First Posting Advice Most Welcome

MooMoo_3

Hi Guys,

This has taken me some time to get the courage to both post my situation and my details. Guess I'm a very private person, which is probably why I now find myself in this situation, always been too embarassed to seek help or advice.

After spending several days reading other threads, it's helped me to realise I need to stop beating myself up and stop thinking it will all go away.

My debt all started 18 months ago when due to ill health I gave up working, thinking I was OK as I had some money put aside and I was building my own website to generate an income. Needless to say it just didn't provide the income I had hoped for. The credit cards were to be a stop gap. I started back to work full time 6 months ago and I am managing to keep up my payments, but it's a real struggle. Stupidly it never crossed my mind until these last couple of weeks, I'm NEVER going to clear off these credit card debts.

Now I've jst been advised by my doctor I may have to undergo a hip replacement op. I know I shall loose my job and now terrified how I shall be able to keep up these repayments. Guess though it was the the final push to make me start to do something about it, so not all bad.

I have been intouch with one of those companies advertising on the TV, who have reccomended an IVA, but after reading all the advice given on this site, I shall not now enter into one, but still really feel I need help. Debt management Plan sounds like it may be a good option, but would really appreciate others opinion together with a little more info on exactly how it works.

Many many thanks for taking the time to read this thread and look forward to recieving your comments, below is my SOA

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1100
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2500

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold flat)...... 0
Council tax............................. 140
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 15
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 15
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 55
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 25
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 60
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 34
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 75
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 200
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 55
Total monthly expenses.................. 1821

Assets
Cash.................................... 450
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1950

No Secured Debt

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
credit card....................2713......54........23.9
credit card....................4698......105.......15.9
credit card....................1921......48........19.9
car............................980.......126.......0
personal loan..................7167......166.......6.9
credit card....................4678......133.......30.35
credit card....................1282......28........12.9
Total unsecured debts..........23439.....660.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,500
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 1,821
Available for debt repayments........... 679
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 660
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ 19

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,950
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -23,439
Personal net worth...................... -21,489

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

======== Enter any other useful information below ========

boredofbeingathome

Welcome to the boards, a brave first step.

The first thing which jumps out at me is the food budget. If you pop over to the old style board there is a grocery challenge going on, which could help you reduce the bills.
is there any chance of rejigging the cards around to get a lower rate of interest? have a look at Martin's credit card shuffle article.
Is the car finished soon? That too would allow you to chuck some more at the debt.
There is a snowball calculater which you can use to see how long it would take you to pay off debts, i would have a look at that first.
I can see haow worried you are about a hip operation, and it may be worth having a talk to one of the free debt charities, to see what solution they can come up with as well.
Good luck with it all bob x

MooMoo_3

Thanks for the welcome Bob,

The reason for the grocery bill being high as I have also included pet food ( 2 x cocker spaniels and a pond full of Koi). Re the car - that s total diasater, the finance is for a car we bought 3 years ago, unfortunately the gear box went quoted over 2,000 for repairs, therefore as we still owed over 2,000 on finance and the car was only worth £2,500, we decided not to have it repaired and will scrap as soon as finance has been paid. We now have with no credit 2 little Fiat sicento, which is saving us so much on petrol and road tax.

You are quite right until I came to this site, I didn't know there was still credit cards offering 0% interest on transfers, but don't you have to pay some monies up front to set this up? Talking of credit cards, this morning was the first time I have worked out the interest rate I have with mbna as they show a monthly rate 2.5292% and I was horrified when I totalled it up

scooterwife

Hello & welcome:j

I agree with BOB that food bill could possibly go down a bit (try the old style board)
also presents & entertainment seem a bit high, is it worth cutting back for a while and trying to pay a bit extra on debts?
If you try the 'snowball' calculator (sorry can't do a link, but someone else will be able to) and see which it suggests paying off first, that might help a bit.

boredofbeingathome

Hi, yep there is a balance transfer rate, but you have to look carefully at how much this would be and how much it would save you.
There are some bods who can work this out on the credit card board, but be a tad wary of some of them. There is some sound advice, and some great folk on there, but sometimes they are a bit sharp.
The credit card agencies are able to tell you how much the rate is as well, but i think you will pay interest on the BT rate at their standard rate.

I quite understand about the dogs, i love cocker spaniels, i used to have a springer.Some of the old stylers, have their dog food in budget as well, so if you can read through the long threads,there are a few tips. ust ask a question and they will be more than happy to answer.

I hate when cars let you down, and then you are in a financial quagmire with them. It is a great pity. There are lots of folks on here who have great ways of getting cars sorted for a fraction of the cost. I think Pania, recently had some car trouble and saved herself a bundle on car repairs. Worth an ask, and you may then get more for the car. Lots of garages could take it off your hands rather than scrapping as it will cost them very little to repair, and you are likely to get a better price. If you go on her thread and ask ..she will help you out.

