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Debt advice needed for reduced outgoings

Katieellen23
Posts: 8 Forumite
This is my first post on here so please just helpful advice and no judgement.
I need help working out how to reduce our monthly outgoings
My partner earns between £2500 and £3500 each month (commission based)
I previously earned £1550 each month, I am on maternity leave currently and will be returning to work part time so will earn around £1000 going forward. We will need to pay for childcare at about £400 per month when I return to work in June
We need to reduce our outgoings to assist with reduced wage whilst on maternity and to cope with childcare costs. Our joint outgoings are as follows:
Mortgage £553
Council tax £172
Child Maintenance (partners from previous relationship) £368
Gas & Electric £80
TV licence £13.20
BT £22.99
Tesco Loan £91.62 (balance £4500 with 4.5 years to go)
Other unsecured loan £100 (balance £1000)
Car finance £160
Negative equity loan £60 (balance £900 due to end in April 2021)
Credit cards payments £50 (£5000 outstanding on cards)
0% finance loan £13.89
Phone contracts £55
Insurances £43
Store cards £20 (£320 outstanding)
We live in a large 3 bedroom detached home, we have looked into reducing gas/electric bills but we cannot find a better deal. We were considering topping up our Tesco Loan to allow us to pay off the other loan at £100, the negative equity loan for £60 and store cards. The rate is 2.9% APR on the loan so significantly lower than the rate on the other loan and cards. We both have very good credit ratingsm
I would just like advice on how best we can reduce our outgoings during this time?
Thank you
I need help working out how to reduce our monthly outgoings
My partner earns between £2500 and £3500 each month (commission based)
I previously earned £1550 each month, I am on maternity leave currently and will be returning to work part time so will earn around £1000 going forward. We will need to pay for childcare at about £400 per month when I return to work in June
We need to reduce our outgoings to assist with reduced wage whilst on maternity and to cope with childcare costs. Our joint outgoings are as follows:
Mortgage £553
Council tax £172
Child Maintenance (partners from previous relationship) £368
Gas & Electric £80
TV licence £13.20
BT £22.99
Tesco Loan £91.62 (balance £4500 with 4.5 years to go)
Other unsecured loan £100 (balance £1000)
Car finance £160
Negative equity loan £60 (balance £900 due to end in April 2021)
Credit cards payments £50 (£5000 outstanding on cards)
0% finance loan £13.89
Phone contracts £55
Insurances £43
Store cards £20 (£320 outstanding)
We live in a large 3 bedroom detached home, we have looked into reducing gas/electric bills but we cannot find a better deal. We were considering topping up our Tesco Loan to allow us to pay off the other loan at £100, the negative equity loan for £60 and store cards. The rate is 2.9% APR on the loan so significantly lower than the rate on the other loan and cards. We both have very good credit ratingsm
I would just like advice on how best we can reduce our outgoings during this time?
Thank you
0
Comments
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Post this on the Debt-Free Wannabe board.0
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Hi and welcome to the forum
We need to see a complete Statement of Affairs (SOA) for best advice.
Please complete your SOA, using the online form linked above. Please remember to click on the 'format for MSE' button near the bottom of the form and then paste it into your thread.
For the best advice, guidance and support, I recommend you post your SOA into a new thread in the Debt-Free Wannabe (DFW) boardI work within the voluntary sector, supporting vulnerable people to rebuild their lives.
I love my job0 -
You may get more responses from the debt free wannabe board.
One place I save a lot of money is in the kitchen. Cooking from scratch, portioning and freezing, meal planning with an aim of 0 waste and avoiding convenience foods/takeaways saves me loads each month - if you're willing to have some veggie meals then you can save even more as lentils/beans are pennies compared to meats. For recipes/tips check out the old style board. You don't mention how many you're cooking for or your monthly food costs, so I have no idea if you're doing this already.
Also - your listed outgoings are under £2k. You must be spending more on something if you're struggling to manage on £2.5k minimum a month. Obvious stuff like car payments = insurance, tax and petrol too. You'll get better advice if you list absolutely everything.0 -
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned....................
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 950
Partners monthly income after tax....... 2700
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3650
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 553
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 160
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 172
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 36
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 55
TV Licence.............................. 13.2
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 23
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 320
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 30
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 400
Other child related expenses............ 50
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 13
Contents insurance...................... 13
Life assurance ......................... 40
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Child maintenance ...................... 368
Total monthly expenses.................. 2646.2
Assets
Cash.................................... 5000
House value (Gross)..................... 155000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 164500
Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 142500...(553)......2.9
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 6900.....(160)......8.9%
Total secured & HP debts...... 149400....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card ...................4600......50........0%
Credit card ...................400.......10........21%
Store card ....................250.......9........21%
Loan ..........................1000......100.......0%
Loan ..........................4500......91.82.....2.9%
Store card ....................78........5.........21%
Total unsecured debts..........10828.....265.82....-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,650
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,646.2
Available for debt repayments........... 1,003.8
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 265.82
Amount left after debt repayments....... 737.98
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 164,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -149,400
Total Unsecured debt.................... -10,828
Net Assets.............................. 4,2720 -
There is something wrong with your SOA as it shows you have a 'spare' £738 left over each month!! (or do you really have this surplus?)
Edit: I see you have started a new thread on the DFW board. I will use that thread instead of this oneI work within the voluntary sector, supporting vulnerable people to rebuild their lives.
I love my job0 -
We do have a surplus of around that amount however due to the amount of commitments we have we are keen to clear some things or refinance debt to improve our situation. We want to be able to put more money away per month in savings for our child and for holidays. I was looking for advice on the best way to potentially consolidate our debt and reduce what we pay each month. We have a good combined income but we are not able to live the life we should be able to because of the high level of commitments we have0
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Surely you can use that surplus to pay off the 21% cards immediately?Eco Miser
Saving money for well over half a century0 -
Benefits................................ 0
What about your Child Benefit £20.70 = £82.80 every 4 weeks.
Childcare/nursery....................... 400 ?
In OP you said that was from June. So why list it now?
Anyway to reduce the £55 a month mobile costs?Life in the slow lane0
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