No Ifs, Ands, or Buts!

moosesquirrel

117pauline wrote: »

Good morning

You have taken the first hard step to starting your debt free journey.

It's so easy to bury your head in the sand and say to yourself, I'll sort it tomorrow. That's without the additional worries about your husband

Firstly I would suggest doing an SOA and an in-depth spending diary. That will be your starting point


You can format this for MSE

Christmas - your children are old enough to understand budgets etc. Plan a reduced Christmas with as many free things as you can

Are you and your husband able to increase your income? By overtime or perhaps surveys etc. Have a look at the Boost Your Income threads here

Do you know the interest rates on your cards and the overdraft? It may be worth your while contacting Step Change to see whether they can help you manage the situation.

Good luck and keep posting
Pauline

Good morning!

Well we have £75 in savings for Christmas. The temptation is to get the rest on the credit cards but i really need to get out of that mindset. We have some Tesco vouchers and Sainsbury's points that we can use to the cover the extra food. Thinking about selling some things on ebay and seeing if we can up our coffers that way.

Plus, I spoke to work yesterday about more hours, and the best they can offer is an extra hour a week. It may not seem like much but that would equate to an extra £8.20 per week which is £32 a month. A little extra for Christmas then.

I've posted the SoA which includes the rates on my cards. i've posted the highest rate for MBNA but £4k of that is at a lower rate of around 4% on a lifetime balance transfer.

Thank you for all your help.

moosesquirrel

117pauline wrote: »

Holidays

This is a difficult one.

I suggest you actually write down

- the overall cost
- your deposit
- balance to pay
- actual date it has to be paid by
- amount needed for spending money

Then work out how much you will need per month to cover the holidays

Are there ways you could reduce the costs involved? Perhaps by taking breakfast with you or going self catering

Can you change dates rather than cancelling completely?

Use the holidays as gifts to the family and buy no extra presents at Christmas or birthdays?

I understand why you want to keep them. However you all need to decide where you will cut back hard to make it possible whilst still reducing your debt.

Another tough decision for you all
Take care
Pauline

hello again.

So this is what is planned in the next 12 months

December - Trip to Manchester. (me only)
Train - paid for
Show - paid for
hotel - to pay £46.00

March - Trip to Cambridge (me only)
Train - to pay approx £13.00
Show - paid for
Hotel - cancelled

April - Trip to London (family 4)
Train - to pay approx £45.00
Show - Paid for
Hotel - cancelled

May - Trip to London (family 4)
Train - to pay approx £45.00
Event - paid for
Hotel - to pay £360.00 (cancellation fees)

May - Trip to London (me only)
Train - to pay approx £25.00
Event - to pay approx £100.00
Hotel - to pay £298.00

June - Trip to London (family 4)
Train - to pay approx £45.00
Show - paid for
Hotel - Cancelled

August - Holiday family 4
Car/petrol - to pay approx £50
Cottage - paid £260. To pay £610

I have spoken to family and cancelled hotels where we can and where we can make it back the same day. The second trip to London in May is a huge event that I attend every year, and i know I should cancel this as the expense is large and I haven't paid out for anything yet, but I am finding it hard to do so. missing out on meeting up with my friends is such a hard thing to accept.

enthusiasticsaver

Do you have no mortgage on your house as well as the bedsit you rent out? I guess the additional income is the rent?

Your soa is not accurate as you have put nothing in for holidays but have admitted you have booked some and nothing for entertainment. You also have no emergency fund which is crucial as you need to wean yourself off using credit cards and overdrafts particularly as cheap overdrafts are now starting to be withdrawn and 0% credit card deals also being shortened so not so easy to get any more. Are you able to move any of the debts on to 0% money transfer cards or credit cards or is your credit rating no good now? You may well look overextended in spite of your high equity in property but lack of income will hold you back. What is the tax situation now on BTL and do you have a separate fund for repairs on the bedsit? I would suggest you sell but it looks like that is your main income.

As far as the soa goes, the insurances are high so I would suggest you use comparison sites to try and get those cheaper. Do you really need all those insurances? What is the £112 for and have you checked to see if you would be eligible to claim on it anyway in view of your health and employment situation?

The mobile phone contracts are also high so once the contract is finished I would move to SIM only. Can you get the cable tv reduced by ringing and threatening to cancel or just rely on freeview. The groceries figure is definitely high so you can get that down by better meal planning. Your son should be contributing to this in view of your financial situation.

Re Christmas, do not be sucked into paying for things you cannot afford and start 2018 with a debt hangover. We only buy for 8 people now as we have agreed with friends and extended family that we only now buy for immediate family members and it has made such a difference in terms of time, hassle and money especially as we often did not know what to get nieces and nephews we rarely see. I think our friends and extended family were also quite relieved that we all decided to stop the tat merry go round. You could always do secret santas if you have a large extended family but otherwise why not stick to partners, children and maybe parents if they are still around. Even my mum and stepdad though have started saying they don't want presents as they are in their 80s so we just take them out for a meal but a nice box of biscuits would do just as well.

enthusiasticsaver

moosesquirrel wrote: »

hello again.