If you are looking for credit card finance, sign up to quidco, you can get cashback for virtually everything, and look at fuel bill savings etc. It may only be a few pounds, but it adds up.

RedDino308

Hi and Welcome

I'm sure many more experienced people will be along to offer advice as well but here are a few initial thoughts.

1) It is good that you have been able to keep up the payments. Hopefully this means you credit rating is fairly good and you may be able to sort out balance transfers to a 0% card. There is a great article about it on here. Oh - and to answer your question when you do a transfer they don't ask for money in advance they simply add it to your new card. e.g. if you transfer £1000 then you might end up with £1030 on the new card...

2) Groceries are very high even with the pets. Do have a look at how you improve this.

3) Presents and entertaining are coming in at £275 a month!!! This is huge - you must be having a great time Seriously, you probably want to look at this.

4) Emergency fund - this is your emergency so you might want to look at putting the £50 towards your cards.

5) Try keeping a spending diary where you write down everything you spend day-to-day. This will help you identify where the major issues are and what you need to tackle.

Good luck

RD308

10past6

Hi moomoo

Welcome to the forum, there is plenty of support and advice on offer, just ask away if you have a question.

Re your SOA, there are a couple of items that stick out:

a) your Electricity & Gas, combined it's £100.00 have you tried to get this any cheaper? if you click here, it's the utilities forum, post in there, someone may have further advice for you.

b) your contents insurance, £34.00 seems quite high, again, if you click here, it's the insurance forum, someone may be able to offer advice on gaining cheaper insurance.

c) your pet insurance at £60.00 seems high, click here for the pet isurance guide.

d) Medical (Prescriptions / dentist) if you have to rely on benefits, this may be a saving for you, alternatively, if you require regular medication and have to pay, have you considered a pre payment certificate, click here for details, I have one, it pay's for itself in the long run.

MooMoo_3

Many thanks everyone for your replies,

Very usful advice - I shall be looking into chnging credit cards as my credit rating is fine at present.
- Gas/ Electric can't be changed we're on a quantum meter as we live in rented accomodation and providors charge excess rates, though it does mean there are no bills.
- pet insurance having checked out the sites link wer're with pinnacle, but charged more because wer're in the south east, total for my 2 girls is £49 per month + flea pet control @ £18 per month + miscellaneous = £60, that's without the fish food!
- Will also check out contents insurance to see if a saving can be made.
- Entertainment does sound high ( and I wish it even included a night out once a month) we don't go out, but we both are moderate smokers and do enjoy a bottle of wine occasionally. I have been perhaps over estimated, until I keep a daily record for a month it's hard to give a true figure. ie' newspapers/gardening/entertaining(maybe once every 2 months)
- Groceries,again this has been an estimate, though I must add we for the past couple of years been helping my mother inlaw a little with her shopping, only about £10 - 15 per week, but it does help her. Like the entertainment I shall be keeping a daily log.
- Medical, at the moment it is mainly just check ups and glasses for us both.

I know this sounds like I'm trying to defend my outgoings, but really can only say it as it is, again that's why I'm here to listen and try to see where I've been going wrong.

Again huge thanks to all for your comments

moxie_2

I would strongly advise you speak to one of the charitable debt companies like Payplan or CCCS. They are really helpful and non judgemental. Keeping a spending diary is also really helpful, we all think we know where our money goes, but the reality is usually quite different!

misspoppy

Hi

You can change your gas and electric even on prepayment meters have a look at uswitch there is a co that is non profit making that comes up cheaper than the rest.

I know you have been concentrating on saving money for your op but can I ask why you think you will loose your job, thats not a certainty and would more than likely be unlawful if you did. As you are currently able to work you should in theory be able to cope with it better after the op. Speak to ACAS to be sure of your rights at work.

mizmir

Welcome to the board MooMoo - you'll get all the help and support you need here.
The spending diary is a great idea - keep track of where it all goes so that you can get an accurate picture. Your dogs sound lovely. I have 3 - all a lot bigger than cockers - so I know they can cost a bit to keep - but £18 a month on flea treatment seems enormous. Assume this is Frontline or Advantage? Have you tried looking at online veterinary suppliers? You can get a prescription from your vet and buy the treatments much cheaper online. Or if you want to try a natural remedy - garlic in their food (tablets if you want to avoid them having garlic breath!) will keep fleas away. None of my dogs have had fleas for as long as I can remember and I never use chemical flea treatments. And garlic tablets are a lot cheaper than flea treatments!

Good luck - you'll be hooked on DFW challenges and diaries in no time and seeing those debts coming down.