Looking for advice/help re. large debt

medicalmumof4

Hiya,

My Husband and I are desperate to get more control of our finances after some very challenging years which have left us in a less than desirable position.

Here’s my SOA:

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 4
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details[
Monthly income after tax................ 900-1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1700
Benefits................................ 372
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2972 - 3272

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage.................................... 383
Council tax............................. 138
Electricity............................. 111
Gas..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 39
Telephone (land line)................... 29
Mobile phone............................ 24
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 464
Clothing................................100
Petrol/diesel........................... 300
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other child related expenses............500
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life Insurance…………………….12.50
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 25
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Overdraft repayment……..100
Emergency fund.......................... 300
Gym..................................... 30

Total monthly expenses…….2568.5...........

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
Car(s).................................. 15000
Total Assets............................ 15000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Tesco…………….……..1155………25…… 0
Clydesdale……………..6927………69…… 0
Sainsburys…………….6046………139……0
Barclay Card…………..2916………65……..0
M&S…………………….4119………105……0

Total unsecured debts.....21163.........

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income………………..2972-3272
Expenses (including HP & secured debts) 2568.5
Available for debt repayments………..503.5-703.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments.......403
Amount left after debt repayments....... 100.5-300.5

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 15000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -21163
Net Assets.............................. -6163

For further explanation:

My wage varies but that is my best guess

The emergency fund is essentially savings to cover the one off annual things - car tax/insurance/mot&service/house insurance which is why they are not in the main SOA either

The gym is an absolute necessity at the moment but will hopefully be able to be stopped after another 3-6 months


We can meet our minimum repayments but its such slow progress and we won't clear them at this rate before their interest free periods run out.

Would be grateful of any advice/input as to how we can optimise this situation. Thanks everyone!

JayRitchie

A few questions:

- you have an overdraft repayment - how much is the overdraft?
- how much is your mortage balance and how much is the house worth?
- how old are your children? What are the £500 child related costs spent on?
- when do the interest free periods run out?

enjoyyourshoes

The reality is that if you are serious in removing your debt you will have to make significant sacrifices on your previous life.

This inevitably will mean difficult decisions.

The Gym is such a decision, as along the other great suggestions that will come along in due course from this forum.

Work out Needs and wants and only spend on needs.

Novice_investor101

You need to factor in the annual bills like car insurance & home insurance as separate expenses. These are not what an emergency fund is for & if you did have an emergency, like a new boiler needed, you may have to use credit to pay for it.
Also include your house value & mortgages in your SOA.

mumofthetwins

Hi
The ones that stick out to me are
Groceries .. defo get this down try Lidl or Aldi and down shift brands.
Clothes £100/month is to much
Child Expenses .. you need to get this as close to £0 as possible ... at least until the debt is paid.

Have you looked at cash envelopes and doing a "real" written budget giving every £ a purpose ...

Try looking for Dave Ramsey on you tube .. I only really started knuckling down last month and so far have paid off nearly £4000 ... as said above it's about needs not wants and you wanting to get out of debt has to be the most important want.

Lisa x

z1a

"The gym is an absolute necessity at the moment but will hopefully be able to be stopped after another 3-6 months"

Rubbish.

theoretica

What can you do to make your wage the higher figure every month?

sourcrates

Well, the OP has 4 kids, and I know how much 3 can eat in a typical week.

£464 is a tad high, and can be reduced a bit, but a lot of the cheaper foods just don't taste nice at all, and are full of rubbish, I would rather be in debt, and still enjoy my food to be honest.

Also the OP may of recently had a child (just an assumption) and may want to regain her figure, hence the Gym, or there may be some other medical reason, do not judge people so easily Z1a !!

Be nice or think twice in future.

mumofthetwins

Just thinking ... on the gym front one thing I found saved me a fortune on gym costs was when I had my boys I could t get to the gym so started doing Jillian michaels workouts at home they are a killer but can fit around home commitments and also only cost around £15 per dvd .. it's also some of the best results I have seen .. I honestly had a six pack and was mega toned so could be worth a check out ?
Lisa x

Money_maker

I think the gym should stay. £30 a month is a small price for entertainment/evening out/care of your health. I would just drop the clothing budget to a sensible level by shopping in more economically priced shops/charity shops etc. Cheaper food isn't necessarily less healthy or less tasty. Oddly, I feel I had a much better diet when money was tight and we certainly ate a lot less which ties in well with the gym/weight loss thing.

JayRitchie

My thoughts are the the gym is only £30 a month and gives a way to feel that you've got out of the house to do something. Admittedly this is less important in summer than winter. I'd prioritise saving in other areas.