Building the future!

[Deleted User]

£7500 is a fantastic amount to get back x

Gemsy81

Thank you all for your comments. I do feel incredibly lucky that we have had this money come in - it has taken a massive weight off my shoulders, but they other half of me feels so bloody cross with myself...that would basically have been our house deposit if we hadn't been so bloody awful with money

Really seeing the importance of separating out work and personal. Our business turns over around £60k per month (which is obviously mostly eaten up on running costs), which can skew your take on finances somewhat (i.e. you don't get so scared by bigger sums of money/debts). What I have to remember is that our income is ONLY what we take home in wages, and that is what we should be spending! I'll be on later with a full list of all the remaining debts. x

Gemsy81

Name of Debt Amount remaining Interest Rate
Close Brothers Motor Finance 8837 5.50%
Barclaycard 1 3295 6.90%
Barclaycard 2 3766 26.40%
Lloyds Credit card 5731 15.90%
TOTAL 21629

This is what is outstanding as of today. Obviously staring out at me is that Barclaycard with the huge interest rate (really not sure why it is so high....we obviously were blissfully ignorant (!) when putting our holiday on it last year! So I am thinking first things first, pay that card off in full. I am not worried about the car finance, it is ticking down nicely, is over halfway there and is a nice low interest rate and is a car which holds its value well, we will hopefully keep it for a further 3/4 years after the finance is paid off.

My business debts are a whole other kettle of fish, but I have allocated cash in the business budget for them, and with the massive shaving of budgets I have done this week, and some very careful planning, I am confident all should remain under control! If I start rocking in a corner it is because I have lost control of those!

Gemsy81

Already paid off with sale of asset (for my records and for me to feel better when all feels hopeless). I know its less than 21000, but I had to pay commission on the sale plus some asset related bills so I didn't end up with that in my pocket.

Amigo Loans 8538 49.90%
Satsuma Loans 2331 Doesn't say! high!
MyJar 1515 778%
Likely Loans 3435 59.90%

Just looking at this scares me
1. How desperate I was to have put myself in this situation?
2. This was not difficult to borrow this much sub prime, I don't know how they get away with it!
3. I am so determined not to go back to this place. This is part of the reason I have started this diary because then it is staring me in the face.

Another aside - I cannot tell you how difficult it was to pay off all this money....they make it SO EASY to borrow more on their website, but it is like fort knox to actually PAY OFF a loan!

[Deleted User]

Wow those interest rates are shocking!
It's so easily done though when you just bury your head in the and and keep spending without tracking everything!
The good news is you're off to a cracking start and you really do seem to have had a proper light bulb moment. You'll be amazed by how quickly the snowball effect gathers pace - you've got this!

Gemsy81

Moguline wrote: »

Wow those interest rates are shocking!
It's so easily done though when you just bury your head in the and and keep spending without tracking everything!
The good news is you're off to a cracking start and you really do seem to have had a proper light bulb moment. You'll be amazed by how quickly the snowball effect gathers pace - you've got this!

Thank you I'm still having nights of waking up in a cold sweat but they are fewer and further in between now! I'm so shocked that these companies are allowed to operate, and in such a cynical way - they clearly prey on the vunerable. Since I have paid off all these loans, all I am getting is texts and emails offering me more money! Its outrageous really :mad:

beanielou

It really is dire

Gemsy81

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1500
Benefits................................ 82
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3082

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 317
Rent.................................... 1300
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 165
Electricity............................. 67
Gas..................................... 0
Oil.....................................
Water rates............................. 25
Telephone (land line)................... 35
Mobile phone............................ 70
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 35
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 250
Clothing................................
Petrol/diesel...........................
Road tax................................ 25
Car Insurance........................... 75
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 100
Other child related expenses............ 20
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 35
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund..........................
Total monthly expenses.................. 2330

These are what I would call our day to day 'essentials', on top of this, we are currently allocating ourselves £200 each per month, and with that we pay for anything we want, so gifts, drinks, meals, hairdressers etc etc. So that brings it to 2730. So ideally I think I would like to pay us more, certainly in the short term to get these credit cards gone. I will see if I can have a tweak of the work budget....or we will just have to work even harder to earn more money and increase the budget!

A couple of areas for improvement that I can see, and I welcome any input.
- Mobile bill is high, I know. I have an iPhone because it does sync in with all my Apple technology which is quite important for my job. We have full data packages which we probably don't need as mobile signal is so sketchy we always end up using wifi - I could look at this!
- Sky TV....currently paying 12 a month for a second box in our bedroom, on a TV which we barely switch on (more of those bad decisions coming out of the woodwork!)
- Childcare will go to zero from July, my little one will start school in September, and he'll be off over the summer holidays and I will work from home.
- Currently have two cars, we are trying to go down to one but it is proving very very difficult to juggle work and childcare etc. My insurance is very high as I had not had my own insurance for years and had to start from zero no claims bonus, but that is starting to go up again.
- My life insurance is high unfortunately due to some health problems
- Fuel paid through work

[Deleted User]

Looks like a good start!
If you can make do with just the one car, that would make such a big difference. We got rid of our only car in November last year and haven't looked back. I walk everywhere now and I'm so much fitter, and I enjoy the quiet in my head while I walk ha.
If you can reduce/get rid of the Sky package that would help.
Your rent seems really high - is there a possibility of moving somewhere more affordable? Realise that might not be possible/desired but worth considering.
Do you really need £200 spending money each? We have £200 per month in that category, but for all 3 of us. Even cutting back a little bit here could save you £100 a month easily. Could you cut back on gifts/meals/drinks? When we feel like a meal out, we just get a chippy tea instead and usually spend less than a tenner that way. Much better than £60 for a fancy meal. We only have those for very special occasions now - we can have them when we're debt-free haha.

[Deleted User]

PS - my little one starts school in September too, exciting!
Is the school walking distance from your house? If so, that would make getting rid of a car easier, right?