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  • ArtyJ931
    ArtyJ931 Posts: 394 Forumite
    100 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper

    affordability complaints can all be sent via email so that avoids stamp costs too!

    DFW info LBM: March 26

    Total 03/26 69,481

    My DMP Diary - year 1

    "You put one foot in front of the other and one day you look back and see that you have climbed a mountain" Ready for the climb.💪

  • CliveOfIndia
    CliveOfIndia Posts: 2,942 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper

    I'm not sure if this might be any help to you at all, but I thought I'd take a quick look at just your expenses and offer some thoughts. I won't reiterate the very good points already made by other posters. And these are just observations from an impartial observer - I fully appreciate that some suggestions may not be practical for you. Anyhow ….

    Household Information[/b]
    Number of adults in household........... 2
    Number of children in household......... 2
    Number of cars owned.................... 1[b]

    Monthly Income Details[/b]
    Monthly income after tax................ 1400
    Partners monthly income after tax....... 713
    Benefits................................ 2368
    Other income............................ 0[b]
    Total monthly income.................... 4481[/b][b]

    Monthly Expense Details[/b]
    Mortgage................................ 0
    Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 417
    Rent.................................... 517
    Management charge (leasehold property).. 28
    Council tax............................. 109.5
    Electricity............................. 100
    Gas..................................... 117
    Oil..................................... 0
    Water rates............................. 55
    Telephone (land line)................... 0
    Mobile phone............................ 122 This sounds quite high. If you're not tied into a contract, you can get a SIM-only deal with a decent bundle of calls & data for around a tenner a month.
    TV Licence.............................. 14
    Satellite/Cable TV...................... 34.98 Can you make do without this? There's a reasonable choice available on Freeview, you can also watch lots of stuff via the internet.
    Internet Services....................... 33.99
    Groceries etc. ......................... 500
    Clothing................................ 50 Sounds quite high every month - but depending on the age of your children, it's possible you may not be able to cut down much here. But keep an eye out on charity shops, online market-places and the like, you can often get some really good quality stuff for a fraction of the cost new.
    Petrol/diesel........................... 200
    Road tax................................ 17.5
    Car Insurance........................... 277
    Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 45
    Car parking............................. 10
    Other travel............................ 25
    Childcare/nursery....................... 0
    Other child related expenses............ 125 What does this cover - anything that could be trimmed?
    Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 120
    Pet insurance/vet bills................. 60
    Buildings insurance..................... 0
    Contents insurance...................... 0 I'm guessing that buildings insurance is covered by the landlord, but you probably ought to have contents insurance if it's not provided as part of your rent.
    Life assurance ......................... 0
    Other insurance......................... 0
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100 This is very high. I appreciate you don't want your kids to miss out at Christmas and birthdays, but there's no need to push the boat so far out. If you're buying for other family members as well, it's well worth having a conversation about not exchanging gifts with nieces, nephews, cousins, whatever - most families will understand.
    Haircuts................................ 40 Can this be trimmed (excuse the pun!) ?
    Entertainment........................... 23.99
    Holiday................................. 269
    Emergency fund.......................... 50[b]
    Total monthly expenses.................. 3460.96[/b]

    As I say, just some suggestions. And it won't add up to a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, but every little helps, as they say.

  • ManyWays
    ManyWays Posts: 2,591 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper

    Are you still paying Tappily and Sunny? As they went under a few years ago and all balances have been written off, but perhaps your debt was sold before they went under and you are paying a debt collector?

    Zable (both debts), Money Platform, Gain Credit, Newday (for Marbles and Aqua), Cap One, Zopa all look worth making at affordability complaint to.

    The written off car debt you may also be able to win an affordability complaint about, so who was the finance lender, when did the loan start and when was it written off?

     they are mostly mine which i irresponsibly racked up
    You may feel that, but that is a very unpleasant list of expensive lenders. They should NOT have given you unaffordable loans and it is their fault you have ended up in such a mess.

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