New here, desperate to get out of debt

greenglove

Hello again everyone, I have redone my SOA to include my income from second job, which I got for the first time this month (at a lower amount because of starting halfway through October). Please let me know what people think, and if you think this is realistic, achievable, manageable? I am so determined to get out of debt and build up some savings for security and be able to enjoy life without a credit card!
The savings have gone more towards christmas this month, but from next month onwards I will be able to follow my savings plan as below.
Again, really appreciate the help and support of everyone on this forum. Hopefully I will be able to start a DFD this month?!

Thank you.

Expenses	Amount(£)
Rent	1000
Council tax	103.5
Electricity	35.34
Gas	26.75
Water Rates	19
Mobile phone	16.18
TV Licence	7.5
Internet services	16.5
Groceries etc. (including deodorant subs)	125
Other travel	125
Pet Insurance/Vet bills	19.13
Contents Insurance	7.66
Other Insurance	6.64
Sainsbury's delivery pass	4
Extra towards joint bills	225
Spotify	11.99
Apple storage	2.99
Nursing fees	30.32
Pet food	8
Total monthly expenses	1790.5

Unsecured Debt Description	Debt(£)	Monthly(£)	APR(%)
Abound loan	5438.5	622	12.2
Plata loan	1043.96	260.9	34.9
Halifax credit card	1870.48	100	0
Barclaycard credit	4058.72	100	0
Unsecured Debt totals	12411.66	1082.9	-

Savings	Amount(£)
Maternity leave	500
Baby	100
Emergency fund	50
House deposit ISA	10
Travel	10
IVF	10
Clothes	10
Things for me	5
Things for home	5
Social/birthdays/Christmas	100
Self-care e.g. dentist, prescriptions, haircuts	5
Car	5
Savings total	810

Monthly Budget Summary	Amount(£)
Total monthly income	3,704
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans)	1,790.5
Savings pots	810
Available for debt repayments	1,103.5
UNsecured debt repayments	1082.9
Amount left after debt repayments	20.6

Personal Balance Sheet Summary	Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own)	0
Total Secured & HP Debt	-0
Total Unsecured Debt	-12,411.66
Net Assets	-12,411.66

Household Information

Number of adults in household	2
Number of children in household	First baby due April 2025
Number of cars owned	0

Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

Income	Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax	3704
Partners monthly income	0
Benefits	0
Other income	0
Total monthly income	3704

kimwp

greenglove said:

Hello again everyone, I have redone my SOA to include my income from second job, which I got for the first time this month (at a lower amount because of starting halfway through October). Please let me know what people think, and if you think this is realistic, achievable, manageable? I am so determined to get out of debt and build up some savings for security and be able to enjoy life without a credit card!
The savings have gone more towards christmas this month, but from next month onwards I will be able to follow my savings plan as below.
Again, really appreciate the help and support of everyone on this forum. Hopefully I will be able to start a DFD this month?!

Thank you.

Expenses	Amount(£)
Rent	1000
Council tax	103.5
Electricity	35.34
Gas	26.75
Water Rates	19
Mobile phone	16.18
TV Licence	7.5
Internet services	16.5
Groceries etc. (including deodorant subs)	125
Other travel	125
Pet Insurance/Vet bills	19.13
Contents Insurance	7.66
Other Insurance	6.64
Sainsbury's delivery pass	4
Extra towards joint bills	225
Spotify	11.99
Apple storage	2.99
Nursing fees	30.32
Pet food	8
Total monthly expenses	1790.5

Unsecured Debt Description	Debt(£)	Monthly(£)	APR(%)
Abound loan	5438.5	622	12.2
Plata loan	1043.96	260.9	34.9
Halifax credit card	1870.48	100	0
Barclaycard credit	4058.72	100	0
Unsecured Debt totals	12411.66	1082.9	-

Savings	Amount(£)
Maternity leave	500
Baby	100
Emergency fund	50
House deposit ISA	10
Travel	10
IVF	10
Clothes	10
Things for me	5
Things for home	5
Social/birthdays/Christmas	100
Self-care e.g. dentist, prescriptions, haircuts	5
Car	5
Savings total	810

Monthly Budget Summary	Amount(£)
Total monthly income	3,704
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans)	1,790.5
Savings pots	810
Available for debt repayments	1,103.5
UNsecured debt repayments	1082.9
Amount left after debt repayments	20.6

Personal Balance Sheet Summary	Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own)	0
Total Secured & HP Debt	-0
Total Unsecured Debt	-12,411.66
Net Assets	-12,411.66

Household Information

Number of adults in household	2
Number of children in household	First baby due April 2025
Number of cars owned	0

Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

Income	Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax	3704
Partners monthly income	0
Benefits	0
Other income	0
Total monthly income	3704

Hiya! Before I take a look - are the amounts against your loans, the minimum amounts ie amount you have to pay each month by contract?

greenglove

Hello, yes that’s right they are my contractual payments for the loans. The cc minimum payment are roughly £50

FlorayG

'Savings' should be the whole amount you have (not how much you plan to put in each month)- most of these savings pots seem not worth having.

greenglove

FlorayG said:

'Savings' should be the whole amount you have (not how much you plan to put in each month)- most of these savings pots seem not worth having.

I put the saving pots into the budget so that I and others can see where the money is going per month. Why do you think some of them seem not worth having? 

FlorayG

greenglove said:

FlorayG said:

'Savings' should be the whole amount you have (not how much you plan to put in each month)- most of these savings pots seem not worth having.

