How did I end up here...

The_Barefoot_DJ

OK. Here goes. Big breath and in for a penny (pardon the pun). After another pay day went past recently and within a few days my bank account was empty. Here's my statement of affairs:
Monthly Income

Income Amount Net Monthly Salary £ 2,450.00 Partner's Monthly Salary £ 0.00 Benefits £ 0.00 TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME £ 2,450.00

Essential Monthly Outgoings

Outgoings
Mortgage £ 450.00
Electricity £ 25.00
Gas £ 25.00
Water Rates £ 25.00
Telephone £ 15.00
Mobile Phone £ 50.00
TV Licence £ 15.00
Satellite TV £ 15.00
Internet £ 15.00
Groceries £ 200.00
Petrol £ 100.00
Car Insurance £ 50.00

TOTAL MONTHLY OUTGOINGS £ 985.00
NET MONTHLY SURPLUS £ 1,465.00

Monthly Debts

BoS Loan £ 18,000.00
Audi Loan £ 13,000.00
Halifax Visa £ 9,000.00
Abbey £ 4,000.00
MBNA Visa £ 3,000.00
Student Loan £ 3,000.00
TOTAL DEBT £ 50,000.00

So I've tried to add in as much as possible and yet despite it saying I have a surplus of nearly £1,500.00 I'm skint.

I don't smoke, drink or go out a great deal.

My debts total £50,000 of unsecured debt. My wife looks after some of the bills (council tax, buildings insurance and pays her share of the mortgage - just come out of interest only fixed rate period)

I know I haven't worked out my car costs but they aren't too high (£500.00 per year including servicing and road tax).

Debts
Bank of Scotland personal load = £18,000 with 3 years remaining (£450.00 pcm)
Car HP agreement = £13,000 with 2 years remaining (£315.00)
Halifax Visa credit card = £9,000 (6% min payment £180.00)
Abbey Visa credit card = £4,000 (6% min payment £89.00)
MBNA Visa credit card = £3,000 (9% min payment £30.00)
Student Loan = £3,000 (3% fixed payment £130.00)

What am I missing.

Barefoot

itsnever2lateisit?

I suggest you start a spending diary and note down everything spent every day, it will take you a month to build a history, but it will tell you where that money is going, little things like newspapers for example soon add up over a month.

But the big item missing is the monthly repayments on the loans, thats £1200 a month so you only have £245 to find

Quincifer

Congratulations on sitting down and finding it all out so someone can help, you're in the right place!

Now I'm not great on all the serious money stuff like APRs and mortgages but I can tell you that your mobile bill is HUGE so you must be able to cut that down somehow. I noticed you have a landline, mobile, sky and the internet - is there no way you could join one of those all-in-one packages to get it a bit cheaper like Virgin Media etc? You pay nearly £100 a month to have those 4 things and I'm pretty sure Virgin do a 3 for £30 combo!

Hopefully thats one thing to get you started.

x

Scarlett.1974

The_Barefoot_DJ wrote: »

OK. Here goes. Big breath and in for a penny (pardon the pun). After another pay day went past recently and within a few days my bank account was empty. Here's my statement of affairs:
Monthly Income

Income Amount Net Monthly Salary £ 2,450.00 Partner's Monthly Salary £ 0.00 Benefits £ 0.00 TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME £ 2,450.00

Essential Monthly Outgoings

Outgoings
Mortgage £ 450.00
Electricity £ 25.00 have you checked uswitch to see if this is the cheapest for you? Might not make a massive saving, but every little helps - also check quidco if you do switch, for some free cashback.
Gas £ 25.00 as above.
Water Rates £ 25.00
Telephone £ 15.00
Mobile Phone £ 50.00 this is huge and should be cut right back. Can you lower your tarrif and then be really strict with yourself?
TV Licence £ 15.00
Satellite TV £ 15.00
Internet £ 15.00
Groceries £ 200.00 How many is this for? If it's just for 2 of you then this can be cut back. I spent £260 a month to feed 2 adults, 2/3 children (have stepson at the weekends) and a cat.
Petrol £ 100.00 This is a LOT. Can this be cut back anywhere? Walking, public transport, lift shares?
Car Insurance £ 50.00 This is very high, check www.moneysupermarket.com or www.confused.com and then www.quidco.co.uk again for cashback.

TOTAL MONTHLY OUTGOINGS £ 985.00
NET MONTHLY SURPLUS £ 1,465.00

Monthly Debts

BoS Loan £ 18,000.00
Audi Loan £ 13,000.00
Halifax Visa £ 9,000.00
Abbey £ 4,000.00
MBNA Visa £ 3,000.00
Student Loan £ 3,000.00
TOTAL DEBT £ 50,000.00

So I've tried to add in as much as possible and yet despite it saying I have a surplus of nearly £1,500.00 I'm skint.

I don't smoke, drink or go out a great deal.

