How do I deal with these debts?

Niknak83 · 11 May 2018 at 1:05PM

Sorry missed that one out on my husband!!!8217;s outgoings. He pays £35.99 a month for the Internet.

We don!!!8217;t really budget for entertainment. Can!!!8217;t really afford it.

I!!!8217;m trying to get my own debts down so don!!!8217;t really consider his income and outgoings. It!!!8217;s my debt so don!!!8217;t think he needs to contribute to it.

ViolaLass · 11 May 2018 at 1:17PM

But do you spend anything on entertainment? That's the real question.

The SOA has to be accurate, not wishful.

Niknak83 · 11 May 2018 at 1:19PM

We don!!!8217;t go out but all my leftover money after I!!!8217;ve paid bills etc is gone before the end of the month. So I guess entertainment would be whatever is left after bills have been paid. That money also includes any annual vet fees, haircuts, car repairs, MOT/service etc. So should I factor all of this into my SOA?

Dobbibill · 11 May 2018 at 1:46PM

Niknak83 wrote: »

We don!!!8217;t go out but all my leftover money after I!!!8217;ve paid bills etc is gone before the end of the month. So I guess entertainment would be whatever is left after bills have been paid. That money also includes any annual vet fees, haircuts, car repairs, MOT/service etc. So should I factor all of this into my SOA?

You need to factor in everything, without doing that we won't get a clear picture of what you need vs what you want and how much, if any surplus is in the budget.

You also failed to add anything to birthday/Christmas presents - do you not celebrate these occasions or do you put it against a credit card?

ViolaLass · 11 May 2018 at 2:39PM

Niknak83 wrote: »

We don!!!8217;t go out but all my leftover money after I!!!8217;ve paid bills etc is gone before the end of the month. So I guess entertainment would be whatever is left after bills have been paid. That money also includes any annual vet fees, haircuts, car repairs, MOT/service etc. So should I factor all of this into my SOA?

You must.

You can't work out how to manage your money better until you've worked out how you are currently managing your money.

[Deleted User] · 11 May 2018 at 4:07PM

Husbands wage is really low, is there no chance he can get a better job or overtime ?

Niknak83 · 13 May 2018 at 2:30PM

This is my updated SOA with allowances for vet bills, car repairs, MOTs, birthday/christmas presents, 2 haircuts a year. I've taken my husband's income/outgoings out as we don't have a joint bank account and I'm trying to sort my own debts out. Unfortunately his income won't change much anytime soon as he's changed careers recently so is starting from the bottom but he is managing.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2209
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2209

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 550
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Electricity............................. 29
Gas..................................... 29
Water rates............................. 40
Mobile phone............................ 9
Groceries etc. ......................... 210
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 3
Car Insurance........................... 59
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 8
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 66
Contents insurance...................... 6
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 6
Entertainment........................... 150
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Dog walker.............................. 36
Pet food................................ 70
Gym..................................... 16
Sofa.................................... 30 - repayment ends December 2018
Total monthly expenses.................. 1482

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
Car(s).................................. 2500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................5998......120.......17.5
Barclaycard....................4104......120.......6.9
Virgin credit card.............3998......50........0
Natwest loan...................6190......277.......5.9
Natwest credit card.........6735......106.......6.9
Total unsecured debts....27025.....673.......

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,209
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,482
Available for debt repayments........... 727
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 673
Amount left after debt repayments....... 54

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -27,025
Net Assets.............................. -24,525

Is a debt snowmall my best option? I've considered DMP but as I can afford the monthly repayments, I'm not eligible. If I'm trying to be debt free, I can see I need to cut down on entertainment. Is it best to set a weekly budget that I have to limit myself to for entertainment purposes etc i.e. £30 a week? Any help is appreciated. I think I'm stuck with just plugging away at the debts but any useful tips would be helpful.

JayRitchie · 13 May 2018 at 4:08PM

The Barclaycard interest rate is killing you. Is there anything you could sell to try to reduce this? Realistically you need to cut the entertainment to nil and throw everything at this card. You probably need more income to clear this - can you husband earn more/ do a second job? What is you job? Can you live without a car?

ViolaLass · 13 May 2018 at 4:56PM

Niknak83 wrote: »

Is it best to set a weekly budget that I have to limit myself to for entertainment purposes etc i.e. £30 a week? Any help is appreciated.

Yes, that's exactly how budgeting works. You work out what the number needs to be/can be and stick to it.

enthusiasticsaver · 13 May 2018 at 5:09PM

I would reduce the entertainment and put something into emergency savings as you have no safety net for unexpected expenses. £8 for car maintenance is also really low.

You cannot afford £150 a month for entertainment as you pay a lot for your pets and the amount of debt you have means high monthly repayments. A DMP wont help as you can afford monthly payments but due to affordability you cannot get 0% deals. The only way you can deal with this is to throw every spare penny at the debt until it is low enough for you to start getting 0% deals again. Is all that debt yours or is it joint? In which case why is your DH not helping?

A monthly or weekly amount for entertainment is a good idea. Same goes for food. If you and your DH split costs then £210 for your half is a lot. Again £172 a month for the pets is a lot and does your DH not contribute to that?

I would tackle the 17.9% Barclaycard first. Have you tried ringing them to see if they will reduce the interest rate?

How do I deal with these debts?

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