Freaking out about debts

BlueMonbee

Ok so this will be quite a long story so please be patient my laptop isn't working properly too.

It all started a couple of years ago when my relationship broke down. Isuddenly found myself responsible for all bills which I found hard to deal with.

The next month my bank decided to cancell my overdraft telling me I needed to pay £200 a month. I had a few other debts so I thought I would be sensible and spoke to stepchange who I found out about through this site (a godsend thank you).

Two months later I was forced to take a pay cut of £80 a month and I freaked out. I have a history of mental illness and this was my first job after a long episode.

I called them had to reduce my payments. A few months later I was informed by the taxman I hadn't paid enough tax from when was part time. they would be taking a extra £50 a month. My rent went up £20 a month at the same time with my other bills and I'm sorry to say I was stupid and hysterical and I started drinking and smoking quite a bit.

Roll on a few months and I got into more debt because of this. I was then signed off sick for a month. I put in my forms for Hb CTax too. They aregued with my forms and only agreed to pay me benefits for two weeks out of the four. I became so stressed and upset. I got behind on all my bills. They have all snowballed. and I can't cope. I have sorted out a rent payment plan with my HO but the council have refused to accept my offer of £110pm saying it needs tobe over £200.

I don't have a lot of debts compared to some. The thing is I don't know who they are with (apart from Thames water who sold it to Fredrickson. They keep phoning my place of work).

I have just got a small pay rise back to the level I was at before.

Here is my soa

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 525
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 110
Electricity............................. 25
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 18
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 45
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 30
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 25
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 1185


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
stepchage......................2000......20........0
Total unsecured debts..........2000......20........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,185
Available for debt repayments........... 15
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 20
Amount short for making debt repayments. -5

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -2,000
Net Assets.............................. -2,000

Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.

Forgot to add in my travel for work which is £85 pm

MrsSave

Hi, sorry to hear about all your different difficulties recently.

Looking at your soa, the following stands out to me:

Council tax - is that over 10 or 12 months? If 10 change to 12. All, do you have your single occupant discount?

Groceries - seems very high for 1 person. We spend this amount for 2 adults and a toddler.

Satellite - that is high. How about freeview?

Mobile - mine is £10 a month for unlimited texts, 1gb data and I can't remember how many minutest but much more than I need.

I'm unsure about gas/electric, but mine is only £20 a month higher for both as a family of 3.

I hope this helps a little.

Bobarella

Sorry to read all of that. It sounds like it all spiralled £ by £ but I'm glad you feel up to tackling it now. Agree there may be some room to move on your grocery bill. Are you careful about meal planning, shopping around, getting the best deals etc?

Anyway you've taken a big step joining in here. Really wish you well.

Bob

BlueMonbee

MrsSave wrote: »

Hi, sorry to hear about all your different difficulties recently.

Looking at your soa, the following stands out to me:

Council tax - is that over 10 or 12 months? If 10 change to 12. All, do you have your single occupant discount?

Groceries - seems very high for 1 person. We spend this amount for 2 adults and a toddler.

Satellite - that is high. How about freeview


Mobile - mine is £10 a month for unlimited texts, 1gb data and I can't remember how many minutest but much more than I need.

I'm unsure about gas/electric, but mine is only £20 a month higher for both as a family of 3.

I hope this helps a little.

My council tax is beacause I am in arrears. they actually want over £200 a month to pick up the shortfall but I told them this is all I have which I did explain in my post. My tv is actually my entire package with virgin I was thinking of reducing by taking the phone and telly off. Its only the basic package but virgin has gone up a lot lately

My mobile I'm in a contract which I can't get out of for another year.

my groceries I don't actually know how much I spend. I will have to check. It was just a guess. I spent a lot in the supermarket this week but £20-30 was on cleaning/shampoo etc

My electric is a key meter and they don't want to remove it all the HO flats here have them. I switch everything off when I'm not using it.
Thanks for the advice

Pixie5740

Do you need a package with Virgin? Council tax is a priority bill, cable television isn't so if you could get rid of Virgin altogether that would help you with the council tax arrears. If you still want broadband then you'll be able to get it cheaper elsewhere and if you use a site like Quidco or TopCashback then it might be even cheaper still.

