Money problems - HELP please - what can I do?

thriftylass

Hi Jay444, it's good to realise sth is wrong/could get worse earlier than later. On your salary plus your partners benefits and that low level of debt it should work out ok. I agree, post an SOA because at the moment, without any more detail, people will struggle to understand why you struggle financially.

People here are really friendly and helpful and should be able to give great advice based on your SOA.

Could your partner try to find a job that minimised the hours you had to pay for nursery (evenings, weekends, part time during the week)?

Jay442

enjoyyourshoes wrote: »

Cut out, fags, mags, booze, lotto, extended warranties, sky, tv subs, mobile, snacks, coffee lattes, sweets, water from petrol stations, lunches at work etc etc. Its a sieve and you need to block as many holes as you can. Keep daily reconciliation of you bank balance and accrue monthly for ALL annual/1/2 & 1/4ly bills. Review monthly.

We don't spend much at all on 'vices' but we just don't want to live a completely frugal existence, we don't spend on beer/fags/sky tv - we do spend a bit on the odd coffee and cake, the odd treat for our kids - I'm not saying we'll not look at what we can cut because that's precisely why I'm here, the difference is that my partner would like to go with the Germany option if it ever gets to the point where she can't enjoy the odd thing - and I'm not talking a gold necklace, she is a careful person with money.

Jay442

thriftylass wrote: »

Could your partner try to find a job that minimised the hours you had to pay for nursery (evenings, weekends, part time during the week)?

I think it's the same thing for that about my partner, if the situation was so desperate that I asked her to do a job on the evenings/weekends then it's reached the point she wants to go back. She has a long enough day looking after a 1 year old. Besides, the nursery is an extra cost that people may say isn't needed but with a 1 year old to look after my partner needs the time/space to look after the baby for those 3 days. That nursery will finish next month before my daughter goes to school, therefore not being an added cost for much longer.

Lanzarote1938

Jay442 wrote: »

I think it's the same thing for that about my partner, if the situation was so desperate that I asked her to do a job on the evenings/weekends then it's reached the point she wants to go back. She has a long enough day looking after a 1 year old. Besides, the nursery is an extra cost that people may say isn't needed but with a 1 year old to look after my partner needs the time/space to look after the baby for those 3 days. That nursery will finish next month before my daughter goes to school, therefore not being an added cost for much longer.

Do look into the benefit situation carefully. I know you say you won't be relying on receiving much but your partner may be entitled to less than you think. With your salary probably nothing means tested as your income will be considered joint. Depending on how long she has been out of the UK she may fall foul of the Habitual Resident Test.

tlc678910

I look at the unsociable hours working with a very different point of view! Your partner could do 3-4 evenings in retail, care or hospitality and receive probably 4-6 hundred pounds a month or she could work full time in a more stressful position, have other people bringing up her baby, and a headache if either child is ill and (possibly depending on how high earning she is) be left with the same amount after paying her childcare.

Tlc

enjoyyourshoes

OK jay442, but you didn't acknowledge the second part of the message. What do you need to accrue monthly to pay for all your annual,1/2 & 1/4 ly costs , may include (but not exhaustive list), car insurance/tax/MOT/repairs, Oil (household fuel), christmas, birthdays, house insurance. Then get what you pay monthly in DD/SO (TV , internet, phone LL & mob, life insurance, mortgage, utilities, etc. The remainder is what you have for monthly running costs for your life (without any allocation for savings etc). Then you must keep accurate record daily of all your spends and ensure you don't go into OD territory. I always allocate monthly regular savings, additional pension contributions to SIPP, investments to S&S ISA, then the remaining element is for living costs. But you may have to allocate sums for debt repayments

Jay442

Thanks everyone again for the advice, I've been pretty busy so only had chance now to go through the SOD, I would call it a draft SOD as I need to go through it with my partner who can no doubt correct me on a few things. I'm obviously going wrong somewhere because according to this we should have some money left over!

Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

Summary

Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 2,670.98
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 2,232.12
Available for debt repayments 438.86
UNsecured debt repayments 0
Amount left after debt repayments 438.86
Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 2,000
Total Secured & HP Debt -0
Total Unsecured Debt -0
Net Assets 2,000
Household Information

Number of adults in household 2
Number of children in household 2
Number of cars owned 1
Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 2240.98
Partners monthly income 0
Benefits 430
Other income 0
Total monthly income 2670.98
Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 0
Secured/HP loan payments 0
Rent 825
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 99.12
Electricity 23
Gas 23
Oil 0
Water Rates 40
Telephone (land line) 18
Mobile phone 16
TV Licence 12
Satellite/Cable TV 0
Internet services 12
Groceries etc. 400
Clothing 100
Petrol/diesel 50
Road tax 15
Car Insurance 11
Car maintenance (including MOT) 20
Car Parking 10
Other travel 30
Childcare/nursery 80
Other child related expenses 60
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 50
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 0
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 12
Life Assurance 0
Other Insurance 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 60
Haircuts 6
Entertainment 200
Holiday 60
Emergency Fund 0
Total monthly expenses 2232.12
Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 0 (0) 0
Secured & HP Debt totals 0 - -
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Unsecured Debt totals 0 0 -
Asset Description Value (£)
Cash 0
House Value (Gross) 0
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 2000
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets 2000

Karonher

There are three things that stick out as being high. £400 for food could be cut quite a bit. Also. entertainment could be cut, as could clothes. Could other childcare expenses be cut for a few months?:

Cut all of them in half for 6 months and you have over £2000 to pay off your debt.

Jay442

If anyone has any comments on my 'draft' SOD that would be appreciated.

I've been looking into putting my 1800 overdraft onto a credit card, or at least half of it onto a 0% interest credit card, I checked which ones I'm eligible for but I don't really know what I'm looking for with the small print etc, any tips?.. is it possible for me to put images into the thread, I was going to put in a few screengrabs with the results of that search - this was the text for the top one in the results:

MBNA - up to 40 months 0%, 2.79% fee
LONG 0% BALANCE TRANSFER CARD
Is this card right for you?
Will you be pre-approved? For this card our eligibility calculator can tell people if they're pre-approved; that means subject to ID and fraud checks you'll definitely get the deal offered. If you get a 100% chance, acceptance is yours.Balance transfer length & fee: Up to 40 months, 2.79% feeMinimum payment: Greater of 1% of balance plus interest, or £25 Min income: N/A | Card issuer: Visa | Balance transfer time limit: First 60 daysWill I definitely get the full 0%? This card is an 'up to' card, meaning that some will get fewer months at 0%, or a higher fee/interest rate. However, if you're shown as pre-approved, you will get the exact deal shown. A nonsense piece of regulation means we have to tell you if you were to spend £1,200 at an annual interest rate of 18.9% (variable) your Representative APR would be 18.9% (variable).

Jay442

I suppose my SOD needs to be more thorough, I mean there seems to be so many things that happen in a month that aren't planned for, at the moment we really need a bed for my youngest, the quarterly water bill is coming soon which will hit us hard. I owe about £400 from my salary for borrowing from relatives, so I'm not exactly starting from a full wage. Some months you need a pair of shoes, other months the car breaks down, both my children have birthdays this month, we will buy them something and the eldest will have a present.

Maybe it's a common thing for people working out how to deal with debt, understanding exactly what their money is going on, I'm struggling a bit to do that