Lemma's attempts at getting debt free diary

lemma1968

Okey dokey

My OH and I in debt....lots of it, none of it beneficial like a mortgage. So, it's gotta go and the thought of how and when is a tad overwhelming but unless we start it will remain......staring at us and giving us nightmares.

This is a quick rundown.
My debts:
Credit Card:£10,116.92 - fixed monthly payment of £300. Have been in default, but interest still accruing and I am paying more than the minimum payment each month.

Bank Loan: £8272.71 - in default - CCA'd this as in hands of DCA. Going to S.A.R it to see what bank charges have been levied. Not currently paying back will do so on receipt of details to see what I should offer.

Inland Revenue: £12K - pays £1500 pcm fixed sum. Obviously next payment on account in January 08 will start it all again.....:mad: But if I cans ee this reduce I should not be screwed for interest come January (if I can pay that on time)

OH's debts:
Bank Loan: £19,611.97. Pays £150pcm Interest frozen. Have S.A.R.'d this account as original loan was about £8K. Thieving swines. In hands of DCA.

Credit Card: £478 , pays £50 pcm. In hands of DCA.

I am self employed but just had a baby - so no working no earning.:rolleyes2
Now back at work and can earn about £5k pcm but it does not necessarily come in like that, some months no money, others its feast like.

OH - does not work. Retraining from September - going back to uni.

So folks, I need as much help and advice as all your brainy heads can muster to come up with ideas to turn this mess around.

HELP:eek:

lemma1968

Oh and if anyone can give me some suggestions for my OH re working from home during the hols, and also how we can earn money when having to spend it in essentials etc that would be great!:j

I want to be saving not paying things off but needs must when you are paying interest I suppose!!!:mad:

Madnessa

When I was at Uni I had to pay for my own rent, food, fees etc so I had to work. I only did about 15-20 hours a week in bars, restaurants, hotels but it paid all my bills and I left Uni with no debts. I am sure your OH could bring in about £400 per month with a part time job that fits around uni.

Also look at selling all your old stuff. Do you have any gadgets, clothes, shoes etc hanging around that you could put on ebay. i sold nearly all my DVDs and books a year ago on Amazon and made a total of £750. This is because I had a lot of box sets and hard backs.

Why don't you post a state of affairs then people on here can help with cutting costs on other things.

Little_Pickle

Hi Lemma... okay, first things first... post up your SOA.
Then we can all have a think about where you can make cut backs!

And I second the ebay / amazon selling thing... a little (sometimes a lot) goes a long way!

Good luck with everything my dear!
xox
LP

lemma1968

Thanks will do.

lemma1968

here goes - my SOA:

Income:
c.£4-£5Kpcm, gross but net of vat
Child Benefit: £120.80

Outgoings: (fixed)
Rent: £975 pcm
Council Tax: £122 pcm
Inland Revenue: £1500
Electricity/Gas monthly DD: £80pcm
BT (all incl) monthly DD: £68 pcm
Car Ins: £ 47.77
Denplan: £20.80
Water: £40.20
Sky: £44 pcm
MBNA: £300 pcm
Amex via DCA: £50 pcm
HSBC via DCA: £150 pcm
Natwest via DCA: - to be agreed

Outgoings: Variable but averaged out:
Petrol: £350pcm
Parking: £150 pcm
Food: £400pcm
Lunch when working out of town: £40 pcm
Baby Stuff - nappies, baby food etc: £75 pcm
Slimming mags: £7 pcm
Daughters horse riding lessons: £80 pcm

We tend not to go out, and my little girls riding lessons are really the only treat she has other than dance which the grandparents pay for.

My income varies each month. Sometimes I can get nothing in at all, then I can get £1000's but I am playing catch up. Tried to get round that by paying for as much as we can via monthly DD so we are not surprised by big bills.

any ideas on how we can get a bit of extra money, even a few quid to put towards the debts would be great as every bit helps.

My job takes me all over the North East which is why my petrol and parking is sooooooo high. We have just paid out loads on the car so hopefully that will keep ticking over with little problem for the next few months.

betti911

Have you signed up to sell items on ebay. You'd be amazed at the stuff you could sell. Read other threads on this. Also Pigback a great website to join. I've not bought a thing and already I have nearly £9 of piggypoints.

Re your sky- are you tied into that deal. Could you get freeview. Thats what I'm going to use initally when I move into my flat. Is there any way you could reduce your package.

Your food also seems quite expensive. There's really good food moneysaving tips on the other boards for you to take a look at.

