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Back to being a DFW..AGAIN!

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Hi everyone.

I used to be a DFW but cleared all of my debt and was happily a DF'er for a while.

But several things happened last year. My son (16) is classified as disabled, and his condition has greatly deteriorated so i had to close down my business to care for him full time. This meant that my income is less than half of what it used to be :(

Then he managed to get awarded PIP, but it's a small amount (for which we are very grateful).

Then because of his illnesses, and travelling to and from his treatments and therapies, buying aids etc, i was having to put petrol costs (£40 a week approx) at LEAST on a CC (credit card).

So...i am now in £8K of debt :(

Good news:

-We have now moved house, which although expensive in itself, is within 5 mins walk of most of my sons treatments. This saves me having to put petrol in the car every week :)

-I am within walking distance of most things, so again i don't have to use the car more than about twice a week.

-I am motivated to clear off my debt. I am going to do a SOA asap.

That's all for the time being.
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Comments

  • oooooooooooo I remember you- when I was more organised I used to like your lunch thread :)

    I shall be following with interest :)

    XXX
    Nevertheless she persisted.
  • milasavesmoney
    milasavesmoney Posts: 1,787 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Subscribed. You sound seriously motivated and willing to do what it takes to care for your son. I think that's so incredibly wonderful!
    Overprepare, then go with the flow.
    [Regina Brett]
  • WantToBeSE
    WantToBeSE Posts: 7,729 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped! Debt-free and Proud!
    oooooooooooo I remember you- when I was more organised I used to like your lunch thread :)

    I shall be following with interest :)

    XXX

    Hi Buffy :) I used to follow your diary, do you still have one? I'll sub again.
    I wish i was organised enough to run the thread again, but my organisation seems to have run away with the being debt free :rotfl:
  • WantToBeSE
    WantToBeSE Posts: 7,729 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped! Debt-free and Proud!
    Subscribed. You sound seriously motivated and willing to do what it takes to care for your son. I think that's so incredibly wonderful!

    Thanks mila :)

    My children are my world. I have a 12 year old too, and he struggles to put up with his brother at times. it can be hard work!

    But i know life will be better for us all once i am DF again.

    Thanks for the sub :)
  • WantToBeSE
    WantToBeSE Posts: 7,729 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped! Debt-free and Proud!
    So, i have put all of my Aqua balance (almost £3K @34%) and £1K of my Capital One balance (36%)on my Barclaycard, as i still have 12 months of 0% on balance transfers.

    So, everything is one 1 card now, apart form £300 of the C1 card. Clearing that £300 this month is my first goal.

    IF (and only if) i stick to a budget, i should clear off the £8K in the next 12 months. I am aware that Xmas is coming soon, so i will be putting £100 a month towards this every month until December. Once Jan 2016 is here, i'll stop that.

    I need to do an SOA asap...
  • WantToBeSE
    WantToBeSE Posts: 7,729 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped! Debt-free and Proud!
    edited 31 July 2016 at 10:10AM
    Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

    Household Information

    Number of adults in household........... 1
    Number of children in household......... 2
    Number of cars owned.................... 1

    Monthly Income Details

    Monthly income after tax................ 864
    Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
    Benefits................................ 850
    Other income............................ 100
    Total monthly income.................... 1814


    Monthly Expense Details

    Mortgage................................ 0
    Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
    Rent.................................... 0
    Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
    Council tax............................. 18
    Electricity............................. 30
    Gas..................................... 30
    Oil..................................... 0
    Water rates............................. 60
    Telephone (land line)................... 48
    Mobile phone............................ 0
    TV Licence.............................. 13
    Satellite/Cable TV...................... 8
    Internet Services....................... 0
    Groceries etc. ......................... 250
    Clothing................................ 50
    Petrol/diesel........................... 80
    Road tax................................ 12
    Car Insurance........................... 45
    Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50
    Car parking............................. 0
    Other travel............................ 60
    Childcare/nursery....................... 0
    Other child related expenses............ 0
    Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
    Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
    Buildings insurance..................... 0
    Contents insurance...................... 7
    Life assurance ......................... 0
    Other insurance......................... 0
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100
    Haircuts................................ 20
    Entertainment........................... 50
    Holiday................................. 0
    Emergency fund.......................... 0
    Total monthly expenses.................. 951



