In lots of debt and need help getting out.

ArtyJ931

the first thing that springs to mind is you have 0 down for a hell of a lot of things that I am pretty sure are not 0 so this is likely not a realistic SOA. That might be out of choice but it probably isn’t giving you or anyone else an accurate picture but may shed light on why you have the borrowing.

Eg. Water rates, medical, haircuts, entertainment, any kind of insurance whatsoever. Your groceries also seems very low at £60 a month.
Might be worth looking at actual spending over the last few months and adding it up to create a more accurate SOA?

ManyWays

OK, you need to redo the SoA putting what you actually need to live on in… It is going to take more than a couple of months to clear the debts, so you cannot plan to live on porridge and baked beans for that time

No mobile? no TV license or streaming services?
£60 a month for food is not possible
Nor is no clothes.
A bit in for entertainment, presents, haircut, medical, and emergency fund.
£20 is enough for travel?

How long have you been using drafty?

fatbelly

Just checking. Have you got your 25% single person discount on the council tax and is it spread over 12 months?

RAS

There's a lot here that doesn't tally.

Plainly you haven't got £400 left over after paying debts, that is probably being used to fund all the stuff missing your SOA?

And you are paid 4 weekly but pay out monthly. So probably your monthly income is higher, as there are 4.3 weeks in a month on average.

You don't need to tell us but you have to acknowledge to yourself how you got into debt. And to acknowledge that both the Oakbrook and Drafty loans were taken out after you ceased to be able to afford whatever you had been buying. Were these consolidation loans?

Is this a hang over from commitments made when you had a high salary? Or from misspent youth or "enjoying yourself too much, or even debt taken out for others?

spareapenny

• Okay, so, I'm going to have a full disclosure here.

• 1) Anything that is 0, is mostly 0.

• Water, I pay every six months, so I don't have to worry about it until December. I didn't think it worth including.

• No car, no car insurance, no any other insurance.

• Entertainment is Netflix 12.99 coming out every 25th of the month.

• Groceries, I try to target a budget of £60 per month.

• Mobile, I own my phone, and my parents cover the contract.

• No TV Licence at all.

• Travel I will be honest this was a guesstimate. Real costs are about £50 per month. It could be more or less depending on how many days of work I have that week.

• Clothes I have no need (or budget) for new clothes, it would be nice, but it's a want, not a need. Haircuts I have approx every 3-4 months so I didn't think it also worth including.

• As for Council Tax, it is split over 10 Months. It would usually be 171.00, but I made some payments in the past which lowered my monthly to 136.

• Everything else is 0.

• The problem I have is that since I am starting from a negative sum, it means I have nothing left over and it's a cycle of going into and out of overdraft. Which, in a way, is nice, because without the overdraft I would be missing bills and would probably be in default.

• As to why I took out these loans, well, here goes.

• Monzo loan - This came about as I had a 0% credit card with a £3000 balance, where the promotional period was about to expire and I had found myself with an unexpected expense which meant that even after liquidating all my savings there was not enough left. I had no choice here…

• I took out the large loan as I thought it'd be better to have more than I need, and return the rest than find myself short and needing more.

• Oakbrook loan - As ashamed as I am to admit it, I then went and gambled on high risk stock options with my loan from Monzo. Why? Well, I felt like a king with approx £5000 sitting in my bank account and that it was money I could play with and double or triple.

• The first few things I did after paying off the credit card was upgrade my PC setup, and then, at first, I put it into savings to grow, but then slowly took it out to gamble with as I was very… distressed by the loan. Distressed at owing £7000 for the next five years. I wanted more than anything to make the cost of the loan and pay it off like it never happened.

• The result was that I lost everything, and if it weren't for this "benevolent" loan, I would be behind on several priority bills. What did I go do with this loan? I put £200 away so that I could not do anything, and, that's right, I gambled the rest of it in a last ditch effort to make my money back. All said and done, I had -£382.77.

• Drafty loan - I can't call this a loan, this is a REVOLVING CREDIT. You get credit to use and pay and use again. Looking at my statements, I had fallen to -727.35 after rent on 29/03/2026 (and I was likely looking to get out of the overdraft). When I took out with Drafty the first £1500 I had -1465 prior. I think the idea of being in overdraft sort of scared me.

• I have had a lot of problems with this loan, namely in that I take out cash, realise I can pay a little bit of it back, pay some back, realise I could do with a little bit more, borrow more, pay back, borrow more, pay back, it's an endless cycle (that accrues interest!) but I have committed to only pay the balance down and never take out.

• This was the final loan I took out, having realised the severity of what's happened over the past few months and have since been clean and free from any kind of gambling since.

• So, this really was a one thing leads to another situation. I… don't know what to say. I'm an idiot.

• Here is the updated SOA.

