Starting over a new SOA, things have changed.

carlih1

Hi all,

I started off paying a bit from my debts and saving as my bf had moved in, now we're going through a rough patch and has moved out to give us both a bit of space, this obviously means there is less in hte pot to pay the bills, debts etc and so i'm writing another SOA.

Would appreciate all your comments as usual.

Income £1266.17

Rent £291.61
Council tax £119.31
Electricity £30.00 on (monthly dd plan)
Gas £30.00 on (monthly dd plan)
Water £26.77
Telephone £24.00
Mobile phone £60.00
Internet is free with mobile contract!
TV licence £11.61
Sky £37.95
home insurance £19.33
Groceries £200.00 (for three of us i think is quite a lot)
Petrol £70.00
Car insurance £22.91
Bank fee £12.50

Outgoings - £955.99

Debts -

Littlewoods £691.64 - They want £99 payment monthly
Vertbaudet £246.54 - paying £50.00 monthly
Busy bees - £737.77 - paying £20.00 monthly
Argos - £121.98
Coment - £132.80
Additions - £58.87

Debt £1,989.60 ( have done quite well i think this time last year it was £2847.95)

I think when i pay everything i have set up it gives me £141.18, which just seems to go on nothing as i never have anything left at the end of the month.

Help please guys

Carli x

Shineyhappy

Sorry to hear youre having problems with your OH, man are [STRIKE]all[/STRIKE] mostly idiots!

Have you thought about haggling with Sky to see if they will give you a few months half price?

If you are the only adult, have you applied for 25% off your council tax? I think your shopping is quite a lot too, so maybe look at using vouchers/using supermarkets own or look at the OS board and meal plan.

What is the 12.50 bank fee for?

Also are you into quidco? As you can get cash back (upto 15 quid) for free dvd rental trials so you could maybe change Sky to basic whilst working your way through these then get Quidco money for Xmas and save some money on your bills?

MissKJ

You know all the answers yourself, but well done for keeping at it. Vertbaudet are lovely clothes for kids, but do you really need them all now? Bet some are too small and would sell well on ebay.

Why are you paying bank fees? Martin MSE says you shouldn't. Better accounts available, pay interest and don't charge. Have a look at his thread. And while you need internet, there is no such thing as "free" you pay quite a lot per month. I have similar deal and tied in for a while, but going to shop around, can't live without internet!
Do the snowball thingy to see how long it will take you, then shave some off
Good luck, and I shall look forward to seeing your diary!

carlih1

Sorry to hear youre having problems with your OH, man are all mostly idiots! Have to agree, although now he realises what i have been talking about for the last six month ARE actually problems he is willing to make the effort.lol

Have you thought about haggling with Sky to see if they will give you a few months half price? Tried that a while ago but they said no but i cut my package down from £60.00 to £35.00 (it was the most complicated process ever they tried to confuse me)

If you are the only adult, have you applied for 25% off your council tax? I get 25% off my council tax, the problem being is that when i went back to council re housing benefit it all mucked up and they thought i was getting more than i was so it is quite high at the mo, currently trying to sort that one out!

I think your shopping is quite a lot too, so maybe look at using vouchers/using supermarkets own or look at the OS board and meal plan. Meal planning is my nemisis, i'm the poorest person in the world at it, need lessons, lol

What is the 12.50 bank fee for? My bank charge me a fee for sorting out all my direct debits etc, basically what they do is add up what i need for dd's and seperate into two different account so i have a bills account and cash account, it really helped me out last year when i kept getting bank charges every two seconds.

Also are you into quidco? As you can get cash back (upto 15 quid) for free dvd rental trials so you could maybe change Sky to basic whilst working your way through these then get Quidco money for Xmas and save some money on your bills? Good idea, i have used quidco for insurance and things but i didn't know they did stuff like that, can you explain how that would work?

carlih1

MissKJ wrote: »

You know all the answers yourself, but well done for keeping at it. Vertbaudet are lovely clothes for kids, but do you really need them all now? Bet some are too small and would sell well on ebay.

That is a very old debt and think all the kiddies clothes are already sold, but nevermind, don't use them anymore

Why are you paying bank fees? Martin MSE says you shouldn't. Better accounts available, pay interest and don't charge. Have a look at his thread. And while you need internet, there is no such thing as "free" you pay quite a lot per month. I have similar deal and tied in for a while, but going to shop around, can't live without internet!

I called orange the other day to see if i could change my contract, they said i could in November or today for £50.00, i'm trying to work out whether it is worth it as when i change my internet will still be free but my monthly charge will be £35 and i will not go over that, (going over with calls and texts at mo which is why so high), do you think it is worth upgrading now?

Do the snowball thingy to see how long it will take you, then shave some off

confused, do what to the snowball thingy ( yes i am blonde lol)
Good luck, and I shall look forward to seeing your diary!

Ha ha ha, that's gotta be a joke i'm rubbish at things like that!

Thanks for your advice again~!

carlih1

albertross wrote: »

£122 for phone/mobile/sky/internet is a lot, can you cut down or get a better deal.

Hey,

I know, i have explained situation in above post, can you give me any good advice

Shineyhappy

If you look at the entertainment bit of it there are loads of free dvd trials so if you sign up to say Blockbusters you get three months (usual time period not sure if its correct for Blockbuster though) and of free postal rental dvds, after 2 and a half months cancel this before you get charged and on your quidco account you will have 7.50 tracking/validating/paid etc.

Then repeat for love film and then for the other suppliers some give up to 15 pounds cash back for spending 0! You must be careful to cancel in time and send back the dvds in the time frames though.

Also make an appointment for Hilarys blinds to come and give you a quote and you will get 20 pounds, 1.50 for a free Whiskars kitten pack and 2.55 for a stop smoking pack. Not that I need blinds, have a kitten or smoke but hey its free cash and I will take any kitten food to the RSPCA.

I would try again reducing Sky though and make sure to nosey on the OS board!

tigtag02

carlih1 wrote: »

What is the 12.50 bank fee for? My bank charge me a fee for sorting out all my direct debits etc, basically what they do is add up what i need for dd's and seperate into two different account so i have a bills account and cash account, it really helped me out last year when i kept getting bank charges every two seconds.

:eek: :eek: :eek: OMG - I'll do it for a fiver

Seriously though - one good excel spreadsheet should solve this and save you £12.50pcm

spud30

carlih1 wrote: »

What is the 12.50 bank fee for? My bank charge me a fee for sorting out all my direct debits etc, basically what they do is add up what i need for dd's and seperate into two different account so i have a bills account and cash account, it really helped me out last year when i kept getting bank charges every two seconds.

Cant you do this for yourself. It would only involve setting up a monthly standing order from one account to the other.

MissKJ

snowball debt repayment calculator www.whatsthecost.com. haven't done it yet myself, but all the other seasoned DFW say it is good for telling you when you will be debt free. then you can change details such as extra payments, and it tells you how much sooner you can be clear. Sounds like a good motivator.

carlih1

tigtag02 wrote: »

:eek: :eek: :eek: OMG - I'll do it for a fiver

Seriously though - one good excel spreadsheet should solve this and save you £12.50pcm

At the time it helped so much, i was in soo deep i couldn't get my head round anything else. Do you have one, will i need two bank accounts! x