debt help please

mrsscattercushion

desperado88 wrote: »

Hope i have done this right..... bit higher than i thought i forgot all about my wifes two accounts..

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned....................
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1330
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 910
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2240
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 376
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 125 is this spread over 10 months or 12
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 50 have you checked these are on the cheapest deals?
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0 do you pay anything for water?
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 26 how many phones/is this on contract? if so worth seeing if you can lower this to a different tariff
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20 can you get this any cheaper or use Freesat/Freeview etc instead/
Internet Services....................... 25 this and landline is £40 a month, have you checked whether there are cheaper options?
Groceries etc. ......................... 320 could probably get this down a bit with meal planning etc
Clothing................................ 50 do you need to spend this every month?
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 0 as you have petrol expenses, do you own a car/ if so, need something in the boxes for MOT/tax insurance etc
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 never?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 20 does this include contents?
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 10
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 20 is this realistically all you spend?
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 need something here
Total monthly expenses.................. 1213

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 75000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 75000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 48300....(376)......3.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 48300.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
rbs cc.........................3760......91........19
nationwide cc..................2700......29........4.9
american express cc............990.......50........17
very...........................1000......50........21
next account...................1000......100.......21
opus cc........................500.......26........4.9
halifax cc.....................13800.....225.......19
mbna cc........................7300......173.......16.9
barclaycard cc.................2000......50........19
barclaycard cc.................3580......72........19
sainsburys cc..................699.......20........4.9
marks and spencer cc...........1480......38........17
Total unsecured debts..........38809.....924.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,240
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,213
Available for debt repayments........... 1,027
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 924
Amount left after debt repayments....... 103 do you actually have this left over?
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 75,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -48,300
Total Unsecured debt.................... -38,809
Net Assets.............................. -12,109

Hi, have put some of my initial thoughts in red, well done for posting. It does sound tight, given you are spending on debt what you are spending on general living too.....if you do have the £103 a month left over, best using this on the highest rates of interest...there is some room to make savings in your SOA but it does appear tight..


Stepchange are brilliant, sorted everything out for hubby's DMP without once judging him....he also attended some DA groups....also stopped any hassle from the creditors and has been debt-free now (except mortgage) for a year...if you decide this is the best way forward, they are very helpful and the situation can be sorted

thecassman86

OK, nothing on your SOA stands out as being too over the top, although others may come on here and pull quite a bit back... The only thing i'd be conscious of if i was you is the fact that your "Emergency Fund" is 0... Essentially, if anything happens, such as your car breaks down or your washing machine explodes then you have nothing saved away to deal with it - so, naturally, it'll just end up being put on a credit card. Not good.

Do you really have £103 left every month? If so, put it into a savings account and let it slowly build up. Rainy day fund.

Clearly, the bit that needs work is your unsecured debts:

desperado88 wrote: »

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
rbs cc.........................3760......91........19
nationwide cc..................2700......29........4.9
american express cc............990.......50........17
very...........................1000......50........21
next account...................1000......100.......21
opus cc........................500.......26........4.9
halifax cc.....................13800.....225.......19
mbna cc........................7300......173.......16.9
barclaycard cc.................2000......50........19
barclaycard cc.................3580......72........19
sainsburys cc..................699.......20........4.9
marks and spencer cc...........1480......38........17
Total unsecured debts..........38809.....924.......-

Your Halifax account is 19% so that's costing you a huge amount of interest. Most of the APR's are quite high so, considering it's ~£40k of debt, your £924 each month is going to be swallowed rather quickly! You do have a few cards coming to an end soon so that's good; any money that is currently paid to those should then be paid to your other debts; but, the amounts being paid is quite low - for example, your next account only has £1000 owed but it'll take you almost 1 year to pay that back.


You *could* do it. With a snowball calculator and perhaps that extra part-time job you spoke about you *could* clear these debts up yourself. It'll take a long long time though.

If you want me totally honest advice, i'd contact Stepchange and go with a DMP. They will contact all of your creditors and request (note, not guarantee) that the interest rates are frozen and they'll then work with you to find an affordable figure that you can put towards these debts. It'll still take a long time, but at least you won't have this pressure and you possibly won't have interest building up either. It's honestly something i'd consider. Your debt is almost double your salary; it's not an easy place to get from.

I obviously wish you the best of luck; but i'm sure that Stepchange will be able to get you through this much more painlessly than we can.

desperado88

mrsscattercushion wrote: »

Hi, have put some of my initial thoughts in red, well done for posting. It does sound tight, given you are spending on debt what you are spending on general living too.....if you do have the 3100 a month left over, best using this on the highest rates of interest...there is some room to make savings in your SOA but it does appear tight..


