Really hoping someone can help me see a light at the end of the tunnel

llcooljayne1

Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

Summary

Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 2,608
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 2,310
Available for debt repayments 298
UNsecured debt repayments 677
Amount short for making debt repayments -379
Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 16,800
Total Secured & HP Debt -0
Total Unsecured Debt -26,550
Net Assets -9,750
Household Information

Number of adults in household 2
Number of children in household 1
Number of cars owned 1
Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 528
Partners monthly income 2000
Benefits 80
Other income 0
Total monthly income 2608
Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 0
Secured/HP loan payments 0
Rent 1200
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 159
Electricity 52
Gas 50
Oil 0
Water Rates 0
Telephone (land line) 0
Mobile phone 70
TV Licence 0
Satellite/Cable TV 70
Internet services 0
Groceries etc. 300
Clothing 30
Petrol/diesel 70
Road tax 0
Car Insurance 66
Car maintenance (including MOT) 0
Car Parking 0
Other travel 0
Childcare/nursery 0
Other child related expenses 80
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 0
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 48
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 0
Life Assurance 0
Other Insurance 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 15
Haircuts 0
Entertainment 100
Holiday 0
Emergency Fund 0
Total monthly expenses 2310
Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 0 (0) 0
Secured & HP Debt totals 0 - -
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Barclays credit card 1200 30 0
Barclays overdraft 1200 0 0
Tesco credit card 6400 65 0
Partner loan 4250 300 0
Tesco loan 13500 282 0
Unsecured Debt totals 26550 677 -
Asset Description Value (£)
Cash 0
House Value (Gross) 0
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 16000
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 800
Total Assets 16800
Comments on the results

llcooljayne1

The phone bill is just mine, that's the maximum it's ever been it's usually £47. Petrol is just for our car, my partners fuel is paid by the company. We are looking to move but we unfortunately live near heathrow due to work so not cheap living costs sorry just redone the sheet as missed lots

theoretica

Selling the car and getting rid of that £282 a month would be great for your balance sheet - you aren't using the car much and it will be going down in value with age while sitting parked. You could get a cheaper but still reliable car for much less.

ViolaLass

If you live in London, I would question whether you even need a car. And stop going over your phone tariff!

You need to make some serious changes to even stay afloat - are you ready for this?

llcooljayne1

I'm more than ready! I do need a small car for myself for when I return to work so am currently looking for a cheaper one

Atidi

auntloo wrote: »

Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

Summary

Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 2,608
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 2,310
Available for debt repayments 298
UNsecured debt repayments 677
Amount short for making debt repayments -379
Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 16,800
Total Secured & HP Debt -0
Total Unsecured Debt -26,550
Net Assets -9,750
Household Information

Number of adults in household 2
Number of children in household 1
Number of cars owned 1
Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 528
Partners monthly income 2000
Benefits 80
Other income 0
Total monthly income 2608
Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 0
Secured/HP loan payments 0
Rent 1200
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 159
Electricity 52
Gas 50
Oil 0
Water Rates 0
Telephone (land line) 0
Mobile phone 70
TV Licence 0
Satellite/Cable TV 70
Internet services 0
Groceries etc. 300
Clothing 30
Petrol/diesel 70
Road tax 0
Car Insurance 66
Car maintenance (including MOT) 0
Car Parking 0
Other travel 0
Childcare/nursery 0
Other child related expenses 80
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 0
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 48
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 0
Life Assurance 0
Other Insurance 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 15
Haircuts 0
Entertainment 100
Holiday 0
Emergency Fund 0
Total monthly expenses 2310
Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 0 (0) 0
Secured & HP Debt totals 0 - -
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Barclays credit card 1200 30 0
Barclays overdraft 1200 0 0
Tesco credit card 6400 65 0
Partner loan 4250 300 0
Tesco loan 13500 282 0
Unsecured Debt totals 26550 677 -
Asset Description Value (£)
Cash 0
House Value (Gross) 0
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 16000
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 800
Total Assets 16800
Comments on the results

No TV licence, but almost £1000 a year spent on Satellite/Cable TV???

How's that?

Dump the unnecessary luxuries like Satellite/Cable TV, Mobile phone, second car asap and you will soon be on your way to making your finances balance.

Consider downsizing your home too. £1200pm is a lot, which is presumably why you have such high council tax too.
A smaller property will be cheaper to rent, attract less CT, and cost less to heat & light ... afterall there is only you 2 plus your baby

Atidi

auntloo wrote: »

I'm more than ready! I do need a small car for myself for when I return to work so am currently looking for a cheaper one

When you return to work and start getting your £1100pm extra you used to be on before leaving because of the baby, then you can consider getting a small second car (if you can afford it)

Atidi

If you are still short, see if your partner can reduce the repayments on his loan. He's paying more per month on that loan than is being paid to Tesco for a loan over 3 times the size!

llcooljayne1

Unfortunately we only have a 2 bedroom flat and it's that much. It's the area we are in so we are looking to move somewhere cheaper. Sorry we d pay a TV licence but I'm not sure how much it is. I think we pay it quarterly rather than monthly I'd have to check that. The car is definitely going, if we can get at least £16000 for it that would make a massive dent in the debt. Wish we hadn't been so dumb with money, makes me so angry at myself ��

foxgloves

Hi,
The good news is that there are lots of cutbacks you can make here.
1)Grocery spend is high for 2 adults & a baby. Plan your meals, shop around & stick rigidly to your shopping list. You could definitely take £50 off this without breaking a sweat & reducing it by £100 would be perfectly possible.
2)Mobile phone. £70?? You can get a decent contract for £15 a month or go payg or sim only. Don't go over your tariff as this mounts up.
3)Satellite TV. You can't afford this with so much debt to pay off. We ditched ours when we were debt busting & went Freeview. Extra TV channels are a luxury for when you have some disposable income.
4)Car. Its only an asset if you own it. Yours is a debt, so I agree with you that selling it before it depreciates any further & perhaps buying a reliable 2nd hand smaller car would be worth looking at. This should give you a cash sum to pay off some of your debt pretty swiftly.
5)Car insurance. We pay £185 for the whole year, so yours seems high. A smaller cheaper car could help reduce this too?
6)Pet insurance. Do you have a lot of animals? I was struck by the £48 a month as I'm researching pet insurance for a cat at the moment & the sort of quotes I'm getting are between £7 & £10 a month. I know it can be a little more for a dog.
Finally, re your partner's comment about your level of debt being 'normal'. Unfortunately there ARE a lot of indebted people around now, so yes, its normal, but its also foolish. I say this not to judge.....our own debts topped £30k at its worst....but because when debts grow to these sort of figures, there has to be either a very significant increase in income or a change of lifestyle to get back on track. The evidence is that you have been overspending & now its payback time, but you sound pretty determined to me, & I can say from experience that there is honestly nothing like the feeling of gradually seeing that debt total come down. It can be done, but you,'ll need to understand the difference between 'wants' & 'needs' and be prepared to put some time into reducing your outgoings & getting a serious budget in place. My husband wasn't on board either to start with but the idea grew on him & he now loves being debt free as much as I do. Good luck with it. Its the only sensible course of action.
F x