My debts total £50,000 of unsecured debt. My wife looks after some of the bills (council tax, buildings insurance and pays her share of the mortgage - just come out of interest only fixed rate period)

I know I haven't worked out my car costs but they aren't too high (£500.00 per year including servicing and road tax).

Debts
Bank of Scotland personal load = £18,000 with 3 years remaining (£450.00 pcm)
Car HP agreement = £13,000 with 2 years remaining (£315.00)
Halifax Visa credit card = £9,000 (6% min payment £180.00)
Abbey Visa credit card = £4,000 (6% min payment £89.00)
MBNA Visa credit card = £3,000 (9% min payment £30.00)
Student Loan = £3,000 (3% fixed payment £130.00)

What am I missing.

Barefoot

Hi there and welcome to MSE.

My comments above are in red, I hope they help a little.

While your outgoings, inc. debt repayments are high you DO have enough coming in to cover everything, in fact, from my workings out you should have approx. £300 a month surplus. So, it's definitely a good idea to start a spending diary so you can see where that money is going.

Scarlett xx

CLAPTON

How did the level of debt come about?
Are there things you can sell?

Some of the things you may spend money on
car tax / servicing /MOT/ repairs etc, clothes, xmas and presents, work lunches, coffees etc, hobbies, holidays , weekends away, newspapers/ magazines, any house spending, socialising

whilst some of these may be occasional they all mount up.

A spending diary will help a lot to track down the 'normal' monthly spending but you also need to work out all those annual or one off costs too (for theses you can divide by 12 to get a monthly average and add it to your budget.)

Softstuff

I notice there is a substantial debt there to Audi, presumably that's a car? Given that it's rather a large amount, is it possible to sell the car, repay the loan and downsize to a more economical less prestigious vehicle?

woofwoofwoof

The_Barefoot_DJ wrote: »

My debts total £50,000 of unsecured debt. My wife looks after some of the bills (council tax, buildings insurance and pays her share of the mortgage - just come out of interest only fixed rate period)

Debts
Bank of Scotland personal load = £18,000 with 3 years remaining (£450.00 pcm)
Car HP agreement = £13,000 with 2 years remaining (£315.00)
Halifax Visa credit card = £9,000 (6% min payment £180.00)
Abbey Visa credit card = £4,000 (6% min payment £89.00)
MBNA Visa credit card = £3,000 (9% min payment £30.00)
Student Loan = £3,000 (3% fixed payment £130.00)

What am I missing.

Barefoot

Sorry for asking but, are all these debts SOLELY yours, what I mean is did your wife not have any sort of a benefit from these loans, etc. Can you not have a joint household income and then with you both working at it get rid of all the debt in your house - maybe she has some as well?

The_Barefoot_DJ

Thanks for all your comments. There's a number of things which could help I guess. One is getting rid of my car. I bought it as I have a senior role and don't qualify (mileage) for a company car. I do get mileage at 40pm which pays for my fuel every month basically.

My mobile bill is fixed but I have a work mobile which I can use for personal calls so I'm letting everyone know my new number. As soon as I am out of the fixed zone I will reduce the monthly fee down.

I've not told my wife about all my debts. It is my fault and I wanted to control them myself. If I maintain my payments then I will be debt free in 2010.

Scary thing is that my wife is now pregnant so things will get much tighter towards the end of the year if she decides not to go back to work or goes part-time.

I have sold all my assets and done the ebay thing. Not sure what I can sell next really.

Any tips..

slowlyfading

an update on how you're doing? has anything been reduced since you last posted?

Shineyhappy

Have you looked at Quidco and some of the other cash back websites? Eagerlearner has a q & a thread somewhere on this board. It is possible to make a couple of pounds a day doing daily clicks and there are a few freebies you can sign up to for free that will give you cash back (money for signing up to newsletters or having a hilarys blind salesperson in) have a look at the freebies section for a thread on free Quidco sign ups and Pigsback.

Sorry without letting your wife know whats going on its pretty hard to know what else to suggest. Have you thought about telling her you would like to pay off a student loan before the baby comes so you could get a second job?

There is a new section on MSE called Up your Income which maybe worth a look or have a read of one of the dfw challenge threads such as the olympic challenge or the make £10 a day one?

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

chevalier

Firstly I think that you have to tell her, then you can start acting as if you don't have her income NOW and get used to it. All luxuries have to go, that includes the car you need for your senior role. Swap it for a people carrier or some other cheaper transport now you have had the happy news (use it as an excuse if you need one).

The other reason you have to tell her NOW is that she does NOT want to find out from some one else this sort of thing. Not when she has hormones going all over the place with the pregnancy. Also she may be blithely assuming that she doesn't need to go back to work AT ALL because you earn all this money. How upset is she going to be if she has to put bubs into a nursery at 12 weeks old because she HAS to go back to work and you tell her later rather than now.

good luck
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