Debt Advice Please Help - SOA

-MRS_T-

Hello


I am looking for some help with my debts as I really need to reduce them asap and keep going wrong.


Can you please have a look at my SOA and give me some advice please. I was thinking of taking out a loan to pay off all my debts to reduce the payments but not sure I would get it.


Thank you in advance


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.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 980
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1280
Benefits................................ 80
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2340
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 390
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 155
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 57
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 35
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 280
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 35
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 100
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 7
Contents insurance...................... 7
Life assurance ......................... 29
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Keep Fit Classes........................ 48
Sons Trust Fund......................... 10
Fridge Freezer Insurance................ 5
Yorkhill Childrens Charity.............. 3
Total monthly expenses.................. 1506

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 125000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 125000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 115000...(390)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 115000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................6950......160.......0
Virgin ........................3321......75........0 until Jul 14
Rbs............................5826......60........0 until Apr 15
Littlewoods....................345.......20........0
Bank Of Scotland...............3000......30........11.9
Total unsecured debts..........19442.....345.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,340
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,506
Available for debt repayments........... 834
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 345
Amount left after debt repayments....... 489
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 125,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -115,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -19,442
Net Assets.............................. -9,442
Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

NHS_worker_bee

Hello

Are all your debts really 0% APR? If not, put them into the snowball calculator to work out which ones you should prioritise:

http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

£537 left over is a good amount of money to throw at the debt but you need to work out the most efficient way of doing this (the cheapest and quickest way), hence the snowball calculator.

You could cancel the fridge/freezer insurance, that's an extra £60 a year towards debt repayment.

Have a look at the snowball calculator, you might be pleasantly surprised how quickly you can clear each debt.

Tixy

Hi

What are the APRs on your current debts? as if you are thinking of a consolidation loan then you need to think how the overall cost would compare to the current cost.

How much are you actually paying towards your debts monthly at the moment? your SoA shows you could afford £882, although it looks likely that you have some costs missing from your outgoings (nothing on car maintenance, servicing, tyres etc, nothing for haircuts, entertainment and clothing etc).

Have you done the snowball calculator based on that SoA on the same site? how long would it take to clear them if you did have the full £882? (you need to correct the APRs for the snowball to work).

-MRS_T-

Hi


Thanks for your reply. No my debts are not 0% they are all different but Im not really sure how much apr some of them are as I cannot se where it tells you this on the statement.


The £537 left per month seems like a lot however this money is for living each week , nights out, birthdays, window cleaner etc as I have not included this in the soa. Like you say though its not too bad amount left and sometimes this can be between £80-120 extra per month as sometimes my husband gets a bit more bonus each week but I like to work on the minimum. I always seem to overspend.


I have just updated soa to include money for keep fit classes, which I didn't realise cost me nearly £50 per month, you only think £4 but they are all adding up.

redpete

-MRS_T- wrote: »

The £537 left per month seems like a lot however this money is for living each week , nights out, birthdays, window cleaner etc as I have not included this in the soa.

You should - otherwise any advice is on the basis of incomplete and incorrect information.

harrys_dad

Do you actually have £489 left over each month? If not, keep a spending diary for a month and see where it goes. If you do, use the snowball calculator to work out what to pay off first, once you know the APRs.

Is your council tax over 10 months? If so, get it changed to over 12 months.

Do you really need to spend £48 a month on keep fit? Walking is great exercise and it is free.

Do you need to run two cars?

-MRS_T-

redpete wrote: »

You should - otherwise any advice is on the basis of incomplete and incorrect information.

I hear what you are saying however our weekly spending varies so it is difficult to know how much to put down, so this would not be accurate either. If its a quiet month then we could maybe only spend £50 per week, if we have even one night out this can cost appx £80.


I think realistically I could put say £100 extra into paying off debt and anything extra would be a bonus, or is that not the right way to do it?

-MRS_T-

harrys_dad wrote: »

Do you actually have £489 left over each month? If not, keep a spending diary for a month and see where it goes. If you do, use the snowball calculator to work out what to pay off first, once you know the APRs.

Is your council tax over 10 months? If so, get it changed to over 12 months.

Do you really need to spend £48 a month on keep fit? Walking is great exercise and it is free.

Do you need to run two cars?

Yes we do both need a car to get to work, and I honestly didn't realise I was spending this amount on keep fit until I added up into a monthly cost.


How do you find out what APR your credit cards are on as the only reason I know the ones I have wrote is because I noted them down when the 0% apr's are due to end.

Bublin1

You need an emergency fund.

StumpyPumpy

-MRS_T- wrote: »

I hear what you are saying however our weekly spending varies so it is difficult to know how much to put down, so this would not be accurate either. If its a quiet month then we could maybe only spend £50 per week, if we have even one night out this can cost appx £80.


I think realistically I could put say £100 extra into paying off debt and anything extra would be a bonus, or is that not the right way to do it?

I think that statement says a lot about why you are having such problems managing your finances. If you don't know how much you are likely to spend, you can't create a budget.

Everyone's weekly spend varies, but it doesn't stop people from averaging and creating a budget. For example, last week I put £70 worth of petrol in my car, this week nothing. Doesn't stop me being able to plan accurately.

If you genuinely don't know how much you spend then you need to do some investigative work. Start a spending diary to see where it goes. Check bank and credit card statements and analyse your past spending patterns. Only then can you start to see where and how you can cut down.

I also notice you are only paying £390 on a £115,000 mortgage - is this because it is an interest only mortgage? If so, are you currently saving to pay off the initial sum? If you are then it needs to be in the SOA, if you're not, you need to be!

SP

-MRS_T-

StumpyPumpy wrote: »

I think that statement says a lot about why you are having such problems managing your finances. If you don't know how much you are likely to spend, you can't create a budget.

Everyone's weekly spend varies, but it doesn't stop people from averaging and creating a budget. For example, last week I put £70 worth of petrol in my car, this week nothing. Doesn't stop me being able to plan accurately.

If you genuinely don't know how much you spend then you need to do some investigative work. Start a spending diary to see where it goes. Check bank and credit card statements and analyse your past spending patterns. Only then can you start to see where and how you can cut down.

I also notice you are only paying £390 on a £115,000 mortgage - is this because it is an interest only mortgage? If so, are you currently saving to pay off the initial sum? If you are then it needs to be in the SOA, if you're not, you need to be!

SP

Hi


Yes you are quite correct we are interest only mortgage, and I cant even begin to think about that until I get my debt situation in order, I wouldn't even know where to start.


I think If I averaged £80 per week that should be enough.


So what is the next big thing for me to do, is it to do that other calculator where it tells you how much extra to pay what credit card?