Help with Money Management

BarbaraH

Does anyone know of some kind of advisor who could help me with issues of tax, budgeting and pensions for someone who is not quite in dire straits (yet) but doesn't have savings or assets? Basically (and I am not expecting sympathy) I earn a reasonable amount via PAYE and freelance work. But I also have a huge amount of debt and so a poor credit rating. Every month, everything goes out on debt repayments but my attempts to get a better deal or those 0% cards have been unsuccessful. Every year I get a massive tax bill for the freelance work and then paying that means I can never seem to save for the following year. I work three jobs and am exhausted (in my 60s) but all three are insecure, including the PAYE ones and at risk of redundancy, so I am scared to let any of them go. I've always been very poor at understanding figures - I suspect some kind of dyscalculia, so I've never been able to work this out for myself very well. I don't feel I should use up things like Citizen's Advice, because I am not in a desperate position yet and earn a reasonable amount; I tried a debt management advice charity and filled in a huge form only to be told by a bot that I "can manage my debts"; but most 'financial advisors' are only interested in those with big assets and large amounts of money, which is not me. I don't have friends or family who could help with this sort of thing. I would pay for helpful advice. Can anyone advise or help? I would be really grateful. 

ManyWays

It sounds pretty desperate to me. How large is the tax bill coming up at the end of this month? Could you post a statement of affairs here using this calculator https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php? 

EssexHebridean

Your first step is that from now, every time you get paid for a piece of work, you need to siphon off the relevant percentage to cover your tax and national insurance. You have to look at that portion of your earnings as simply not belonging to you, and doing this from the start - when the invoice is paid - is the best way of dealing with it. Set ourself a savings account which is specifically for that money - find one that pays decent interest - and then drop the money into that each time. That cash is now off-limits - you need to view dipping into it to pay anything other than HMRC as being just like taking money from someone else's wallet! 

Now - with that in mind, does it shed a different light on whether you can actually meet all your priority bills (Rent or mortgage, council tax, utilities, insurances, food) necessary discretionary spending (entertainment, clothing etc) and still manage the minimum payments to the debts as well? 

The advice to complete an SOA is good - you need to go back over a year's worth of bank and card statements in order to do this comprehensively. Make it open and accurate - ensure that your income is reflected AFTER the tax/NI percentage has been removed. 

The great news is it is very possible to manage money well in spite of discalculia - I spent a lot of years seeing myself as "bad with money" and assuming it related back to exactly that situation - it didn't though, and as it turned out, I wasn't - I just hadn't learned about managing things well. It's life changing when you start understanding more, and particularly budgeting! 

BarbaraH

ManyWays said:

It sounds pretty desperate to me. How large is the tax bill coming up at the end of this month? Could you post a statement of affairs here using this calculator https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php? 

It's over £11,000 and they want a further £6,000 in July. 

BarbaraH

BarbaraH said:

ManyWays said:

It sounds pretty desperate to me. How large is the tax bill coming up at the end of this month? Could you post a statement of affairs here using this calculator https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php? 

It's over £11,000 and they want a further £6,000 in July. 

BarbaraH said:

ManyWays said:

It sounds pretty desperate to me. How large is the tax bill coming up at the end of this month? Could you post a statement of affairs here using this calculator https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php? 

It's over £11,000 and they want a further £6,000 in July. 

What happens to this info if I fill it in? 

BarbaraH

EssexHebridean said:

Your first step is that from now, every time you get paid for a piece of work, you need to siphon off the relevant percentage to cover your tax and national insurance. You have to look at that portion of your earnings as simply not belonging to you, and doing this from the start - when the invoice is paid - is the best way of dealing with it. Set ourself a savings account which is specifically for that money - find one that pays decent interest - and then drop the money into that each time. That cash is now off-limits - you need to view dipping into it to pay anything other than HMRC as being just like taking money from someone else's wallet! 

Now - with that in mind, does it shed a different light on whether you can actually meet all your priority bills (Rent or mortgage, council tax, utilities, insurances, food) necessary discretionary spending (entertainment, clothing etc) and still manage the minimum payments to the debts as well? 

