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Time to wake up & smell the coffee - HELP!

Hi all. I'm in the poo with my debt and I've had enough of it. I really need to get it sorted but I'm stuck for the best way to go about it.

I've looked at everything I've got coming in and going out and it isn't good! SOA as below:

Income £1470pcm net

Outgoing pcm:

Contact Lenses £22
Phone £24
Life Insurance £15
Alliance & Leicester Personal Loan £292 (Settlement figure £8449)
Mortgage + Bills £560 to joint account
HSBC Loan £196 (Settlement figure £4941.20)
HSBC Visa £193 (Balance £6488)
Sainsbury's Visa £85 (Balance £3800)

Total outgoing £1387pcm
Left over £83pcm!:eek:

I can't get rid of my phone as I need it for work and I drive a company car so I can't save anything there. I've already sold everything I can on Ebay so now it's crunch time. I'm sick of relying on my OH for over-contributing towards shopping etc. and she only has a spare £200-300 most months anyway depending on commission earned.

BTW I forgot to say my total debt stands at £25,357 when I factor in my overdraft @£1679.64
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Comments

  • skint_spice
    skint_spice Posts: 13,536 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hi

    I'm sure someone will be along to help you soon but is there any chance you could get your CCs on lower interest rates (not sure what they are but assuming they aren't low LOB cards). If these were on a lower rate you would be able to see the debt decreasing quite a bit.
    Mortgage OP 2025 £7050/7000
    Mortgage OP 2024 £7700/7000

    Mortgage balance: £34,965

    Money making challenge £78/400

    ”Do what others won’t early in life so you can do what others can’t later in life” (stolen from Gally Girl)
  • DRFC1879
    DRFC1879 Posts: 103 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks for the advice but I seriously doubt I'd be able to get another CC to transfer the balance onto. I had a default about 18 months ago and several late payments over the last couple of years.
  • tallyhoh
    tallyhoh Posts: 2,307 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    I know its peanuts at the moment but why is your life insurance so much? I pay £8.25 a month and I am sure that someone could probably do it cheaper.:eek:
    Tallyhoh! Stopped Smoking October 2000. Saved £29382.50 so far!
  • Robflh
    Robflh Posts: 328 Forumite
    Hi DRFC1879

    Can you expand on the credit cards, loans, mortgage and overdraft?

    Cards: Limit, debt now, APR and min payment.
    Loans: Debt now, payment, APR and cash settlement.
    Overdraft: Limit, debt now, APR and interest paid.
    Mortgage: what is the mortgage, what are the bills and exactly how much do you pay?

    It is difficult for us to make suggestions until we have all the information.
  • angelavdavis
    angelavdavis Posts: 4,714 Forumite
    Mortgage-free Glee!
    Might be worth sitting down with OH and noting down bills, etc so you can review whether you could save on some of the money going into the bill account?

    I also suggest you both start a spending diary too, update it every night so you can monitor how much things are really costing - its a real eyeopener!

    Do you have any bank or credit card charges you could claim back?
    :D Thanks to MSE, I am mortgage free!:D
  • DRFC1879
    DRFC1879 Posts: 103 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks for the replies folks. I picked up a leaflet re life insurance from Tesco last night and it looks liek the OH & I can cut our bills in half with them, so it's a nice start. We're also going to sit down tonight and check out Uswitch for the household bills.

    As per the request for further info:

    Cards: Limit, debt now, APR and min payment.
    Sainsbury's Platinum Visa: Limit £3800, outstanding balance £3800 APR 21%, min payment £85pcm

    HSBC Gold Visa: Limit £6500, balance £6488 APR c18% min payment £193pcm

    Loans: Debt now, payment, APR and cash settlement.
    Alliance & Leicester: £8449 APR 7.9%, payment £292pcm
    HSBC: £4941.20 APR 6.9%, payment £196pcm

    Overdraft: Limit, debt now, APR and interest paid.
    £1679.64 outstanding (limit £1500 so charges to be applied again!) I really have no idea what the APR is and I pay interest on anything over £1k but not sure how much.

    Mortgage: what is the mortgage, what are the bills and exactly how much do you pay?
    Mortgage outstanding £116,000, property value £125,000. 21 years remaining. Monthly mortgage has just gone up to £974pcm (split 2 ways)

    My share of bills (PCM):
    Property service charge: £24
    Water: £11
    Council Tax: £39
    Gas: £10
    Electricity: £14
    Landline Phone: £22
    Mobile: £24
    TV Licence £6
    Life Insurance £15 - OH is paying £22pm but we'll hopefully get this down to around £16 for both of us with Tesco.
    Contact Lenses £22

    Hope this helps.
  • liz105
    liz105 Posts: 378 Forumite
    there's nothing for food, birthdays, OH's travel, assuming to double your last figures you could save a lot on your home phone, what about broadband?
    Mummy to two girls, 4 & 1, been at home for four years, struggling to contend with the terrifying thought of returning to work.
  • lollyc_2
    lollyc_2 Posts: 17 Forumite
    Can you cut down the cost of the contact lenses? I used to find it cheaper to buy from an online postal company such as http://www.postoptics.co.uk rather than order them from my local opticians where I went for my contact lens checks.

    I remember once seeing a post on this site a 'Cheaper Contact Lens Hunt' but I cannot find the link. Perhaps someone can supply this?
  • bluekp
    bluekp Posts: 439 Forumite
    Hiya,

    Can I ask what sort of contact lens you wear and where you get them from?

    I wear monthly disposable and they are £7.50 a month from Boots. I think you can get them as low as £6.50 too. Also, all types of lens' are very cheap if you can buy them online.

    You're landline bill looks a little high if that's only half the cost. Can you switch to something else or are you tied into a contract?
    Debt at Highest: £11,630.10 (May 2006) Debt now: £0.00 !!!!
    Married to the man of my dreams :A - Sat 2nd June 2007
  • DRFC1879
    DRFC1879 Posts: 103 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Landline includes internet access. I can't get broadband where I am which has been a bone of contention between myself and BT for a couple of years!

    I wear monthly disposable lenses on the contact lenses by post scheme with D&A - I'll look into changing to Boots, sounds like a good idea.
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