Carlih1's debt diary! SOA now added! Please help someone

carlih1

Hi all,

I am going to start my own debt diary but am in a bit of a pickle, i know what my soa is as below.

Income £1266.17

Rent £217.71
Council tax £77.00
Electricity £30.00 on (monthly dd plan)
Gas £30.00 on (monthly dd plan)
Water £26.77
Telephone £24.00
Mobile phone £60.00
Internet is free with mobile contract!
TV licence £11.61
Sky [strike]£37.95 [/strike]NOW £18.00 per month including free calls
home insurance £19.33
Groceries £200.00 (for three of us i think is quite a lot)
Petrol £70.00
Car insurance £22.91
Bank fee £12.50

Outgoings - £839.78

Debts -

Littlewoods £691.64 - They want £99 payment monthly
Vertbaudet £246.54 - paying £50.00 monthly
Busy bees - £737.77 - paying £20.00 monthly
Argos - £121.98
Coment - £132.80
Additions - £58.87

Debt £1,989.60 ( have done quite well i think this time last year it was £2847.95)


This is taking me a while sorry, but i have a situation to deal with, i am currently signed off from work with depression, my work offers me four weeks full pay four weeks half pay and then SSP, i know i had some time off in May because i broke my toe which was about three weeks in total, but at the time i had only been there long enough to get two weeks full pay and then ssp!

The problem i am having is this, my wages will go down to £29.05 soon a week, if not already this gives me about £120.00 a month from income instead of £600/£700. I am still getting tax credits at about £150 per week, but in total that comes to about £720.00 a month.

Out of that i have to pay £217 on rent and £77 on council tax. What i am wondering is if i will be better off going on benefits to get my rent and council tax paid and my little girls school dinners for free until i am able to work again, ( i can't see it for the foreseeable future).

Would also greatly appreciate some tips for my debt diary, what to put in etc.

Thanks again for all your help guys

Carli x

carlih1

To start off with i think i need to get my bills down.

Littlewoods are going on at me even though i sent them a letter saying that i would pay £50 per month, they didn't reply and now keep ringing me, the thing is now i can't pay £50 per month.

I was thinking of switching from sky and bt to Virgin media although there is a £150 installation fee.

My mobile bill will be going down as in November i can upgrade and get unlimited texts and calls for £30 per month (which is less than i would spend on payg)

Will have to ebay lots and lots of thing, i have some old kiddies clothes and sheds full of stuff, literally just stuff it all needs to go down the dump or get sold so will have to have a go through the sheds day!

Any other ideas? ?? ?? ?? ??

Carli x

Karmacat

carlih1 wrote: »

Hi all,
Income £1266.17

Rent £291.61
Council tax £119.31 This seems high for one adult, no matter how many little children are also in the house!
Electricity £30.00 on (monthly dd plan)
Gas £30.00 on (monthly dd plan) Uh, ditto.
Water £26.77
Telephone £24.00
Mobile phone £60.00
Internet is free with mobile contract! Even so, that mobile is high! How come you spend that much?
TV licence £11.61
Sky £37.95 Can you reduce the package? That seems very high.
home insurance £19.33
Groceries £200.00 (for three of us i think is quite a lot)Yes, it probably could come down. go to the Moneysaving Old Style Board for some great ideas.
Petrol £70.00
Car insurance £22.91There are other car expenses, surely?
Bank fee £12.50 If this is for your main account, read Martin's articles - you really don't need to pay a fee to have an account.

Outgoings - £955.99

Debts -

Littlewoods £691.64 - They want £99 payment monthly
Vertbaudet £246.54 - paying £50.00 monthly
Busy bees - £737.77 - paying £20.00 monthly
Argos - £121.98
Coment - £132.80
Additions - £58.87

You probably need to go to the top of this Board, and look at the "sticky" by southernscouser, about an soa and how to fill one out - these need APRs, for instance.

Debt £1,989.60 ( have done quite well i think this time last year it was £2847.95)
Good for you!

I think when i pay everything i have set up it gives me £141.18, which just seems to go on nothing as i never have anything left at the end of the month.
Okay, then as well as doing your soa, you need to start a spending diary, you write down Every Single Thing (:rotfl: ) that you spend - coffee, a paper, an extra ribbonfor one of the girls, all of it. That will tell you where that £141 is going, and how to get hold of it!

This is taking me a while sorry, but i have a situation to deal with, i am currently signed off from work with depression, my work offers me four weeks full pay four weeks half pay and then SSP, i know i had some time off in May because i broke my toe which was about three weeks in total, but at the time i had only been there long enough to get two weeks full pay and then ssp!

Depression is horrible, are you getting help from your doctor/a local self help group, an internet self help group?

The problem i am having is this, my wages will go down to £29.05 soon a week, if not already this gives me about £120.00 a month from income instead of £600/£700. I am still getting tax credits at about £150 per week, but in total that comes to about £720.00 a month.

Out of that i have to pay £217 on rent and £77 on council tax. What i am wondering is if i will be better off going on benefits to get my rent and council tax paid and my little girls school dinners for free until i am able to work again, ( i can't see it for the foreseeable future).

I've no idea about benefits, I'm afraid, but check out www.entitled.co.uk to find things out. Sorry I can't help more on that.
Would also greatly appreciate some tips for my debt diary, what to put in etc.