Well done for making a start though:T Thats the hardest bit. I know that for me after I got myself organised it became (not easy) but easier. I don't worry each time a bill came in as it is (mostly) in my budget. Good luck

lemma1968

tied into sky. got that to stop us going out really but hoping that they may agree to us getting rid of Movies though to help reduce.

also, we cannot get freeview here in the Dales.

thanks for the help.

woohoo_postingid

Outgoings: (fixed)
Rent: £975 pcm - Sheesh! What kind of place do you have??
Council Tax: £122 pcm
Inland Revenue: £1500
Electricity/Gas monthly DD: £80pcm - Is this the cheapest around?
BT (all incl) monthly DD: £68 pcm - Mine is £10, what package do you have?
Car Ins: £ 47.77 - Type of car? Is this cheapest?
Denplan: £20.80 - Do you need this?
Water: £40.20 - Would you be cheaper on a meter?
Sky: £44 pcm - Get rid or downgrade if you can
MBNA: £300 pcm
Amex via DCA: £50 pcm
HSBC via DCA: £150 pcm
Natwest via DCA: - to be agreed

Outgoings: Variable but averaged out:
Petrol: £350pcm - Presumably because of your job? Get a DIESEL
Parking: £150 pcm - Park further away and walk where you can
Food: £400pcm - Very high, this could reduce a lot
Lunch when working out of town: £40 pcm - Take packed lunches - its a no-brainer
Baby Stuff - nappies, baby food etc: £75 pcm
Slimming mags: £7 pcm - Get rid
Daughters horse riding lessons: £80 pcm - An awkward one but have a look at it, can you get it cheaper?

lemma1968

woohoo_postingid wrote: »

Outgoings: (fixed)
Rent: £975 pcm - Sheesh! What kind of place do you have??
Council Tax: £122 pcm
Inland Revenue: £1500
Electricity/Gas monthly DD: £80pcm - Is this the cheapest around?
BT (all incl) monthly DD: £68 pcm - Mine is £10, what package do you have?
Car Ins: £ 47.77 - Type of car? Is this cheapest?
Denplan: £20.80 - Do you need this?
Water: £40.20 - Would you be cheaper on a meter?
Sky: £44 pcm - Get rid or downgrade if you can
MBNA: £300 pcm
Amex via DCA: £50 pcm
HSBC via DCA: £150 pcm
Natwest via DCA: - to be agreed

Outgoings: Variable but averaged out:
Petrol: £350pcm - Presumably because of your job? Get a DIESEL
Parking: £150 pcm - Park further away and walk where you can
Food: £400pcm - Very high, this could reduce a lot
Lunch when working out of town: £40 pcm - Take packed lunches - its a no-brainer
Baby Stuff - nappies, baby food etc: £75 pcm
Slimming mags: £7 pcm - Get rid
Daughters horse riding lessons: £80 pcm - An awkward one but have a look at it, can you get it cheaper?

Rent - we live in a well known Yorkshire town - believe it or not this rent is pretty much as low as it gets for 4 beds. Scary I know.

The gas and leccy: agents will not let us change providers without landords permission and guess what? We were going to do exactly that but the man from del monte.....he say NO.

The mags - gotta go, I agree.

The car is 5 years old and bought and paid for. Diesel would be good. my last car was one, this one is my OH's car. We have not replaced mine and do not intend to. Shank's Pony is making a comeback for local things.

Lunches - quite agree - laziness on my part I suppose and organisation.

Parking - I shall study the areas I go to to see what alternatives there are.

BT - this payment includes broadband, landline and internet phone plus some arrears. Fingers crossed it should reduce in time.

Food: Aaaah well, this may have something to do with me being an M&S food hall addict. I'm really trying on that one, but my car has a tendency to steer left when one appears in the vicinity!!!!:p

skysky69

Have I read it right that your income is 4 - 5k per month? Do you mind me asking what you do - is there any possibly of OH looking after the baby for you to get back to work?

The food bill has so much scope to be drastically reduced. There is not much in M&S that you couldn't get from local butchers, fruit and veg shops etc. instead of being pre-made. Aldi & Lidl's fruit and veg is extremely fresh and cheap. So are things like their loo rolls etc. - you only stick it down the toilet, it doesn't have to be expensive. I also use Aldi's for nappies, they are cheap as chips and probably the same price for a big double pack as for a single pack of pampers.

Even if you are tied into the Sky, you could still downgrade, perhaps remove the movies and sports, there are so many hundreds of channels on Sky, there is always something to watch. I agree, we have Sky, my argument for not getting rid of it, is that we don't go out - at least let me have as much TV as I like :rotfl:

Is your car any close for renewal on the car insurance, this seems really steep. Don't forget if it is close to being renewed, go through quidco. I just renewed with More Than, were far cheaper than Direct LIne and I got cashback for going through Quidco.

Could your OH get an evening job perhaps to bring a little extra cash in. I go out to work when my OH gets home, he then takes over the little one and I go out to run the bar at my local pub/restaurant. Its not what I used to do before I had a baby but it gets me out having conversations with adults and even though the wages are not the best, the tips that you get can some nights put your wages up by £1 or £2 per hour. Last night I got £8.00 in tips, so that will pretty much be my spending money for the week for a lottery ticket and some milk and a loaf.

Just keep thinking to yourself about how you have realised what is going on and are working to rectify things so that when you have your debts cleared - you will be very comfortably well off