So this is what is planned in the next 12 months

December - Trip to Manchester. (me only)
Train - paid for
Show - paid for
hotel - to pay £46.00

March - Trip to Cambridge (me only)
Train - to pay approx £13.00
Show - paid for
Hotel - cancelled

April - Trip to London (family 4)
Train - to pay approx £45.00
Show - Paid for
Hotel - cancelled

May - Trip to London (family 4)
Train - to pay approx £45.00
Event - paid for
Hotel - to pay £360.00 (cancellation fees)

May - Trip to London (me only)
Train - to pay approx £25.00
Event - to pay approx £100.00
Hotel - to pay £298.00

June - Trip to London (family 4)
Train - to pay approx £45.00
Show - paid for
Hotel - Cancelled

August - Holiday family 4
Car/petrol - to pay approx £50
Cottage - paid £260. To pay £610

I have spoken to family and cancelled hotels where we can and where we can make it back the same day. The second trip to London in May is a huge event that I attend every year, and i know I should cancel this as the expense is large and I haven't paid out for anything yet, but I am finding it hard to do so. missing out on meeting up with my friends is such a hard thing to accept.

That is a staggering £1637 you have to find out of your tiny income (more than 3 months of your pay) and that is without the cost of any meals out or other incidentals which there always are. I know it is hard to turn down doing these sorts of things but it is easy to see now where the debt has come from as there must have been show tickets purchased, deposits on holidays, train tickets all unbudgeted for when you have less than £100 spare income each month and ever growing debts. I am guessing when your husband stopped work you did not adjust your lifestyle to compensate for the lack of income.

If you do not sort your budget out now and either stop doing some of these things or up your income to pay for them then the debt will be higher still in a years time just as interest rates are rising and credit less available.

enthusiasticsaver

The really positive thing is though that you have a mortgage free home presumably and a stronger hand on the budget can sort your finances out. No head in the sand any more though and some tough choices to make. Good luck.

Chrystal

Just popping in to wish you luck and say well done for facing up to the debt problem.

ES gives brilliant advice so please try to take note of what she says.

Does your OH not get any sickness/DLA benefits? I hope his situation improves soon.

Have you thought about changing jobs or trying for a 2nd part time one?

Also, I'm sorry to say, no ifs/ands/buts DOES include having to give up (temporarily) some of the things we are used to, ie the annual holiday with friends. Hopefully you will be in a better position for next year and will be able to indulge in this within budget.
Getting your finances onto an even keel WILL involve some sacrifices, but the benefits when you've cracked it will make it so worthwhile. X

moosesquirrel

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Do you have no mortgage on your house as well as the bedsit you rent out? I guess the additional income is the rent?

Your soa is not accurate as you have put nothing in for holidays but have admitted you have booked some and nothing for entertainment. You also have no emergency fund which is crucial as you need to wean yourself off using credit cards and overdrafts particularly as cheap overdrafts are now starting to be withdrawn and 0% credit card deals also being shortened so not so easy to get any more. Are you able to move any of the debts on to 0% money transfer cards or credit cards or is your credit rating no good now? You may well look overextended in spite of your high equity in property but lack of income will hold you back. What is the tax situation now on BTL and do you have a separate fund for repairs on the bedsit? I would suggest you sell but it looks like that is your main income.

As far as the soa goes, the insurances are high so I would suggest you use comparison sites to try and get those cheaper. Do you really need all those insurances? What is the £112 for and have you checked to see if you would be eligible to claim on it anyway in view of your health and employment situation?

The mobile phone contracts are also high so once the contract is finished I would move to SIM only. Can you get the cable tv reduced by ringing and threatening to cancel or just rely on freeview. The groceries figure is definitely high so you can get that down by better meal planning. Your son should be contributing to this in view of your financial situation.

Re Christmas, do not be sucked into paying for things you cannot afford and start 2018 with a debt hangover. We only buy for 8 people now as we have agreed with friends and extended family that we only now buy for immediate family members and it has made such a difference in terms of time, hassle and money especially as we often did not know what to get nieces and nephews we rarely see. I think our friends and extended family were also quite relieved that we all decided to stop the tat merry go round. You could always do secret santas if you have a large extended family but otherwise why not stick to partners, children and maybe parents if they are still around. Even my mum and stepdad though have started saying they don't want presents as they are in their 80s so we just take them out for a meal but a nice box of biscuits would do just as well.

We are mortgage free on both house and flat, so that is a huge bonus courtesy of an inheritance. We used it to pay off our mortgage and put the rest in the little studio flat.

I'll put do the SOA again and put in those extras you noted. See if that helps. I've tried cheap card tranfers but was rejected for one and didn't want to destroy what little credit score I have by trying others. When I do the MSE credit check my score is 864 and is low due to my cards being at 95% of the limit and income to debt ratio.

