983......253.......18.9
Santander credit card..........3598......90........23.9
MBNA credit card...............6960......163.......24.9
Next directory.................670.......63........18.9
Bank loan......................8413......425.......1.5
Tesco credit card..............3410......34........0
Total unsecured debts..........33034.....1028......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,126
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,158
Available for debt repayments........... 968
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,028
Amount short for making debt repayments. -60
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 298,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -260,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -33,034
Net Assets.............................. 4,966


I'll await with some trepidation. I have persuaded my 9 year old son to part with some of his old stuff for e bay and he is excited as in his words we will be running a mini business! Not a bad idea for him to feel that he is helping to raise the funds for his tennis!

cookyy2k

You could try putting everything into the debt remedy tool on the stepchange website. It's completely anonymous and will give you advice of what they could do for you.

Tahlullah

Hi, first thing I spotted was 2 mobile phones at £44 each. Is this right. Can one of them go to PAYG?

mum2one

David72 wrote: »

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 2585
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1407
Benefits................................ 134
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 4126
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 877
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 136 - in theory in March/April is 2 free months that could be moved to the cards bonus payment
Electricity............................. 84 -[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]that seems high, are you all being frugal, turning lights off, turning off not leave on standby, mobile phones etc never leave charge overngt - wasting elec/COLOR]
Gas..................................... 63 - [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]seems high - maybe alter the heating so it cuts in a lower degree, - may be worth looking into changing and price fixing[/COLOR]
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 36
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 44 - [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]is that one or 2, - consider sim only, pay and go, even 2 phones maximum should be £15 month each (ball park figure)[/COLOR]
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 32 [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]at the moment do you really need this, - its a bit of luxury - try friewview or see if you can reduce your package[/COLOR]
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 600 -[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)meal planning, shopping lists, downgrading brands - aim to get to £400 per month[/COLOR]
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 19
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 82
Other child related expenses............ 30
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 20
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 19
Buildings insurance..................... 19
Contents insurance...................... 0 - [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]is this in with the building ins, as this is really a must[/COLOR]
Life assurance ......................... 56
Other insurance......................... 31 -[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"] sorry to pry but is this necessary[/COLOR]
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 35
Holiday................................. 30
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Car loan................................ 234 - [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]how much longer have you got for the repayments left[/COLOR]
Mobile phones........................... 44 -[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]is this a 2nd mobile phone or a double up[/COLOR]
Tennis/cricket/ballet/gym etc........... 300 - [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]it is on the high side, but the months you dont pay transfer for the debts[/COLOR]
Total monthly expenses.................. 3158

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 290000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 8000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 298000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 260000...(877)......3.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 260000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................9983......253.......18.9
Santander credit card..........3598......90........23.9
MBNA credit card...............6960......163.......24.9
Next directory.................670.......63........18.9
Bank loan......................8413......425.......1.5
Tesco credit card..............3410......34........0 - how long is this on 0% for
Total unsecured debts..........33034.....1028......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,126
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,158
Available for debt repayments........... 968
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,028
Amount short for making debt repayments. -60 -
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 298,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -260,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -33,034
Net Assets.............................. 4,966


I'll await with some trepidation. I have persuaded my 9 year old son to part with some of his old stuff for e bay and he is excited as in his words we will be running a mini business! Not a bad idea for him to feel that he is helping to raise the funds for his tennis!

I've popped a few thoughts in, ok there is a shortfall of £60, but that can be easy to recitify, just need a trim here, trim there, its not drastic,

Council tax, childrens activities etc - the months that you dont pay or are on reduced payment chuck that at the card with the highest interest.

x

[Deleted User]

David72 wrote: »

T
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 2585Any way to increase? Over-time?
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1407as above
Benefits................................ 134
Total monthly income.................... 4126[/b]

