Facing up to my Debt, before its out control

ManyWays

If he doesn't continue to improve for the next 6 months or so we may have to look at separating and splitting our assets. Which would most likely mean selling the house, as I can't remortgage on my own right now anyway.
Selling the house should be the last resort, as you can manage the current mortgage repayments for you and the kids. If you no longer want to live with him, he can rent somewhere.
Thanks for sharing the painful details about his addiction, has he overcome this?

I realise there isn't enough to cope with things going wrong or cover extra costs, but had no idea that there was another option than juggling money around or just about paying minimums. Or selling my house.
Ok, try and put together a new SoA with realistic amounts as a debt management plan is a possible option. You may decide you want to sell the house, but dont assume this is your only option

EssexHebridean

Abstractly said:

Bank.................................... 22 What value are you getting that is worth this amount?

For this I get mobile phone insurance, Travel and Car breakdown cover as well as cashback each month on bills.

OK - first things first - do any of the adults in the house have a habit of losing or breaking mobiles? If so this might be worthwhile in some circumstances, but allowing that your home contents cover will also cover this, I'd say it's probably not worth paying that money for. If a child has a habit of losing or breaking phones then they need to understand that if it happens again there is simply not money in the pot for anything other than an old fashioned calls and texts replacement - purely for safety reasons. That should focus the mind on being more careful! 

Car breakdown - have you got a quote recently through a comparison site to see how much that as a stand-alone would cost? Similarly, have you actually checked the details to ensure that a car the age of yours is definitely covered? Some cut off at 10 years, although a lot are 15 or demand a higher premium over a certain vintage!  I pay around £60 a year for my car at 9 years old. (And I also still think of that as being "new!" ) That is for home start, recovery and onward travel. 

Is travel insurance relevant at all allowing that there is nothing in your budget for holidays anyway?

How much cashback do you get, and is this factored in to your income? 

I would say all of those points need to be looked in to and then a decision made on whether that bank fee could be put to better use elsewhere at the moment. £264 a year is a reasonable chunk of money when you are struggling, after all. 


Honestly - I think you need to work on getting a budget back together again now, with your new circumstances. It can't wait until you get back on a better footing or you're going to be digging yourselves a deeper hole. 

Abstractly

EssexHebridean said:

Abstractly said:

Bank.................................... 22 What value are you getting that is worth this amount?

For this I get mobile phone insurance, Travel and Car breakdown cover as well as cashback each month on bills.

OK - first things first - do any of the adults in the house have a habit of losing or breaking mobiles? If so this might be worthwhile in some circumstances, but allowing that your home contents cover will also cover this, I'd say it's probably not worth paying that money for. If a child has a habit of losing or breaking phones then they need to understand that if it happens again there is simply not money in the pot for anything other than an old fashioned calls and texts replacement - purely for safety reasons. That should focus the mind on being more careful! 

Car breakdown - have you got a quote recently through a comparison site to see how much that as a stand-alone would cost? Similarly, have you actually checked the details to ensure that a car the age of yours is definitely covered? Some cut off at 10 years, although a lot are 15 or demand a higher premium over a certain vintage!  I pay around £60 a year for my car at 9 years old. (And I also still think of that as being "new!" ) That is for home start, recovery and onward travel. 

Is travel insurance relevant at all allowing that there is nothing in your budget for holidays anyway?

How much cashback do you get, and is this factored in to your income? 

I would say all of those points need to be looked in to and then a decision made on whether that bank fee could be put to better use elsewhere at the moment. £264 a year is a reasonable chunk of money when you are struggling, after all. 


Honestly - I think you need to work on getting a budget back together again now, with your new circumstances. It can't wait until you get back on a better footing or you're going to be digging yourselves a deeper hole. 

Thanks for your advise. I will go back and look at these bits again with more realistic budgets.