I put the saving pots into the budget so that I and others can see where the money is going per month. Why do you think some of them seem not worth having? 

Its a total not a monthly input. So you wouldn't have a savings pot for things like e.g. haircuts because that's money you spend every month. Your savings are a finite amount; the amount you add to them every month goes in 'expenses' not 'savings'.
e.g. you save up for baby clothes and have been saving up for these for 6 months at £20 a month. Your expenses are £20, your savings are currently 6 x £20 = £120
If you are spending this money, it's not savings

kimwp

greenglove said:

Hello again everyone, I have redone my SOA to include my income from second job, which I got for the first time this month (at a lower amount because of starting halfway through October). Please let me know what people think, and if you think this is realistic, achievable, manageable? I am so determined to get out of debt and build up some savings for security and be able to enjoy life without a credit card!
The savings have gone more towards christmas this month, but from next month onwards I will be able to follow my savings plan as below.
Again, really appreciate the help and support of everyone on this forum. Hopefully I will be able to start a DFD this month?!

Thank you.

Expenses	Amount(£)
Rent	1000
Council tax	103.5
Electricity	35.34
Gas	26.75
Water Rates	19
Mobile phone	16.18
TV Licence	7.5
Internet services	16.5
Groceries etc. (including deodorant subs)	125
Other travel	125
Pet Insurance/Vet bills	19.13
Contents Insurance	7.66
Other Insurance	6.64
Sainsbury's delivery pass	4
Extra towards joint bills	225
Spotify	11.99
Apple storage	2.99
Nursing fees	30.32
Pet food	8
Total monthly expenses	1790.5

Unsecured Debt Description	Debt(£)	Monthly(£)	APR(%)
Abound loan	5438.5	622	12.2
Plata loan	1043.96	260.9	34.9
Halifax credit card	1870.48	100	0
Barclaycard credit	4058.72	100	0
Unsecured Debt totals	12411.66	1082.9	-

Savings	Amount(£)
Maternity leave	500
Baby	100
Emergency fund	50
House deposit ISA	10
Travel	10
IVF	10
Clothes	10
Things for me	5
Things for home	5
Social/birthdays/Christmas	100
Self-care e.g. dentist, prescriptions, haircuts	5
Car	5
Savings total	810

Monthly Budget Summary	Amount(£)
Total monthly income	3,704
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans)	1,790.5
Savings pots	810
Available for debt repayments	1,103.5
UNsecured debt repayments	1082.9
Amount left after debt repayments	20.6

Personal Balance Sheet Summary	Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own)	0
Total Secured & HP Debt	-0
Total Unsecured Debt	-12,411.66
Net Assets	-12,411.66

Household Information

Number of adults in household	2
Number of children in household	First baby due April 2025
Number of cars owned	0

Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

Income	Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax	3704
Partners monthly income	0
Benefits	0
Other income	0
Total monthly income	3704

Okidoki, you are making it (unnecessarily) hard for us by changing the format, but I've spent some time matching up the budgets. The numbers add up as simply numbers, the next thing is to check if they are sensible numbers and if they achieve your goals. 

1. Are you actually receiving £580 extra a month after tax? Don't forget that you are now over the 40% tax bracket, so you will "lose" 42% of the earnings to tax and NI
2. You are still planning to reduce your outgoings by £375+ a month - is this reflected in your current spend (have you spent £100 less than normal this week?)
3. Do your outgoings include life assurance (a must, now your partner is pregnant)?
4. What are your car costs and where are they in your budget? Car insurance, petrol, car tax, mot, car service?

Assuming the savings are the amounts you plan to save each month, summing the following for four months, means you will save £2740 for maternity leave and baby costs. 

Maternity leave, Baby, Emergency Fund, House Deposit, Travel, IVF, Things for home

So (if you do need £10,000 for maternity leave) I think you are still in the situation where you will not be able to afford your debts and will default on them during mat leave. If you default on them now, you will be able to save the £1000 a month that you are currently paying to debts and will be four months closer to a clear credit record.

kimwp

greenglove said:

FlorayG said:

'Savings' should be the whole amount you have (not how much you plan to put in each month)- most of these savings pots seem not worth having.

I put the saving pots into the budget so that I and others can see where the money is going per month. Why do you think some of them seem not worth having? 

As these are amounts contributed to the saving pots each month, they go in the expenses section. You could put ("Savings pot") after the savings entries if you want to differentiate, but the reality is that how the money is spent (spent that month or saved and larger amounts spent less frequently) doesn't really matter for the SOA.

But total savings (amount you have already) would go in the assets section.

theoretica

One thing I don't see, unless it is 'other' is life assurance.  With a baby on the way this becomes much more of a priority, for both you and your partner.

warby68

I know you are keen to keep this as a solo enterprise but with a baby and associated maternity leave approaching in a few months (possibly only 3-4 with bbaby due in April) I'm not sure how you or we can truly say whether your plan makes sense without seeing what your partner's finances wll look like once maternity leave starts.

For example, how much of the £10k for maternity leave do you personally have to find? If its all of it I'm not sure its doable without defaulting especially if you are realistic about the 2nd job with a newborn.

I would urge you to work through a your partner's numbers and see how she is going to be placed as well. You may just have to postpone clearing the debt until your incomes recover (although what happens regarding work and childcare is a whole other issue). If it were a choice between having a DMP but otherwise can manage the arrival of your first child quite well or leaving yourself short and having to default at a really bad time, I would prioritise the maternity period.