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 877
Council tax............................. 136Is this over 10 or 12 months, id 10 ask your local council if you can spread over 12 - some allow this, some don't.
Electricity............................. 84This seems very high, shop around and make sure that you are on the best deal for your area - use comparison sites. Switch the thermostat on your hot water boiler down by a few degrees (you'll not notice), have heating/hot water only on when needed, use energy saving bulbs, don't leave things on standby when not in use, switch them off
Gas..................................... 63Again, seems a bit on the high side, as above use comparison sites to make sure you are on the cheapest tariff available to you. Turn radiators down/off in rooms that are not being used, turn thermostat down a few degrees (depends on what it's currently set at)
Water rates............................. 36Is this metered or standard tariff
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 44this could be lowered - if/when out of contract shop around for SIM only PAYG or SIM only pay monthly eg Giff Gaff
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 32Can you cancel and use freeview/freesat? or reduce package?
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 600I think this is an area that you can make big savings: meal plan, batch cook, shop lidl/aldi, make a list and stick to it, don't shop hungry, cook from scratch etc
Clothing................................ 50every month? Seems high - have a clear out and e-bay what is in good nick and is no longer used/worn
Petrol/diesel........................... 160 Any savings to be had here? Combine journeys?
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 19
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50Every month? Is this saved somewhere for when it's needed?
Car parking............................. 5
Childcare/nursery....................... 82
Other child related expenses............ 30
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 20Is this prescriptions? If so consider if a pre-paid cert would work out cheaper
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 19
Buildings insurance..................... 19
Contents insurance...................... 0Don't you have this? Or is it combined above?
Life assurance ......................... 56
Other insurance......................... 31
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30 Is this saved for when it's needed?
Haircuts................................ 20Go an extra week between cuts, try groupon/woucher etc for offers, try local college for cheap cuts
Entertainment........................... 35What does this cover?
Holiday................................. 30Does this get saved for when it's needed? Can you afford one right now given your debt level?
Emergency fund.......................... 0You probably need something here, then you'll not need to reach for credit if/when an something breaks down
Car loan................................ 234When will this be fully repaid? Can you hand the car back and buy a cheaper run around?
Mobile phones........................... 44This is duplicated, already included above
Tennis/cricket/ballet/gym etc........... 300I know that you are keen to keep these, but are there any alternatives that are the same/similar for cheaper?
Total monthly expenses.................. 3158

Assets
Cash.................................... 0Not even for non-monthly expenses - car maintenance, birthdays, Xmas, clothes etc
House value (Gross)..................... 290000
Car(s).................................. 8000
Total Assets............................ 298000[/b]

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 260000...(877)......3.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 260000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................9983......253.......18.9
Santander credit card..........3598......90........23.9
MBNA credit card...............6960......163.......24.9Any surplus that you find in your SOA should be focused on overpaying this card as it's the one that's costing you the most in interest
Next directory.................670.......63........18.9
Bank loan......................8413......425.......1.5
Tesco credit card..............3410......34........0
Total unsecured debts..........33034.....1028......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,126
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,158
Available for debt repayments........... 968
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,028
Amount short for making debt repayments. -60This is not too bad, once you remove the mobile's that have been counted twice you will almost be breaking even each month. There are several areas that you can easily make savings (eg food/grocery bill) so that you will be in a position to overpay on your debts getting rid of them quicker.

Just remember to stop spending on the cards.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 298,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -260,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -33,034
Net Assets.............................. 4,966

Comments above,

HTH,

D9

AlexLK

David72 wrote: »

Thanks Triple Choc Chip. Much appreciated. I think it is just tweaking and I am going to do a daily spending diary. My wife is on board with this too!

Here's the SOA. The interest rates on the cards scare me as does the amount we seem to spend on shopping each month - the ASDA comes to about £400 per month but it's those little top up shops (I work very near to 3 supermarkets!) that are the killer, though I don't think it's anything extravagant - usually fruit and the odd diet coke.

I'll await the (hopefully constructive!) criticism and advice. I am hopeful I can get by with tweaking and changing spending habits, rather than anything more drastic.

Oh, and I wasn't quite sure where to put everything but I think it's all down here.

