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feel like i'm going around in circles
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Were you in debt with the gas / electric?
If not, have you contacted them to double check the meters are not set to recover a debt from the previous tenants?
How is your property heated?
How is the hot water heated?
Do you have a gas or electric cooker?
Have you got energy saver bulbs and switch the lights off, and unused electrical items, when not in the room?
Is your council tax over 10 months as that's a lot for a £600pm property, with a single person discount.
Pay it over 12 months as that will reduce the monthly payment freeing up some cash to throw at the debts.
I would pick off the debts, start with the smallest and work upwards as it frees up money and seeing a debt go is an instant boost to work on the next one.
Is your OH aware of your financial position?
Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear 31/12/2029.1 -
£160 for utilities is beyond belief, a 6 bedroom household wouldn't use that much.
Even if you are with one of the expensive top up meters like Switch2 etc that charge a high standing charge I would expect utilities to be no more than £50 a month if you wastefully used utilities.0 -
MovingForwards said:Were you in debt with the gas / electric?
If not, have you contacted them to double check the meters are not set to recover a debt from the previous tenants?
How is your property heated?
How is the hot water heated?
Do you have a gas or electric cooker?
Have you got energy saver bulbs and switch the lights off, and unused electrical items, when not in the room?
Is your council tax over 10 months as that's a lot for a £600pm property, with a single person discount.
Pay it over 12 months as that will reduce the monthly payment freeing up some cash to throw at the debts.
I would pick off the debts, start with the smallest and work upwards as it frees up money and seeing a debt go is an instant boost to work on the next one.
Is your OH aware of your financial position?
Yes OH is aware, previously statedI’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Debt Free Wannabe boards and spending & discounts boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
Debt owed;Salad Money - £616.47/£1200 JAJA - £679.70/ £900 Zable - £338.60/£1300 = £1,634.77
Time to start a fresh. — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Time to start a Fresh part 2, 2022! — MoneySavingExpert Forum
New fresh diary for 2023! — MoneySavingExpert Forum
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6494873/fresh-diary-for-2024#latest
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6577209/fresh-diary-for-2025/p1?new=10 -
ThunderHoof said:£160 for utilities is beyond belief, a 6 bedroom household wouldn't use that much.
Even if you are with one of the expensive top up meters like Switch2 etc that charge a high standing charge I would expect utilities to be no more than £50 a month if you wastefully used utilities.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Debt Free Wannabe boards and spending & discounts boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
Debt owed;Salad Money - £616.47/£1200 JAJA - £679.70/ £900 Zable - £338.60/£1300 = £1,634.77
Time to start a fresh. — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Time to start a Fresh part 2, 2022! — MoneySavingExpert Forum
New fresh diary for 2023! — MoneySavingExpert Forum
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6494873/fresh-diary-for-2024#latest
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6577209/fresh-diary-for-2025/p1?new=10 -
monetxchange said:I thought I recognised your username and went back to confirm that you've come here many times before posting at the start of your journey and people have given you advice similar to the above. Not a criticism AT ALL as I too failed many times at debt clearing, so was just wondering what it is that seems to trip you up so we can knock that on the head now.
Has the pandemic worsened things? I see in your old threads you didn't know where between £180-£350+ of surplus income was going every month - have you tracked that down and budgeted accordingly? There's been a few plans for partner to move in previously - have you two had a frank talk and nailed down how things are going to be split equally/kept cheap? Got all utilities down to their absolute cheapest?
The reality is if you didn't spend too much as against your earnings, you wouldn't have debt. There's definitely gaps in your budget here. Would love to see you succeed this time and it's always great to face up to these things at the start.
My OH hasn't been able to move in due to certain things but he's definitely moving back in at the end of the month.
I could really look at cheaper electricity and gas I just haven't looked at it properly.
Thank you for the support, I have a week off work next week so I'm going to sit down and go through everything.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Debt Free Wannabe boards and spending & discounts boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
Debt owed;Salad Money - £616.47/£1200 JAJA - £679.70/ £900 Zable - £338.60/£1300 = £1,634.77
Time to start a fresh. — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Time to start a Fresh part 2, 2022! — MoneySavingExpert Forum
New fresh diary for 2023! — MoneySavingExpert Forum
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6494873/fresh-diary-for-2024#latest
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6577209/fresh-diary-for-2025/p1?new=11 -
It's just a rough guess as I know water is £40ish and gas/electricity is on a smart meter and I've not really checked but its roughly around that I'll have to double checkStatement of Affairs (SOA) link: https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.phpFor free, non-judgemental debt advice, try: Stepchange or National Debtline. Beware fee charging companies with similar names.2
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When you said your OH would be paying half the rent, I thought your half was £300, hence saying the CT is a lot.
If the property total rent is £300 then the CT you are paying is rediculous. Is there an outstanding CT debt?
Can you comment on the other questions I asked?Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear 31/12/2029.1 -
MovingForwards said:When you said your OH would be paying half the rent, I thought your half was £300, hence saying the CT is a lot.
If the property total rent is £300 then the CT you are paying is rediculous. Is there an outstanding CT debt?
Can you comment on the other questions I asked?I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Debt Free Wannabe boards and spending & discounts boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
Debt owed;Salad Money - £616.47/£1200 JAJA - £679.70/ £900 Zable - £338.60/£1300 = £1,634.77
Time to start a fresh. — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Time to start a Fresh part 2, 2022! — MoneySavingExpert Forum
New fresh diary for 2023! — MoneySavingExpert Forum
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6494873/fresh-diary-for-2024#latest
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6577209/fresh-diary-for-2025/p1?new=10 -
Just wondering how things are going for you.Emergency fund £8,500/£8,500
Mortgage overpayment £260
Debtfree!
£21,228.07 paid off in 22 months1 -
Whatever you do don’t trash your credit file - it may seem like an easy way out at the moment but here is my experience;
About 5k of debt that I defaulted on, went to buy a house a few years later and over the course of my 2 year fixed rate mortgage (subprime mortgage due to my credit history) I ended up paying £16,000 extra interest than I would with a high street bank. Those defaults didn’t just cost me £5k - they cost me £21,000.2
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