trying to get in front

BeckyC2be

Hi everyone, I don't really know what I want to accomplish by posting, I just feel like I'm really facing it if I post! I'm actually quite embarrassed now its all written down and am just looking for a bit of support. All of the debt is completely my own fault. I'm afraid I'm part of the 'I want it now but pay later' mindset. I am trying to change.

I'll try and answer the questions in advance that are most asked:

My husband and I both work full time, my hours are over two jobs however. I get about £50 a month in tips but I didn't want to add this as of course it's not guaranteed. We need two cars as we both work about 20 miles from our house and there isn't any public transport.

All the totals are for the household and not just me. All monies go into the same pot and nothing is separate. My monthly income fluctuates from 1060 to 1200 but I've put it at the bottom end to make it easier. I'm sure there's something I've missed off but my mind has gone blank. I know for a fact we spend more on food, as that's where all our spare money goes! but I'm trying really hard to cut back.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, but I really just wanted to get it all there so I could force myself to do something about it. Everything is getting paid and I've never missed a payment but it's all starting to get on top of me now.

thank you



Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1060
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1136
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2196

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 294
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 295
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 92
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 31
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 60
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 28.99
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 12.5
Car Insurance........................... 45
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 16
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 8
Buildings insurance..................... 6
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 13
Other insurance......................... 13
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1479.61


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 80000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 7500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 87500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 55000....(294)......2.14
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 7500.....(295)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 62500.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
aquacard.......................3000......80........34.9
overdraft .....................1500......30........0
overdraft......................6300......100.......6
tv and comp hp....................500.......32........16.9
loan...........................10264.....228.1.....16.9
loan...........................559.......51.9......8.9
loan...........................4174......122.8.....8.9
hsbc credit card...............1500......40........19
very...........................1691......35........0
barclaycard....................1900......0.........18.6
Total unsecured debts..........31388.....719.8.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,196
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,479.61
Available for debt repayments........... 716.39
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 719.8
Amount short for making debt repayments. -3.41

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 87,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -62,500
Total Unsecured debt.................... -31,388
Net Assets.............................. -6,388

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

EssexHebridean

Hi Becky! Usual - comments in red!

BeckyC2be wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1060 Yep - right call to set this at your basic - everything else is then a bonus!
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1136
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2196

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 294
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 295
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 92 Is this over 10 months or 12? If 10 then look to switch to 12, makes budgeting easier.
Electricity............................. 50 This and your gas are extremely high -
have a shop around to make sure you're on your cheapest deal and then focus on cutting back on use
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 31
Telephone (land line)................... 20Is this internet as well?
Mobile phone............................ 60 Pricey, even for 2 phones. As soon as you reach the end of your contracts switch to SIM only - there are great deals around with calls texts & data from £10 per month or less.
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 28.99 Get rid - you can't afford it for the time being
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150 If you're really spending this then great,
but from what you've said, I bet you're not! Spending diary might help here!
Clothing................................ 30 Cut to absolute essentials only
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 12.5 Do you actually pay this monthly? If so look to switch to 6 monthly or annually as they charge a premium for a monthly DD.
Car Insurance........................... 45
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 16 This most likely isn't enough for two cars - you need to add up the cost of an annual service, an MOT, 75% of the cost of a set of tyres, 10% on top for screenwash, wiper blades, bulbs etc and then another 10% for contingencies - multiply by 2 for the number of cars and then divide by 12 - that's the amount you need to set aside monthly. Also where are you saving this money as you aren't showing an cash assets?
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 8
Buildings insurance..................... 6
Contents insurance...................... 0 You need this - no question. Get it sorted!

Life assurance ......................... 13
Other insurance......................... 13 Is this an essential?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20 I think you need to cut this to nothing,. Explain to family that you won't be buying Christmas presents as things are a bit tight this year - revisit in a year to see where things stand.
Haircuts................................ 15 Cut this back as much as you can
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 As homeowners you really should have something here but at the moment you may not be able to do much about that.
Total monthly expenses.................. 1479.61


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 80000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 7500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 87500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 55000....(294)......2.14
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 7500.....(295)......0 Is this a car payment?
Total secured & HP debts...... 62500.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
aquacard.......................3000......80........34.9 Ouchy APR there...
overdraft .....................1500......30........0 Totally fee free?
overdraft......................6300......100.......6
tv and comp hp....................500.......32........16.9
loan...........................10264.....228.1.....16.9 This is a VERY high rate for a loan!
loan...........................559.......51.9......8.9
loan...........................4174......122.8.....8.9
hsbc credit card...............1500......40........19
very...........................1691......35........0 Buy Now Pay later? If so watch out for the interest rate when the deal ends.
barclaycard....................1900......0.........18.6 How come you're paying nothing to this?
Total unsecured debts..........31388.....719.8.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,196
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,479.61
Available for debt repayments........... 716.39
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 719.8
Amount short for making debt repayments. -3.41 Oh dear...

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 87,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -62,500
Total Unsecured debt.................... -31,388
Net Assets.............................. -6,388

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

In your OP you used the phrase "spare money" - but you don't currently on a basic month at least HAVE any spare money. I'll be honest - that's one scary SOA - it's fixable but it's going to be tough unless you want to go the route of debt management - in which case it's going to be pretty much as tough, and for a lot longer.

Bearing in mind your income, and the fact that there is a good lump there on overdrafts, you're quite horribly over committed at the moment. You need to focus on bringing your income up, saving every penny you can(I've noted some bits on the SOA in green -= these are luxuries that need to go or be cut right back if possible)

There are a lot of loans in your debts - have you consolidated in the past?

I'm afraid that now 'I want it now but pay later' has to stop - it's just become "tough luck, you can't have it until you've got some money to pay for it".

National_Debtline

Hi there,


Your SOA seems good and I can see there are some areas that need trimming, when you can (like mobile phones and shopping around for gas and electric), but a key issue is to make it sustainable. EssexHebridean's raises a good point about the spending diary on your groceries to see how this impacts your SOA and changes your surplus. It may be worth doing a version of your SOA that takes an average of your income and taking your tips into consideration just to see what difference this makes. However, with no emergency fund, that may create a situation where one issue (washing machine breakdown, or boiler blip) causes the whole budget to crumble.


Sometimes, it is possible to change your budget and manage the debts. However, if that isn't possible, don't panic. You could look to negotiate with the debts yourself or consider a free DMP to help you resolve the situation. You cannot send money you do not have, and should consider other ways to deal with the debts and understand their full risks and benefits. Any of the free debt charities can talk you through your options. From what you have posted so far, I don't think there is any need to consider options like bankruptcy (especially as a homeowner and with a vehicle on finance) - this is too risky, but reduced negotiations may be a solution.


Laura
@natdebtline