What a fudgewimple

anna_1977

I feed my labrador canagan - it's bl**dy expensive but the owner of the small pet shop suggested I reduce the amount of kebble I give and bulk up with the fruit and veg that is already in food (carrots, apple, sweet potato) etc. I spoke to the vet about this who agreed good idea - means a bag is lasting about 7 weeks now instead of 4.

Pet insurance - I used E&L (price comparison) and costs £11 for the dog with life cover etc.

I think you really need to look at the dog costs, I appreciate you said you have started to. Are you cutting down the dog walker this week?

Also, is you're on facebook it's absolutely worth advertising things on there not ebay as there are no charges at all.

Do you even need 2 firesticks, why not just one? Use free Spotify rather than the £5 a month one.

I am not truly convinced you've had you LBM - I think you are part way there and you're realised what a hole you are in but something has to give. You both need to earn more or spend a LOT less.

Sincere good luck with your journey though

AstroTurtle

I also want to echo the comments from above.

In a harsh reality i really dont think you've had your lightbulb moment.

You may have the odd bonus coming in which is only a bonus and not always guaranteed which is a good temporary relief to you. You may sell every possession in your house but £30 here and £100 there isn't going to make £52,000 disappear.

At the end of the day you are a consistent £640 short of being able to even stay afloat. and even with these bonuses and ebay runs you are still behind and haven't' even considered not buying posh dog food.

Realistically I think you MAY need to consider bankruptcy or an IVA as you are not able to afford to pay your debts even with all the changes in the world you wont lose the dogs and you can't afford them either.

Even if you managed to raise an extra £640 per month it's a long road to maintain those payments as life always gets in the way with extra bills and you'll need a pay rise of at least £9200 to even raise £640pm after taxes.


I honestly wish you the best of luck but you really need to knuckle down and be realistic about when you are going to be refused further credit and how you will pay for things like dog food, walkers, rent, childcare.

Red-Squirrel_2

laveugle wrote: »

Well he does get appropriate medical care, and it's not like we don't look after his teeth,

He’s 6 and he hasn’t been to a dentist in 3 years. Sorry, but no you aren’t looking after his teeth.

I’m glad to hear you are going to sort it today though, don’t be put off by the info on the website, try anyway, and don’t restrict yourself to one or two practices, you drive so go further afield if you need to. Good luck.

Red-Squirrel_2

laveugle wrote: »

I just got it in to my head that if I gave the dogs cheap food they'd have health problems

To make it worse I used to feed them raw and that ended up being the most expensive food possible! We've got two bags of dog food left so I will have a look at chappie, I can always mix a can in with their dry food which will make it last longer.

I think my insurance is £17 for the spaniel and £13 for the terrier. Can I ask what level of cover you had?

EDIT: Think we will trial Skinner's dog food as its £30ish for 15kilo and if I get two bags there is 20% off

Chappie dry is £22 for 15kg in Wilko. It’s perfectly healthy, I have a diabetic dog and loads of owners feed Chappie as it’s one of the lowest fat foods with high protein levels. More expensive doesn’t actually always mean you are getting better quality.

mumofthetwins

on a completely separate note ... I used to be a wine analyst for a number of years and the exact same wine was in our supermarket own brand compared to the more expensive one .. exact same wine from exact same vat .. so defo echo above .. more expensive does not mean better x

laveugle

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

He!!!8217;s 6 and he hasn!!!8217;t been to a dentist in 3 years. Sorry, but no you aren!!!8217;t looking after his teeth.

I!!!8217;m glad to hear you are going to sort it today though, don!!!8217;t be put off by the info on the website, try anyway, and don!!!8217;t restrict yourself to one or two practices, you drive so go further afield if you need to. Good luck.

Turns out he had an appointment a year ago. Husband can't remember taking him but the dentist remembers seeing him :T So we're only 6 months late.....And he's now booked in for 10th July at the dentist local to me, I'll make appointments for husband and I in a couple of months.

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Chappie dry is £22 for 15kg in Wilko. It!!!8217;s perfectly healthy, I have a diabetic dog and loads of owners feed Chappie as it!!!8217;s one of the lowest fat foods with high protein levels. More expensive doesn!!!8217;t actually always mean you are getting better quality.

