Got here by luck, intending to stay by judgement.

MrBloater

It's been a long time since I've been able to walk round Bluewater with my pockets flush with cash and even longer since neither me, Mrs B or the boy have felt inspired to part with all of it. Thankfully the girl is still reading from the old script and managed to let Smiggle gently remove some saved money from her, but I was on too much of a buzz from being able to withdraw money from the cashpoint to even think about spending much of it. The boy and I managed to get 6 decent Xbox games for £20total - now is the time to be stocking up on PS3/Xbox 360 games as they are virtually worthless with the nextgen consoles steadily taking over - I missed out on plenty of bargains in the last iteration of these lifecycles - when Wii / PS2 and Xbox original games were being virtually given away a few years back - many of which are now commanding decent prices on the secondhand market. So my £19.97 was more of an investment rather than an expense.

I don't do SOAs as a rule, whilst I forensically log the incomings and outgoings it's never been so much about what it is being spent on, rather how much can we spend. When you've spent the last 5 years or so with everything maxed out and you have to choreograph paying the minimum payment, then using that card again to buy essentials, then swallowing the overlimit fee and doing that for each of the 12-15 cards you collect it's a different kind of vigilance you have. However, because I'm now in the treelined area of Forumville I shall post some highlights of my SOA just so as to fit in and not be run out of town by the pitchfork-wielding mob. But more of that later.

In the meantime, just to answer those who are questioning the wisdom of shifting the 50k of unsecured debt onto the mortgage - here's why. Last month we paid a total of £1,986.04 in minimum payments on credit cards / store cards / loans. That hoovered up basically every spare penny we had after paying off the essentials. And any expenditure for food, gas, wine, takeaways (I can hear the purists hissing already) had to go on the cards that were already maxed out. With the remortgage we have managed to a) not extend the term at all, b) are still left with a LTV of 79%, c) have fixed a rate of 3.19% until Sept 2020, d) are only paying £265 a month more for the mortgage than we were before. But without the headache of all the debts some of which had interest rates in the high 30s.

We're going to look at closing down some of the accounts - the zombie ones from MBNA, Virgin where I've not used the card for ages, just paying down the balances, and the less-than-fragrant ones like Aqua / Creation / Capital One. Our line of thinking (and I genuinely welcome opinions on this) is that we keep open
just 4 credit cards - Tesco (for the Clubcard points), Barclaycard (cos it has a 12k limit and they are sometimes likely to offer decent balance transfer deals), Amex (cos it's Amex and they sponsor my beloved Brighton & Hove Albion) and Halifax (cos oh, I dunno, they seem like nice people). All of these have interest rates in the mid to high teens and would leave with only about 20k of available credit.

Here's the SOA bit - today we're focusing on entertainment.
Amazon Prime £79pa (kids and wife are all avid Kindlers and so avail themselves of everything that this offer entails with regard to lending books, getting next day Amazon deliveries and a collection of dull shows/movies online - likelihood of getting it removed - ZERO)
Netflix £6.99pcm (I'm in a minority of one in thinking with regard to the ondemand shows - this is the bee's knees - plus we can view it all on the 3000 different devices that we seem to have in the house - likelihood of getting it gone - HIGH)
Now TV - £5.99pcm (I like Now TV and think it's a far more palatable way of paying for some of Murdoch's fare - but we have a box in the main bedroom and is it ever used for Sky channels - nope, cos our broadband connection is pants. Chance of removal - HIGH)
Sky World - £64.50pcm (Now this is the one that leads to bitter recriminations and soul-searching. I remember the kid at school who didn't have a TV - and I've no doubt he remembers his school days less than fondly. I also remember at the age of 12, in 1984 finally joining the age of those with VCRs - it was on the shelf next to where my Dad sat and he would lord it over the family by hitting the buttons on the VCR to change the channel on the telly. Other kids had remote controls, and also didn't wedge coathangers in the back of the TV to try and watch the emergent broadcasts of Channel 4 with their Basketball matches. But the lack of remote and high-gain aerial did not make me more stoic, more able to live a life of joyful fortitude. No, it more likely led me to the homelessness / drug addiction / general ne'er do wellness that characterised my teens and early 20s. So my kids will have their MultiRoom, they will have their Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, but Daddy might lose Sky Sports and Mummy might just have to face up to the fact that Sky Movies is a luxury we can do without. Potential savings - at least £20pcm - depending on what mood the retentions operative at Sky is in when I make the call on Monday to say I'm going.)
Vodafone £28.88 (mine) and £30.00 (hers) (Yep, expensive and we could go SIM only but not for the next year as we're locked into contracts, but it won't hurt to try and negotiate downwards)
TV Licensing £12.12 Even if DC is decriminalising non-payment, I am an avid fan of the BBC - especially its website / World Service and iPlayer and so hence chance of reduction = ZERO)
Talk Talk £38.86 (We've been on the same price plan for almost a decade as it provides Mrs B with free international calls. It also gives us moribund broadband but I'm loath to leave as at least it is a known quantity.)
Talk Talk Mobile £5.00 pcm (Bought a mobile for my elderly folks. They forget to charge it and then how to use it. But it's only a fiver and it's my folks.)

