Looking for advice (& a lottery win?..)

DashDotCom

Guys, please, my dog is not being left outside in a bush. She will be indoors, warm, fed and watered. I appreciate the concern for my dog, but she's been flown over from Cyprus as a rescue dog from the streets. She's made of tough stuff.

Unfortunately all of my family live over 300 miles away so I can't call on them to help.

I drive a Mini Cooper 1.6. 2006 plate. I'm 6 months into the three and a half year HP agreement. I agree with you all that this is the area that needs to be reviewed. If I managed to sell the car for its value of around 3100 the finance is 5000 (with warranty and GAP insurance included). I'd be liable to pay for the remaining grand or so left. Right?

I passed my test at 21. I had a car but only for a year and a half. I then got rid and used my feet for about 6 years. I've moved out of the city again and thought a new car was the answer to all of my commuting woes. At 28, with 0 years no claims discount my insurance is a very high 1100 quid!! I live in Wilsmlow in Cheshire which is quite a nice area (explains the council tax being high) and would probably also explain why my insurance is higher than usual. I've ran through a very brief quote for next year using my 1 year NCD and the annual premium comes down to around 550/650 a year.

Pixie5740

Why won't you answer the question about how many hours a day your dog will be left home alone? It doesn't matter if the dog will be be kept inside or outside, I know plenty of healthy and happy outdoor dogs. What matters is your dog getting the attention and stimulation it requires.

It's also in your interest to ensure your dog doesn't become anxious or bored otherwise it will chew your possessions to pieces and leave presents for you all over your home.

another_casualty

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Why won't you answer the question about how many hours a day your dog will be left home alone? It doesn't matter if the dog will be be kept inside or outside, I know plenty of healthy and happy outdoor dogs. What matters is your dog getting the attention and stimulation it requires.

It's also in your interest to ensure your dog doesn't become anxious or bored otherwise it will chew your possessions to pieces and leave presents for you all over your home.

Yes! Nail on head !
That dog will be very bored and lonely . Not impressed at all

Pixie5740

Tackling your money woes means being realistic with your budget. £15 a month for a dog is not realistic especially if you have to factor in paying for a dog walker.

From what you've written I don't think you have either the time nor the money for a dog and that it would probably be kindest all round to re-home the dog.

DashDotCom

Again, appreciate the comments but you're reading too much into this.

I made this SOA on my lunch break. I put £15 Against the pet insurance as that's exactly what it asked.

If I knew exactly how much I spend on my dog or in any area of my life do you think I would be in this position. No.

In a previous post I mentioned that she has enough food for the next three months. This is because we buy the best for her. My food cupboard currently looks like something from the harvest festival. So many tins. Did you know you can get chicken jalfrezi in a tin? Well, unfortunately I found out, it's not that nice.

All of the above doesn't even begin to mention the help she gives to my fianc! who suffers from anxiety.

So again, please refrain from judgement and making flippant recommendations like re-homing my dog..

sourcrates

Ok, back to the subject in hand.

People tend to get carried away a little on here sometimes.

I don't think an IVA would be suitable for you to be honest, I'm a little unsure why that's been recommended by stepchange when your debt is so low (comparatively).

I would say a debt management plan would better suit your needs.

One or two things could be cut back on from your SOA (not the dog obviously).

But I think you should look into getting a DMP put in place.

Pixie5740

I wasn't being flippant about re-homing your dog, I was being deadly serious. You have neither the time nor the money to adequately care for a dog.

You said you bought 3 months worth of biscuits but dogs cannot live on biscuits alone. Now you're going on about chicken jalfrezi in a tin. Going forward if you're determined to keep the dog you need to get a handle on how much it will cost you.

Clearly you're not good at thinking through how much things will cost otherwise you wouldn't be in the position you are in. The same can be said for many people on this board.

DCFC79

DashDotCom wrote: »

My Mobile phone payments will be going down to £13.00 a month as of June 2017 - I currently run two contracts as I was mugged at the beginning of this year so was left without a phone (didn't have insurance at the time). So I think that covers that part.

You're right with the car though - it is a sore spot at the moment. I have to park the car close to my office as I run home to the new puppy at lunch times to make sure she's ok and not died. Once shes old enough and I don't feel the need to make sure shes breathing every four hours I will find some off road parking and free up all of my parking money.

I had thought about dropping the sky - especially since my friends are using Firesticks or something? Does anyone have any good alternatives? Would still need to pay for my internet etc though.

Can I just ask a question, is that normal when you get a phone stolen off you ?

I thought the network would cancel/block the sim and phone that was stolen and send you another phone and sim to carry on as you were.

Dobbibill

DashDotCom wrote: »

I drive a Mini Cooper 1.6. 2006 plate. I'm 6 months into the three and a half year HP agreement. I agree with you all that this is the area that needs to be reviewed.

Is there anyway you can reduce your parking costs?
Parking 10 mins further away for a lesser cost maybe.

At 28, with 0 years no claims discount my insurance is a very high 1100 quid!!

It is on the high side but hopefully it will reduce in time.

You need to weigh up the commuting costs without the car v's the costs incurred with the car. Only you can make that decision. At the end of the day, you still need to get to work.

There are other areas of your SOA you can work as a priority to help you snowball your debt.

When you have the APRs, have a play with this snowball calculator and see how long it will take you to pay everything off. (Highest APR first should save you the most in interest)

Pixie5740

DCFC79 wrote: »

Can I just ask a question, is that normal when you get a phone stolen off you ?

I thought the network would cancel/block the sim and phone that was stolen and send you another phone and sim to carry on as you were.

A new sim yes but you only receive a replacement handset if you have insurance.