21 and in debt - Help me!

mikegrainger

Right so I am 21 years of age, a Trainee QS and I want to get out of my relatively small amount of debt as soon as possible

Debts comprise of:

•£3000 bank loans
•£1000 car insurance
•£500 to my dad

I earn £1100 a month and these payments (including my phone bill) eat up my income

outgoings per month:
•Debt repayment £400
•Rent £80
•Phone Bill £70 including insurance
•Car insurance £115
•Petrol £300

Is there anything I can do here?

katy_ann

Hi there, I would say go here http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php first and complete a full SOA then we can see where your money is going each month and how much you have left for payments to the debt.

DCFC79

How have you got into this position ?

Not being nosey but to prevent the same happening again you need to find the cause.

Debt repayment £400

•Rent £80

•Phone Bill £70 including insurance Surely you can reduce this for sure, is the contract ending soon ?Get a sim only deal

•Car insurance £115

•Petrol £300

mikegrainger

Hi Katy,

I will complete the budget sheet and post results ASAP

And the reason I got into debt is because I was an apprentice earning £120 a week and spending money i didnt have, I went into my overdraft to the sum of £1500, so I got a loan to pay this back, then I got another loan to buy a car which i crashed leaving me to pay an £800 excess charge.

I am pretty confident I will not get into this position again, I have learnt my lesson just looking for a way of getting out of it as quick and pain free as possible

Thanks for your help

matttye

If your dad is willing to wait for his money that will help you pay off the interest-charging debts more quickly.

How much are you paying for phone insurance?

Any way of cutting down on petrol?

If those are really your only expenses (no going out money? - you need to be honest with yourself!), you'll have your debt paid off within a year anyway so don't worry too much.

ViolaLass

Your outgoings don't look realistic - what about food or entertainment?

Also, that's a LOT of petrol and a HUGE phone bill. OH and I spend less than half that on our phones together and we're also insured.

mikegrainger

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\f0\fs22 \cf2 \cb3 \expnd0\expndtw0\kerning0
\outl0\strokewidth0 \strokec2 Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet\
\
Monthly Income Details\
Monthly income after tax................ 1100\
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0\
Benefits................................ 0\
Other income............................ 0\
Total monthly income.................... 1100\
\
Monthly Expense Details\
Mortgage................................ 0\
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 500\
Rent.................................... 80\
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0\
Council tax............................. 0\
Electricity............................. 0\
Gas..................................... 0\
Oil..................................... 0\
Water rates............................. 0\
Telephone (land line)................... 0\
Mobile phone............................ 70\
TV Licence.............................. 0\
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0\
Internet Services....................... 0\
Groceries etc. ......................... 100\
Clothing................................ 0\
Petrol/diesel........................... 100\
Road tax................................ 0\
Car Insurance........................... 115\
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0\
Car parking............................. 0\
Other travel............................ 0\
Childcare/nursery....................... 0\
Other child related expenses............ 0\
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0\
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0\
Buildings insurance..................... 0\
Contents insurance...................... 0\
Life assurance ......................... 0\
Other insurance......................... 0\
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0\
Haircuts................................ 0\
Entertainment........................... 0\
Holiday................................. 0\
Emergency fund.......................... 0\
Total monthly expenses.................. 965\
\
\
Assets\
Cash.................................... 0\
House value (Gross)..................... 0\
Shares and bonds........................ 0\
Car(s).................................. 200\
Other assets............................ 0\
Total Assets............................ 200\
\
\
Secured & HP Debts\
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR\
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0\
Secured Debt.................. 1500.....(200)......0<\
secured debt ..................500......(100)......0<\
overdraft......................400......(0)........0<\
secured debt...................500......(100)......0<\
secured debt...................1000.....(100)......0\
Total secured & HP debts...... 3900......-.........- \
\
Unsecured Debts\
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR\
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........- \
\
\
Monthly Budget Summary\
Total monthly income.................... 1,100\
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 965\
Available for debt repayments........... 135\
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0\
Amount left after debt repayments....... 135\
\
Personal Balance Sheet Summary\
Total assets (things you own)........... 200\
Total HP & Secured debt................. -3,900\
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0\
Net Assets.............................. -3,700\

mikegrainger

I reduced my petrol in this as I think I can reduce this

ViolaLass

mikegrainger wrote: »

I reduced my petrol in this as I think I can reduce this

So does your SOA reflect the situation as it currently is or as you think you can make it be?

Also, even if your average interest rate is 20%, at £500 a month, you're going to have all the debt paid off in less than 10 months. There's not much you will be able to do to make this happen much sooner so it might be worth aiming to sort your spending out for the longer term.

Missawalton21

How much is your insurance per month? Packaged bank account would give you Breakdown Cover, Travel Insurance and Mobile Phone Insurance, for £10 a month on the cheapest packaged account (see the page about this on the main MSE site).

Also, Car Insurance can be mega expensive for young drivers, especially with a crash on your history. I know it means taking out more debt, but have you looked into using a 0% on purchases credit card to buy it (as long as you divide the amount by 12 and pay it monthly). For me it saves £700 per year. Also, if you haven't claimed so far this year, you can get a pro-rata refund with admin charge (which can sometimes be less combined than the saving). Also, make sure you have a named driver if possible, parents are good, if not anyone who will let you over 25.

Hope this helps and good luck

theoretica

•Phone Bill £70 including insurance- How soon before you can get a much cheaper deal? must you insure it? how much would a cheap replacement off ebay cost you compared to the insurance?
•Car insurance £115 This will go down with age, hopefully - and time since your accident.
•Petrol £300 As well as driving less and buying at the cheapest place you can cut this down by making sure your tyres are pumped up and driving style - braking is a waste of fuel, and driving slowly uses less for the same distance. I see you have already cut this down - look at past statements to see what you have really been spending.