There's certainly some savings to be made in amongst that little lot. And any savings are going to be redirected squarely at the mortgage.

satchmo1

Now TV: when it's due for renewal, go online and go through the motions of cancelling. After you click cancel, it will pop up asking if you're sure and offer you a reduced rate. Maybe only £1 pm, but still lower.
Talktalk: again, go online to check what "optional extras" you have. You can then decide if you make use of them. If you can pay the line rental annually, that saves about £60 pa.


Yes, there are items on your list that make me squeal in disbelief (SkyWorld), but they're your decisions so I'll butt out now.

Keeping_Motivated

Hi Mr Bloater

Sounds like a huge burden has been lifted off your shoulders with nearly £2K per mth in minimum payments. I know some don't agree with re mortgaging but there are times its what has to be done.

Just curious though after having such a bad time with debt and now still having the debt to pay (just in a different format) why you would want to keep 4 credit cards open? Infact I'm surprised you ever want to have debt again after the stress you must have been under...

And I am certainly not a purist ha no way and I believe in living and having treats etc and each individuals preference for what they spend their money on but even I am astounded at nearly £300 PER MTH just for TV entertainment and mobile phones :eek: you could buy a second house for that per mth!

gallygirl

MrBloater wrote: »

Our line of thinking (and I genuinely welcome opinions on this) is that we keep open
just 4 credit cards - Tesco (for the Clubcard points), Barclaycard (cos it has a 12k limit and they are sometimes likely to offer decent balance transfer deals), Amex (cos it's Amex and they sponsor my beloved Brighton & Hove Albion) and Halifax (cos oh, I dunno, they seem like nice people). All of these have interest rates in the mid to high teens and would leave with only about 20k of available credit.

Well, you did ask for opinions..........

Tesco - yes
Barclaycard - WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO KEEP A CARD THAT OFFERED BALANCE TRANSFERS :mad: - get rid of it!!!!
Amex - what does it give you that Tesco doesn't?
Halifax - yup, so nice they apologised each month they charged you interest did they? A Clarity card is worth having - £5 a month cashback if you spend £300 and free cash withdrawals overseas (interest charged straightaway though so do an online payment as soon as you can).
Overall - WHY WOULD YOU NEED 20K CREDIT AVAILABLE? That's the start of a slippery slope Mr B . Max of 10k to book holidays to get the protection and cope with an exploding boiler at the same time would be enough. Plus always good to have two different cards in case of technical issues.

ourcornercottage

If I had rid myself of 50k of debt by adding it to the mortagage I would instantly cancel every one of my cards and wait until I really trusted myself to get another. If you can't afford something don't buy it.

Expenses stated are crazy for someone who has had that much debt. Sorry to be so blunt but do you need all those TV options. You can only watch one thing at a time. This is just expense you don't need.

I'd say you and family need a sit down and put into action a plan for a total mindset change toward money, consumerism and what makes you happy. Take the obvious enthusiasm to get things back on track and make these changes sooner rather than later. If you don't change your mindset you could find yourself back with credit card debt in top of the extra mortgage in no time.

Like I say, sorry to be blunt but now is the time to make the changes you need to. Best of luck.

MrBloater

Yikes. The figures look very different posted up on this forum to what they do on my Spreadsheet and even I'm having a hard time justifying them now.

And I take on board absolutely the points made about the mindset of keeping so many cards - we need a maximum of 2 for emergencies (with family on the other side of the world emergencies can be pretty expensive) but I certainly don't need to be thinking about balance transfers and all that malarky.