Chappie Dry used to have carcinogenic ingredients in it (BHA and BHT) so I'd be interested to know if it still does. The tinned one doesn't I know that, we feed the dog's Butchers tripe mix with their kibble so chappie would probably work just as well!

I'd rather check out skinners first, it's still a huge saving on what we currently have

laveugle

So I've done a quick reccy of what I need to do with regards to cutting down bills and I've come out with this. I also miscalculated my wage, and its gone up £100. I'm not eligible for a salary increase yet, I had a 5k increase last month.

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.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1600 up by £100
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1250
Benefits................................ 80
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2930

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 600
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 110
Electricity............................. 40 EDF have reduced energy bill
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 20 checked and it averages £20 for the both of us over the contract
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 11.23 knocked spotify off this will talk to hubby about netflix and amazon tonight
Internet Services....................... 28 contract ends september or october and will see if i can get cheaper from virgin
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 I am going to try to spend less than £100 in July
Clothing................................ 20 Saving for school uniform
Petrol/diesel........................... 200 I'm going to work out exactly how much it should cost to drive to work and try to beat that figure
Road tax................................ 11
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 243 This is actually childcare vouchers
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 30.4
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 59 need advice on fleaing, worming and vaccinations
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 9
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 5 nominal figure to cover son's birthday and christmas. OH and I agreed no presents for us
Haircuts................................ 10 covers DS and OH. I'll try to bleach my own hair
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Dog Walker.............................. 260 reduced it by one day a week will reduce it more of it is feasible
Pet Food................................ 40 switching to skinners. think it will cost less than this a month
Husband and Son pocket Money............ 40 reduced OH to £30 and DS to £10 (pays for school trips)
Total monthly expenses.................. 2039.63


Assets
Cash.................................... 3000
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 3000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Amex...........................8596.1....300.......0
Overdraft......................500.......0.........0
TESCO..........................402.03....25........0
BarclayCard ...................1066.5....27.34.....0
BarclayCard ...................1857.2....41.78.....0
Halifax........................2337.94...23.86.....0
Loan...........................3393.49...112.6.....0
HSBC...........................5902.86...152.......0
Family Loan....................14430.....180.......0
DMP ...........................9296.46...105.......0
TSB............................1208.71...14........0
PayPal Credit..................2646.73...45........0
Total unsecured debts..........51638.02..1026.58...-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,930
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,039.63
Available for debt repayments........... 890.37
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,026.58
Amount short for making debt repayments. -136.21

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 3,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -51,638.02
Net Assets.............................. -48,638.02

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

So my shortfall is a lot less now. I'm going to have to keep a really really tight belt and resist any spending urges. I can make this shortfall up, if I have to find some work at a weekend then I will do.


Also just noticed my Virgin Media contract is for £26.54 a month (just internet) and ends in august. Can I do better than this? I'd prefer fibre optics for working from home on the odd occasion

Red-Squirrel_2

laveugle wrote: »

Chappie Dry used to have carcinogenic ingredients in it (BHA and BHT) so I'd be interested to know if it still does. The tinned one doesn't I know that, we feed the dog's Butchers tripe mix with their kibble so chappie would probably work just as well!

I'd rather check out skinners first, it's still a huge saving on what we currently have

Meat is a carcinogen, exhaust fumes are carcinogens, both of these are far more dangerous to your health than a tiny amount of food additive in kibble is to your dog’s health but I bet you don’t worry about them very much!

anna_1977

Go onto somewhere like top cashback to shop for broadband etc, you might find you can get a better deal
I think £100 food a month is ambitious for the 3 of you but good luck with that.
I can't remember if you've already said but are you paying for council tax over 12 months not 10?

pelirocco

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

If I were the OP I would rather go bankrupt and have to change career than give up my animals. Especially so soon after willingly taking on the responsibility and with a 7 year old who might never truly forgive me. It!!!8217;s not the dogs or the child that caused the problems!

A change of job might be beneficial for mental health too, at the moment you!!!8217;re working rubbish hours with a pain of a commute for not very much money. Maybe it!!!8217;s timefor a rethink of what matters? Without the debt hanging over you you could afford to earn less and get home sooner for the dogs.

Except that
A) Finding a job isnt always easy
Finding somewhere to rent while bankrupt can also be difficult
C) Finding somewhere to rent with dogs is hard enough

My children /family will always come first and if a pet has to go , so be it . What happens when the money runs out completely and you cant pay vet bills