Think I've had a light bulb moment .... SOA just Added

kazza292_2

I'm so scared but determined to change and I think I have the worst debt than anyone..I hold my head in shame most of the time . I have never missed a payment but am so worried about things spiralling out of control so it's time to stop ,game over...
I will try and post Soa later..
Loans add up to 45000 including husband , approx,,car loans that keep expanding basically
Credit cards approx 16000 including husbands
No savings
Shine a light this is scary.im so ashamed and scared
I'm a nurse ,husband police staff , I daughter 8 who I buy too much for. ...and we do have some spare money each month approx £600 but anything big always goes on a card as I find it difficult to save as debenhams is calling... I need to swap my addiction to watch my savings grow ,just need a kick start.. Husband is on board.. Although he says everything is fine ....
Any reasureance much appreciated
Karen

lazer-zxr

Well done on posting, and congrats on your Light Bulb Moment.
Your little project is about to start, and this is a great opportunity for you to achieve a feat you can be proud of.

You've got a little more than I started with 18 months ago, but I can tell you it gets better, and you'll feel secretly great about yourself seeing your financial situation improve.

Get a SOA (Statement Of Affairs) posted up, and we'll all chip in to get you started.

Its a challenge, take it on, and achieve!

kazza292_2

Thankyou for replying

EssexHebridean

well done for having the LBM - it all gets easier from this point. As Lazer says above, get your SOA done and posted and we'll take a look - and I just BET there are savings there that you wouldn't even have dreamed of!

One thing that is good is that you are aware that you spend too much on your daughter, but you've realised it while she's young enough that you can gently curb it back without her even noticing. Time to start things of fun things to do, not fun things to buy - and trust me it's those experiences she'll remember as she gets older, not pricey toys or flashy clothes.

You can almost ignore the loans for the moment as long as you're able to make the payments - they'll just carry on with the payments going out until you've cleared the CC debt. Start as a matter of urgency building an emergency fund too - aim to get that to £1000 before you worry about too much else.

You can deal with this - you just need to work out how you're best to do it.

kazza292_2

Thanks so much .x on my dinner break feeling quite excited about the challenge ahead and not so ashamed

enthusiasticsaver

You need to both be on board with this so you will need your husband to admit there is a problem too as you need to work as a team. You will be setting a great example for your daughter by addressing this now. She is only 8 so I am sure she is not bothered about expensive things.

If you have £600 spare each month you should be able to reduce this quite quickly even if you were to put £100 in savings each month for an emergency fund and say £400 towards your debt. First thing to do is get the credit cards on to 0% deals if your credit ratings are good and stop using the cards. Debenhams store card interest rate is horrific so don't leave a balance on that.

horseygirl2014

Well done on your LBM!

Its really good that both of you are on board, however i think your husband may have a bit more of a shock when you start cutting back. Hes admitted there is a problem, which is a huge help. ( Many years back, dad had to buy the business, and had no idea how little mum would have to spend on for all expenses. )

We'll have a look at your SOA when you get it done. The more information you can add to it, the more you will realise where your money goes. Hopefully we'll be able to point in the right direction
Don't forget to keep a track of the pennies!
Your Little girls only 8, which means that you can cut back without her realizing.

Have a look at how much interest you are paying, and see if you can move your money around to reduce your minimum payments, whilst using the rest of the money to cut your outstanding balance.

kazza292_2

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1650
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1950
Benefits................................ 82
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3682

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 590
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 130
Electricity............................. 45
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 55
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 70
TV Licence.............................. 10
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 45
Internet Services....................... 12
Groceries etc. ......................... 400
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 5
Car Insurance........................... 75
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40
Other child related expenses............ 10
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 20
Contents insurance...................... 20
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 10
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 60
Haircuts................................ 40
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2190


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 145000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 12000
Other assets............................ 4000
Total Assets............................ 161000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 108000...(590)......2.39
Total secured & HP debts...... 108000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
loan tesco.....................20.5......281.......3.4
loan nationwide................20000.....370.......3.9
cc mbna........................5800......87........18.9
santander car..................5000......125.......NaN
barclaycard cc.................8100......165.......0
barclaycard cc.................2200......50........17.9
Total unsecured debts..........41120.5...1078......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,682
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,190
Available for debt repayments........... 1,492
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,078
Amount left after debt repayments....... 414

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 161,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -108,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -41,120.5
Net Assets.............................. 11,879.5

[/tt]

EssexHebridean

Usual - comments in red...

kazza292 wrote: »

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1650
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1950
Benefits................................ 82
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3682

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 590
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 130
Electricity............................. 45 have you done the usual comparisons to see if this, and the gas, can be reduced at all?
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 55 This is high - are you on a meter? May be worth considering if you're not - but take advice specific to your local area.
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 70 Ouch - could do with getting this down!
TV Licence.............................. 10 12.12 I think, isn't it?
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 45 is this a package - landline, TV & internet together? If so worth a phone call to your provider to tell them how much you want to stay with them but sadly their high cost is making it unlikely... they're pretty much certain to drop it!
Internet Services....................... 12
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 Start by knocking £100 off this. Meal plan and shop to a list. Go and see the nice people on the Old Style idea for ideas!
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 5
Car Insurance........................... 75 high even for 2 cars - have you checked whether costs can be reduced?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30 where is this being kept? You're not showing any cash assets?
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40
Other child related expenses............ 10
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 20
Contents insurance...................... 20 Worth looking at a comparison site or two to see if this can reduce?
Life assurance ......................... 0 Give this one some thought - you need at least a basic policy that will clear the mortgage if something happens to one of you
Other insurance......................... 10
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 60 This is high, but bearing in mind your income and surplus it's not critical.
Haircuts................................ 40 £480 a year? That sounds pretty pricey to me...
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 0 You already know what's going to be said here don't you. Priority - emergency fund of £1000.
Total monthly expenses.................. 2190


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 145000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 12000
Other assets............................ 4000
Total Assets............................ 161000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 108000...(590)......2.39
Total secured & HP debts...... 108000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
loan tesco.....................20.5......281.......3.4 Check your figure on this one - guessing that out to say 20,500 not 20.5?
loan nationwide................20000.....370.......3.9
cc mbna........................5800......87........18.9
santander car..................5000......125.......NaN
barclaycard cc.................8100......165.......0
barclaycard cc.................2200......50........17.9
Total unsecured debts..........41120.5...1078......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,682
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,190
Available for debt repayments........... 1,492
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,078
Amount left after debt repayments....... 414 Do you actually have this amount left each month? If not then you need a spending diary to see where the money is actually going

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 161,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -108,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -41,120.5
Net Assets.............................. 11,879.5

[/tt]

Not such a glum picture at all when you income is taken into consideration but you're absolutely right to get it dealt with - you're only a step away from going under should one of you end up out of work for example. Prioritise the cards, and as usual pay in order of highest interest rates first. Get that emergency fund sorted as a priority, and ensure that all the stuff you say you're budgeting for monthly is having the money set aside. Then you should be able to find £600 a month to throw at the debt - and more if you're really determined. You can get that MBNA card gone inside a year and then make short work of the next one. Ignore the loans for the moment - yes they're high but the interest rates are about as good as you're going to get.

Good luck!

kazza292_2

Will I have to alter soa .2nd loan is 20.500 but repayment is right

EssexHebridean

So long as you know that the final summary figure is currenty 20k out on the unsecured debt, I'd say don't go through the hassle of redoing it just for that, to be honest.