More of the SOA
Council Tax £145pcm Tax Band checked - I could put it over 12 months as opposed to 10 but other than that, not a lot I can do with this one.
Car Insurances £50pcm & £26pcm Am always checking this around renewal time and these guys always seem to offer the best deals - but I could be saving money by paying for it in one chunk next time around.
Mortgage Insurance £26pcm Despite the remortgage this still pretty much will cover the balance in the event of any expiring on mine or Mrs B's part.
House/Contents Insurance £30pcm This one bugs me as they auto-renewed it and jacked the price up by almost a tenner - all within their rights, I didn't read either the small print or the reminder letter. Come renewal time (March) I am ditching this one.
Boiler/Plumbing Protection £23pcm I'm not wild about this one. Granted we get a full boliler service every year and they fixed issues with the system - but something tells me we could be paying a lot more than we need to?
Water £33pcm
Gas £53pcm
Electric £54pcm

Have totally lost my mojo after posting that little lot - it's a beautiful morning and I should be out running. But my knees have other ideas so we'll settle for a cup of tea for now.

solentsusie

Amazon Prime £79pa (kids and wife are all avid Kindlers and so avail themselves of everything that this offer entails with regard to lending books, getting next day Amazon deliveries and a collection of dull shows/movies online - likelihood of getting it removed - ZERO)

I'm with you on the Amazon Prime, it is an extremely useful service especially if you are using it to the max for the whole family. At an overall cost of £6.58 a month it's not that bad.

Netflix £6.99pcm (I'm in a minority of one in thinking with regard to the ondemand shows - this is the bee's knees - plus we can view it all on the 3000 different devices that we seem to have in the house - likelihood of getting it gone - HIGH)

Why do you need so many TV viewing options? Scrolling further down and seeing how much you are paying to Sky I could never justify this...

Now TV - £5.99pcm (I like Now TV and think it's a far more palatable way of paying for some of Murdoch's fare - but we have a box in the main bedroom and is it ever used for Sky channels - nope, cos our broadband connection is pants. Chance of removal - HIGH)

Another one to get rid of. Never had a TV in the bedroom and never will. Not something I will ever understand but I am sure a lot of people find it essential. The bedroom is for sleeping and 'stuff'!! It should be a cocoon of tranquility so I would personally remove as many electrical devices as possible. Might also help your sleep issues - although I am sure the removal of the credit card wheel of fortune has helped in that regard.

Sky World - £64.50pcm (Now this is the one that leads to bitter recriminations and soul-searching. I remember the kid at school who didn't have a TV - and I've no doubt he remembers his school days less than fondly. I also remember at the age of 12, in 1984 finally joining the age of those with VCRs - it was on the shelf next to where my Dad sat and he would lord it over the family by hitting the buttons on the VCR to change the channel on the telly. Other kids had remote controls, and also didn't wedge coathangers in the back of the TV to try and watch the emergent broadcasts of Channel 4 with their Basketball matches. But the lack of remote and high-gain aerial did not make me more stoic, more able to live a life of joyful fortitude. No, it more likely led me to the homelessness / drug addiction / general ne'er do wellness that characterised my teens and early 20s. So my kids will have their MultiRoom, they will have their Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, but Daddy might lose Sky Sports and Mummy might just have to face up to the fact that Sky Movies is a luxury we can do without. Potential savings - at least £20pcm - depending on what mood the retentions operative at Sky is in when I make the call on Monday to say I'm going.)

I nearly had a heart attack on this one. I didn't realise this is how much Sky costs. How old are the little Bloaters? I personally found the older my two got the less and less they watched TV. Saying that both my boys are musicians (they had to take something up after all, as we only had the basic channels!) so more time is spent playing instruments, listening to music, going to gigs and creating music, be it live or computer generated.

Not having huge ranges of TV packages never bothered them after I abandoned Sky/Virgin many years ago. It just meant they found other ways to be creative and weren't vegging in front of a TV. They also went out and played with their friends and arranged to do other stuff. If they want to watch something they will usually find it online. I am sure the little Bloaters will find something else to do (rather than crack cocaine) if they can't be sucked into the telly.

You are probably better off investing in a decent broadband connection if it is available where you live. My eldest now lives with his girlfriend and they don't have TV and my youngest never watches the TV in the living room. Literally never. Unless we are at my Mum's house and it is Christmas Day and I am forcing him to watch the Queen's speech and eat copious amounts Brussels sprouts. I really don't think your kids would suffer in the ways that you imagine if you ditch the Sky dish. They still have a million other options after all....

