40K of debt across CC’s and a loan - feel helpless

Adam.logan

Hi,

This is my first post and I feel desperate at this stage and unsure how to proceed.

I currently have around 40k in credit card debt and loans, and I am starting to struggle to pay mortgage.

I earn around 50k per annum but still I am hitting the roof on my overdraft each month with it progressively getting tighter and tighter each month.

I am now suffering with anxiety and feel hopeless, I don’t know what to do any more. It is effecting my personal life and wlrk life and I’m terrified of anything should happen which was a surprise or out of the ordinary (a fine or a large bill) I will fail to be able to pay and then start a snowball effect of issues across my lenders.


[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3000
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3000

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1000
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 250
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120
Electricity............................. 10
Gas..................................... 10
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 15
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 70
TV Licence.............................. 6.25
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 10
Internet Services....................... 35
Groceries etc. ......................... 160
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 100
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 10
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 200
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Software................................ 17
Total monthly expenses.................. 2023.25


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 250000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 1500
Total Assets............................ 251500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 250000...(1000).....0
Secured Debt.................. 750......(250)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 250750....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Amex...........................10861.....404.......4
Barclay Card...................14500.....390.......17.68
MBNA...........................10378.....103.......0
Barclays Loan..................5000......200.......5.5
Total unsecured debts..........40739.....1097......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,000
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,023.25
Available for debt repayments........... 976.75
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,097
Amount short for making debt repayments. -120.25

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 251,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -250,750
Total Unsecured debt.................... -40,739
Net Assets.............................. -39,989

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justjohn

You need to do an SOA. Then someone will help out

clairebeth

Hello Adam,

I rarely post on this forum, but felt I needed to log in and reply to you. You are obviously very stressed and your worries are keeping you awake enough to be posting here at 2am!

The first thing to say is: it will be ok. Take a deep breath, there are people here who can help, and, one step at a time, you can get on top of your debts and come out the other side. There IS light at the end of the tunnel, and you will soon start to see it.

The first thing to do is a statement of affairs:

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

Mind to include the interest rates on each of your debts.

Then format it for 'MSE' and post it here. Then the wise people of this forum can give you advice on the best way to tackle your debts and regain your peace of mind.

Another really helpful thing is this budget planner:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning/#bplanner

It helps you see where your biggest spends are and helps you get all the bits and pieces down in one place. I would suggest you have your online banking open at the same time so you can give a truly accurate numbers. Also take a note of cash withdrawals and random spends that you can't account for and add them up. I once counted that my hubby had spent £430 in a month with cash withdrawal and small Sainsbury's local spends and he had absolutely no idea what he'd done with it!

Once you've done that, why not challenge yourself to a Money Makeover as suggested on the home page:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

You will have a clear idea of what your bills are once you've done your budget, so you can use this information to shop around for better deals/haggle with current providers/ cancel services you no longer need such as Sky tv or an unused gym membership. If any of your debts are on high interest rates, you could also start looking at the possibility of transferring them to lower rates like a 0% credit card.

Do you think you could set aside your Sunday to do this? I think you'll have a much better night's sleep tonight if you can.

It WILL be ok. You earn a good wage, it will just take some time and discipline, but it it will happen!

All the very best to you.

Dobbibill

Hi Adam.logan -Welcome to the forum.

Take a deep breath - grab a cuppa and follow Clairebeth's advice in #3.

Once you post your SOA, the good friendly forum members can have a look at it with fresh eyes.
Be honest with yourself when filling it out - this will get you the best, tailored suggestions.

fatbelly

I would guess you're looking at a debt management plan or an IVA, depending on the numbers. The soa will tell us.

Obviously the mortgage is a priority, the cards, loans and overdraft less so. You may need to start thinking about a new bank account, not connected to your debts, that you can use to protect your income.

Willing2Learn

Brilliant advice already.

• Get that SOA posted up.
• Start a spending diary - to keep track of where your money is going.
• Open up a new current bank account - Someone from a different banking group of your creditors.
• Have that cuppa tea that everyone is going on about.

Good luck debt busting!

brizzlegirl

Just popping by to say you can sort this, post above says it all really

Best of luck

deux_x_m

I know exactly the feelings you describe - this time last year it was me. I earn the same and my debts were a bit larger.The anxiety and fears were then mine.
The above advice is 100% the way forward. What really helped me was creating a spreadsheet with my monthly income, outgoings and each individual debt. My spreadsheet goes through to 2022 which is when I should be free. It shows each debt with payments and the interest added the the next month. This motivates me, especially when I can pay even a couple of pounds extra as it shows the debt coming down that bit more. I can also see when each debt is due to be paid off, as long as I follow my plan.
Most critically you need to get a grip of your spending and know where every single penny goes, and if you need to spend it. I use You Need A Budget and another page on my spreadsheet (mainly duplication but makes me feel more in control!). Also have a look at ALL your regular outgoings such as utilities and food. I've swapped all my utility bills and am Aldis biggest fan. I make my lunch for work every day. Utilities, food and lunch alone have saved me a fortune in this last year.
Maybe consider creating a diary on the debt-free diary forum. I don't post on mine often but found just writing down my thoughts really helped me get my mind straight and helped me realise the position I was in (and why), and more importantly that I was going to overcome my debt.
Good luck with however you choose to tackle it - you can do it.

sourcrates

Adam.logan wrote: »

I earn around 50k per annum but still I am hitting the roof on my overdraft each month

I am now suffering with anxiety and feel hopeless, I don’t know what to do any more. It is effecting my personal life and wlrk life and I’m terrified of anything should happen which was a surprise or out of the ordinary (a fine or a large bill) I will fail to be able to pay and then start a snowball effect of issues across my lenders

Hi Adam,


You earn a very good wage, but unfortunately you have slipped into the "credit bubble" where you've kidded yourself that just because you can afford the minimum payments, all is well, and you have amassed a large chunk of debt for your troubles.


You are not on your own, many people fall into this trap, but as your a homeowner, your options are more limited for dealing with it, you really have two specific choices, you either deal with it by earning more and spending less, or you go down the debt management route.


Living within your means with no or little reliance on credit should be your aim.

Adam.logan

Thank you all for your responses. I will start the SOA calculator today and post my results.

Really appreciate all of your comments

Adam.logan

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3000
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3000

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1000
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 250
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120
Electricity............................. 10
Gas..................................... 10
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 15
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 70
TV Licence.............................. 6.25
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 10
Internet Services....................... 35
Groceries etc. ......................... 160
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 100
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 10
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 200
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Software................................ 17
Total monthly expenses.................. 2023.25


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 250000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 1500
Total Assets............................ 251500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 250000...(1000).....0
Secured Debt.................. 750......(250)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 250750....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Amex...........................10861.....404.......4
Barclay Card...................14500.....390.......17.68
MBNA...........................10378.....103.......0
Barclays Loan..................5000......200.......5.5
Total unsecured debts..........40739.....1097......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,000
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,023.25
Available for debt repayments........... 976.75
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,097
Amount short for making debt repayments. -120.25

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 251,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -250,750
Total Unsecured debt.................... -40,739
Net Assets.............................. -39,989

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