Time for a new start

Stevej696

Hi All,

This is my first post. I'm hoping this will help me keep motivated enough to achieve what i want to do.

I'm 25 and newly married and am finally thinking about the future without any debt. So here's a little background about how i got to where i am.

In my young and stupid days i got my first credit card as a student which at the time i felt i needed to cover any 'necessary' purchases. From there i have had contract phones which i kept up and renewed every contract renewal date. About two years ago i got a good paying job as an accounts assistant and decided to live the life i wanted to lead.

This is where to problems started. I made the mistake of taking out a studio catalogue and kandco catalogue thinking that i had a steady enough income to get the things i wanted and pay it off monthly. Needless to say the credit limits were soon used and now im left in a situation where I'm losing sleep and constantly worrying about what i owe. I have always stayed within my income and dont use these accounts for everyday essentials however ive now got to the point where the minimum payment per month is taking a good chunk out of money i could be using for other things.

Another problem i have is that i find it hard to stop myself from wanting and eventually giving in to buy the items i desire and up to date.

Its a problem that i am very ashamed off and its taken me until now to finally realise the error of my ways. Im the only breadwinner in the house with a small child and am now finding it very difficult to do the things i want.

So i have finally decided to give it my all to get debt free and keep as much of my income as possible .

I have finally collated all of my debts and owe the following amounts:

Credit Card £260
Catalogue 1 £1150
Catalogue 2 £600
Family £1400

Total £3410.00:eek:

After setting myself up a income & expenditure spreadsheet i currently spend 40% of my income every month in repayments alone and the other 60% on rent, utilities and food. There's no movement for savings, emergency repairs etc and this is what i want to change for the better.

Step 1 was to get something down in writing so that can be ticked off my list.

Next step is to try and turn this into a positive.

Heres to a year where i put my finances back on track. :beer:

Many Thanks for reading

2006Kuredu

Ive just started the same journey, good luck!

rockm87

Welcome, and well done for making the first step! Youve joined the best place, this forum is full of great advice and tough love.

The usual starting block is posting a SOA (statement of affairs) from http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Its a breakdown of your money, and the lovely people here can give you advice and tips on bringing your outgoings down and what to pay off first etc.

Good luck!!

Stevej696

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1196
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 346
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1542

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 330
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 100
Electricity............................. 80
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35
Telephone (land line)................... 17
Mobile phone............................ 60
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 42
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 250
Clothing................................ 200
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 61.95
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 150
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1438.07


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................260.......7.51......29.9
Catalogue 1....................1150......65........29.9
Catalogue 2....................600.......50........0
Gym............................90........30........0
Family.........................1400......160.......0
Total unsecured debts..........3500......312.51....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,542
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,438.07
Available for debt repayments........... 103.93
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 312.51
Amount short for making debt repayments. -208.58

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,500
Net Assets.............................. -3,500

5erge

You've got plenty of scope there for improvement.

• Gym
• Mobile phone expense
• £150 a month for presents etc is huge
• Gas/Elec are really high, I pay half that for a family of 4.
• TV/phone bill can be reduced easily

What do you think you can cut back on?

chesky

Do you HAVE to spend £1800 a year on birthday and Christmas presents? And £200 per month on clothes?

findingthisdifficult

Hello!
Welcome to the forum.

Having recently joined but spent months reading to get advice for myself, I would give you the following advice:

£80 on gas and electric each seems steep - can you shop around for this? I pay just over £60 a month for both.

£60 for your mobile - can you reduce your tariff at all?

£200 a month on clothing - this is a lot when you seem to have no money left after all of your commitments.

£150 for presents, again this seems excessive - could you cut this back whilst you are sorting out your finances?

I think you could make some savings on the above and use this money to clear down your debt, you could also put a small amount to entertainment. If you restrict yourself too much, you may find this debt busting too difficult.

Somebody with more experience will be along soon and may give you better advice.

Stevej696

Wow! this statement really wakes you up.

Looks like the presents and clothes can be reduced along with a few other items.

The above figures are for all of us as a family so the £60 bill is for 2 mobile phones; clothing is for 2 adults and 1 child etc.

Presents was an average of last years totals for our family, myself and my family combined which is why it probably looks a lot per month.

Gas and elec are PAYG so will look into a provider switch.

Gym runs out in March so will think about cancelling.

Appreciate the input.

TooClumsy

Hello Steve,

Well done on your first step, it is an incredibly brave decision and you will not regret it!

In your SOA, the summary totals seem to be off...

(Unless I've missed something, apologies if I have!)

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,542
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,438.07
Available for debt repayments........... 203.93103.93
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 312.51
Amount short for making debt repayments. -8.58-208.58

Stevej696

So it is.. i didnt even notice.

Will edit now. Thanks for that

Singlespeeder

I'm certainly no expert but £3,500 looks like a feasible balance transfer amount to stick on a 0% for 2 years credit card..... (I'm sure there are similar deals about.....) get the lot in one place then you'd need to pay about £150 a month for 2 years to clear it. Cutting back on the clothing & presents could possibly cover this.


Good luck .