Stepchange are brilliant, sorted everything out for hubby's DMP without once judging him....he also attended some DA groups....also stopped any hassle from the creditors and has been debt-free now (except mortgage) for a year...if you decide this is the best way forward, they are very helpful and the situation can be sorted

hi and thanks for looking at my soa the council tax is over 10 months,elec and gas cheapest yes,my water rates are in with my council tax payments,sorry.
the template did,nt have any give over the phone/internet i apy £55 a month on a package ie phone,internet,tv all in.
the £26 is for two different mobiles will try and get this down,the car is a motobility car for my son ,tax and insurance included.
no contents insurance cant afford it.no emergency fund either.

thecassman86

I've just entered these debts into the snowball calculator and, if you snowball them correctly, you can have them all paid off by July 2019 (so, just over 5 years)... That's assuming you pay the amount you pay towards them now.

The kicker... In that time you'll pay a total of £19,475 in interest!! :eek:


Honestly, i'd go with a DMP. They can hopefully get those interest rates frozen which, as you can see above, will be monumental in terms of saving.

desperado88

thecassman86 wrote: »

OK, nothing on your SOA stands out as being too over the top, although others may come on here and pull quite a bit back... The only thing i'd be conscious of if i was you is the fact that your "Emergency Fund" is 0... Essentially, if anything happens, such as your car breaks down or your washing machine explodes then you have nothing saved away to deal with it - so, naturally, it'll just end up being put on a credit card. Not good.

Do you really have £103 left every month? If so, put it into a savings account and let it slowly build up. Rainy day fund.

Clearly, the bit that needs work is your unsecured debts:



Your Halifax account is 19% so that's costing you a huge amount of interest. Most of the APR's are quite high so, considering it's ~£40k of debt, your £924 each month is going to be swallowed rather quickly! You do have a few cards coming to an end soon so that's good; any money that is currently paid to those should then be paid to your other debts; but, the amounts being paid is quite low - for example, your next account only has £1000 owed but it'll take you almost 1 year to pay that back.


You *could* do it. With a snowball calculator and perhaps that extra part-time job you spoke about you *could* clear these debts up yourself. It'll take a long long time though.

If you want me totally honest advice, i'd contact Stepchange and go with a DMP. They will contact all of your creditors and request (note, not guarantee) that the interest rates are frozen and they'll then work with you to find an affordable figure that you can put towards these debts. It'll still take a long time, but at least you won't have this pressure and you possibly won't have interest building up either. It's honestly something i'd consider. Your debt is almost double your salary; it's not an easy place to get from.

I obviously wish you the best of luck; but i'm sure that Stepchange will be able to get you through this much more painlessly than we can.

thanks for that,what annoys me is that if i got some more shifts driving say one or two a week "i work a four shift week"that would give me another say £300 a month but the goverment would just take it away in the form of our tax credts....it seems they design the system to keep you down sometimes(mental)
£300 is a bit more realistic tax from two different jobs etc

thecassman86

desperado88 wrote: »

thanks for that,what annoys me is that if i got some more shifts driving say one or two a week "i work a four shift week"that would give me another say £400 a month but the goverment would just take it away in the form of our tax credts....it seems they design the system to keep you down sometimes(mental)

I hear you. It's very frustrating sometimes how the system seems to work against you. ... The extra money will help but i think a DMP will give you much more comfort. No hassle from creditors; potentially interest rates might be fixed and the payments are more controlled. In your position, it's what i'd do. Make sure, if you do, you go with a free charity based one, rather than a fee-paying one.

desperado88

thecassman86 can i ask is a dmp the same as a das?
iam in scotland,and would they leave me more to live on than now,i cant even afford to take my son out anymore...

thecassman86

I've not really come across DAS much so i'm not sure of the difference - perhaps someone else here has? Maybe start a new thread about it and see if anybody knows. I've just had a glance at it and, in theory, it looks pretty much the same but i'm not sure of whether there are fees etc whereas a DMP with a charity management company is free.

While you're part of the UK i'm sure it all works the same way as it does if you're in England really!

Regarding payment, it's something you agree. Generally, they'll take what you feel that you can feasibly afford and that's usually after considerations with a certain standard of living; so yeah, it could well save you money each month.

thehappybutterfly

desperado88 wrote: »

thecassman86 can i ask is a dmp the same as a das?
iam in scotland,and would they leave me more to live on than now,i cant even afford to take my son out anymore...

Hi Desperado, Im in Scotland too, on a Protected Trust Deed. In hindsight, I would have gone for DAS (Debt Arrangement Scheme) as your assets are protected. A DAS is more or less the same as a DMP but with greater protection from your creditors. The cloud with this particular silver lining is the cost. Its a fee paying service I believe (the PTD certainly is).

thehappybutterfly

This is a fantastic website which tells you everything you need to know about dealing with debt in Scotland.

http://www.trust-deed.co.uk/