We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
my LBM
time4change2014
Posts: 5 Forumite
Hi everyone. I am a frequent visitor to MSE and enjoy reading all the tips etc all over the forum, however I have got myself in a bit of a pickle and wondered if any of you kind people could possibly help please? My debt comes mainly from being young and silly thinking that it would disappear if I buried my head in the sand, I now realise that its time to tackle this before I can start to save for a mortgage. I have attached my soa for you to have a look at and possible suggest any ways I can quickly clear this debt as the calculator on here says it will be 100 years before my cc is paid off.
Thank you for taking the time to read this :-)
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 637
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1510
Other income............................ 400
Total monthly income.................... 2547
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 55
Electricity............................. 80
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 80
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 37
TV Licence.............................. 12.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 55
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 450
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 540
Other child related expenses............ 60
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 5
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 80
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
gmb..................................... 7
credit union............................ 80
Total monthly expenses.................. 2233.5
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 700
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 700
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
hsbc...........................1800......35........17.9
catalogue......................188.......40........0
pics...........................150.......6.........0
unknown........................125.......0.........0
united utilities...............2500......0.........0
british gas....................2004......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........6767......81........-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,547
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,233.5
Available for debt repayments........... 313.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 81
Amount left after debt repayments....... 232.5
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 700
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,767
Net Assets.............................. -6,067
Created using the SOA calculator at.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
Thank you for taking the time to read this :-)
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 637
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1510
Other income............................ 400
Total monthly income.................... 2547
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 55
Electricity............................. 80
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 80
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 37
TV Licence.............................. 12.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 55
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 450
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 540
Other child related expenses............ 60
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 5
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 80
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
gmb..................................... 7
credit union............................ 80
Total monthly expenses.................. 2233.5
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 700
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 700
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
hsbc...........................1800......35........17.9
catalogue......................188.......40........0
pics...........................150.......6.........0
unknown........................125.......0.........0
united utilities...............2500......0.........0
british gas....................2004......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........6767......81........-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,547
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,233.5
Available for debt repayments........... 313.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 81
Amount left after debt repayments....... 232.5
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 700
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,767
Net Assets.............................. -6,067
Created using the SOA calculator at.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
0
Comments
-
time4change2014 wrote: »
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 637
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1510 Inclusive of CHB?
Other income............................ 400
Total monthly income.................... 2547
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 55
Electricity............................. 80 I spend £50 for a slightly larger household
Gas..................................... 80 Ditto the above. Are you sure you really use this much?
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 80
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 37
TV Licence.............................. 12.5 If you go catchup, this could go too
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 55 Ditch this and go freeview, or ditch that completely and go to catchup only. AmazonPrime TV on demand is £7 a month
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 450 You could do fine on £250 a month with some effort...see other threads for inspiration
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 540
Other child related expenses............ 60 Which are?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 5 ?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 80 Every month? That's £960 a year :eek:
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
gmb..................................... 7 ?
credit union............................ 80 ? A debt?
Total monthly expenses.................. 2233.5
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 700
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 700
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
hsbc...........................1800......35........17.9 Pay this first.
catalogue......................188.......40........0
pics...........................150.......6.........0
unknown........................125.......0.........0 ? Unknown?
united utilities...............2500......0.........0
british gas....................2004......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........6767......81........-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,547
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,233.5
Available for debt repayments........... 313.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 81
Amount left after debt repayments....... 232.5 Do you actually have this left, or is it a fantasy number that you 'ought' to have available?
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 700
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,767
Net Assets.............................. -6,067
Created using the SOA calculator at.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
My thoughts above. You could probably find another few hundred a month if you tried hard. There is light at the end of the tunnel but I advise a spending diary to determine where your leaks are and plug them to ensure you really do have that money available at the end of the month.Debt Free! Long road, but we did it
Meet my best friend : YNAB (you need a budget)
My other best friend is a filofax.
Do or do not, there is no try....Yoda.
[/COLOR]0 -
time4change2014 wrote: »Hi everyone. I am a frequent visitor to MSE and enjoy reading all the tips etc all over the forum, however I have got myself in a bit of a pickle and wondered if any of you kind people could possibly help please? My debt comes mainly from being young and silly thinking that it would disappear if I buried my head in the sand, I now realise that its time to tackle this before I can start to save for a mortgage. I have attached my soa for you to have a look at and possible suggest any ways I can quickly clear this debt as the calculator on here says it will be 100 years before my cc is paid off.
Thank you for taking the time to read this :-)
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 637
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1510
Other income............................ 400
Total monthly income.................... 2547
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 55
Electricity............................. 80
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 80 seems high - I pay a quarter of that for 2 adults, 1 child and 2 big mud loving dogs. Do you have a meter?
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 37
TV Licence.............................. 12.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 55 maybe lose this till debt in under control
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 450 you could reduce this - check out some of the frugal living threads
Clothing................................ 0 none, not even shoes - for 3 kids?
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 540
Other child related expenses............ 60
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 5
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 80 £1000 per year on presents? - I would change my approach for a couple of years
Haircuts................................ 0 none?
Entertainment........................... 0 none?