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 2585
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1407
Benefits................................ 134
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 4126 This is a healthy amount to work with.
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 877 You say this is interest only, what are your plans to pay off the capital?
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 136
Electricity............................. 84
Gas..................................... 63
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 36
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 44 Could you cut down to Tesco £10 per month SIM only?
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 32 Cut this out.
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 600 Not sure what you're including here, is it just food?
Clothing................................ 50 Is this realistic for 4 of you?
Petrol/diesel........................... 160 Is this all you spend?
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 19
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 82
Other child related expenses............ 30
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 20
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 19
Buildings insurance..................... 19
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 56 Seems expensive.
Other insurance......................... 31 What is this for?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 35
Holiday................................. 30
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Car loan................................ 234
Mobile phones........................... 44 This is the second time you've accounted for this.
Tennis/cricket/ballet/gym etc........... 300
Total monthly expenses.................. 3158

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 290000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 8000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 298000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 260000...(877)......3.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 260000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................9983......253.......18.9
Santander credit card..........3598......90........23.9
MBNA credit card...............6960......163.......24.9
Next directory.................670.......63........18.9
Bank loan......................8413......425.......1.5
Tesco credit card..............3410......34........0
Total unsecured debts..........33034.....1028......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,126
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,158
Available for debt repayments........... 968
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,028
Amount short for making debt repayments. -60
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 298,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -260,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -33,034
Net Assets.............................. 4,966


I'll await with some trepidation. I have persuaded my 9 year old son to part with some of his old stuff for e bay and he is excited as in his words we will be running a mini business! Not a bad idea for him to feel that he is helping to raise the funds for his tennis!

I have marked my comments in red "ink".

Do start a diary on here, I found it really helped me (£12,915 raised in 78 days so far, it CAN be done).

clive_e

David72 wrote: »

Thanks Triple Choc Chip. Much appreciated. I think it is just tweaking and I am going to do a daily spending diary. My wife is on board with this too!

Here's the SOA. The interest rates on the cards scare me as does the amount we seem to spend on shopping each month - the ASDA comes to about £400 per month but it's those little top up shops (I work very near to 3 supermarkets!) that are the killer, though I don't think it's anything extravagant - usually fruit and the odd diet coke.

I'll await the (hopefully constructive!) criticism and advice. I am hopeful I can get by with tweaking and changing spending habits, rather than anything more drastic.

Oh, and I wasn't quite sure where to put everything but I think it's all down here.

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 2585
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1407
Benefits................................ 134
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 4126
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 877
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 136
Electricity............................. 84
Gas..................................... 63
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 36
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 44
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 32
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 600
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 19
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 82
Other child related expenses............ 30
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 20
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 19
Buildings insurance..................... 19
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 56
Other insurance......................... 31
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 35
Holiday................................. 30
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Car loan................................ 234
Mobile phones........................... 44
Tennis/cricket/ballet/gym etc........... 300
Total monthly expenses.................. 3158

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 290000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 8000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 298000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 260000...(877)......3.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 260000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................9983......253.......18.9
Santander credit card..........3598......90........23.9
MBNA credit card...............6960......163.......24.9
Next directory.................670.......63........18.9
Bank loan......................8413......425.......1.5
Tesco credit card..............3410......34........0
Total unsecured debts..........33034.....1028......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,126
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,158
Available for debt repayments........... 968
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,028
Amount short for making debt repayments. -60
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 298,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -260,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -33,034
Net Assets.............................. 4,966


I'll await with some trepidation. I have persuaded my 9 year old son to part with some of his old stuff for e bay and he is excited as in his words we will be running a mini business! Not a bad idea for him to feel that he is helping to raise the funds for his tennis!

I'm going to be blunt, I'd say that you to think extremely hard about how to deal with this.

I'm assuming (always a brave thing to do) that you are in your early 40's. If your mortgage is IO then you have 25 years maximum until the bank say 'can we have 260,000 please' which is 10,400 a year. I assume you have some investment plan to sort this?

I'd say the tennis is the first thing to go, as hard as this might be to accept

also to sell the car and get a cheaper one (when does the finance or loan for this finish?)

Your income is of course well above average and that's great, but as i see it you have more debt than assets at the moment (if the car loan is taken into account) and something has to change