29, single, living with parents and in debt, please help.

Ashleigh2610

So as the title suggests I'm 29, single & living with my parents.
I currently have an £11k loan, £2k credit card, £220 overdraft, £150 very account and my car is on pcp finance.

I earn on average around £1600-£2000 a month but all my bills (I don't even pay rent!!) come to around £900.

My initial 2017 plan was to pay double loan payments, but each month something comes up, a birthday or some kind of expense, I was off sick in jan so this months pay will be rubbish! I've recently don't a 0% balance transfer for 18 months on my cc.

I've got a holiday for my birthday in April, my parents booked the flights as a surprise present & ive got to pay for spends etc I just feel like each month something happens that stops me saving or paying off... and I need to stop spending to help my depression as we all know it just makes it worse. I'm just dreading the thought of turning 30 next year and being with my parents, single, while I resent my friends 😔 Sounds sad I know...

angelpye

Hi, the good thing is you do have money left over after bills. Best thing to do is a SOA which you will find in the sticky at the top of forum then all the ones that have the know how will make suggestions - some about cutting your bills and others on best way to pay down i.e. which order of debts etc.

There will always be something so you need to set a budget for fun money and stick to it if you really want to get rid of the debt.

angelpye

Once you have a budget set its amazing how good it can feel to stick to it.

Ashleigh2610

angelpye wrote: »

Hi, the good thing is you do have money left over after bills. Best thing to do is a SOA which you will find in the sticky at the top of forum then all the ones that have the know how will make suggestions - some about cutting your bills and others on best way to pay down i.e. which order of debts etc.

There will always be something so you need to set a budget for fun money and stick to it if you really want to get rid of the debt.

I tried to find that sticky but I couldn't find it?! Or was it just me looking in the wrong place? 😳

Ashleigh2610

Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

Summary

Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 1,700
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 1,372.88
Available for debt repayments 327.12
UNsecured debt repayments 68
Amount left after debt repayments 259.12
Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 0
Total Secured & HP Debt -34,000
Total Unsecured Debt -2,220
Net Assets -36,220
Household Information

Number of adults in household 1
Number of children in household 0
Number of cars owned 1
Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 1700
Partners monthly income 0
Benefits 0
Other income 0
Total monthly income 1700
Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 0
Secured/HP loan payments 810
Rent 0
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 0
Electricity 0
Gas 0
Oil 0
Water Rates 0
Telephone (land line) 0
Mobile phone 60
TV Licence 0
Satellite/Cable TV 0
Internet services 0
Groceries etc. 120
Clothing 50
Petrol/diesel 120
Road tax 2.5
Car Insurance 67
Car maintenance (including MOT) 0
Car Parking 0
Other travel 0
Childcare/nursery 0
Other child related expenses 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 8.4
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 0
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 0
Life Assurance 0
Other Insurance 6.99
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 55
Haircuts 12
Entertainment 5.99
Holiday 55
Emergency Fund 0
Total monthly expenses 1372.88
Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 0 (0) 0
Secured Debt 11000 (540) 0
Hire Purchase (HP) Debt 23000 (270) 0
Secured & HP Debt totals 34000 - -
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Credit card 1850 50 0
Very 150 6 0
Overdraft 220 12 0
Unsecured Debt totals 2220 68 -
Asset Description Value (£)
Cash 0
House Value (Gross) 0
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 0
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets 0
Comments on the results

You have sufficient monthly income to meet your expenses and your minimum monthly debt repayments with £259.12 left over. You can use this to pay off your debts more quickly or to build/top-up an emergency fund. Your total secured debt is greater than the value of your house. Is this correct? Whatever your results show, it always pays to seek advice or comments from others. Why not post your SOA details on our Debt Management discussion board or on your preferred discussion forum elsewhere. Thankyou for using the SOA Calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.

ada-or-ardor

Welcome! First of all, I think you're going to have to come to terms with things being the same when you hit the big 3-0, on the money front that is! This is a significant amount of debt that you're obviously struggling to pay off, so you're not going to get it paid in a year. 30 is just a number, don't pressurise yourself into meeting goals that are unattainable for insignificant reasons, and then be disappointed when you don't attain said goals...

Firstly, you need to accept that you need a budget. I know things come up like birthdays etc, and this holiday from your parents is a lovely gesture but one that you can't afford. You need to decide what your priority is. If it's having a good social life and keeping up with society's pressure to spend, then fine. But if it's clearing your debts in quite a short amount of time, things have to change. People's bday gifts may have to be put on hold. Do your parents know you're struggling with money, and the extent of that? If not, I think you may need to have a Frank discussion with them about it to prevent them doing nice things that you can't afford. All just some food for thought.

I assume you don't have £200 left over every month? I think you need a spending diary urgently. Look back over your 3 months of bank statements and see where your leaks are. What are you spending money on that isn't in the SOA, and then see what you can reduce. I imagine you didn't use real bank statements to put together your SOA - if you do that I think you'll see a more realistic picture in your SOA that will probably show a deficit, and will be wildly different from the first one you've posted. And don't worry, that's totally normal - we all forget things and underestimate what we spend.

