First Steps to Solvency

enthusiasticsaver

alt80 said:

This may well be man maths at its absolute finest but I’m putting serious thought into this XJS... 

Pay minimum for three more months until the 440i can go. VT the BMW. Then £500/m to clear the XJS (bmw payment plus tax / insurance (XJS would be £0 tax and £150 per year to insure). 30 months would see the debt for the car gone. Then put that extra £500 in Range Rover balloon pot. I’m thinking from next month I’ll put my HMRC mileage money towards the balloon (if just gets spent on non-descript stuff now and is in addition to income). When the cards are gone I can put the £1k min payments to the Range Rover balloon too. Worked out I would be at about £25k of the £28k to clear if I could actually stick to that so be 42 months down the road and own the RR and XJS outright. Possibly take a break for a year from having any payments then and maybe look at the AM after that year. Possibly not a new one buy an older one which won’t lose money or very little. The 2005 V8 Vantage is better looking IMO anyway... 

Someone tell me this is crazy please because right now it feels like one of the most sensible ideas I’ve had in a long time haha.

It is crazy.  You cannot get rid of the BMW until February so there is little leeway in your budget until then.  You overspent last  month and so possible you could overspend over the next few months plus minimums will go up if you add £16.5k  to the debt right now. I also bet you will lose any goodwill your wife has towards you.   I am not saying it may not be feasible after February but you seem to be putting the cart before the horse.  How often do XJS come up?  Are you sure you just do not want to admit to your mate you cannot afford it? It sounds like it will just be a weekend car so what is your wife going to drive if you get rid of the BMW? 

If the debt is £30k now then by February it will be down by another £4k plus whatever your wife manages to sell providing you do not  add to it.  So Credit card debt down to approx £23-£25k and you VT the BMW and you have £500 to play with either to make do with just the RR and put the £500 towards the debt and you are credit card debt free in 16 months so then great opportunity to save up balloon for RR and be debt free.  £1500 then back in your pocket every month. 

alt80

Had a bit of an embarrassing convo with MG mate tonight lol. He kept messaging me about the XJS all ‘it’ll go with ftype’ ‘go on’ ‘can go to Goodwood’ etc etc etc. Welcome to my world lol if it can be bought I’m expected to buy it ha. Called him up and was actually honest about I didn’t think it was the right time financially. Lots of ‘it’s small change to you mate’ and ‘come on be a man you spent over £100k on that RR’ until I asked him if he thought I turned up in the Sport with a £95k wad of freshly ironed £50s. He was like no I’d have thought you’d have to bank transfer that sort of cash so I told him I part financed it and he was like what a 1/3 / 1/2 literally spat my drink out on the phone and was like erm £95k. Never heard him go so quiet hahaha told me he knew I’d spent about £200k on cars in the past few years, assumed I was ‘proper cash money’, house owned outright etc lol. Bit of background on him he’s never bought a car on finance in his life probably couldn’t get it got a business but I doubt much goes through the books. Small house, ok area pays £300 mortgage lol so never even occurred to him someone could get £95k in debt on a Range Rover. FML don’t reckon I can face him in person again lol.

@ryanm8655 Been there so many times mate, usually just buy something for her the day after ha. Calm the situation at home but don’t think that’d work now. Some of my debt was spent on on 2 Timothy Oulton Aviator chairs that my wife hates lol. She asked me not to buy them but I thought she’d come round when they arrived but no they’ve been relegated to my home office. Would really like the desk that looks like the wing of a plane to go with them tbh but not going to happen. 

@Grumpelstiltskin The car is in Tier 1, less safe to have a drive to NG7. Not morally the right thing to do I know.

@DayDreamerandGeneralWaster lol I’ll stick with the ‘Rona Rover thanks lol.

I am 100 not as bad as my dad was with money and don’t gamble. Sister and I knew you didn’t answer the door before opening time and if anyone ever asked the cheque was on its way lol. Don’t think you’d get away with much of it these days. Good memories though - life much more boring now but definitely not the best influence. Son won’t have as much to laugh about when thinking back to his childhood I don’t think. Affects my attitude to debt - probably. Wife did grow up with a saint and she still won’t share a room with me over the money I owe haha so I think our upbringing affects us all to some extent.

@theoretica Don’t think the early ones in a nice colour combo in the right sort of condition come up that often (lots of muted silvers / blues etc) but they aren’t that rare - probably find one every quarter or so? Tbf only just been looking so could be completely wrong there. Your point stands they aren’t rare and it wasn’t advertised at deal of a lifetime money.

PassElephant

alt, well done. 

alt80

@monetxchange I shouldn’t have told him I was thinking about buying tbh - just sent him a message with a car and what do you think and he thinks I’m buying a car to ‘go with ftype’ FML.

I am interested in one tbf - replacement for BMW and think it would be a much better buy than another new car. 

@enthusiasticsaver All very true re minimums etc. Won’t be overspending we are in lockdown and treating it as such. Although we can go out for meals out etc wife and I discussed we wouldn’t. 

I didn’t want to fess up I couldn’t afford it, only did it to stop the messages - wife wanted to know what he wanted and would have gone mad had I told her he was trying to get me to buy a £15k car lol. Would have been ok with wife using the XJS during the week - that was the plan for it to be the replacement for the 440i not just a weekend toy.

Definitely would have lost any goodwill not that I think she’s got much so not much to lost there tbh.

Don’t think I was serious about just having the RR - I think we do need 2 cars one so wife has something to drive in the week if I’m out and also if RR breaks and Land Rover don’t give me a car (happened with ftype once). Though the idea of clearing the cards in 16 months maybe less if wife makes a real go for the sales has made me think. Would only just be into 2022 and no cards. Balloon easily doable for RR from there I think. Downside - no toys. 

@PassElephant well done for what, making me look a bigger idiot than everyone already assumes lol. 

PassElephant

For not buying it now. For telling your mate the RR is on finance. For owning your reality and dealing with it. For loving your wife and son. For being a provider and a daddy and a husband. For stopping spending.
You are doing so well.

lostmyusername

Well done indeed. It takes guts to do what you did when you’ve been so worried about it. It is infinitely more admirable than your fancy cars and big house. Honestly well done mate. 

alt80

@enthusiasticsaver If I could put the hmrc mileage money away (£300/m average (thought this was about 500 but its not)) and 25 months of no card mins / BMW, I could clear the RR balloon and have £1k over. That’s definitely something to think about. I thought to get anywhere close to the balloon we would need to live like monks for a couple of years. Feels like we’re doing that now but not as bad as I thought it was going to be to get near to clearing the balloon. One option is for wife to get an electric car through the business to replace the BMW (0% BIK). Tesla Model 3 is 4.5s to 60 which is very respectable even if you do look like an eco warrior driving it ha.

@PassElephant thanks, just feel like a prat now tbh. 

@lostmyusername Thanks I need to start being more honest with others and with myself tbf. Only way I’m moving forwards I think. Actually had a discussion with mate after I owned up to the RR finance. He was just like ‘why’, ‘Sport was still a decent car’ etc. I’m envious of his cars I know I earn significantly more but he’s got a £100k garage all paid for. Drives an old Land Rover everyday even that won’t lose any money - don’t envy that though not my type of car lol. House not worth a massive amount about £300k but pays £300/m in mortgage lol.

PassElephant

We all are or have been prats. That's why we are here.
We help and seek help. 
It is a good place to be.

RelievedSheff

I think you were very brave opening up to your friend. Well done it is a great step forward. 

ladyholly

That was a brave thing to do when you are so image conscious. N o need to feel like a prat you should be very proud you told the truth it must have been very tough.