Total debt when my journey began in December 2022- £66,133.42
Current debt May 2024- £40,064.57
Repaid 39.42%
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Take 2, a shopaholics diary
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shoppingobsessed2020
Posts: 354 Forumite
its been a while but Im back.
more in debt than ever which is frustrating but the past year has not been kind to our family and we have spent way more than than expected due to some things that have cropped up. husbands car got written off which was not ideal, nor is the fact that he went out and bought a replacement so we have a new 15K loan! the insurance still hasnt settled either - issues with the other car being stolen - when they say dont leave your keys in the car when deicing on a morning there is a reason! thankfully cctv & dash cam caught what happened but thats only half the battle.
ive managed to do a debt transfer to a virgin money credit card and the husband has had a pay rise last month which is not to be sniffed at. couple of loans are due to be paid off in the next few months which will free up some more money and hopefully we can get on track.
soa will be incoming, need to find some interest rates and things, we have a couple of expensive months coming up where I dont think we will be able to throw much extra to debt but it wont be getting worse which is the main thing.
the title is slightly misleading, shopaholic in recovery might be a better title! I have sold a few bits these past few months to clear things out, and a personal best for me, I have not bought any make up or toiletries since December until yesterday when an eye cream needed replacing.
more in debt than ever which is frustrating but the past year has not been kind to our family and we have spent way more than than expected due to some things that have cropped up. husbands car got written off which was not ideal, nor is the fact that he went out and bought a replacement so we have a new 15K loan! the insurance still hasnt settled either - issues with the other car being stolen - when they say dont leave your keys in the car when deicing on a morning there is a reason! thankfully cctv & dash cam caught what happened but thats only half the battle.
ive managed to do a debt transfer to a virgin money credit card and the husband has had a pay rise last month which is not to be sniffed at. couple of loans are due to be paid off in the next few months which will free up some more money and hopefully we can get on track.
soa will be incoming, need to find some interest rates and things, we have a couple of expensive months coming up where I dont think we will be able to throw much extra to debt but it wont be getting worse which is the main thing.
the title is slightly misleading, shopaholic in recovery might be a better title! I have sold a few bits these past few months to clear things out, and a personal best for me, I have not bought any make up or toiletries since December until yesterday when an eye cream needed replacing.
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Comments
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Good luck....I'm sure when you have a plan it will all come together and you'll get plenty of support here.1
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SOA as it stands. i need to do some jiggery pokery to sort insurances, hair cuts, fun money etc, ive just been paying these in a lump sum on a credit card so its not great. ditto christimas and birthdays!
the other thing, i mentioned a virgin card, ive been accepted for one but will update soa once i have been accepted and balance transfers have gone through.Household Information[/b]Number of adults in household........... 2Number of children in household......... 1Number of cars owned.................... 2[b]Monthly Income Details[/b]Monthly income after tax................ 1500Partners monthly income after tax....... 6100Benefits................................ 92Other income............................ 0[b]Total monthly income.................... 7692[/b][b]Monthly Expense Details[/b]Mortgage................................ 421.4Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 294.19999999999993Rent.................................... 0Management charge (leasehold property).. 0Council tax............................. 153Electricity............................. 150Gas..................................... 50Oil..................................... 0Water rates............................. 29Telephone (land line)................... 0Mobile phone............................ 35TV Licence.............................. 0Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15.99Internet Services....................... 34.5Groceries etc. ......................... 400Clothing................................ 0Petrol/diesel........................... 100Road tax................................ 0Car Insurance........................... 0Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0Car parking............................. 0Other travel............................ 0Childcare/nursery....................... 0Other child related expenses............ 0Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 12Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0Buildings insurance..................... 0Contents insurance...................... 0Life assurance ......................... 42.12Other insurance......................... 0Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0Haircuts................................ 0Entertainment........................... 0Holiday................................. 0Emergency fund.......................... 0my union................................ 15(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0his union............................... 26kid pension............................. 57.06Alarm monitoring........................ 12Swimming Lessons........................ 46[b]Total monthly expenses.................. 1893.27[/b][b]Assets[/b]Cash.................................... 0House value (Gross)..................... 160000Shares and bonds........................ 0Car(s).................................. 35000Other assets............................ 0[b]Total Assets............................ 195000[/b][b]Secured & HP Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APRMortgage...................... 67690....(421.4)....0Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 8836.....(294.2)....0[b]Total secured & HP debts...... 76526.....-.........- [/b][b]Unsecured Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APRTSB............................13675.....281.9.....0His MBNA.......................16598.....165.......0tesco loan.....................1447......361.7.....0my mbna........................7552......190.......0next...........................0.........0.........0barclays card..................6900......200.......0tsb overdraft..................2000......0.........0lloyds overdraft...............850.......0.........0lloyds loan 2..................11700.....332.4.....0lloyds loan ...................2900......448.8.....0lloyds credit card.............3500......50........0tsb credit card................986.52....15........0[b]Total unsecured debts..........68108.52..2044.8....- [/b][b]Monthly Budget Summary[/b]Total monthly income.................... 7,692Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,893.27Available for debt repayments........... 5,798.73Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 2,044.8[b]Amount left after debt repayments....... 3,753.93[/b][b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]Total assets (things you own)........... 195,000Total HP & Secured debt................. -76,526Total Unsecured debt.................... -68,108.52[b]Net Assets.............................. 50,365.48[/b][i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.LemonFool.co.uk.Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]0 -
corrected soa with haircuts, insurance, fun money and EVERYTHING included. I know we could cut back in a lot of places but im happier with this budget knowing we have money left. this month will be the first month when we do actually see a surplus, I also have nearly 1K in expenses coming back thats due to the husband so that will be extra this month.Household Information[/b]Number of adults in household........... 2Number of children in household......... 1Number of cars owned.................... 2[b]Monthly Income Details[/b]Monthly income after tax................ 1500Partners monthly income after tax....... 6100Benefits................................ 92Other income............................ 0[b]Total monthly income.................... 7692[/b][b]Monthly Expense Details[/b]Mortgage................................ 421.4Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 294.19999999999993Rent.................................... 0Management charge (leasehold property).. 0Council tax............................. 153Electricity............................. 150Gas..................................... 50Oil..................................... 0Water rates............................. 29Telephone (land line)................... 0Mobile phone............................ 35TV Licence.............................. 0Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15.99Internet Services....................... 34.5Groceries etc. ......................... 400Clothing................................ 0Petrol/diesel........................... 100Road tax................................ 25Car Insurance........................... 50Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 75Car parking............................. 0Other travel............................ 0Childcare/nursery....................... 0Other child related expenses............ 45Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 12Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0Buildings insurance..................... 25Contents insurance...................... 25Life assurance ......................... 42.12Other insurance......................... 0Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 200Haircuts................................ 0Entertainment........................... 400Holiday................................. 0Emergency fund.......................... 50cleaner & gardner....................... 200work account............................ 100my gym.................................. 70kids pocket money....................... 32.5private medication...................... 250my union................................ 15account charge.......................... 25his union............................... 26kid pension............................. 57.06Alarm monitoring........................ 12Swimming Lessons........................ 46[b]Total monthly expenses.................. 3465.77[/b][b]Assets[/b]Cash.................................... 0House value (Gross)..................... 160000Shares and bonds........................ 0Car(s).................................. 35000Other assets............................ 0[b]Total Assets............................ 195000[/b][b]Secured & HP Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APRMortgage...................... 67690....(421.4)....0Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 8836.....(294.2)....0[b]Total secured & HP debts...... 76526.....-.........- [/b][b]Unsecured Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APRTSB............................13675.....281.9.....0His MBNA.......................16598.....165.......0tesco loan.....................1447......361.7.....0my mbna........................7552......190.......0next...........................0.........0.........0barclays card..................6900......200.......0tsb overdraft..................2000......0.........0lloyds overdraft...............850.......0.........0lloyds loan 2..................11700.....332.4.....0lloyds loan ...................2900......448.8.....0lloyds credit card.............3500......50........0tsb credit card................986.52....15........0[b]Total unsecured debts..........68108.52..2044.8....- [/b][b]Monthly Budget Summary[/b]Total monthly income.................... 7,692Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,465.77Available for debt repayments........... 4,226.23Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 2,044.8[b]Amount left after debt repayments....... 2,181.43[/b][b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]Total assets (things you own)........... 195,000Total HP & Secured debt................. -76,526Total Unsecured debt.................... -68,108.52[b]Net Assets.............................. 50,365.48[/b]0
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as ive mentioned we have an expensive couple of months coming up. i also forgot to put next account in the debt section. 3.5K owed and 100 a month to pay.
as there will be an extra 1K in expenses this month giving us a 3K surplus, the plan is 1K to one side to cover hen, stag nights and wedding costs. 2K then goes to tsb loan, with its normal payment would then leave 500 outstanding so that would be cleared come July.
ive been accepted to for vigin 0% interest credit card, and have balance transferred my barclays and my tsb card to it. waiting on it going through which is why its not included. I then would like to if i can transfer as much of the lloyds credit card to it as well to reduce the balance on that.
july pay day we should have 2K surplus which will then be lloyds overdraft clear and tsb overdraft part cleared. I am going to try cutting down our grocery shopping and fuel bill to allow for extra to go towards overdraft.
August pay day, will need to keep back 500 for senior school uniform, but it still allows for 2K to be used for debt payment as lloyds loan will be clear, 2K will go to overdraft/lloyds credit card
September pay day should see the tesco loan also clear which will mean along with the lloyds loan that we now have 2.8K to go towards debt.
so rough plan in the next 3 pay days, is to clear the tesco loan through normal payments, the lloyds loan 1 through normal payments and overpayment, the overdrafts and then the lloyds credit card through balance transfer and overpayment.
once we get to september I will then reassess what we are doing for the next quarter as to how we are attacking the debt. I should have a better handle on the husbands new salary as he also gets a bonus but I havent got the contract so dont know what that will be, supposedly according to the husband its potentially another 500 every few months so will come in handy but not counting it for now.
the other thing i NEED to do, is sell the tons of unopened lego that the monster child has gotten for past birthdays and christmases but has never opened. the deal with that is he gets half of what we sell it for.0 -
grocery shop done, will be delivered sunday morning. just 2 of us as husband back at work. £47 for the week ahead. we do have 2 very full freezers and a kitchen that has full cupboards so im optimistic i can cut the budget slightly to allow extra for the overdrafts.0
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Nice to see you back and good luck with it all
As you've got a lot going on over the next few months, maybe set yourself the goal of getting your budget pots set up so that you're covering those things with cash rather than credit, and once you feel comfortable with that you can tackle the debt.
I've been converted to savings pots for quite a while now, so I've got them for everything from car insurance to a monthly treat fund. There are some that I juggle around month-to-month (like Birthdays, Haircuts and Fun Money) and others that I never dip into until the event happens (like Insurance and Christmas). It's taken me about 7 years to get to the YNAB goal of having every single £1 budgeted, but now I wouldn't look back.
Looking at your SOA, you've got quite a good surplus each month available. Just get your budget properly set up to take care of those events coming up and then you'll be able to get those loans and cards down really quickly.
Great idea to sell those Lego sets, there is always a demand for them (especially any that have since been discontinued) so that should be a good income stream.1 -
thats what im in the middle of doing still need to streamline bank accounts, but using husbands account for savings pots as anything in his name is tax free savings wise. got car fund, work fund, play money, presents, emergency fund, medical & house stuff. come pay day i then just want to be able to log on and go right need x to the joint account, then x to all these various little pots. ideally id like to get the budget under enough control that i can set up standing orders so its all automated and needs little input from me apart from where to move the surplus each month. think that will be goal for september pay day to give me chance to get used to things. i do have my budget on an excel spreadsheet showing what comes out of which account which will help with me knowing i need to move x to each acount.
the entertainment budget of £400 a month im splitting 50/50 between me and dh, thats why he has a play money savings account so i can bank his fun money when hes away so if he wants to buy something then he can.
it is going to be a steep learning curve the next 6 weeks, but hopefully i can get through it. unfortunately the next 10 days will be increasing the debt given we are out of cash till I get paid but its manageable for now.
i want to move my accounts around. i get paid into barclays, hubby gets paid into lloyds, but our joint account is with tsb and one of my single accounts is with them as well. want to keep the tsb accounts and lloyds but close the barclays. will ask how i go about changing my bank account with payroll after next payday.
hubby just puts everything and i mean everything on his lloyds credit card. that i dont mind but only if i can clear the balance each month which at the moment we cant. hopefully though by the time he is back we will be at a point where we can do this.
i would like to do the same with my tsb card. the limit on that is 1K so realistically i should be able to put all our monthly shopping on that card and then pay it off each pay day. I try and work the budget as pay at the end of april is for may and so on, i think that i can work my tsb card from june pay to do that.
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I made about £800 last year by switching bank accounts, so if you’ve got an account with 2 non-essential direct debits then it could be good to use one or the accounts just for switching. I keep pestering DH to do his, maybe some point this year he’ll get round to it.Does your husband get rewards on the Lloyds credit card? I cycle all my payments through my M&S card so I get the reward vouchers but you are right that it is key to pay it off in full each month so it doesn’t cost anything.1
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he doesnt get any rewards, we do need to look at cash back/reward cards but thats maybe 18 months down the line once we have got things more under control.
the virgin card ive applied for, i believe is also a cash back card. more interested in utilising the interest free 15months than the cash back side for now.
i will have a look in the next few days at the current account switching, not sure how my credit rating will go given its just taken a hit on the virgin card, but im not concerned as im not interested in more credit any time soon. when i need a new car thats when im next going to be looking at credit, but hoping i can get another 2/3years at least out of mine given he has just bought the most impractical brand new car for us as a family.
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wow, that was easy! just waiting on them doing the final checks! switched to nat west £200. how have i not done this before?0
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