If you like shopping, have you got any items you can sell online to bring in a bit of money?

When I first read your post I thought "with that income, just pay off very in full one month right after pay day and be done with it, then do the same with the OD the next month" then start chipping away at the other debts after doing a snowball calculator and seeing what you should pay off first. But I suspect you need a big mindshift before this can happen because I suspect you don't have £200 left each month. So where is it all going?

If you don't mind me asking, what was the £11k loan for? Do you have anything to account for it? Was it consolidation of previous debt and since then youve taken out the Cc, the very and gone into your OD? I'm just trying to ascertain what has led you to this position you're in, because if you don't address that, it's all just a sticking plaster and in 3 years time you'll be back with 2 new credit cards in addition to your current debts.

Good luck, I hope none of this has sounded too harsh :-) I also hope you're managing your depression as best you can, and try as hard as you can not to beat yourself up over this. It doesn't make you a bad person, you've just made a few dodgy decisions along the way, but haven't we all!!? It sounds like you have a lot to be grateful for, including what sounds like a great relationship with your parents who seem very supportive!

Ada

Kitten868

I think you really need to rethink that car! youre paying £540 a month for it. That's a mortgage on a car. give it back or whatever it is but that is going to make a huge difference. I'm not totally against pcp. we have it because it was 0% finance and we got £3k taken off the price for doing it. but i think this is an overstretch.
you're income is great and you have little outgoings. give back the car and have a few frugal months really hitting the debt and youll feel in control.
taking control of your debt is really empowering and will help in other areas of your life too. xxx

Ashleigh2610

It's my loan that is £540!

I get paid a different amount each month so that's hard because I never know what I'm getting. Some months I have £300 left and some I have £600. Honestly, I eat out far too much and that is a huge thing.

The debt started off as being 18 and allowed a cc... young and stupid! And gradually just got out of control more cc and consolidation over the years. I also wouldn't say I'm struggling to pay off my debts I do live comfortably each month but I think if I'm honest I can pay a lot more off each month I think I just kid myself I can't "just in case"

I also do go on far too many holidays �� And yes my parent know about my debt as I always complain about it and wanting to move out etc but then I just carry on as I am... as I say I think it's because they know I'm not struggling like I do have money every month... hope that makes sense and thank you so much for your in depth response Ada x

bellaboo86

As said, it will not be paid off by the time your 30 but at least you will be setting yourself up in good financial habits for the next decade of your life.
You have put £120 for groceries. Do your parents let you live rent free as long as you pay for your food or is this monthly spend on lunches? You also put 5.99 for entertainment. This seems really low. is it accurate?
I think with a bit of effort you can clear the very account and overdraft in 1 month.
As Kitten has said, £540 is a lot for a car. That is actually more than the mortgage on my house.

Money_Rollercoaster

My priorities, if I were you ...


Get clear of your Very account debt and stop using Very, unless you have budgeted to pay the account balance when your statement (?) comes.


Clear your overdraft and prepare a budget that allows you to save an amount every month, toward emergencies, special treats and things like birthdays / weddings etc / moving out. Your budget should include a payment toward your CC. Divide your balance by the months remaining on 0% (I normally deduct a month) and that should be your monthly CC payment - ditch paying minimums (if you are) and set your DD payment for your budgeted payment. Get the account details / sort code etc you would need to make additional payments against the card and have those ready so you can overpay against your CC debt as and when possible. DO NOT USE the CC for shopping under any circumstances.


I had CC debts and a loan which was a consolidation of previous CC / loan debts. The only way I have got (reasonably) square has been to budget every month and be diligent about paying as much as I can off my debts every month. It's taken me more than 3 years to clear that debt, but even though it has been hard going, I feel all the better for it. I think you'll feel the same, you can look at this as the first page of a new chapter ...

zippygeorgeandben

Hello,
A few bits of advice I'd pass on to you.
1) £60 for a mobile? Reading between the lines in your posts I'm thinking this is a fairly new smartphone. This needs to be reduced.
2) You talk about variable pay. Do you get paid monthly? and on what day of the month? Let's say you get paid £1500 at the end of February, you then have £1500 to budget with for March. Let's say at the end of March you get £1300, you then have £1300 to budget for April. The excuse (whether you think valid or not) that you don't know how much money you have to play with doesn't really wash because you can budget this way (this is what I do and it works for me).
3) My sister seems to live a life similar to yours. Going out far too much, socialising constantly and not staying in. Good salary. Called into a meeting recently, told they were letting her go and she had 4 weeks pay and that was then it. Take this as a word of warning. You are in a great position to not pay rent at home and I'm sure your parents will be pleased that you've realised you need to get a grip on your finances.
Once you get into budgeting it's quite fun sticking to it (I find anyway!) and you'll feel a sense of achievement.
My sister has had to speak to friends and said that she cannot go out as much now, be the person paying for the drinks and it's amazing who you find out who supports you.
Good luck!
Ben