If you tell your mobile service provider that you are struggling financially then they might be able to downgrade your contract.

£50 a month of entertainment is also rather a lot if you are in arrears with a priority bill.

Get your bank statements out and find out exactly how much you are spending in the supermarket. Could you try switching to Lidl or Aldi?

rockm87

hi and welcome!

You've stated you pay £50 into an emergency fund a month, but don't have any cash saved?

Is this right,or is this a 'wish-list' of what you want to be spending?

I'd definately look at reducing your costs. Try meal planning or switching supermarkets (Lidl, Aldi). cut your entertainment spends until you have your debt under control.

asparagus1968

Hi,
Comparing your household to ours, there are two of us and a little dog, the following jump out at me:


gas and electric and water- all higher than here- you need to get tighter with usage there. eg. shower with a timer set, no baths.
leave pots until end of day-fill sink once.
leave heating off -use hot water bottles/extra layers of clothes/ have a look in charity shops for throws/blankets etc.


Pet insurance is high- join www.topcashback.co.uk and use a comparison site off there and save some money


virgin package-luxury you can't afford-if you can't cancel and go freeview, ring and tell them you cannot afford payments and ask them what they can offer.


your prescriptions- can you get a pre-payment instead? am sure that would help. http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/PPC.aspx this says if you need two or more items a month you will save quite a lot.


£200 is a lot for one person a month groceries! look into meal planning, shopping at a cheaper shop, downgrading brands, do you take pack lunches for work? have a look at "feeding your family on £20 a week" and threads similar to that on the Old Style Forum


entertainment- reduce this, look at free/cheaper things to do eg. spend more time on MSE


haircuts-you can reduce this, don't get it done as often? see if a mobile one would be cheaper? do it yourself?


How much have you saved into the emergency fund ?


So, the good news is you have a little wriggle room, and it sounds like you want to get this sorted, sometimes you have to just crack on and ask for cheaper/ discounts / cut back, do without etc.
good luck to you, keep posting on here ,it will keep you motivated and we all know what it's like!

BlueMonbee

unfortunatly I have no option but to take a bath the HO said if I want a shower to pay for it myself I am also behind on my water bill. as I have already said I AM going to reduce my virgin package. and I will be looking into my food spending I can't travel to a lidl or aldi.

I thought the pet bit was how much I pay out for my pet over the month I added the food and bedding up to get that number. as I said I switch all electrics exept for fridge off at night and when Im not using them. I hardly put the heating on even in winter.

I know you are all trying to help I just get so upset and frustrated.

rockm87

Dont get upset, get determined, you can do this!!!

When you have a bath, use the water for other things (I know it sounds gross!)...like flushing the loo or watering plants that sort of thing.

Have you switched your bulbs to energy savings ones? Have you checked your pipes for leaks (these can cost a fortune if left unfixed).

Head over to the old style money saving boards and pick up some tips. Somethings may sound extreme, but it's not for long, its only until you get out of this mess!!

Pixie5740

There's no need to get shirty. You don't need to reduce your Virgin package, you need to get rid of it altogether.

As for having a bath rather than a shower you could replace the bath taps with those taps that also have a shower attachment like this one from B&Q.

Alternatively you could use one of these rubber shower attachments.

sourcrates

OP cant have his water cut off, no matter how far behind he gets.


Taking a shower instead of a bath is unlikely to make much monetary difference, especially when the OP doesn't have a shower, and he is repaying arrears anyway.


The only bill you could sensibly cut is your grocery bill, you could probably halve it with a little forward thinking, and by shopping at Aldi or Lidl.


Freeview still does not work well in many areas, including ours, so we have no choice but to use a satellite service, could be the same with the OP.