The income from the bedsit is £497 a month. £400 we transfer to pay for our bills, the rest covers landlord insurance, boiler insurance, ground rent and maintenance charges, repairs and all the other charges that comes with it. We were paying accountants to do our tax returns but that was costing us £400 a year, so in April we actually did the tax returns online ourselves. Not as scary as we thought it would be.

Insurances totalling £112 are:

Simply health - £14
British Gas Service - £28
Phoenix Ins me - £17 (pays out if we die until 2025)
Sky Repair £11
Phoenix Ins DH £42 (pays out he dies until 2025)

None of the insurances pay out for the current situation we are in. Phoenix only pays for terminal illness

Mobile Phone bill is for 4 phones. They all come out of the one account. My mobile contract finishes in March so can go to SIM only then. The others have until Dec next year. Cable TV we did reduce. We asked to remove movies and they offered for us to keep them for £10, so we agreed to that. I did that last week.

My son contributes to the household immensely. The other income is £400 from the bedsit and £420 from his PiP which he pays direct to me and £195 from his university grant.Will certainly try and reduce the weekly grocery shop though. We always do this online via Ocado or Sainsburys but DH has agreed to take the reins on this and go to Aldi and Bargain stores from next week. I'll let you know how that goes.

Family know our situation re Christmas, we are buying for our children, my nieces and nephews (3 in total) my mum and dad and that is it. Brothers and sisters have agreed to not exchange this year.

Really appreciate you replying and all the advise offered, thank you.

moosesquirrel

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

That is a staggering £1637 you have to find out of your tiny income (more than 3 months of your pay) and that is without the cost of any meals out or other incidentals which there always are. I know it is hard to turn down doing these sorts of things but it is easy to see now where the debt has come from as there must have been show tickets purchased, deposits on holidays, train tickets all unbudgeted for when you have less than £100 spare income each month and ever growing debts. I am guessing when your husband stopped work you did not adjust your lifestyle to compensate for the lack of income.

If you do not sort your budget out now and either stop doing some of these things or up your income to pay for them then the debt will be higher still in a years time just as interest rates are rising and credit less available.

When you posted that figure, i nearly had a heart attack. OMG! You are right, when hubby's situation changed, our lifestyle didn't. I've pulled out of one of the May trips.. the one where I haven't paid anything yet. It is madness to think I can go. The family holiday in August may have to go too. Have spoken to DH and if he isn't working by the time that comes round for payment we will pull out. I really need to change my mindset, because I keep thinking there is going to be room on the credit cards when the time comes. But that is contradicting the whole point of this diary. So we have set a deadline. And no cards will be used.

moosesquirrel

Chrystal wrote: »

Just popping in to wish you luck and say well done for facing up to the debt problem.

ES gives brilliant advice so please try to take note of what she says.

Does your OH not get any sickness/DLA benefits? I hope his situation improves soon.

Have you thought about changing jobs or trying for a 2nd part time one?

Also, I'm sorry to say, no ifs/ands/buts DOES include having to give up (temporarily) some of the things we are used to, ie the annual holiday with friends. Hopefully you will be in a better position for next year and will be able to indulge in this within budget.
Getting your finances onto an even keel WILL involve some sacrifices, but the benefits when you've cracked it will make it so worthwhile. X

I am starting to understand the sacrifices I am going to have to make. I think adding up those trips planned for next year really brought it home and made it sink in. Good grief, who was I kidding?

Hubby can't claim anything sadly because he quit work of his own choice. His problems began in July last year where he incurred an injury. It was never treated as urgent by his GP or the surgeon he was referred to. Subsequently he injured himself again in October in the same place (his privates). He was admitted to hospital but due to a mix up was discharged. The problem got worse and worse and despite repeated trips to his GP, nothing was done. When he went back to the original surgeon in December last year he nearly threw a fit and booked him in for surgery the following week. However the whole saga meant he lost a testicle. He was off sick from work for around 6 weeks but suffered mentally afterwards and although back at work had a breakdown and walked out in March this year. Was referred for councelling and put on meds and is much better now, but has developed a hernia. Connected? Maybe. So now although he's applying for jobs they won't employ him due to an impending operation, surgeon says within 6 weeks. We really need to get all that out of the way before he can look for work and as he puts it, rejoin society.

It's been a difficult year where our debts have spiralled, because as you say, we still continued to live as if his full time salary was coming in.

moosesquirrel

So today I received an email from McAfee advising my subscription expires in 2 months. Price to renew £59.98

Product name (of renewal):
3-User McAfee Online Banking Suite - 1 GB
Expiration date: 08/01/2018
Subscription length:
1 Year(s) Renew Subscription(Auto Renew)
Price: £59.98(GBP)

This is linked to my credit card. i really need to find an alternative, so any advice would be really appreciated.