The advice to complete an SOA is good - you need to go back over a year's worth of bank and card statements in order to do this comprehensively. Make it open and accurate - ensure that your income is reflected AFTER the tax/NI percentage has been removed. 

The great news is it is very possible to manage money well in spite of discalculia - I spent a lot of years seeing myself as "bad with money" and assuming it related back to exactly that situation - it didn't though, and as it turned out, I wasn't - I just hadn't learned about managing things well. It's life changing when you start understanding more, and particularly budgeting! 

Thanks - it's been so hard to do that putting money away when I'm back paying all the time, and working to cover debt. It all seems to go out immediately! 

Brie

What debt charity did you talk to?  Some are more to do with people who are desperate and others will also help those who are not money savvy.  So my guess is that you might have talked to StepChange or NationalDebtline.  You might do better talking to a budget adviser with Community Money Advice (CMA) or Christians Against Poverty (CAP).  Citizen's Advice may have a similar service but may, as you have mentioned, need to deal with those in much more desperate circumstances.  

Also check with any work relationships whether they have any financial resilience links.  I'm thinking of industrial associations, unions, military links, whatever.  You say you're over 60 so maybe Age UK?

EssexHebridean

BarbaraH said:

EssexHebridean said:

Your first step is that from now, every time you get paid for a piece of work, you need to siphon off the relevant percentage to cover your tax and national insurance. You have to look at that portion of your earnings as simply not belonging to you, and doing this from the start - when the invoice is paid - is the best way of dealing with it. Set ourself a savings account which is specifically for that money - find one that pays decent interest - and then drop the money into that each time. That cash is now off-limits - you need to view dipping into it to pay anything other than HMRC as being just like taking money from someone else's wallet! 

Now - with that in mind, does it shed a different light on whether you can actually meet all your priority bills (Rent or mortgage, council tax, utilities, insurances, food) necessary discretionary spending (entertainment, clothing etc) and still manage the minimum payments to the debts as well? 

The advice to complete an SOA is good - you need to go back over a year's worth of bank and card statements in order to do this comprehensively. Make it open and accurate - ensure that your income is reflected AFTER the tax/NI percentage has been removed. 

The great news is it is very possible to manage money well in spite of discalculia - I spent a lot of years seeing myself as "bad with money" and assuming it related back to exactly that situation - it didn't though, and as it turned out, I wasn't - I just hadn't learned about managing things well. It's life changing when you start understanding more, and particularly budgeting! 

Thanks - it's been so hard to do that putting money away when I'm back paying all the time, and working to cover debt. It all seems to go out immediately! 

Yes - this is exactly why it must be done right at the beginning, before ANY other payments are made ideally, assuming that your basic priority bills are covered. If those are not then you have bigger problems than the tax. You do have to view anything payable to HMRC as a priority though.

If in doubt, stop the payments to the unsecured debt. 

BarbaraH

Brie said:

What debt charity did you talk to?  Some are more to do with people who are desperate and others will also help those who are not money savvy.  So my guess is that you might have talked to StepChange or NationalDebtline.  You might do better talking to a budget adviser with Community Money Advice (CMA) or Christians Against Poverty (CAP).  Citizen's Advice may have a similar service but may, as you have mentioned, need to deal with those in much more desperate circumstances.  

Also check with any work relationships whether they have any financial resilience links.  I'm thinking of industrial associations, unions, military links, whatever.  You say you're over 60 so maybe Age UK?

Thanks, yes, it was StepChange. I had not heard of CMA so thank you for that suggestion.

BarbaraH

ManyWays said:

It sounds pretty desperate to me. How large is the tax bill coming up at the end of this month? Could you post a statement of affairs here using this calculator https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php? 

Just trying to fill this in. I'm struggling to find interest rates on all the cards. It should be on the statements but in some cases it give how much the interest was on that month in pounds but I can't find the APR. Does anyone know how to do this?

EssexHebridean

You're right - it should be on the statements. I think on mine it shows in the top section on the first page somewhere? You may need to log in via online banking for the full statement rather than just looking on your banking app.