Mentally Exhausted (newbie to forum)

tlc678910

Sorry to derail the thread but Gwynfil our lower oven stopped heating (electric oven) the top oven/grill still worked and in the lower oven the fan came on but it did not heat. Indesit quoted £70 if they visited and were unable to repair, £150 odd if they could repair. New cookers started from £190 (or secondhand) but we would have to pay for fitting.
Anyhow my husband (who is extremely non handy IMO) bought a new heating element for £10 off eBay and fitted it after watching YouTube instructions (no need to remove oven from the unit - accessed from inside oven). It is a replaceable part just a bit fiddly to access. We thought the £10 worth a punt even if it hadn't worked. Oven working again. Hope that is relevant to you!
Tlc

midnight_express

You can buy remote controls on ebay.

Fireflyaway

I'd agree with not consolidating. It can make you think you are dealing with it but usually you end up in more debt and can become complacent so it just drags it on longer.
Have you heard of dave ramsey? Have a look on youtube . The snowball method might be a good option.
I know how it feels not being able to do things especially if you have kids. You start to question why bother paying the debt if it's never ending!
If you do a written budget you can allow spending money on it. You need some quality of life. Remember how great it will feel to be debt free!

hdr

Here is my SOA:

I'm not sure on some of the things in here so have guesstimated some of them such as clothing/xmas and birthday spending etc.

There is quite a bit of surplus left over so I really really need to look into why I am not seeing that money!!!

(Also, I cannot gain any other credit as my credit score is extremely poor.)


Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1807
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1001
Benefits................................ 137
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2945

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 197
Rent.................................... 541.66
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 87
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 29.99
TV Licence.............................. 12.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 12.8
Internet Services....................... 25
Groceries etc. ......................... 400
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 29.8
Car Insurance........................... 134.05
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 11.36
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 7.5
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 20
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1853.53


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 5000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 10445....(197)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 10445.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Sofa...........................293.12....98........0
Credit Card #1.................218.......18........0
Credit Card #2.................229.22....16........0
Other (misc)...................6030.29...147.6.....0
Lowell #8......................1044......4.........0
Lowell #7......................152.......0.........0
Lowell #6......................125.......0.........0
Lowell #5......................182.22....4.........0
Curvissa.......................145.49....0.........0
SSL Capital....................243.63....20........0
Cabot Financial #2.............43.64.....0.........0
Cabot Finanical #1.............129.93....0.........0
Lowell #4......................310.88....4.........0
Lowell #3......................318.88....4.........0
Lowell #2......................777.82....4.........0
Lowell #1......................204.7.....4.........0
Fashion World..................1599.01...4.........0
Moorcroft #2...................753.14....10........0
Moorcroft #1...................1301......10........0
Freemans.......................100.......5.01......0
Curvissa.......................255.76....42.12.....0
Credit Card #3.................274.41....40........0
Total unsecured debts..........14732.14..434.73....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,945
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,853.53
Available for debt repayments........... 1,091.47
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 434.73
Amount left after debt repayments....... 656.74

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 5,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -10,445
Total Unsecured debt.................... -14,732.14
Net Assets.............................. -20,177.14

FBaby

How old are your children? There seem to be little cost associated to them. My experience is that it's all the little things that add up when it comes to kids. Do they do any activities, go to friends' birthday parties, need a new bike, or swimming accessories etc...

Spending on new stuff is luxury and a lifestyle. I don't have any debts, could afford a number of new things, but I don't because it becomes a vicious circle. I hardly watch TV so no watching adverts, and I keep a very full life, so going to the supermarket is about trying to get in and out as quickly as possible! I got to the point that the prospect of buying something is more hassle than the excitement it brings, even shopping on line!

Taking children out, make it a one off event and plan it well in advance. Kids don't need to go to expensive places to have fun. It's about what they are used to. Mine are now teenagers, we used to go out to expensive places, but I regret it as even a walk to the beach is now boring to them, whereas my friend used to take hers to walks in the countryside and such -and yes, they used to moan then!-, now still love the outdoors and doing activities that cost them nothing.

elsien

Can I just add that you really need to find something for an emergency fund. Then when things die/need replacing, it doesn't get whacked onto the credit card again.
If you don't know where the surplus is, that's where you need the spending diary to help track it down.

You've not put the APRs on your debts - if you don't know what they are it would be useful to find out so if there's no penalties you can pay off the higher ones first.

tallyhoh

Could you put a little aside in an emergency fund out of the money leftover each month & use some more to clear each small debt again every month?
Do you actually have £656.74 left over?

hdr

tallyhoh wrote: »

Could you put a little aside in an emergency fund out of the money leftover each month & use some more to clear each small debt again every month?
Do you actually have £656.74 left over?

I don't have anything left over each week sadly. So I'm not sure what's going on.

We don't eat out very often at all; maybe once a month. We don't spend much on entertainment or taking the kids out. Again, maybe once a month if we're lucky. I try and find cheap or free things to entertain the kids because I have no choice. We often go outdoors walking, cycling etc
We don't splash out on things, or treats.

I really need to spend time and effort in tracking our spending down to the penny. I just need to get the energy from somewhere as I have a spreadsheet that I look at 7 days a week and have done for many many years. I am at the point now of giving up because I have gotten no where and feel like it's a losing battle.

hdr

FBaby wrote: »

How old are your children? There seem to be little cost associated to them. My experience is that it's all the little things that add up when it comes to kids. Do they do any activities, go to friends' birthday parties, need a new bike, or swimming accessories etc...

Spending on new stuff is luxury and a lifestyle. I don't have any debts, could afford a number of new things, but I don't because it becomes a vicious circle. I hardly watch TV so no watching adverts, and I keep a very full life, so going to the supermarket is about trying to get in and out as quickly as possible! I got to the point that the prospect of buying something is more hassle than the excitement it brings, even shopping on line!

Taking children out, make it a one off event and plan it well in advance. Kids don't need to go to expensive places to have fun. It's about what they are used to. Mine are now teenagers, we used to go out to expensive places, but I regret it as even a walk to the beach is now boring to them, whereas my friend used to take hers to walks in the countryside and such -and yes, they used to moan then!-, now still love the outdoors and doing activities that cost them nothing.

14 and 11.
All we ever do is find free things for the kids to do. But I am at the point now where I am getting a bit tired of giving second best and not being able to treat them to something special every now and again.

I'm getting fed up of not being able to fix our garden fence, or repair the problems with our one car, or buying that special gift when it's a birthday or when something we really want or need is on offer... Scraping by week after week for years and years is not fun and wears me out! Especially when I work hard and earn a decent wage. Sorry, rant over!!
Thanks for the support.

tallyhoh

have you tried a daily spending diary?