Fed up being in debt

beginningtotry

Right I'm fed up being in debt and bloody worrying about it.

I also have a child on the way and want ot be financially secure so I can support them (and save for them). My wife will be on maternity leave so we are loosing half a wage. On top of this I am totally renovating my house which is costing a fortune (I do everything myself except plastering but it is still expensive).

I admit I am my own worse enemy. I can be good for weeks then splurge cash on something I don't need. I don't know where my money goes it just does. So this is my motivation. To be able to log on write it down look at the figures and make myself proud that I am tackling the problem.

I realise that I am not in as bad a position as some people but please don't judge. I am still in debt and still worry about it a lot. The figures are meaningless (apart from to justify to myself where the money is going).

A lot of this may be a ramble to myself (typing while thinking).

So here is a half decent breakdown of my outgoings and income.

Basic Income (before tax) £3601
Commission (Sept 2007) £423
Tax Home this month after tax etc. £2689.10

Debts:
Mortgage (£200k)
NR (£25k)
Company (2k)
CC (£4.7k)

Total Debt: £231.7k

Need to be realistic here and not include the mortgage so £31.7k left.

Outoging DD's this month.
Mortgage (4.49% fixed rate repayment) £1097.86
NR Loan (24k) £286
Company Loan (2k interest free) £100
Electricity £25
Gas £25
Council Tax £113
Water £31.13
Tv Licence £11.07
Buildings insurance £14.47
Contents insurance £17.68
My mobile £35
Wife's mobile £35
Broadband £5

Total Outoings = £1796.21
Money left = £892.89

Pay of CC: £200
Left = £692.89

Wife's salary take home: £900 ish with no outgoings.

Left for the month £1592.89

Hmm..seems a lot writing it down like that. BUT the fact is I get more in debt every month so need to cut down spending and do more saving!!!!!!

Food every month: £350
Petrol :£200
Doing up house £400

Left: £642.89

Spent yesterday £170 on baby stuff.
Left: £472.89 (which is what we we loose approx when wifey gives up work sao this month we would be in debt already hence you can see why I need to change).

Right so this will be my journal. Where I feel I am wasting money and achievements when I save money. Fingers crossed and wish me luck.

floss2

beginningtotry wrote: »

So here is a half decent breakdown of my outgoings and income.

Basic Income (before tax) £3601
Commission (Sept 2007) £423
Tax Home this month after tax etc. £2689.10

Debts:
Mortgage (£200k)
NR (£25k)
Company (2k)
CC (£4.7k)

Total Debt: £231.7k

Need to be realistic here and not include the mortgage so £31.7k left.

Outoging DD's this month.
Mortgage (4.49% fixed rate repayment) £1097.86
NR Loan (24k) £286
Company Loan (2k interest free) £100
Electricity £25
Gas £25
Council Tax £113 do you pay over 10 or 12 months
Water £31.13 are you on a meter?
Tv Licence £11.07
Buildings insurance £14.47
Contents insurance £17.68
My mobile £35 Can you drop the tariff on this?
Wife's mobile £35 ditto
Broadband £5

Total Outoings = £1796.21
Money left = £892.89

Pay of CC: £200
Left = £692.89

Wife's salary take home: £900 ish with no outgoings.

Left for the month £1592.89

Hmm..seems a lot writing it down like that. BUT the fact is I get more in debt every month so need to cut down spending and do more saving!!!!!!

Food every month: £350 this can be cut down- take a look at the Old Style board for help
Petrol :£200
Doing up house £400 this may have to be cut while your wife is on Mat Leave

Left: £642.89

Spent yesterday £170 on baby stuff.
Left: £472.89 (which is what we we loose approx when wifey gives up work sao this month we would be in debt already hence you can see why I need to change).

Right so this will be my journal. Where I feel I am wasting money and achievements when I save money. Fingers crossed and wish me luck.

Firstly, start a spending diary, and write down everything you have spent every day even the paper & baby stuff.

However, you haven't budgetted for birthdays, clothes etc.

You need to work out exactly what you will have coming in during the maternity leave, and stick to the budget of what is left after all the bills come out.

I run a spreadsheet to keep track of my actual bank balance & when bills are due out etc. If you want a copy, PM me & I'll send a copy.

