My scary SOA

moohound

Have a read of this

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/

rising_from_the_ashes

moohound wrote: »

Have a read of this

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/

Thanks for that!

Not seen it before but it really made me chuckle



OP, I don't think the great full watt light bulb has come on yet ..... as Bob says, why on earth would you want to spend £132 on interest a month (haven't worked that out, just used Bob's figure!)

Would you go out & chuck £100 / month into the toilet & flush it?

Of course not - but that's essentially what you're doing :

I'm not saying you need to give up absolutely EVERYTHING and it's unrealistic with a young family & if it's going to take a long time to clear the debts BUT cuts do need to be made & some will seem harsh & unfair BUT ...... sadly that's what it takes



If any of us could have afforded the lifestyle we'd been leading - none of us would have got into debt!

[Deleted User]

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

as Bob says, why on earth would you want to spend £132 on interest a month (haven't worked that out, just used Bob's figure!)

It's not £132 per month.

It's just £132, which is the difference (in the total interest you will pay) between paying it off at £900pm, and paying it off at the current £300pm.

midlander81

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Thanks for that!

Not seen it before but it really made me chuckle



OP, I don't think the great full watt light bulb has come on yet ..... as Bob says, why on earth would you want to spend £132 on interest a month (haven't worked that out, just used Bob's figure!)

Would you go out & chuck £100 / month into the toilet & flush it?

Of course not - but that's essentially what you're doing :

I'm not saying you need to give up absolutely EVERYTHING and it's unrealistic with a young family & if it's going to take a long time to clear the debts BUT cuts do need to be made & some will seem harsh & unfair BUT ...... sadly that's what it takes



If any of us could have afforded the lifestyle we'd been leading - none of us would have got into debt!

Hi, thanks for the post


I disagree that I haven't had my LBM. I don't necessarily think that LBM is the same for everyone but for me I do know that I am totally committed to clearing our debts.


A large proportion of our debt was accrued due to starting a family, maternity leave and getting married. We also earned significantly less that we do now up until around 3 years ago so we are now in a much better position to tackle the debt.


We have chosen the 'scenic' route that allows holidays and treats. Again, not everyone will agree with this but we have decided that 30 reasonable months are better than 24 months of torture!! I think that we would take a different approach if we didn't have a child.

midlander81

Do today I aim to do the following 3 DFW things....

• Cancel Sky Subscription - It's only £20 per month but we can access the channels that we watch using a freeview box that I can get for less than the cost of 1 months Sky Subscription. I reckon I will save £220 per year.
• Sort out my energy bills - Our payments have shot up to £180 which is too high.
• Try to get another 0% offer to transfer our last bit of non 0% card debt. ( I am not going to touch the £2500 on 6.9% for life with Barclays but will focus on the Tesco card)
• Have a good look in the freezer and plan some meals for the next week or so.

Onwards and upwards ( or downwards!!)

jackieblack

midlander81 wrote: »

We have chosen the 'scenic' route that allows holidays and treats. Again, not everyone will agree with this but we have decided that 30 reasonable months are better than 24 months of torture!! I think that we would take a different approach if we didn't have a child.

While I do agree with this given your current income, maybe consider how a change in your circumstances at any point in the next 30 months might derail your good intentions.
What if, for example, one of you has your hours cut or is made redundant, what if your wife finds she's expecting baby no.2, what if your boiler or one of the cars needs major repairs/replacement?

I think I would throw every available penny at the debt for the next 12 months and then re-assess, rather than planning a longer term repayment period.
The longer the debt lingers the greater the likelihood of some unexpected circumstance derailing plans that seem sensible at the outset.

retepetsir

Well done on completing an SOA but I echo the above regarding the accuracy. If your income is that high and outgoings that low, why do you have so much credit card debt and what has it been spent on?

Make the minimum payments on the 0% debts and put everything towards the higher-percentage ones!

macman

midlander81 wrote: »

Do today I aim to do the following 3 DFW things....

• Cancel Sky Subscription - It's only £20 per month but we can access the channels that we watch using a freeview box that I can get for less than the cost of 1 months Sky Subscription. I reckon I will save £220 per year.
• Sort out my energy bills - Our payments have shot up to £180 which is too high.
• Try to get another 0% offer to transfer our last bit of non 0% card debt. ( I am not going to touch the £2500 on 6.9% for life with Barclays but will focus on the Tesco card)
• Have a good look in the freezer and plan some meals for the next week or so.

Onwards and upwards ( or downwards!!)

Why buy a Freeview box when you can get all the Freesat From Sky channels using your existing Sky box and dish? It will still give you all the free-to-air channels (virtually the same channel line-up as Freeview) when you end the sub. All you lose are the PVR functions (Sky+).
NB: unless you are on a promo deal, the cheapest Sky package is £21.50pm, so that''s £258pa, not £220.

ChopinonaBudget

midlander81 wrote: »

Sort out my energy bills - Our payments have shot up to £180 which is too high

Apart from switching to a cheaper deal, and the obvious stuff like making sure you have warm enough duvets etc....

I can highly recommend buying some warm blankets for the sofas. We snuggle under them and it saves me a fortune in gas! It doesn't mean I don't turn it on at all, but it does mean I don't have to have it on high.

You might also want to invest in some SavaSockets or whatever they're called... Gizmos that you programme to your remote so that when you switch your tv onto standby, it actually switches all your appliances off instead. I was given a couple free by my energy company, so you could give them a ring and ask? I'm about to buy a couple more of them when I get paid. If you have a habit of charging your mobile at night, you can buy timers that you can set to cut off power after an hour or whenever, so you're not constantly draining the electric for hours on end. That's another thing on my list!

Good luck

midlander81

macman wrote: »

Why buy a Freeview box when you can get all the Freesat From Sky channels using your existing Sky box and dish? It will still give you all the free-to-air channels (virtually the same channel line-up as Freeview) when you end the sub. All you lose are the PVR functions (Sky+).
NB: unless you are on a promo deal, the cheapest Sky package is £21.50pm, so that''s £258pa, not £220.

Hi, thanks for posting - Just checked and we actually pay £22.50. I didn't realise that we could use sky box for freeview so thanks for that info!! I worked out the £220 saving by multiplying our £20 per month by 12 and deducting the £20 that I though I would need to a new freeview box. my actual saving will be £270 over the year which is decent.