I need help

Helenforman

I'm a single woman living on my own running out of options I currently rent a council flat have a car, mobile and pay for monthly Internet and contact lenses, I'm not earning a great deal around £1100 a month and I'm basically ending up with nothing each month . I'm trying to pay off a 7k debt that's built up over the last 3 years and I need help to cut back so I have some money to live on, I've tried everything just wondering if there is anything I'm missing that I can try before having to give up my flat and move back in with my parents PLEASE HELP ANY ADVICE WELCOME

louby40

Loads of people will come along with lots of ideas to help you. Honestly this is a great site.

The first thing to do is post a SOA - Statement of Affairs detailing your income and expenditure. That will help,people point you in the right direction of where to save.

Ilona

Hi, yes we need a Statement of Affairs. You need to list all outgoings and incomings. Basically you need to earn more or spend less, or both.

Sort out your needs from your wants. do you actually need a car, need a mobile phone. Have you got aspirations for a lifestyle that is not viably sustainable? Can you manage with less spending, to free up cash to pay the debts? Can you get a part time job, evenings, weekends? More information would help people to advise you. Everything is fixable, it's just finding a solution to best suit you.

Ilona

enjoyyourshoes

You have two problems:-

1.0 Overspending by £50 per month (that may be just drip drip of nothingness (cafe latte, mags, fags, booze, lotto etc)

So you need to stop tis spending

2.0 You need to redistribute your money towards paying off the debt. This is in addition to 1.0 so may need hard pruning.

People online will provide the ideas for which branch needs pruning, but you need to effectively wield the knife.

datlex

Helenforman wrote: »

I'm a single woman living on my own running out of options I currently rent a council flat have a car, mobile and pay for monthly Internet and contact lenses, I'm not earning a great deal around £1100 a month and I'm basically ending up with nothing each month . I'm trying to pay off a 7k debt that's built up over the last 3 years and I need help to cut back so I have some money to live on, I've tried everything just wondering if there is anything I'm missing that I can try before having to give up my flat and move back in with my parents PLEASE HELP ANY ADVICE WELCOME

Hi Helen, You sound like you are in a fairly similar situation to me. I live on my own although I am in a long term relationship. I live in a housing association flat (local council here doesn't have council houses having sold them years ago to housing associations). I did have a car but stopped using it for a number of reasons. I calculate that I save a good £500 plus a year not using my car. I now use buses, and yes there are negatives to buses- you may have to catch two to get to your destination, they do take longer than driving, but with a monthly ticket the cost of work travel is fixed.

ReadingTim

There's no magic to it - you need to make sure you spend less than your earn, then work out ways to both spend less and earn more.

An SOA and spending diary will help with the former; a 2nd job or better paying 1st job will help with the latter. However, if you can't increase what comes in, there may be some hard decisions to make in terms of what goes out, such as spending on the car or living alone. There is no magic wand which will make everything easy - it's going to be tough.

Helenforman

My SOA
Rent- 319.93
Council tax- 93
Home issurance - 7.16
Electric- 23.36
Gas -30
Water- 35.16
Bank fee for breakdown cover and phone insurance- 17.00
Phone - 22.99
Tv licence- 12.12
Internet-17.99
Car lease - 158.35 I work in the middle on the country side 40 mins away from where I live no other options to get there
Car insurance- 36
Contacts lenses- 23.50
Medication- 9.00
Cc1- 80
Cc2- 50
Petrol- 80

TOTAL 1015
Income 1075
£60 left before any food

-taff

Fill out this SOA

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Fireflyaway

Your bills don't seem unrealistic. If you don't mind denting your credit score, maybe negotiate lower cc repayments? £60 a month for food and everything else isn't enough so it seems a logical thing to do.
I think you also have an income issue. Long term do you plan to earn more? What can you do to earn more? The cost of living will only increase and you will be back in the same situation or worse.

Ebe_Scrooge

-taff wrote: »

Fill out this SOA

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

OP - as Taff says, please fill out a full SOA, then we can help you. If nothing else, putting it down in black & white can often help you to see for yourself where savings can be made.

It's no good saying "£60 left before any food " - food is a basic necessity, and must be prioritised. The SOA template will help you to focus and really think logically about your outgoings. Really, fill out the full SOA honestly, post it here ( make sure to choose the option to "format for MSE" ), and you'll get loads of help and advice. We're friendly folk, I promise

Helenforman

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1075
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1075

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 319.93

Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 93
Electricity............................. 23.36
Gas..................................... 30
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 35.16
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 22.99
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 17.99
Groceries etc. ......................... 50
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 36
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 32.5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 7.16
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Car lease............................... 158.36
Bank fees............................... 18
Total monthly expenses.................. 986.57

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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card....................3300......80........0
Credit card....................2100......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........5400......130.......-

Monthly Budget Summary[/b]
Total monthly income.................... 1,075
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 986.57
Available for debt repayments........... 88.43
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 130
Amount short for making debt repayments. -41.57

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,400
Net Assets.............................. -5,400