Feels like I'm naked

Needcash_3

Hi Everybody,

I joined yesterday and put up my debt plan, but was too scared to put up my SOA .... not because I'm ashamed of it ... more because I've never had my finances scrutinised like this before (so please be gentle with me) !

So here goes .... loads of advice would be appreciated .... I want to clear my credit cards and loand mainly. I do plan to move in to a smaller place in August to cut down on my rent ... this is it for now though ...

Income £2942.54 (£2324.79 salary + 617.75 rental income from my flat - managing Agents take a 10% cut)

Outgoings
Loan (£7k owed) £168.54 Life Assurance £27.47 Powergen (Gas & Elec) £46 Car £172.95T V licence £11.37 Mortgage £887.09 British Gas Cover £21 Rent £750 Council Tax £89 Gym £56 Water £6.48 TMobile £20 Contact lenses £18.5 Land line £15 Sky £19 Annual Bills (Car Service etc) £50 RBS Credit Card (£2000 owed) £50 Me £350 Holidays (to ISA) £50 M&S Credit Card (£900 owed) £100 TOTAL £2908.40

So as you can see, it's not crazily out of control, but it's tight, and I want to make some real progress this year .... up until a few weeks ago I was still running up shoe and clothes bills that I couldn't afford and I constantly carry debt, averaging about £10k per year. I feel like I need to save too at the moment as I need something to fall back on for annual bills like car ins, maintenance charge on my flat etc. Also, in the past I've got so fed up and stressed out that I've ended up taking last minute holidays when I'm almost on my knees and in dire need of a break ... again all on plastic ... ... Have re-mortgaged twice in the last 2 years ... don't want to do that again and next year I would like to overpay on my mortgage for a change ...

Any advice/ suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks

lindens

Income £2942.54 (£2324.79 salary + 617.75 rental income from my flat - managing Agents take a 10% cut)

Outgoings
Loan (£7k owed)168.54
Life Assurance27.47
Powergen (Gas & Elec)46
Car172.95
TV licence11.37
Mortgage887.09
British Gas Cover21
Rent750
Council Tax89
Gym56
Water6.48
TMobile20
Contact lenses18.5
Land line15
Sky19
Annual Bills (Car Service etc)50
RBS Credit Card (£2000 owed)50
Me350
Holidays (to ISA)50
M&S Credit Card (£900 owed)100
2908.40

I have re-paragraphed it so its easier for everyone to see

Needcash_3

Hey, thank you ... :beer:

lindens

Well done for posting.

I just wondered what Me350 was?
Is it your own spending money?
If so what do you spend it on? If you dont know, a good idea is to keep a spending diary for a couple of months and write absolutely everything down in it. It's a real eye opener!!

thefuturesbright_2

Can you cancel the Gym membership and also shop around for cheaper contact lenses?

Also work out which debts have highest interest rates and pay them off first while paying the minimum off the rest.

All the best.

Needcash_3

Yeah ... Me 350 is the £350 that I've allocated to myself

I don't use the gym enough to justify it probably ... like the idea of dealing with one debt at a time and paying minimum everywhere else. Have had a tendency to try to pay all off at once before, and failed miserably!!... thanks

Snaggles

Hiya, keeping a spending diary is a good way of keeping track of what you spend the £350 on. It can be a real eye-opener sometimes, especially when you work out how much that shop-bought sandwich or coffee costs when you times it by the number you buy per year!

Edit - I can see that someone else has already said the same, sorry - I cut and pasted my reply from the other, duplicate thread so I hadn't read the other replies!

saffronflowers

Income £2942.54 (£2324.79 salary + 617.75 rental income from my flat - managing Agents take a 10% cut)


Rent £750
Council Tax £89
Mortgage £887.09 Could you not move back to your flat
Life Assurance £27.47 Is this the best option available
Powergen (Gas & Elec) £46 Have you checked this is cheapest
TV licence £11.37
British Gas Cover £21 what does this cover
Gym £56 Is this totally necessary
Water £6.48 This seems low
TMobile £20
Contact lenses £18.5
Land line £ 15
Sky £19 Is this vital could it swapped for a freeview box
Annual Bills (Car Service etc) £50
Me £350 What does this cover
Holidays (to ISA) £50

M&S Credit Card (£900 owed) £100 What APR
Loan (£7k owed) £168.54 “ “
Car £172.95 How much is owed, how much is left
M&S Credit Card (£900 owed) £100 What APR
RBS Credit Card (£2000 owed) £50 “ “

SFx

TOTAL £2908.40

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immoral_angeluk

Is there any equity in the buy to let?

debrag

you seem to be managing well as you have £384.14 left (I-O + ME). Cancel your gym membership, shop around for car ins, contact lenses and find out if you can over pay the loan.

tyllwyd

That £350 to 'me' looks like a lot at first glance, but I can't see food/clothes/entertainment listed separately, so I guess it all comes out of that money? - which would make it less generous than it first appears. It might be worth editing your SOA so you get a better feeling for how much of that is really 'spare' money.