    Assets

    Cash.................................... 230
    House value (Gross)..................... 0
    Shares and bonds........................ 0
    Car(s).................................. 1000
    Other assets............................ 0
    Total Assets............................ 1230


    No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts


    Unsecured Debts
    Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
    Capital One....................300.......0.........NaN
    Barclaycard....................6800......0.........NaN
    Total unsecured debts..........7100......0.........-



    Monthly Budget Summary

    Total monthly income.................... 1,814
    Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 951
    Available for debt repayments........... 863
    Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
    Amount left after debt repayments....... 863


    Personal Balance Sheet Summary
    Total assets (things you own)........... 1,230
    Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
    Total Unsecured debt.................... -7,100
    Net Assets.............................. -5,870


    Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
    Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
  • WantToBeSE
    WantToBeSE Posts: 7,729 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped! Debt-free and Proud!
    Explanations for my SOA:

    -I put £48 in the landline section, and nothing in the mobile and internet sections. This is because i pay £48 a month for internet, landline and mobile.

    -I have put £0 in the rent section as my rent is paid in full by HB which gets paid straight to the LL.

    -£60 water rates...sigh..yes, this is the actual amount. Living in Cornwall has it's downsides, and the extortionate water rates is one of the main ones. I am aiming to reduce this by at LEAST £10 a month.

    -£250 Groceries. I have been spending WAY MORE than this over the past 6 months. My son has Autism and can be very funny when it comes to textures and types of food that he will eat. 1 minute he will only eat tuna and chips, the next minute it'll be salad and potatoes. So stocking up on his favourite things isn't really possible either.

    -Clothing/car maintenance/pet expenses. Currently i save £0 towards these, so i have put something in here because lets face it...my cat is getting older and may need some extra vet visits (she is now 12 and never had any health problems at all). My car is now 12 years old too and although it has sailed through every MOT without a problem, that wont last forever! And we all need new clothes every now and again!

    -Other travel, £60 a month is for my younger son to get the bus to school.

    So on paper i have plenty of money to throw towards my debt if i stick to this budget.
  • WantToBeSE
    WantToBeSE Posts: 7,729 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped! Debt-free and Proud!
    I'm really pleased with myself, i have not spent any money at all today.
    That's the first day in a long time, and i hope it's the first of many!

    I've been making more things from scratch now, as i have a big pantry which i have stocked (i did a £116 shop with Sainsburys). What i have in there has to last me a month, but it'll be plenty of food. I have lots of beans and chickpeas to make veggie burgers, loads of tinned tomatoes to make pasta/bolognaise/chilli sauces, lots of lentils to make veggies chilli etc.

    So i only have £80 for the rest of the month for food, but i SHOULD only need fruit and veg, and bread products for breakfasts etc.

    I am meeting a friend for coffee tomorrow, so will spend a few £'s in Costa. But ANY food or drink spends come from the grocery budget, so that'll come from the £80 i just mentioned.
  • WantToBeSE
    WantToBeSE Posts: 7,729 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped! Debt-free and Proud!
    So as of yesterday, I have transferred all of my debt (£6K) apart from £200 onto a Barclaycard that had an intro offer of 0% on balance transfers for 25 months.

    So the current balance of my CC debt stands at £6255.81 :eek:
    That's a scary number!

    I also owe a gardening company almost £1K for some work they are doing to my garden. When i took on this house, i knew that i had to fence the garden and get someone in to sort it out. It was so overgrown that it was damaging and creeping into the neighbours gardens. So part of my tenancy agreement included having to get that work done ASAP.

    I am feeling slightly daunted by the big amount. I am already failing at the grocery budget..and am wondering if £250 is an unrealistic amount right now. We have been used to spending more like £400 so i have pretty much halved it instantly.

    Struggling a little bit to stay optimistic already :(
  • tori.k
    tori.k Posts: 3,592 Forumite
    Not unrealistic longterm but short term would probably work out better to reduce it each month until the family get used to the adjustments.
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