Ok.... I need help... SOA included

Hannah111

Hi everyone,

I am in need to sort out my financial situation as i have not long discovered that I am expecting a baby in March. I'm excited but anxious as i'm not the best with money at the moment!!! I live with my parents at the mo, but will be moving in with my partner in a few months-ish so i'd really like to sort my money out before moving in.
Wages779.4
Outgoings
Monthly line rental £50
MBNA Loan £160.79
Sky tv £10
Car Insurance £42.75
Board to parents £108.25
Virgin cc £25
Barclaycard cc £14
Egg cc £15
Total Bill Payments £425.79
Total Left Over £353.61
Oustanding payments
Virgin cc £461.95
Barclaycard cc £647.88
Egg cc £236.62
Loan £7213.45
If I lowered my phone tariff I know i would just go over and it probably end up costing me more anyway. i can cancel my Sky subscription in a few months time when the 12months is up.
Any thoughts or ideas would be very much appreciated as writing all of this down - I'm worried!

Thanks in advance
Hannah x

liz105

try snowballing your debts, to get as much cleared as possible (this is where you pay as much as you can off the highest interest rates first) also, make sure (only saying this because you say you arent very good with money...) that you know EXACTLY what you have coming in and going out when you move in with your partner so you dont end up in this situation again (what with going down to stat. mat. pay etc)

you have a lot of money left over each month, why not save some of it for a baby fund (£100 a month??) and put the rest on your debts. You will have those CC's gone in no time!

If you cant overpay on your loan once everything else is cleared then put it in the baby fund instead.

all_hours

on your soa you have £353 left over - is this really what happens? start a spending diary to keep track of where the extra money is going.

what are the aprs on your credit cards?

what does board to parents include - does it include meals and laundry costs or do have to spend extra on these every month.

RAS

Well done for recognising the situation and seeking to address it now. A number of young couples come on here having not done this and find their first few months of parenthood blighted by the stress of debt.

You have enough time to make inroads on you debt and to slowly acquire stuff at nil cost. You can no longer afford to make minimum payment on credit cards; you need to clear these before the baby is born.

Hannah111 wrote: »

Wages779.4

What are your legal/and employer based entitlements when you are on maternity leave?

If you move in with your partner, will you be able to claim WTC? Go to www.entitledto.com, and put in your circumstances
after you move into your partner's and are working,
after you go on maternity leave
and after the baby is born.

Then you have an idea of what sort of joint income you will have when over the next year

Outgoings
Monthly line rental £50
Sky tv £10
Car Insurance £42.75 - check if this is the cheapest and use quidco to swap
Board to parents £108.25 - once you move in with BF, this will probably go up substantially - find out how much he pays for rent/mortgage, council tax and utilities.
Other car related costs ? tax, MOT, petrol, repairs
Council tax?
Clothes?
Going out?

Debt payments

MBNA Loan £7213.45 APR, for how long? £160.79 PM - are there any early repayment penalties?
Virgin cc £461.95- £25 minimum APR and limit?
Barclaycard cc £647.88 £14 minimum APR and limit? (this appears to have the lowest APR - is there any spare capacity in it?)
Egg cc £236.62 £15 minimum APR and limit?
CC debt 1346.45 (could be cleared in 4 months if you have £388 spare each month)

Total Bill Payments £425.79
Total Left Over £353.61
Oustanding payments


If I lowered my phone tariff I know i would just go over and it probably end up costing me more anyway. - You may have to think about reducing this whilst you are on maternity leave, depending on your circumstances. Avoid renewal until after the bay is born and use PAYG is necessary.

your immediate personal priorities are to find out what you are spending money on and get a better handle on your finances, to clear your Cc debt in the next few months and to work out a realistic budget with BF for when you move in.

It is going to be terribly exciting but you might be advised to resist the temptation to buy lots of maternity and baby gear as you only need it for a short while. Also do not buy new stuff for his place.

Join your local branch of www.freecycle.org and you will find people giving away good maternity and baby gear as well as furniture and elctrical goods. make a list of what you need for you and the baby and agree a list of what you need for your joint home, then gradually acquire it from freecycle over the next six months. Stuff that you cannot get may well be bought by family, friends and work mates some of whom may offer other stuff for free as well.

One you have the CCs paid off, can you save a the remaining money so you can pay the loan off for a few months until you return to work? Otherwise, a lot will depend on BF's financial situation as you may have to depend on his income to fund your loan for some months.

If you edit up the APRs, we can advise you how to pay the CCS off at last cost, or you can pay on the snowball at www.whatsthecost.com.

best of luck.

david_hellier

Hi,

Can you please confirm all other car costs, tax MOT etc. If you have an od can you confirm the balance.

Ta.