Trying to get the balance right

[Deleted User]

I am not an expert at SOA analysis but two things stand out to me, the grocery bill and nothing in the presents /birthdays section.
The groceries bill could be cut by £150 a month. I would put 50 of that cut to presents/gifts and put the other £100 towards debt repayment.
The situation doesn't look too dire and paying down your debt looks doable. 
Do you really have £889 a month left? 
I think you also need with a family of 6 and a mortgage to increase your emergency fund. The £2000 you have in cash is a good start to that.

[Deleted User]

Just looking again you really need to establish a pot for car maintenance/MOT especially with 2 cars in the household. Does your satellite TV section also cover internet services as this section has nothing in it?

Mrsfreshstart2023

The satellite TV covers broadband and landline charge. The deal is ending at the end of this month and we have cancelled however they have offered a deal to match the bundle we have for £58 so going to have a think about that.

Food shop is an expense but my children are between 6 and 16 and as they seem to become bottomless and impossible to fill. They don't often have school dinners either so some of this cost is packed lunches. 

We don't have £889 free as the amounts that I put in the SOA for the credit cards asked for minimum payments, we pay £500 off our cards every month as a minimum. 

[Deleted User]

Ok thanks for your replies. Maybe put 500 of that 889  towards cards plus the minimums (Total 729) 200 of the 889 towards the emergency fund a 100 towards car maintenance and keep 89 as a contingency. Just my ideas. You could clear the debt in just over a year.
I still think grocery spend could be cut.

Mrsfreshstart2023

Just a little update from me...
Credit card figure as of the end of November stand at £8885. 

I'm really happy with this and managed to pay down a credit card instead of needing to transfer the balance.

However, the down side to this is our finances have been tight, even more so with Christmas. I've still not put anything on the credit card which is a positive but our savings have taken a hit. My child had a school trip which needed to be paid by the end of this month at nearly £500, we were only told about this in September. 

On a positive note, I'm due my backdated payrise in December's pay which should be a few hundred £s. The plan is to put this back into the savings to ease the pressure again. 

🙂

Mrsfreshstart2023

Final update with December's figures, I didn't pay as much off them as usual due to Christmas so I feel this has been a set back but nothing has been added to the credit card which is the main thing. Figure now stands at £8655

I got my bonus which was £780, I put this straight into savings which brings savings to roughly what they were (2k). 

In the new year my plans are to continue to pay down the credit cards. I would like to think I could be credit card free or very close this time next year. 

I've tidied up my finances a little over the last few weeks and things that have been on my to do list such as end phone contracts and go sim free have now been completed apart from looking at my life insurance cover. 

This time last year I felt severely stressed about my finances at its worst our credit card debt was over 19k.


I've got this 👊

Chemtrails

It must be a huge weight off your shoulders. Well done for whittling it down- you definitely got this!!

Mrsfreshstart2023

Why is January 201747175 days long?

January has got me feeling defeated, I'm not sure that's the right word, maybe deflated? I dunno 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

I felt like I was in the zone last year and I see how much progress we were making but now all I feel is the struggle. 

I know I just need to persevere but there is always just one thing after another.  Our garage door needs replaced urgently. We have repaired, repaired again etc over the last 10 years but now there's just no fixing. Had a few quotes and the cheapest is over £2k ☹️. 

So were in a pickle, I don't have that much in savings. 

I have no option other than to use credit. I'm really beating myself up about this as I feel like it's a step backwards. For some strange reason I don't feel so bad about 0% interest credit but putting it in a credit card is giving me huge feelings of anxiety and guilt. 

Anyway, I'll try and end on a positive note.. credit card debt as of end of Jan stands at £8110 x

Mrsfreshstart2023

Today I applied for a 0% purchase credit card for 20 months, I have paid a cash deposit of £120 and the remainder of the balance (£1880) will be put on the credit card. I have set up a direct debit for £100 per month which will make sure the balance is paid before the 20 months are up.

Plan still remains to get the credit cards cleared way before the 20 months though. 

Although I feel like this is a step back, in my current circumstances I have no other option than to do this. If this repair wasnt necessary it wouldn't be happening. 

I have to try and remain positive and stay in the game. Its made me more determined because I know if I wasn't paying so much off my debt each month I could have saved up this much within 2 to 3 months. 

Hope everybody is having a good day 😊

Mrsfreshstart2023

They say these things come in 3's. 

Car needs new brake pads £150. Also been told a have 3 tyres that are close to needing to be replaced. I think this will have to wait until next month now. 

We go on holiday in May and I also need to renew 2 passports this month. 

We have 3 of my children's birthdays fall within 7 weeks of eachother from end of Jan to March. The first 3 months of the year always seem really spendy  and although I know it can't be helped it still stresses me out... BIG TIME. 

Nothing will be going on credit cards but savings might take a hit. 

Pay day on Thursday can't come quick enough this month.