Debt advice please

doodle55

Good morning folks,

Been reading through posts for a while now. You guys are very supportive. I have been struggling for a while now with my money situation its really starting to get to me.

Currently - £16k in debt

Made up off loans, credit cards, store cards, car finance & overdraft.

Income - £1200.00 per month

My current outgoings are £900.00 per month

I have never looked for help or advice iv just let it build up over time but i think its time to seek help. Iv a young family with two kids (2) & (5).

I have been reading about StepChange - has anyone any dealings with them?

Thanks

Fiona_CW

Step Change are great. You can fill in your debts, income and expenditure online and they will tell you your options. I have recently set up a DMP with them.

National_Debtline

Hi Doodle55 and welcome to MSE,

Step Change are one of the free debt advice services, so they are a good place to speak to about your options. You will need to check what sort of finance the car is subject to, if it is hire purchase and you want to keep it then you must maintain these payments, and then deal with the loans, cards and overdraft separately.

Don't bank with any bank you owe money to, open a new basic bank account with a different bank to keep your money safe and then do a SOA to look at your income and expenses. Using the surplus you could consider renegotiating with the debts yourself or a free Debt Management Plan. If you do have a £300 surplus, an IVA or bankruptcy shouldn't be necessary. If you can post a SOA, we can go through more specific details about the suitable options to help you.


Laura
@natdebtline

doodle55

Thank you for coming back to me. Im new to this what is an SOA?

Willing2Learn

An SOA is a Statement of Affairs. It is basically a listing of all income, expenses, assets and debts. Posting yours up here will allow members to advise and support you. Please click on the 'format for MSE' button at the bottom of the form.

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

doodle55

Thank you. I typed it up below

Overdraft –
1. £500.00
2. £600.00
Loan –
1. £2223.46
2. £1076.75
3. £3550.00
CC –
1. £1211.88
2. £500.00
Car – This is Conditional Sale so I own the car at end of the term.
• £3675.00
Store Credit –
• £1463.80

Total £14,800.89 ☹

Monthly outgoings –
• Overdraft 1 - £20 per month
• Overdraft 2- £20 per month
• Loan 1 - £130.27
• Loan 2 - £51.00
• Loan 3 - £120.00
• CC 1 - £45.00
• CC2 - £60.00
• Car - £85.00
• Car insurance –£85.00
• Phone 1 - £50.00
• Phone 2 - £60.00
• Sky - £38.00
• Store account - £50.00
• Rent - £80.00

Total - £894.27

Willing2Learn

Hello again. That's not enough info. It needs to be the full SOA, so that we can see all your combined income, expenses, assets and debts. Use the link in my last post.

doodle55

Hey, i filled in the details on the link. Do i just copy and paste it onto here?

Willing2Learn

doodle55 wrote: »

Hey, i filled in the details on the link. Do i just copy and paste it onto here?

Click on the 'format for MSE' button first (at the bottom of the form), and then yes, it's just copy and paste

doodle55

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 1230
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 200
Total monthly income.................... 1430

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 85
Rent.................................... 80
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 110
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 38.99
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 17.2
Car Insurance........................... 84
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40
Other child related expenses............ 0
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)...... 100
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 917.31


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


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Secured Debt.................. 3675.....(85).......22
Total secured & HP debts...... 3675......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................2223.46...130.2.....9.9
Loan ..........................1076.75...52.03.....28.7
Loan ..........................3550......120.......12
Total unsecured debts..........6850.21...302.23....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,430
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 917.31
Available for debt repayments........... 512.69
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 302.23
Amount left after debt repayments....... 210.46

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 3,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -3,675
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,850.21
Net Assets.............................. -7,525.21

Willing2Learn

Why is your mobile phone bill a mammoth £110/month?

Is your groceries budget really only £100/month?

You could halve the clothing budget to £50/month while you are repaying your debts.

Your SOA is missing 2 overdrafts and 2 Credit Cards in the unsecured section.

Is your rent really only £80/month?

You need to put something in your monthly budget for car maintenance...

Ideally, you want to be putting something into your pot for Emergency Funds, to cover your backside in case something comes up unexpectedly.