Debt Diary??!!?? HELP!!!!

zoe1982

Hi, have just been reading all the blogs on debt diaries and how well everyone is doing to reduce their debt (pandapaws - congrats hon on the fab news!!!!)

I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I rent a property with ym partner and owe approx 19k on store card, credit cards, loans and overdrafts. I have been trying to take out a loan to cover all of this but because I rent and have moved around a fair bit I jut cant get one. I always budget and work out how we can reduce our debt but something always comes up. We are getting to the point where it is really starting to get us down and we dont know what to do.

Has anyone got any words of wisdom for me - any help would be appreciated.

As an extra bit of info my partner is in an IVA and pays £220 per month.

:eek:

EmptyPockets

Hello Zoe, and welcome!

I'm new here too (only joined last week) but I'm pretty sure that you'll be asked to post up your SOA (state of Affairs - complete list of income and outgoings) so that others can offer advice on your situation.

From my brief experience here, I would just like to say that you've come to the right place for advice - everyone here is so helpful, you're in good hands and will find LOADS of support :j

All the best x

madmoney_2

well not sure how much you are paying right now, u need to post your soa (statement off affairs) so we can be of more help to you, you need to include ALL your income and all your outgoings per month, include everything you can think of, bills, grocery shopping etc.
Secondly, which debt is the highest/which one has the highest apr? i would start with the biggest debt first and just work your way thru them as best you can, thats why we are all here!!
good luck hun, im quite new to this aswell so im sure someone else will be along shortly with some advice
xxxx

BWZN93

Hey! Welcome to the Board!

You need to post a full statement of affairs (details on how to do this are in a sticky at the top of the DFW board) so the clever peeps can give you more detailed information on how to tackle the problem.

Make sure you list all incomings and outgoings, the apr's, min payment and current balances, and we will work from there!

Good luck!

Jo x

liz105

So am I right in thinking that your partner is in the IVA for his debt and you have your own debt separately? Have you spoken to CCCS Payplan or CAB?

GettingThingsDone

Hi Zoe - welcome! As a few others have said, you're in the right place and if you put up your SOA you'll usually get plenty of help.

Generally speaking taking out a consolidation loan can lead to being further in debt if you're not careful, so although it doesn't feel like it at the moment, you may of had a luck escape.

Good luck and keep posting

gtd

chevalier

Welcome zoe
look forward to helping you
chev

hypno06

Hi Zoe, a couple of things you can do immediately are:

- read the post by Southernscouser for first time posters - just above these threads, which will give you some idea of what information you can give that will help.
- start a spending diary and write down absolutely everything that comes in and goes out - this will show you what you are spending on unnecessarily, and what you can cut back on without pain.
- go to the snowball calculator - www.whatsthecost.com and put your debt details in there and see what debt free date it comes up with - it is a great motivator.

And keep posting x

pandapaws

Hi Zoe!

Thanks for the congrats! We're still getting used to the idea!

You'll get loads of help from everyone on here, and keeping the debt diary is such a great motivator - even if I don't htink anyone is reading mine, just adding to it keeps me focused.

Look forward to seeing your SOA, and don't worry if it gets ripped apart: that's a good thing as it means you've got things that you can improve! Good luck! x

zoe1982

Hi, thanks everyone for such a friendly response. Here goes - my SOA
Income
My wage - £1560.00
Boyf wage - £1640.00
Out goings
Maintenance - £290.00 (includes loan from future mother in law)
Rent - £550 00
Council Tax - £105.00
Orange Broadband - £20.00 (just signed up with them for 2 years)
Gas - £45.00
Electric - £25.00 (gas end elec are from previous house I havent even set up the new ones yet!!!!)
Water - £50.00
Mobile phones - £60.00 (for both of them)
Sky - £40.00
BT - £25.00 (dd has been increased as we had to pay to be connected here)
Contact lenses - £35.00
house Insurance - £15.00
TV - £11.00
car insurance - £24.00
boyf petrol - £140.00 (has to drive for his job so is reflected in pay)
food - £220.00
Boyf - £300.00
Me - £200.00 (covers my petrol, bdays, car tax but i know that i can strim this down)
Life insurance - £11.00
Electrical cover - £10.00 (covers 2 tv's - could never afford to replace them so thought this was a good idea??!!??)
Now - the interesting bit - DEBT
Natwest loan - £12,000 over 60 months = £230.54 (1 1/2 years into this)
Natwest cc - £400.00 =£10 per month (minimum payment)
Natwest overdrafts - £1250 = £15.00
Barclaycard - £2150.00 = £52.00 (minimum payment)
MBNA - £2000.00 = £26.00 (minimum payment and have a good rate)
Next - £2500 = £240.00 (minimum payment and the service charge is approx £40 per month)
HFC - £700.00 = £104.74 (I actually only have a few months left on this as I have now paid all the interest
and now the loan payments are just going off the balance)
Boyf debt - £220.00

I am thinking of looking into HSA as they help with dentist. This is one reason why things have been tight as my poor boyf has had to have a lot of work done - are they good? - thought it might help prevent this in the future.

I have spoken to a bloke today who was talking abut a payment plan for £500 pm but we figured we would be better off not going with it as the hfc loan is due to finish soon.

I appreciate that there are people worse off than me but i know that you can all understand I am soooooooooo stressed (and tearful - constantly!!!)

I also need to start thinking about putting some cash aside for Xmas to stop us going through more stress then.

Well I think Ive rembered everything

zoe
x

tifnstav

this christmas we are going to say to our family's that we are not going to buy tons, which we always do - either that or set a strict limit on what we buy.

looking at your soa, can you cancel sky? we make do with freeview channels and regular tv. we also have three billion dvds, none of which we ever watch but we will start doing if nothing is on.

also, you spend a lot on food if there is just the two of you? have a look at the Old style boards and get some tricks of the trade from there. i am getting so much better at cooking, all my colleagues ears perk up and eyes boggle when i open up my lunch at work, total jealousy! but don't ask me to fry an egg, i can't do it without it looking grated.

electrical cover? is this like some added guarantee? i would get rid of that, if one tv breaks just watch the other. if that breaks, read a book!

your mobiles - call your network and try to get a better deal, or think about switching to a pay and go (i use genie, get 300 free texts per month and £10 call time, i top up maybe once every two months).

now this might be a bit toooooooo frugal, but could you wear specs for a few months? get rid of the lenses for a year and you could pay off your natwest credit card.