And that kid at school who didn't have a TV also didn't have an internet connection with all of the different viewing options this can provide. We live in a very different world now Mr B. :-)

Vodafone £28.88 (mine) and £30.00 (hers) (Yep, expensive and we could go SIM only but not for the next year as we're locked into contracts, but it won't hurt to try and negotiate downwards)

As soon as the contracts expire ditch them. There are brilliant SIM only contracts out there. Buy your handsets outright or keep the ones you have if they suit your purposes, you really don't need the latest gadgets. It also makes you think about what you actually need (most people use hardly any of the capability of the mini computers they carry in their pockets) and works out more economical in that you can change to better deals far more easily. Also look at the actual use of what you are paying for, do you really need 500000000 minutes per month or do you just use 50?

TV Licensing £12.12 Even if DC is decriminalising non-payment, I am an avid fan of the BBC - especially its website / World Service and iPlayer and so hence chance of reduction = ZERO)

With you on this one. I would pay £12.12 a month just for David Attenborough.

Talk Talk £38.86 (We've been on the same price plan for almost a decade as it provides Mrs B with free international calls. It also gives us moribund broadband but I'm loath to leave as at least it is a known quantity.)

Definitely negotiation room on this one. As soon as I told them I was leaving I was automatically offered free broadband. Also paying the line rental up front is worth while, although not as much as it used to be sadly.

Talk Talk Mobile £5.00 pcm (Bought a mobile for my elderly folks. They forget to charge it and then how to use it. But it's only a fiver and it's my folks.)

No brainer as well. As you say, they are you folks. My mother actually phoned me on hers the other day to tell me she had remembered to take it with her when she went shopping!

Basically you don't have to go totally cold turkey on the TV front, but it does scare me just how much you are paying out. £774 just on Sky. Just on Sky! Just think how many additional bottles of wine (or cases!) you could purchase a year with the savings you could make. You could have the beginnings of a pretty decent wine cellar. Or, far more importantly, how much could go in over payments on the mortgage!

Good luck. I look forward to the next installment.

juststuff123

Hi Mr Bloater,


I love your writing style, not your spending! I was actually sweating with stress & panic while looking at the sums you're paying! I'm surprised, considering you've been a DFW previously, that you haven't already cut-out all of these luxuries.


Over £1000 per year on TV alone is crazy, I don't have children so feel free to ignore me (well you can ignore me anyway) but I think it's important for children to learn they can't get everything they want and that life is full of disappointments so they better get used to it. 'No' isn't a dirty word! In the long run it's probably better for them to learn financial responsibility and the importance of living within their means than what Mickey Mouse is up to at the moment. Apologies for sounding blunt/rude, I have tried to soften my words a bit but I don't know how else to put it.


£466 per annum on your landline phone is staggering! 'Free' international calls don't look like they are quite so 'free' after all. Have you thought about cutting down to a far more basic package (and pay for the line rental in one lump sum) then use Skype (or similar) for the international communications?


Try thinking of your costs in terms of annual spends rather than monthly, for example, when some new service comes along you think "ah well it's only £20 pcm", try thinking "that's £240 per year" suddenly it doesn't sound so appealing. And try thinking, and being strict with yourself, "Is this a luxury or is this a necessity?" so you can put your spending into context.


Regarding your credit cards, I agree with ourcornercottage. Get rid until you can be trusted. Concentrate on building a savings cushion to pay for any of life's emergencies. Having savings will give you a good psychological boost too. A no strings attached safety net, unlike a credit card with a 30% interest rate.


Good luck to you.

solentsusie

juststuf123 must have been reading my mind on the savings cushion. I forgot the include that. I am presuming as you have been robbing Peter to pay Paul for so long that there is nothing currently in the pot?

Just think how easy it will be to save something every month just by cutting back on some of the TV packages you pay for.

One of the things I did when cutting down on my expenditure was when I cancelled a direct debit for something I didn't need I set up a payment into my savings account for the exact same amount. Soon had enough for some of the things I really wanted rather than subscriptions to things that I never really needed.

Also, make it an account it takes a bit of effort to get into. That way you are less likely to spend the money on impulse.

Good luck.

Mrs_Rachel_Trelfa

Sorry if we have come across pushy for the soa, we are just really keen on helping each other.

Sorry if what I am about to say sounds harsh/blunt but these are my opinions and, I and others, just want to help you get rid of your mortgage.

Echoing what others have said my eyes water at the amount of spending you have on the various tv packages . Having come from the dfw side of things I am very surprised that this hasn't been addressed there. I personally think that sky is a huge waste of money, especially with freeview now about you can get lots of channels. I grew up with just the basic channels and just played outside or board games etc.surely that is better than being glued to a screen IMHO. Having said that if you still want to keep it could you look to reduce the package or even cancel? I know people where I work have done this and they got a discount to keep their business.