Back to being a DFW..AGAIN! 30 July 2016 at 10:24AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Debt Free Diaries 149 replies 19.1K views

WantToBeSE

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.

Buffythedebtslayer

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

I shall be following with interest

XXX

milasavesmoney

Subscribed. You sound seriously motivated and willing to do what it takes to care for your son. I think that's so incredibly wonderful!

WantToBeSE

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

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

milasavesmoney wrote: »

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not unrealistic longterm but short term would probably work out better to reduce it each month until the family get used to the adjustments.