SOA newbie :)

System

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Perhaps I am old fashioned and I do realise that people these days keep their finances separate.

However, your partner's actual income is less than your and he has £150 per month left over after paying for his own 'outgoings'.

Whereas you, whose income is more has no money left over!

Your partner is not contributing to his share of the household outgoings. He is not even paying half the rent!

Something has to 'give' here. You are a family so should be tackling this together.

I am basing this on what you have said so forgive me if I have made some incorrect assumptions.

In my opinion it would be far better to combine your incomes and debts and sort this out together. A debt management plan might be suitable for you both.

Is your partner receiving all the grants/loans he is eligible for?

His debt is £200 per month to his dad who has the loan on his behalf so he doesn't technically have any debt in his name, I have thought about suggesting joint bank but he's not convinced I think he thinks he pays enough towards things, it is difficult as I get the tax credits and benefit in my name but I do ask him to pay for stuff If I've got and also he doesn't seem to have any money left so I think he spends more money more recklessly McDonald's and things that I don't know about. But once he qualifies in a year he'll earn about 12 grand more than were on now so he can contribute more then. Could I get a debt management plan just for me? I'm thinking in terms of keeping me on track and making sure I don't spend any more?

pmlindyloo

Yes, I believe you can do a DMP on your own but I think they will look at what your partner is contributing to household expenses.

Why don't you give one of the free debt advice agencies like StepChange a call to find out how this would work?

fatbelly

Based on your SOA things are tight, probably too tight. Yes you could shave a bit off here and there. But on the other hand you are budgeting nothing for car maintenance/MOT, haircuts or an annual holiday.

I'd go for a dmp with stepchange or payplan and look to complete it in around 36 months or so.

LabRatty

Hi,
All the best with sorting out your current situation, but please also give some thought to the future.
You say that once your OH qualifies 'he can contribute more then', in the same post as saying 'he thinks he contributes enough'.
I understand that some couples keep their finances separate, but that doesn't mean it has to be unequal. Ideally, if both pay into an account for joint expenses, the amount each has left for personal spends should be the same. I have a bad feeling that if this is not addressed, things may not be very much better post qualification as he may just decide what he is going to contribute with no reference to you, meaning your position could be no better, or conceivably worse.
As he is the one with expensive tastes when he knows you are concerned about the debt, but is still unwilling to either up his contribution or compromise on quality, this is a really important conversation for you to have BEFORE his income increases, or you may see very little of the increase.
All the best,
LR

System

He has just come home from a night shift and said he's been thinking and that he will send me another £100 a month now as he doesn't want me to do a DMP which is a help. I think if we can just get through until March next year my Santander loan finishes so that'll free up £200 more for my other creditors, and with his increase in wage and his loan finishes next year we should be okay?

fatbelly

If you're not doing a dmp, you need to kill off as much interest as possible using 0% cards

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/balance-transfer-credit-cards

Pixie5740

You might be ok with an extra £100 a month if you car does not require any repairs or a MOT, if you do not have to pay out for any other travel, if you don't have to pay for childcare, if you don't have any medical bills (prescriptions, dentist, etc), if you don't have to pay for any haircuts and if you don't have any emergencies.

Does your OH actually know how much it costs to run the household. I think you need to get him involved rather than him just sending you some money each month. What will happen when he becomes the breadwinner? Will you be able to leave the household finances to him and just transfer some cash to him each month?

enthusiasticsaver

Your soa is tight. The clothing could probably come down a bit as could the groceries. I think I would be telling your husband he will have to put up with budget meals as he is not contributing anywhere near enough to the household even without taking your debt into account. Even if you just take the rent, services and groceries into account his share should be £567 per month if you split them down the middle.

Another problem is you are paying relatively high interest on some of those debts (Next, Barclaycard and Santander loan) and if you are only paying minimums they will never be paid off. You are also heavily over committed as you have now realised. Can you get any 0% cards?

You need to stop using the credit cards, build up an emergency fund so you use this instead for any essential repairs to the car or new fridge or whatever.

Increasing your income by £100 from your husband will help in the short term but he is not doing you any favours as that is still short of his half of the household expenses. I see no reason why his debt should take preference over yours.

enthusiasticsaver

I would focus on the Next card first and see if you can move it to a 0% card. If you can do that and pay £195 per month then that will be repaid in 10 months or a year if you cannot move it to 0%. You could use some of the clothing and grocery savings plus the additional £100 from your husband. Put £50 in an emergency fund each month though and resolve to stop using the cards.

[Deleted User]

You really need to cut up your credit cards so you cannot use them. I agree with everyone else, you are in a very tricky position with nothing to fall back on. Your husband should be paying a lot more into the budget and needs to understand that you cannot afford to buy expensive food. He needs to stop is McD's as well, they are rubbish, he is throwing money away.

I am sorry to appear to be harsh, but you both need a reality check.