Help please. outgoings huge

enthusiasticsaver

If you have not added to the debt since remortgaging then that at least means you are now living within your income. If you receive on average £4500 per month and those outgoings are £4300 on an average month you should have sufficient.

In my mind you have two problems. First if your credit cards are charging 18.9% or higher then minimum payments are not going to make much progress in clearing the debts. As you cannot get 0% deals then your only option is to find some wriggle room in your budget to bring them down quicker. A full soa will help us to suggest the best way of you clearing that last £5k of debt. Ideally you would not have consolidated the previous debt on to your mortgage given your unpredictable income.

Your second problem is no emergency fund and lack of availability to credit should the car or house need emergency repairs or an emergency dentist/vet bill crop up if you have pets. This is a priority.

There is plenty of scope for you to cut back on expenses and I appreciate you don't want to punish your kids but the reality is you cannot afford to be spending hundreds of pounds each month on birthday/Xmas presents and extra curricular activities. These are not necessities so you do need to really think what is a necessity and dig yourself out of the hole you are in.

liuhutOz

tallyhoh wrote: »

I'm a recent convert to the Dave Ramsey shows on youtube. I think he talks a lot of sense & brings things down to basics.

OP, watch a couple

I love watching Dave Ramsey...rice and beans, beans and rice.

OP you do need to watch a few, I think it will really put into context what people on here are telling you.

MoneyMission

phil_rich1983 wrote: »

our boys love fruit, they can eat a pack of 6 apples and 3 punnets of soft fruits between them in a day, and as we know fruit is not cheap.

Quick check on Sainsbobs this morning has strawberries at £2.00 per punnet x 3 = £6.00. Plus a bag of apples @ £2.25 and you're in for £8.25 a day. Let's say you did this twice a week all year round. Your apples and soft fruit would be £858 per year.

You could swap the soft fruit for carrot sticks @ 60p for a kilo bag which would last two sittings easily. And two tins of peaches in juice @ 75p each (allow half a tin each) and your fruit snacks per day would be less than £2.00. That's £208 per year.

The cheaper but just as healthy option gives a saving of £650 per year.

Those small differences really do add up.

nkkingston

Do you have any outside space? If you're getting through that much fruit on a regular basis (and no harm in wanting the kids to be healthy!) you might want to get the kids growing some themselves. A few growbags, some blackberry and raspberry starter plants, and a bit of TLC over the winter, and the boys will be very pleased with themselves.

phil_rich1983

Hi all.

Have watched a few of the Dave Ramsey videos, he says it how it is thats for sure. he makes it clear tho.

Car update. Sold to moneyforyourmotors. We agreed on the settlement figure from vw as a price, so thats £199 cost p/m has gone but now we have no car....and no cash to replace it. oops.

Spoke to 02 about phones, we are suposidly on the lowest tarrif and they will not changeit, 12 months to go still.

Great point about the soft fruit. will put an end to that.

WestonDave

Re lack of car - have a look at Enterprise Car Club - if you can manage without a car most of the time, its a good way to have access to car for the odd times when it comes in handy - like a trip to the dump or a day out. Might struggle to get a 6 seater but worth a look.

Busy_Mee1

Hi - well done on cutting out one of your outgoings. I am not sure the car would have been the first thing on my list, but I suppose it depends where you live and this cost cutting lark is all about personal choice.

In fact you now need to go through a process of really understanding where your money is going and making conscious decisions about where you choose to spend your money.

You already know that your financial position is precarious and as others have pointed out, you only need something like the boiler to pack in and you will be in trouble.

The good news is that you have a good income and lots of places you could cut back. The biggest saving most people make is in their grocery shopping and a simple switch to @ldi or L!dl could save £100 at least of your monthly bill. I managed to cut my grocery bill for 5 sporty adults from £150 a week to £80 a week and maintain ( and probably improve) the quality of what we were eating. That might not be so easy now you don't have a car, but others achieve good savings by doing their food shopping on line as there are no temptations to buy stuff you don't need. You can also get good offers for money off as a new shopper. Is your OH on board with the cost cutting ? you really need her support with all of this.

As others have pointed out your Christmas and Birthday budgets are enormous and you could really cut back here without spoiling things. There are lots of good ideas on the Debt Free Wanabee diaries on how to have a great Christmas for less.

I would also suggest you need build a small emergency fund and then start to pay your debts off by paying the debt with the most expensive interest first. Build your self a spreadsheet to watch them going down - it gets very addictive.

Finally get yourself over to the Debt Free Diary thread (above this one )and read other people's diaries- you will get lots of inspiration. You could also start your own diary, which is brilliant for maintaining focus and getting lots of support from others who have been in the same situation.

Good Luck !

bertiewhite

Boyoboy wrote: »

Oh and meant to say, by joining local cheap groups she’s made some life long friends. - guides, youth groups, drama clubs etc.

That's reminded me - is there a local Air Cadet Squadron in your area?

For £10 per month they will not only teach your kids to play instruments but also to iron a shirt, fly a plane and get them involved in sport.

tallyhoh

bertiewhite wrote: »

That's reminded me - is there a local Air Cadet Squadron in your area?

For £10 per month they will not only teach your kids to play instruments but also to iron a shirt, fly a plane and get them involved in sport.

Wow, seriously impressed, I'm on it for the grandson!

MoneyMission

Oooh. Yes. Air Cadets are brilliant. Not sure how old your kids are but our local squadron takes newbies from the beginning of the term in which they turn 12. Or the Army Cadets. Or the Sea Cadets. All excellent options.