Soa

Pinkylouloubell

Well, here is my statement of affairs any advice appriciated,

Your Income Amount

Your take home pay £600
Your partner's take home pay £1,150
Child Benefit £19
Child Tax Credit £11

Total income £1,780

Outgoings

Rent £400
Council tax £125
Gas £25
Electricity £25
Broadband £5
BT £10.50
TV licence £12
Satellite £21

Vehicle spares and servicing £20
Road tax £10
Motor insurance £30
Fuel & parking £100

Food, toiletries, cleaning £300
School meals/meals at work £34
Pets, pet food/insurance £25
Tobacco £40 (partner)
Medicines/prescriptions £15
Union/professional fees £6
Charity donations £8

Creditors

Blackhorse Other £33/month total £400
Capital One Credit Card £6,250 £90/month
Halifax Personal Loan £9,500 £147/month
Halifax OD Overdraft £3,000 £150/month
Halifax OD Overdraft £500 £25/month
MBNA Credit Card £6,500 £80/month
MBNA Personal Loan £14,000 £275/month
Tesco Credit Card £1,500 £50/month

sam89

I think all the smart people have gone to bed but will be back in the morning to give you advice.

I'm always amazed at what they can see to cut down so I'm sure things can be improved for you.

Posting you SoA is a big step, so well done.

Sam,
x.

Persolv0

Hello Pinky and well done for posting

You will get plenty of good advice and support.and well done again for making that first step

thevinternet

Hiya, I've not got a lot of advice, but I'll go with the obvious things I can see.....

1. £300 is a lot for food, how many mouths are you feeding on this a month please? Even if this is for three or four people, I bet you could get this down to £250 by swapping to cheap economy food and looking on the old-style board for some tips on cheap and nutritious meals.

2. Tobacco....is there any chance of going to the GP and trying to quit. I know it's very addictive, but £40 a month is a lot at this stage. And of course there's the health benefits.

3. Get rid of the satellite, and I'm afraid for now, the charity donations.

If you can do those three things, that's over £100 a month for starters.

However, I think you've missed off a few little things...haircuts? Clothes? Birthday presents? Try to include everything if you can, as the more information the peeps on this board have, the more they can help.

I know it's hard giving up the fun stuff, I really do. But in the long run, you'll be much happier - try the demotivator tool on the right-hand side if you need more persuasion!

Best of luck, V xxxxx

Stevenic

Hi, I see that you're paying £15 a month for medicines and prescriptions. Would a Prescription Pre-payment Certificate be cheaper? It's £102.50 a year and you can spread the cost over 10 months:

http://www.ppa.org.uk/ppa/ppc_intro.htm

Sarahx

Hi there, :wave:

Bumping you up so you'll get noticed in the morning when all the clever bod's are up!!:D

I can see a couple of things that are likely to get highlighted:
1./ Is Child benefit per week or month (if per week you need to x by 4 - YAY £57 better off already!) :j

2./ Hold off the charity payments until you are in a better position (it doesn't mean you don't care):A

3./ Fuel and parking seem high - is this for work? Are there any other options, eg: bus/walk/car share?:money:

4./ Is it 2 adults + 1 child? £300 shopping is quite high and can probably be reduced (the clever, morning bod's will probably put up a link for the old style board - budgets + meal planning etc!). I read a thread on here somewhere this week about a guy who was really embarrassed to go to Lidl's/Aldi but he did it last week away from his local area and was astounded at the saving and quality of products! I'm going to go for it this week and I'll be brave and go local - hoping to be converted!!:rotfl:

5./ Lunches - Are these packed lunches? If not it will probably cut the cost. Someone wrote on here that certain sandwiches can be made on a Sunday (left over meat from Sun Roast perhaps) and frozen in individual bags to grab and run each morning, so time is not a factor. (There are some very clever people on here you know!!) :T

6./ The other obvious one that will be targeted in the morning will be partners smoking! (as a smoker I can't really pass any comment:eek: , but there is an obvious saving to be had here! There is a stop smoke thread and he can get free support from government/GP/local pharmacy to name a few)

As for paying off the debt the clever bod's will help you. I'll just give you one thought to mull over and keep you motivated that I've got from here and it's helped me: £10 is not just £10 - it is £10 + the interest of your highest interest debt (eg 29% = £12.90) if you used it to help pay off a debt, so every little bit really does make a difference.:j

Maybe some kind (clever:T ) person will put in links for the demotivator and whats the cost and snowballer (ooh also the benefits checker). I'm very much a novice and have lots to learn too.:wall:

Wishing you a very productive and positive Thursday! :grouphug: (maybe I should spend less time doing smiley people and more time remembering where links and info are stored - Scarey...sounds similar to my old school reports!!)