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 you should have something just in case
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
gmb..................................... 7
credit union............................ 80
Total monthly expenses.................. 2233.5
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 700
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 700
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
hsbc...........................1800......35........17.9
catalogue......................188.......40........0
pics...........................150.......6.........0
unknown........................125.......0.........0
united utilities...............2500......0.........0
british gas....................2004......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........6767......81........-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,547
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,233.5
Available for debt repayments........... 313.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 81
Amount left after debt repayments....... 232.5
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 700
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,767
Net Assets.............................. -6,067
Created using the SOA calculator at.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
a few comments in red
You should be able to get this under control with a few adjustmentsI’m a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning, Loans
& Credit Cards boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.0 -
Hiya thank you for replying. The benefits includes child benefit yes. The Christmas/birthday savings and the credit union are the same thing I need to amend that I save with the credit union for Christmas and birthdays as all three birthdays are within a four week period. other child expenses are school dinners for 2 children the eldest is at secondary school and varies if he takes a packed lunch or has a school lunch.The gas and electric is a pre-payment meter as I am in rented accommodation and I put £20pw on each. the unknown debt is from a previous property I lived in as soon as I moved out the new tennent took out a provident style loan in my name and I have been arguing it is not my debt for some time now and getting nowhere its not a big debt to sort to get it off my credit file. This is same for the united utilities debt and british gas. I am waiting for replys off both these companies as again being young I did not cancel my utilities before leaving the property and the next tennant thought it good to run it up in my name however my local council are helping to sort this out although some of it does remain my debt(not all) I have put these amounts in just as precaution. The amount left is what I should have left should I stick to budget.
Thank you
:-)0 -
-
Think I have got this right this time :-)
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 637
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1510
Other income............................ 400
Total monthly income.................... 2547
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 55
Electricity............................. 80
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 80
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 37
TV Licence.............................. 12.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 55
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 450
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 540
Other child related expenses............ 60
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 5
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
sons phone.............................. 37
credit union............................ 80
gmb..................................... 6
Total monthly expenses.................. 2189.5
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 700
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 700
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
hsbc...........................1800......35........17.9
cagtalogue.....................188.......40........0
unknown........................125.......0.........0
pics...........................150.......24........0
british gas....................2004......0.........0
united utilities...............2500......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........6767......99........-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,547
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,189.5
Available for debt repayments........... 357.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 99
Amount left after debt repayments....... 258.5
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 700
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,767
Net Assets.............................. -6,067
Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.0 -
time4change2014 wrote: »No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts[/B]
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
hsbc...........................1800......35........17.9
catalogue......................188.......40........0
pics...........................150.......6.........0
unknown........................125.......0.........0
united utilities...............2500......0.........0
british gas....................2004......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........6767......81........-
[/I][/FONT]
Are all these debts really 0% APR (even the catalogue?) Can you switch the credit card onto a 0% balance transfer card so that you can pay it off quicker?
Although people generally advise that taking on more debt doesn't solve the original debt problem, if you could transfer the balance (or at least some of the balance) of the HSBC card to a 0% balance transfer, that would be good.
When your mobile phone contract expires, keep your handset rather than getting an upgrade and switch to a 'sim only' deal, much cheaper
Can you use some of the birthday/holiday savings to clear the debt and be debt free sooner?
Use the snowball calculator to tackle the highest APR debt first
http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx?country=uk
You can get this under control if you're disciplined with your budget Total debt March 2014: £11,194. Now £4,198.
0% CC1: [STRIKE]£2,240[/STRIKE] £0. 0% CC2: [STRIKE]£1,934[/STRIKE] £0.
0% CC3: £0 0% CC4: £4,198.
12.9% Loan: [STRIKE]£3,000[/STRIKE] £0
14.9% HP: [STRIKE]£1,103[/STRIKE] £00 -
Your childcare/nursery bill is almost as much as your entire wage. Is it even worth working?! Not something I suggest lightly, but...
The grocery bill is the thing that jumps out most. Without much effort you could easily half this or more. Try meal planning, and shopping at Aldi/Lidl for a few weeks and see how you get on.
When is your mobile contract due to expire? Try switch this to a cheaper tariff. Same goes for your son's phone. A £37pm contract for a child is ridiculous! Both of these could easily be less than £10pm.
As others have said £1000 on presents is far too much in your current financial state. You could half this and still give your children more than enough. I understand the want for your children to have the best and latest toys/gadgets that they want - but you have to draw a line somewhere. They will thank you for cutting back once they're old enough to understand debts, etc.
Good luck - you will get there.
xx0 -
Hi thank you so much for your replies. Although it's hard to see I am actually much better off working than being at home and in a few weeks everything changes and I will need to really reassess my finances work have offered me full time hours which will mean full time nursery however she is 3 so this bill will not be hit much as she will get her grant sessions. Th savings are for Christmas and birthdays for all three children as it's Christmas then birthdays at end of February so this makes it easier they don't get it all spent on them it's an emergency pot too. One of the phone bills will be up in august so that will go too.
The debts are all 0% the catalogue is interest free and even with the monthly payment will be cleared.
Thank you for your help xx0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 347.9K Banking & Borrowing
- 251.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.2K Spending & Discounts
- 240.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 616.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.4K Life & Family
- 253.6K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards