In a deep mess and not quite sure what to do

savergrant

Hi. I suspect it's pretty much all been said already but don't panic but do see this as a wake-up call. Unless you have been paying more than your minimum payments for the last couple of months your bank balance should have gone up by a fair bit. If it hasn't it suggests there are other expenses not on your soa.
I would disagree to a certain extent about the monthly budgeting re Christmas etc as I think it is better to pay off more of the debt for the next few months then use your surplus on oct/Nov income to pay for Christmas.
Maybe check your balance at the beginning of each month and make an extra payment to the highest interest rate debt?

enthusiasticsaver

I don’t think you need a debt solution like a DMP or IVA. You can afford repayments. I would suggest a 4 step programme.

Open up 2 savings accounts preferably one with savings spaces like Monzo or Starling. One account for emergency savings and start off by putting £50 or £100 a month in there. It needs to be instant access. The other savings account can be for things like Christmas, car maintenance, holidays, insurance premiums (always pay annually as it is much cheaper). Add up how much you spend over the year then divide by 12 and put that monthly into the savings account so if you have a car bill or a birthday the money is there.

Stop using credit cards and set aside a proper budget for groceries, fuel, entertainment. Try and stick to the budget set. Spend a few months tinkering with the budget and trying to live within those limits. 

Set direct debits for slightly above minimums on all credit cards except MBNA and put all spare cash towards repaying that due to the high interest rate. When that is gone go to next expensive card and so on. 

Start a diary on here (I can ask for this to be moved to the diaries section) and you will get a lot of support on your journey to better financial health. 

Sncjw

On car tax thing. 

Does your wife use her car solely for her use? 

What rates of pip does she get. She could get half price car tax or zero car tax depending on the rate..

londoner2019

Just dropping in to say good luck on your journey! Reading through this thread: with a bit of discipline, you've got this.

I'd advocate a spending diary, a spreadsheet to keep track of debts and payments, and budgeting to ensure that you A) have that 2k spare a month, and have enough for insurance/MOTs etc etc.

The spreadsheet method helped me keep on top of it (I check in pretty much daily on spending so I know I'm on track), and while I might have become a bit obsessive about it, that was preferable to me than ignoring things for a few weeks (I saw it as tantamount o not opening my mail/bills).

Also, feel free to start a diary - updating things here really helped me track my progress and it made me feel better about my journey.

Best of luck!

ManyWays

Your mortgage rate is 4.1% - is this a recent fix? when does it end?