New and thought I'd intorduce myself....

helensmoney

Hey everyone!

I'm just about to sign my for my first mortgage with my partner and am so scared! We're buying a 2 bedroom mid-terrace house in Hampshire (Surrey borders) with the assistance of our local housing authority.

I graduated from uni 2 years ago with considerable debts. Unfortunately, my family were unable to help me, and the money I earned from part time jobs could only get me so far without my studies suffering (making the whole exercise of borrowing rather pointless!).

I know my debts are not as bad as many, but it's still a big issue for me, especially as I now feel like I'm going to be sharing the burden with my previously debt-free boyfriend.

Here's my current SOA:

Per month:

Joint income: £3,020
Mobile bills: £60
Food/household essentials: £150
Car loan: £310
Car Insurance: £40
Savings for car tax/maintenence, etc: £35
Petrol: £120
Travelcard: £350
Hire Purchase (Bed): £60
Savings: £120
Horse Feed/Shoes: £100 (no, selling the horse is not an option!)

Then we're budgeting for:

Mortgage/Service Charges: £1025
Contents insurance: £8
Payment Protection: £10
Council Tax: £95
Water: £25
Gas: £30
Electric: £35
Phone/TV/Internet: £30
TV Licence: £10

And I'm hoping to pay around £200 per month off of my credit cards and overdrafts, which total around £7500. I also have a student loan, which I believe is now around £11500, though that's bottom of the priority list.

I know there's enough there to do this based on what we've accounted for, leaving enough for things like emergency repairs, new shoes, big one-off events, etc and I hope that any left-over will go onto my cards. We also have yet to buy furniture though (eek!)

Allowing for this, I hope to be debt free by the start of 2011. I just felt it was time I gave myself a deadline to work to. It's such a relief. I've been reading these forums for a few days now and your stories and tips are so inspirational. Congratulations to all of you that are on your journey to becoming debt-free!

Helen xx

iceicebaby

Hello Helen, and welcome

sweetmoneysaver

Welcome to the site Helen!

globalds

Hello and welcome .

Does any one know a way that a horse can bring in an income ..

sweetmoneysaver

globalds wrote: »

Does any one know a way that a horse can bring in an income ..

Rotted poo bagged up is great for digging into flower beds. Some local people sell bags of it near us. Turns mucking out into a little bit of extra cash.

taxi73

Hi there and welcome.

livinginhope

HI Helen and welcome to MSE
Just a little nit pick at your SOA,your house insurance is VERY cheap! what are you covered for and do you have enough cover? just a little worried for you,it was due to underinsurance that I am in such a mess.

petetidball

Rent it out when your not riding it? Win the Grand National on it? Dog food? (sorry):eek:

kippers

Hi, there is loads of info on his site so get reading and you'll soon be hooked. Good luck with your new house.

chevalier

Hi there and welcome
Reember furniture doesn't have to be new. Some charities run second hand furniture shops (check local council website), where you can get the basics cheap.

Also you don't HAVE to have everything straight away, you many WANT to but that is a different matter! So prioritise what you NEED first and save for that/ ask family for it for house warming presents?

Finally don't forget about www.freecycle.org. You can pick up furniture on there for FREE, you just have to collect
chev

dancingfairy

Aldershot has a BHF (British Heart Foundation) charity furniture shop.