Oh by the way :hello:

jo1972

Hi and welcome :wave:

Well done on getting it all down, you sound as though you have enough motivation to make it work.

No one will judge you on here by the way

Good luck sorting out your finances, I'm sure there'll be others along in a minute to give you advice. Congrats on the baby, make sure you keep us up to date with everything

Jo.

floss2

Crumbs, never posted at the same time as anyone else before! And I never felt a thing!

Shineyhappy

hiya and welcome!

Firstly is your wife on board with your debt purge?

I think you could save a lot off your food shopping, my and my OH spend about 20-30 pounds a week on food and there are many who manage on a lot less.

I would try and make sure you have joined up for all the baby clubs and get as much free stuff as possible.

Can you Ebay any unwanted items lying around to raise some more cash?

I cant see anything for car repairs/MOT/etc

Make sure you use Quidco to get cash back on insurances/free film trials etc

Best of luck

beginningtotry

Thanks for the replies.

forgot to add car insurance/repairs MOT's etc as they are all paid in one hit not monthly but you are correct...need to budget for them.

So:
Car Insurance 1: £400 per year
Car Insurance 2: £200 per year
Tax 1: £180
Tax 2: £200

Repairs (hopefully not much) £500 per year (I do most myself).

Plus:
Landline £14 per month.

Total Extra: £125 per month.

We are not on a water meter and at hte moment that is probably a good thing. We use so much while renovating that it would cost a fortune (my bills are now cheaper than my old house).

re: Ebay. I have got a big box of stuff to put on. Just need to have time to sit down. I did make £100 last week which is all good and a start.

tyllwyd

I think you still need to sit down and pull all these bits and pieces of informatin together so you can write yourself out a proper monthly budget, including everything such as utility bills, food, car bills, clothes and haircuts. That's the only way to find out where the money is going and how much you have left for 'miscellaneous' stuff.

shopsalot

I agree - a spreadsheet is a sure fire way to get a handle on the finances - and a good one can be updated daily to see your progress.

chevalier

You mention buying £170 of baby stuff yesterday. The thing with baby stuff is not to be too proud. If you have other friends they may be able to lend you things like a cot, baby bath etc. Or else have a look on www.freecycle.org for baby things. They are given away free, you just have to pick them up.

When I had my first child, we said yes to everything! It ended up that I hardly bought any baby clothes the first 18 months, because we had so much given to us by friends. :T We were also given a moses basket, and the family still had MY first two cots!!! :rolleyes: So no outlay there either. It is very easy to get trapped in the hype of having to have this that and the other. Eg baby changing station - why? We just laid a changing mat on the floor in the bathroom that way we had easy access to a sink and could use cotton wool and water when changing baby.

Do you really need to continue doing up the house at the minute? Ie are the repairs for health and safety type reasons, or for more cosmetic ones? If the latter then that is a lot of extra money to throw at your debts.


best of luck
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Kevicho

Another good idea would be having a clearout of the stuff that you admit you dont need.

Maybe listing them on ebay or selling them at carboots would go towards paying off your credit card.

blackangeluk

:hello: well it sounds like you are on the right track and have had your LBM.

The only things I would say (and have already been said) is you could cut down on the food bill, I used to spend £400+ on food. Now I manage to feed me, DH, two kids, two cats, dog (and now a rabbit :rolleyes: ) on £260 (ish) a month. This has been done by menu planning, going back to basics (Old Style board is great for that) and buying value products. I did try Netto for a while but returned to Tescos, do it all online, search for voucher codes and spend about £65 a week and we all eat really well. When your OH gives up work for maternity, she could probably bulk cook (very good for when baby arrives) and saves a fortune (don't tell her I told her to do all the cooking though :eek: )

chevalier was right about the baby stuff as well. First time round I bought everything new, second time round what I didn't have I bought off ebay etc and nothing was new. They use the items so little it really is a waste of money buying it new. I haven't tried freecycle but the feedback on it sounds good and would do it if I had a third child (which incidentally I have no intention of having!)

Apart from that, a spending diary is a brilliant idea, makes you see where all the little things actually add up to quite a lot. Is your OH on board, maybe you could both do a spending diary?

That's all I can think of for now.

Good luck