• [font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]

• Monthly Income Details[/b]
  Monthly income after tax................ 2602
  Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
  Benefits................................ 0
  Other income............................ 0[b]
  Total monthly income.................... 2602[/b][b]

• Monthly Expense Details[/b]
  Mortgage................................ 0
  Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
  Rent.................................... 1150
  Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
  Council tax............................. 136
  Electricity............................. 44.14
  Gas..................................... 27.35
  Oil..................................... 0
  Water rates............................. 0
  Telephone (land line)................... 0
  Mobile phone............................ 0
  TV Licence.............................. 0
  Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
  Internet Services....................... 30.49
  Groceries etc. ......................... 60
  Clothing................................ 0
  Petrol/diesel........................... 0
  Road tax................................ 0
  Car Insurance........................... 0
  Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
  Car parking............................. 0
  Other travel............................ 50
  Childcare/nursery....................... 0
  Other child related expenses............ 0
  Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
  Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
  Buildings insurance..................... 0
  Contents insurance...................... 0
  Life assurance ......................... 0
  Other insurance......................... 0
  Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
  Haircuts................................ 0
  Entertainment........................... 12.99
  Holiday................................. 0
  Emergency fund.......................... 0[b]
  Total monthly expenses.................. 1510.97[/b]
  [b]

• Assets[/b]
  Cash.................................... -1263
  House value (Gross)..................... 0
  Shares and bonds........................ 0
  Car(s).................................. 0
  Other assets............................ 0[b]
  Total Assets............................ -1263[/b]
  [b]
  No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts[/b]

• [b]Unsecured Debts[/b]
  Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
  Monzo Loan.....................6882.67...181.1.....17.7
  Oakbrook Loan..................3018.52...131.2.....57.9
  Drafty revolving cred..........2011.4....146.6.....96.2
  Klarna BNPL....................796.11....265.3.....0[b]
  Total unsecured debts..........12708.7...724.2.....- [/b]

• [b]
  Monthly Budget Summary[/b]
  Total monthly income.................... 2,602
  Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,510.97
  Available for debt repayments........... 1,091.03
  Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 724.2[b]
  Amount left after debt repayments....... 366.83[/b]

• [b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]
  Total assets (things you own)........... -1,263
  Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
  Total Unsecured debt.................... -12,708.7[b]
  Net Assets.............................. -13,971.7[/b]

• [i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.LemonFool.co.uk.
  Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]

Grumpelstiltskin

You have got to work out what the monthly equivalent of the water bill is and include it, otherwise where are you going to find the next payment from?

That amount should go into a savings account so it is there when the bill is due.

spareapenny

PLEASE SEE UPDATED SOA

Hi all, I got my pay slightly wrong. Please see the correct data below.

[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 2623
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0[b]
Total monthly income.................... 2623[/b][b]

Monthly Expense Details[/b]
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 1150
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 136
Electricity............................. 44.14
Gas..................................... 27.35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 30.49
Groceries etc. ......................... 60
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 50
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 12.99
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0[b]
Total monthly expenses.................. 1510.97[/b]
[b]

Assets[/b]
Cash.................................... -1263
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0[b]
Total Assets............................ -1263[/b]
[b]
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts[/b]

[b]Unsecured Debts[/b]
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Monzo Loan.....................6882.67...181.1.....17.7
Oakbrook Loan..................3018.52...131.2.....57.9
Drafty revolving cred..........2011.4....146.6.....96.2
Klarna BNPL....................796.11....265.3.....0[b]
Total unsecured debts..........12708.7...724.2.....- [/b]

[b]
Monthly Budget Summary[/b]
Total monthly income.................... 2,623
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,510.97
Available for debt repayments........... 1,112.03
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 724.2[b]
Amount left after debt repayments....... 387.83[/b]

[b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]
Total assets (things you own)........... -1,263
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -12,708.7[b]
Net Assets.............................. -13,971.7[/b]

[i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.LemonFool.co.uk.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]

foxgloves

I'm intrigued how you manage to feed yourself on £60 a month…..unless you are a very keen forager.

fatbelly

Throw your surplus at that Drafty thing. The apr is ridiculous. Aim to clear it by October

II think I would have a look at your council tax website. If there is a box to tick for 12 instalments it should lower your payments. I think that is to become the default option from next year.

Do you not use credit cards at all? Could you trust yourself with one? Be honest.

RAS

If you are paid £2602 every 4 weeks, your monthly income is £2797.15, which is what you need to budget with since your payments out are monthly.

Managing monthly payments is a nightmare when you are paid 4 weekly.

I'd suggest you have a core budget that ensures you can pay your rent and essential outgoings every 4 weeks. Once a year, you'll get a rent free month when you can afford major items. The amount of "spare" you've got to make payments that are time bound will vary from month to month.

With respect to the £50ish monthly travel, you need to be able to fund from your core budget, so it needs it's own budget line. Work put the maximum each 4 weeks and budget for it.

You also need an instant access ISA into which you pay one 1/13th of the annual water charge each 4 weeks, so when it become payable you have all or most of it to hand. Rather than discovering that it's a tight month and you are scrabbling around, dipping into the Drafty account.

Do the same for the hair cuts even if it's only £6.35 per month and add £5-10 per month for "clothing." You can only make knickers and socks last so long, and nothing is so much fun as leaking sneakers in cold or snowy weather, so have enough to buy boots and dubbin or wellies if needed. This isn't nesh, it's just making sure you have the wherewithal to maintain your biggest asset, yourself.

Now find the last 6 month's statements and go through them with a fine-tooth comb. You still haven't worked out where several hundred pounds are leaking. That's money you need to pay off your debts and until you find out where it's going you can't harvest it to sort out your debts.

So look at the categories above and see which fits, or create your own specific pay subscriptions for anything, buy games stuff, go out with mates.

No-one's dictating what you spend on but you can't make real choices until you know where it's going.

Edit: You are getting close to the 10 post limit that enables editing, until then short answers to specific queries might help.