Help with debt, SOA included

Wardee

The time has finally come after many years of debt spiralling out of control that I need to fix it before it really will be too late. Writing it down does not make for good reading but I really don't know where to start. Credit cards 2 & 3 don't get used.

My rental contract is up in 2 months so I'm currently looking into much cheaper alternatives to free up some much needed funds, I'm thinking more towards a shared house. Water bill is high but will come down/be in credit when bill is due. I'm tempted to increase my loan to get me out of my overdraft & pay off the small credit card to stop the interest but spread it over a much longer period to lower monthly payments, I doubt that is a good idea though? Or is it time to look into debt consolidation?

I've just started using ynab and have recorded everything for this month so far and plan to continue using it as it's good to see everything in one place. I've included any toiletries & household products under groceries.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated on where to start and what to tackle first

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 78
Electricity............................. 37
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 7.5
TV Licence.............................. 12.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 33.5
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 24.5
Car Insurance........................... 41
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 5
Haircuts................................ 8
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Netflix................................. 7.99
Total monthly expenses.................. 1139.86


Assets
Cash.................................... 650
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 900
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1550

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................9010......250.......0
Overdraft......................2047......44........18.28
Credit Card 1..................437.......8.........17.4
Credit Card 3..................4843......48........0
Credit Card 2..................3382......33........0
Total unsecured debts..........19719.....383.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,139.86
Available for debt repayments........... 60.14
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 383
Amount short for making debt repayments. -322.86

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,550
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -19,719
Net Assets.............................. -18,169

anna_1977

Wardee wrote: »

The time has finally come after many years of debt spiralling out of control that I need to fix it before it really will be too late. Writing it down does not make for good reading but I really don't know where to start. Credit cards 2 & 3 don't get used.

My rental contract is up in 2 months so I'm currently looking into much cheaper alternatives to free up some much needed funds, I'm thinking more towards a shared house. Water bill is high but will come down/be in credit when bill is due. I'm tempted to increase my loan to get me out of my overdraft & pay off the small credit card to stop the interest but spread it over a much longer period to lower monthly payments, I doubt that is a good idea though? Or is it time to look into debt consolidation?

I've just started using ynab and have recorded everything for this month so far and plan to continue using it as it's good to see everything in one place. I've included any toiletries & household products under groceries.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated on where to start and what to tackle first

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 78
Electricity............................. 37
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 7.5
TV Licence.............................. 12.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 33
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 0 never ever buy clothes?
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 24.5
Car Insurance........................... 41
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100is this child maintenance ?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 5
Haircuts................................ 8
Entertainment........................... 0 do you never go out?
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Netflix................................. 7.99
Total monthly expenses.................. 1139.86


Assets
Cash.................................... 650
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 900
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1550

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................9010......250.......0
Overdraft......................2047......44........18.28
Credit Card 1..................437.......8.........17.4
Credit Card 3..................4843......48........0
Credit Card 2..................3382......33........0
Total unsecured debts..........19719.....383.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,139.86
Available for debt repayments........... 60.14
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 383
Amount short for making debt repayments. -322.86

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,550
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -19,719
Net Assets.............................. -18,169

Hey,

Well done on addressing your debt. I would suggest you talk to Stepchange or another FREE debt charity as soon as possible. You clearly can't afford the debt repayments and I think you need to look at a token payment plan immediately and then address the bigger picture.

Moving into a shared house will reduce all your costs.


I know there are some great people on here that will come along and give some great advice no doubt but good luck!

Wardee

anna_1977 wrote: »

Hey,

Well done on addressing your debt. I would suggest you talk to Stepchange or another FREE debt charity as soon as possible. You clearly can't afford the debt repayments and I think you need to look at a token payment plan immediately and then address the bigger picture.

Moving into a shared house will reduce all your costs.


I know there are some great people on here that will come along and give some great advice no doubt but good luck!

Thank you for your reply, sorry I tried to fill out the SOA as best I could but knew I'd miss something. The £100 a month is child maintenance, I haven't bought clothes for a very long time now and hardly ever go out but yes I should have entered something into the entertainment category too

sourcrates

With a little manipulation to your budget you may well qualify for a debt relief order.

Have you looked into the possibility of doing one ?

Wardee

Not sure what that is so I'll have a read about it, thank you for your reply

sourcrates

Wardee wrote: »

Not sure what that is so I'll have a read about it, thank you for your reply

Information here :

https://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou/DRODebtrelieforder.aspx?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=288026&WT.seg_1=dro&gclid=CjwKCAjwlIvXBRBjEiwATWAQIrVcqKXqpQ_UewehP_GEckV61YKCdvQLsIRuMramWhvWpNEkEkTSthoCSNYQAvD_BwE

National_Debtline

Hello Wardee and welcome to the forum.


However you end up deciding to deal with these debts, it is vital that you start by opening a "basic" bank account somewhere you owe no money. You will not get on top of this situation while you continue to live in an overdraft. Based on the SOA you helpfully pasted above, extending an existing loan and debt consolidation are not viable or appropriate solutions for you. Please see the link below for an idea of what easy-to-open basic accounts are available on the High Street:


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/basicbankaccounts/openingabasicbankaccount.aspx


You should ensure that existing direct debits and other payments scheduled for your credit debts are not transferred across to your new account - it's clear they are unaffordable and unsustainable. By moving your income somewhere that is out of their reach and free of interest charges, you're at least then in a position where you can start to negotiate on your terms, not theirs.


Back up the information you're being given here with some more thorough, detailed debt advice from one of the free charity services. You'll make better choices by being aware of all the different options that may be available as you can then decide which one best meets your needs and aspirations.


Dennis
@natdebtline

Dobbibill

Debt consolidation is not going to cure anything - you haven't got the disposible income to service it.

You need a debt solution with one of the debt charities.

All the best.

enthusiasticsaver

Can you get another job? £1200 does not sound a lot. Is that full time? Without upping your income your debt is unaffordable. Do not consolidate or take out extra borrowing. It will not help you. You could look at a DMP as unless your income is increased you clearly cannot afford to service it.

[Deleted User]

One thing stands out...you don't have any insurance not even for contents?

Wardee

Thanks again for the replies, I really appreciate it. I am very determined to sort things out once and for all as it is starting to get me down now. My wages are full time yes, there is sometimes overtime available but obviously not a guaranteed thing. I assume this is better to do when available rather than look for a second job? I could also restart some matched betting which I have done before briefly to try and get a little extra per month even if it's only £25 a week.

I'd never make the extra required per month from overtime to at least 'break even' hence my thought that the only approach I had was to take out an increased loan over a much longer period to pay off at least 1 large credit card and lower my monthly loan bill. Obviously this is a bad idea as pointed out above.

I will be speaking with a debt charity tomorrow to see what they have to say about my situation.