Thanks again for all your help guys

Carli x

As I say, check out southernscouser's sticky, and put down everything you can. Martin's budget planner is great too, tho it looks like you've already used that - well done you! You're doing fine, in general, just got a bit of a blip with the broken toe, and you also sound like you're ready to move up a gear. Great stuff! Keep going!

blueneleh

Hi,

Just to add a couple of things:
If you are able to upgrade your mobile soon does that mean you are coming to the end of your contract?
If so, firstly, read Martins article on this under 'utilities / phones' tab and you should be able to bargain a good deal to stay with them.
Secondly, have you looked around at deals other networks are offering? There are some pretty good deals out at the moment e.g. 3 offer £15/month for life for 250 mins (any network anytime) and 50 texts, or £20/month for life for 500mins and 100 texts.
It may be worthwhile to look at swapping.

Also, you say your mobile covers your internet costs but see what Sky offer - as you already have a package with them (although you may be planning to cancel it) you may be able to get your internet / phone in with them. If not how about Talk Talk for home phone and broadband?

HTH:D

shell_girl

Don't bother switching to Virgin Media- at the moment you can't afford it.

If you've had your contract with Sky for more than a year, call them up and say

"I'd like to cancel my subscription with immediate effect- and I'm not really interested in staying on any type of monthly payment plan. I'd also like to purchase a Free To Air card for £20, I understand that this will give me approx three years access to all of the free to air channels".

You'll save yourself £17.50 for the first month and £37.50 per month therafter. I've written it down like that for you because this is NOT a service that Sky will ever refer to- you have to ask for it for them to agree to give it you.

carlih1

Karmacat,

My council tax is now £77.00 per month, i am on band d on my own, but the council mucked up my housing benefit before which is why the monthly payments were so high.

I am terrible with my mobile, since my bf and i split up i text my friends all the time because i get bored and a bit lonely, i know it's ridiculous but it is all that is keeping me going at the moment and as i say in November it will be back down to £30 per month.

Regarding my car expenses, my mum has my child benefit go into an account in her name that i cannot touch this pays for tax and servicing throughout the year, also has covered birthday and christmas pressents, which is a life saver.

I have sky plus, i am addicted to it, as it tapes all my favourite programmes, it costs me an extra £10 per month.

Yes really should change my bank account.

carlih1

blueneleh wrote: »

Hi,

Just to add a couple of things:
If you are able to upgrade your mobile soon does that mean you are coming to the end of your contract?
If so, firstly, read Martins article on this under 'utilities / phones' tab and you should be able to bargain a good deal to stay with them.
Secondly, have you looked around at deals other networks are offering? There are some pretty good deals out at the moment e.g. 3 offer £15/month for life for 250 mins (any network anytime) and 50 texts, or £20/month for life for 500mins and 100 texts.
It may be worthwhile to look at swapping.

Also, you say your mobile covers your internet costs but see what Sky offer - as you already have a package with them (although you may be planning to cancel it) you may be able to get your internet / phone in with them. If not how about Talk Talk for home phone and broadband?

HTH:D

Hi my contract ends in february but i can upgrade in november, i don't really think changing will help me though as i use 500 plus texts per month, i have had a look around and this seems to be the best solution.

Will never ever ever go back with talk talk had nothing but problems with them and ended up going to court!

Thanks for your advice. x

carlih1

shell_girl wrote: »

Don't bother switching to Virgin Media- at the moment you can't afford it.

If you've had your contract with Sky for more than a year, call them up and say

"I'd like to cancel my subscription with immediate effect- and I'm not really interested in staying on any type of monthly payment plan. I'd also like to purchase a Free To Air card for £20, I understand that this will give me approx three years access to all of the free to air channels".

You'll save yourself £17.50 for the first month and £37.50 per month therafter. I've written it down like that for you because this is NOT a service that Sky will ever refer to- you have to ask for it for them to agree to give it you.

Hi what is this free to air card, i'm not enthused with giving up my sky plus but needs must!

Thanks

blueneleh

carlih1 wrote: »

Will never ever ever go back with talk talk had nothing but problems with them and ended up going to court!

Oh dear, better off staying away from them then!:rotfl:

carlih1

Karmacat wrote: »

This is taking me a while sorry, but i have a situation to deal with, i am currently signed off from work with depression, my work offers me four weeks full pay four weeks half pay and then SSP, i know i had some time off in May because i broke my toe which was about three weeks in total, but at the time i had only been there long enough to get two weeks full pay and then ssp!

Depression is horrible, are you getting help from your doctor/a local self help group, an internet self help group?

My doctor has given me anti depressants and is sending me for counselling, i have no idea how long the wait is though. What are local, or internet self help groups?

Karmacat wrote: »

As I say, check out southernscouser's sticky, and put down everything you can. Martin's budget planner is great too, tho it looks like you've already used that - well done you! You're doing fine, in general, just got a bit of a blip with the broken toe, and you also sound like you're ready to move up a gear. Great stuff! Keep going!

I will have a look at the sticky, i did use martins budget planner a while ago but haven't recently.

blueneleh

carlih1 wrote: »

My doctor has given me anti depressants and is sending me for counselling, i have no idea how long the wait is though. What are local, or internet self help groups?quote]

Just to chip in on this - I work as a mental health nurse and know that counselling can take some weeks (sometimes months depending on demand for services) but can be very effective, especially, CBT work.

I know some people who have found it very helpful to log into sites such as www.ivillage.co.uk which have message boards on 'coping with depression' where people in the same situation can discuss this with each other and give each other support.
If you have been feeling lonely recently (hugs) you may find this comforting too.
I know how debilitating depression can be so wish you a very speedy recovery!