£7k in 7months?

briarrose_2

I have £7k of debt and I want to pay it off by April/May time. Does anyone know if this could be at all possible? Are there reliable ways of making extra money on top of my current wage? I bring home around £1700 a month, but this will reduce in May. My outgoings come to £820, i've reduced everything I can. I don't really go out so it's not like I can cut back on leisure activities

EssexHebridean

welcome to DFW Briarrose!

First stop is an SOA (Statement of affairs) as until you have that in place there's a limit to how much constructive help can be offered. You'll find the link to the SOA calculator in the sticky post at the top of the board. Fill it in, post it in here and we can take a look.

briarrose_2

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1684
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1684

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 368
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 141
Electricity............................. 58
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 12
TV Licence.............................. 24
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 22.99
Groceries etc. ......................... 80
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 53
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 45
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 27
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 975.99


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card 1..................3211......112.......34.9
Credit Card 2 .................3849......178.......34.9
Total unsecured debts..........7060......290.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,684
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 975.99
Available for debt repayments........... 708.01
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 290
Amount left after debt repayments....... 418.01

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -7,060
Net Assets.............................. -5,060

Created using the SOA calculator at ww stoozing com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

The awkward moment when you find out your outgoings are higher than you thought!

briarrose_2

also, the £58 for gas is dual fuel. I pay £58 for both my gas and electiricity and the 22.99 for broadband also includes landline and phone line

cms-help

Your council tax seems very high compared to your rent.

briarrose_2

I live in a 2 bed semi detached house, my council tax is high

sourcrates

Not much room for manoeuvre in that budget OP.

Only £80 a month (£20 a week) on food ? Really ?

Do you really have a surplus £400 left at month end ?

Is there any reason for the tight schedule at all ?

MrsTinks

briarrose wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1684
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1684

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 368
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 141 - quite high - are you paying arrears?
Electricity............................. 58 - Knock the thermostat down a few degress - it all helps
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0 ? included in rent?
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 12
TV Licence.............................. 24
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 22.99
Groceries etc. ......................... 80 Not much to reduce but you could maybe shave a few pounds here but that's pretty decent
Clothing................................ 0 really?
Petrol/diesel........................... 80 Can you lift share?
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 53 Over £600 pa - have you shopped around for this?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 45 Are there cheaper alternatives? even if it means walking a bit each way
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 27 Multiple pets? if so where is the food accounted for?
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 975.99

There is a litt e room to shave a few pounds off here and there, but realistically not enough to bring you to £1000 a month.

It IS the season to be jolly so ther are lots of seasonal jobs going - could you get an extra job at weekends/evenings to add a second income to really hit this debt?

There are ultimately always 2 ways to close an earning gap: earn more or spend less... You're not living a frivolous life looking at your SOA so increasing income would be the logical solution

MrsTinks

briarrose wrote: »

I live in a 2 bed semi detached house, my council tax is high

Can you let out the other room?

briarrose_2

sourcrates wrote: »

Not much room for manoeuvre in that budget OP.

Only £80 a month (£20 a week) on food ? Really ?

Do you really have a surplus £400 left at month end ?

Is there any reason for the tight schedule at all ?

Yeah, I menu plan and stick to it, cook in bulk, buy reduced meat and freeze etc. I womble too so I save money doing that.

I'm pregnant and due in June so I'd like to be as close to debt free as possible by then. I know it sounds silly, but I don't want to be worrying about being in debt when I have a baby lol

briarrose_2

MrsTinks wrote: »

Can you let out the other room?

I could, but it would have to be short term as i'm pregnant and will want that room for the baby. do you know how I could go around letting the room out?