P.S. Ebay, Ebay, Ebay!! Anything that doean't sell collect inthe attick then boot sale! (remember every little helps!)

Chin up!

Sarah x

Pinkylouloubell

Thanks Sarah, at least you managed to make me smile with your smilies, lol.

Yes, have been on at partner to give up the smokes for a while now, but first he has to sort out the alcohol (which is included in with shopping).

There are 2 adults, 1 child, 1 dog and 1 cat.
Yes, I guess the shopping is quite high, but its what Ive always spent, so will try and cut it right down,
does anyone have any links for shopping saving??

Oh yes, I see the child Ben/Tax Credits needs to be multiplied, woohoo.:j .

Also am trying to ebay loadsa stuff, for some extra cash, mainly to go towards my son who is dyslexic/dyspraxic, so always needing books/research ect....

OH has finally seen the light too (is this a lightbulb moment), and realises we are in the ***ts.
Has just thought I was a naggin partner up till now.

Also sent off the dogs insurance form yesterday, which have been ,meaning to do since Feb, and hopefully be £300 back. (she has bad legs).

I also tried the demotivator, WOW, what a reality check.

Thanks everyone, it is kinda like rally reassuring knowing there are people on here who in a similar situation, seem to really care.
XXXX:p

Cleosmum

Pinkylouloubell wrote: »

Well, here is my statement of affairs any advice appriciated,

Your Income Amount

Your take home pay £600
Your partner's take home pay £1,150

Child Benefit £19
Child Tax Credit £11

Total income £1,780

Outgoings

Rent £400
Council tax £125 Can you pay this over 12 months?
Gas £25
Electricity £25

Broadband £5 Can you switch to a phone provider that does free broadband?
BT £10.50 Look at Talk Talk, who do free broadband, use a cashback site to swap.
TV licence £12
Satellite £21 Cancel and get freeview

Vehicle spares and servicing £20
Road tax £10
Motor insurance £30 Can you switch to cheaper?
Fuel & parking £100 Can you cut this back?

Food, toiletries, cleaning £300 Visit the old style board to get this right down.
School meals/meals at work £34 Everyone take packed lunches, including the adults
Pets, pet food/insurance £25 Shop around for the best deal on pet food
Tobacco £40 (partner) Quit

Medicines/prescriptions £15 Do you use this much, or is this an estimate?
Union/professional fees £6
Charity donations £8 Charity begins at home, put your £8 a month in a sealed pot.

Creditors

Blackhorse Other £33/month total £400
Capital One Credit Card £6,250 £90/month
Halifax Personal Loan £9,500 £147/month
Halifax OD Overdraft £3,000 £150/month
Halifax OD Overdraft £500 £25/month
MBNA Credit Card £6,500 £80/month
MBNA Personal Loan £14,000 £275/month
Tesco Credit Card £1,500 £50/month

My comments are in red above. Can you add what the APRs are on the cards/loans/overdrafts?

Cleosmum

Pinkylouloubell wrote: »

Also am trying to ebay loadsa stuff, for some extra cash, mainly to go towards my son who is dyslexic/dyspraxic, so always needing books/research ect....

Can you borrow books from the library or read up on things online? Would occupational therapy have things they could lend you? Maybe join a local support group and see if they have resources that can be borrowed/hired.

Pinkylouloubell

thanks,
will check out all aprs ect and add on haircuts ect.....
X

thevinternet

Babe, I owe just under 40k too, so you're not in it alone, nor are you the worst spender on here by a long way! Try not to panic too much...now you have the support of your partner, things will get easier. Is there any chance either of you can do any overtime? Ebay is a great idea btw. xx