Am I being unreasonable to think this could be a solution?

andyfromotley

Sasannach wrote: »

Thanks again everyone.

Also - v intrigued (and amazed) about how you managed to wipe out £11k in one month?!

I sold my beloved camper van, it was a wrench but i am really determined to be debt free. Plus apart from being my main asset it was also costing me quite a bit to tax, insure and service! I was sad to see it go, as were my kids, but hard times require hard action. (i am also in the process of selling my spare guitar and road bike!

I bought myself a little run around, £1500 which has been fine.

On another point if you do get a runaround you could always rent a car to vivid your parents, it can work out quite cheap, and much cheaper than your pcp.

its worth listening to what Dave Ramsey and reading Mr Moneymustache say about cars.

Good luck

supermum1988

Hi there,

I've been reading through and £400 is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on groceries. I shop at Waitrose for me, my husband and our son and there's no way we could spend £400 a month.

Have you tried planning shopping lists and sticking to them? I find shopping online deters me from impulse buys too. Think that is definitely an expense that needs to be worked on.

Whether you believe in donating to the church or not, your family home and your essentials really should come first. Whilst donating to the church is very generous, £300 is obscene. Especially on a relatively low combined income. I would definitely look at stopping that or temporarily reducing it (a lot) until you're clear of debt.

Good luck with it all.

patman99

Sasanach, why are you giving £300 per month to the church ?. The RC chrches have enough money coming-in from rent on properties they own and from the interest on the money they have in the bank to pay their entire yearly outgoings without even making a dent in their funds.

The C of E have even more money and land and are estimated to be the richest organisation in the UK.

Ask your local Church minister this - "if I become homeless due to the amount of money I pay to you, will you provide me with a home ?".

I support my local Church, but by taking part in raffles and jumblies.

That £300 a month could clear your £8.5k debts inside 29 months and that is without having to alter any of your other spending.

You appear to be paying £15 for your telephone and then another £15 for your broadband. Have you looked into a combined package ?. I went for Plusnet @ £25 per month. Did it through TopCashBack, so got a chunk of cash back as well.

rosiesposies

You do not have to donate money to the church in order to satisfy your own reward. Time is just as, and even more valuable. Volunteer, donate clothes, food or books. Any church that would look any less on you for doing so is not worth being a part of.

rising_from_the_ashes

Sasannach wrote: »

So, here goes with the SOA:

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Expense Details
Council tax............................. 144 12 months or 10? If 10 move to 12
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 90 this is huge! Only use when needed, turn radiators to frost in rooms not used, check timer & put on when needed
Mobile phone............................ 80 when do contracts end? Can you downgrade to a lower package etc?
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 on the high side - try the grocery challenge on the old style board. You should be able to get £150 off this
Buildings insurance..................... 20these are high when added together
Contents insurance...................... 20check comparison sites
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 cut in 1/2
Holiday................................. 100 not essential for a couple of years!
Emergency fund.......................... 0 Need something in here or you'll accrue more debt if something breaks down - at least £25 / month
Tumble Drier Service Plan............... 3 why do you need this? My last TD lasted 17 years! If it does break down, you replace from your EF. How old is it actually? If under a year & it's ready broken down 4 times, I'd be asking for either a new one or a refund! That's shocking....
RCN..................................... 16.4 a month? That's huge!
Church.................................. 300sorry too much - I know some religions it's almost 'expected' that you give a certain % of your income but they must also appreciate that there are times when this isn't possible. Reduce until you're sorted out & back on your feet.

Car(s).................................. 13000 when deal comes to an end, hand back & buy a cheaper runaround

Some comments might seem harsh BUT I'm afraid you need to face that fact that it's just not possible to have everything eg part time working & kids & big donations to church & holidays & cars etc etc

I do get the church thing but I also don't think they'd expect their members to be racking up huge amounts of debt to make their contributions.

I have no idea how long you've been paying it (and it's not my business) but if your debt is £8.5k - then that's only just over 2 years of £300 .....

Which is the preferable option - make the huge donations and rack up loads of debt or reduce this?

If you do the following:

£200 church
£125 groceries
£50 holiday
£25 presents

That's £400 towards the debts .... from say May - Sept = £2000 cleared (try to add anything extra you can eg money saved from gas etc to cover the interest)

Save the £250 from the car for 4 months to buy a runaround then add that to the debt repayments

Treats etc can be paid for with additional savings from groceries etc

That gives you £650 / month and you could be debt free in a year after that

triple_choc_chip

Fabulous post from RFTA.

I'm all for charity but I believe you should give from a position of comfort, not debt. For an honest appraisal, income less expenditure and tithe 10% of disposable income. At this moment that will probably be zero.

From another angle, you have taken £5500 of your banks money and given it to your church, that's not expected.

You can easily save £100 on your shopping and more from motoring costs. To give you a challenge going forward why not set the tithe at zero and pledge to donate everything you manage to save from herein?

barbarawright

How often do you visit your families? Would it not be cheaper to hire a car 3 or 4 times a year?

patman99

I noticed a payment to RCN on your SoA. Can we assume that you are a nurse ?. If so, then why not offer to do basic First Aid for the home courses for the Church goers instead of giving them money?.

This would be more beneficial as it would really make a difference to people's lives.

How big is your garden ?.
If your little one is old-enough, it might be worth digging a veg patch and encouraging them to look after it. Plant the right stuff and you can generate a good amount of food for the table.

filthynines

Adding to the slating of the church payments... Are you aware that the word titheing has its origins in an old word for "tenth"? In other words: 10% of your income? You're giving much more than that.

Very generous of you, but you're not in a position to be as charitable as you are being.