Best plan moving forward with soa 3 October 2022 at 4:58PM in Debt-free wannabe 17 replies 1K views

Emz92xxx

Hi all just looking for advice. Got my self in to some horrible debt. Spoke to step change and they basically told me to carry on paying token payments or bankruptcy which i will not do.
Feeling really low of late and struggling mentally with it all.
Any advice would be great 
Em x[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]

Household Information[/b]

Number of adults in household........... 2

Number of children in household......... 2

Number of cars owned.................... 0[b]

Monthly Income Details[/b]

Monthly income after tax................ 309

Partners monthly income after tax....... 2588

Benefits................................ 445

Other income............................ 0[b]

Total monthly income.................... 3342[/b][b]

Monthly Expense Details[/b]

Mortgage................................ 0

Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0

Rent.................................... 775

Management charge (leasehold property).. 0

Council tax............................. 113

Electricity............................. 230

Gas..................................... 0

Oil..................................... 0

Water rates............................. 30

Telephone (land line)................... 0

Mobile phone............................ 80

TV Licence.............................. 14

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30

Internet Services....................... 30

Groceries etc. ......................... 700

Clothing................................ 60

Petrol/diesel........................... 300

Road tax................................ 14

Car Insurance........................... 60

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 60

Car parking............................. 0

Other travel............................ 0

Childcare/nursery....................... 0

Other child related expenses............ 340

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 13

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0

Buildings insurance..................... 0

Contents insurance...................... 0

Life assurance ......................... 0

Other insurance......................... 0

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50

Haircuts................................ 40

Entertainment........................... 80

Holiday................................. 0

Emergency fund.......................... 0[b]

Total monthly expenses.................. 3019[/b]

[b]

Assets[/b]

Cash.................................... 0

House value (Gross)..................... 0

Shares and bonds........................ 0

Car(s).................................. 1

Other assets............................ 0[b]

Total Assets............................ 1[/b]

[b]

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts[/b]

[b]Unsecured Debts[/b]

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Bank loan......................10800.....0.........0

Cc.............................7200......0.........0

Cc.............................5200......0.........0

Cataloge.......................1050......0.........0

Car repossessed  debt..........3100......0.........0[b]

Total unsecured debts..........27350.....0.........-  [/b]

[b]

Monthly Budget Summary[/b]

Total monthly income.................... 3,342

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,019

Available for debt repayments........... 323

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0[b]

Amount left after debt repayments....... 323[/b]

[b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]

Total assets (things you own)........... 1

Total HP & Secured debt................. -0

Total Unsecured debt.................... -27,350[b]

Net Assets.............................. -27,349[/b]

Brie

Well done for working on getting sorted.

I'm wondering about a few blanks - like no contents insurance??

And why is there ££ for MOT, fuel etc if you don't have a car?

phones and internet stuff:

Telephone (land line)................... 0  - I get this - not everyone has a landline anymore

Mobile phone............................ 80 - why so high?  is there a contract you can get out of?

TV Licence.............................. 14 - do you actually watch live TV?  If not, get rid.

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30 - what's this include?

Internet Services....................... 30 - is there anyway you could get a cheaper deal combining some of these things.  sometimes having a land line actually brings the cost down - but maybe you're under contract for everything still????

Emz92xxx

Hiya
mobile is for 2 contracts
Internet netflix  disney plus and spotify is around 60
Car is partners i dont own 1 just insurance is under my name because it was cheaper x

foxgloves

Hi Emz92xxx, 
Your grocery spend is high for 4 people, so I'm thinking there's a good potential saving to be made there. Do you meal plan? Write a shopping list? Cook from scratch? Batch cook? Make really good use of your freezer, etc.....all the usual things for bringing grocery spend down. Have you down-shifted brands? Do you shop around for best deals, etc? Is anyone buying work-day lunches instead of taking a packed lunch from home? You may already do some or all of these, but it's definitely an area for making savings. I'd have thought £500 a month would be fairly generous for a family of four, which would free up a decent amount. I don't have a household of 4, but I'm sure there'll be other folk along who are feeding their family well on less than £500. It takes more planning.....I have to admit that back in the Spendy Years, I was the world's worst for food spend.....mostly because I didn't meal plan, write a shopping list, stick to a budget......or anything sensible, really. I was the sort of shopper supermarkets love - just wandered round trolley-filling.
F

Emz92xxx

I will try but we all
eat different things a lot of the times.
My partner is big on fitness so spends alot on supplements  protein shakes bars etc which are expensive.
I dont really wanna question that to him as all the debts are in mine name and hes the one works long hours
Em x

theoretica

The debt is in your name, but is it actually personal debt, or is it household debt from not being fast enough to readjust your spending to match the difference in your incomes?  I think that if you can come up with a joint plan to tackle this you are most likely to be successful. 

enthusiasticsaver

I would also ask is this debt spent on household stuff or personal debt?  Even it is just in your name I assume your partner knows about it.  If not he really needs to if you are financially linked in any way.  Regardless you both need to work together on this if you want to sort it out.  You have an option of paying tokens and then maybe look at a debt solution like a DMP or bankruptcy given you do not own a house so don't need to protect the equity in that.  Both will have an impact on future plans to borrow or take on commitments like mobile phones etc. 

Emz92xxx

He knows but ive been following his advice for years, i have been paying £1 monthly for 3 years now. He told me just continue paying £1 payments  and nothing will
happen as i dont work, but lately its been on my mind its why i rang step change x

kimwp

It's a bit difficult to advise because the SOA includes your partner's income and joint spends, but just your debt (if I've understood that correctly). If you pay £1 every month, you are acknowledging the debts so they will stay live.

NB, lots of evidence that shows that spending money on protein supplements is just spending money on expensive urine as the body filters all the excess it doesn't need out and even bodybuilders can get what they need from a normal diet.

foxgloves

I can see there are some issues to sort out there. I think the reality is that with debts to pay off, spending grocery budget on protein supplements isn't really sustainable. You say that you all eat different things.....this is also expensive. Could you have a family meeting & agree on a core selection of reasonably priced meals you all like? The thing with turning money habits around (& like many on here, I speak from experience) is that old behaviour orthodoxies need to be challenged. If the old behaviours have resulted in debts, continuing with them isn't likely to result in debt freedom. You will find you need to work very much as a team. If any of your debt has been accrued through buying household or family stuff, then it may have your name on it, but it's joint debt nevertheless.
Hope you can work on a way forward. It's truly liberating to see debts paid finally paid off.
F

Emz92xxx

Hiya, i want to start  paying them instead of £1monthly.
The problem is my partner as zero debts and refuses pay is wages on to debts wheni can just pay  a £1 month.
Agree we could try to come up with plan to bring food cost down, but ano he wont stop is supplements and his luxurys.
Most of the debt was because of my stupidity which a feel ashamed and it really gets me down when im deep in thought.

Really do feel a bit lost with it all.