Making The Changes and Sticking to it!

Stayathomemum36 · 4 February 2018 at 3:06PM

Hi,

Ive been a lurker on here for a while but have decided that I want to document our journey to allow us to look back on it! We are a family of 4 and due my OH working away for periods of time I became a SAHM to our children ( 4 & 7). Over the last 10 years debt has run up due to bad budgeting, essential home repairs, over spending and we have transferred from 0% to 0% card without actually making a real inroad into the balance.

I am a savvy shopper when it comes to utilities, insurance, mortgage and I feel that I have these at the best possible level for now. Where we can save money is the Amazon spending, better meal planning and day to day spends. We just fritter money away and it has to stop!

Since November we've made a real effort and have now had 3 consecutive months where we have not used our overdraft on our main current account despite having some large car repair bills and the dishwasher to replace :j Do I reduce this over draft facility now? Its £550.

We had a loan with Santander that was taken out over 2 years to purchase a trailer (for camping), we paid this off 6 months early at the beginning of december (£597). I have also been chipping away at the remaining debts and have paid £818.00 this month due to careful spending and as DH had some extra pay.

So the remaining debts are as follows

1. B/Card - £15535 @ 15%
2. RBS - £6636 @ 12%
3. MBNA - £6148 @ 0%
4. Next - £458 @22.9%

Total: £28,777.74

Emergency Fund: £366.70
Holiday Fund: £55.06

I don't think we can get any transfers to a 0% card just now so I am concentrating on paying the highest rate first which is Next. I have reduced this by almost £200 since Jan.

We have set up a separate current account with Nationwide to cover food, diesel, clothes etc and my task for this month is to split this up into a budget for the 4 weeks. I have done a meal plan for the full month so this should help with our food shop. At the moment we spend around £230 for the 4 of us (including toiletries and household).

Will post some more later on but just wanted to say hello and that I've been inspired by reading others diaries! Ive joined the PAD and the £1000 emergency fund challenges too

We just need to keep the momentum up.

enthusiasticsaver · 4 February 2018 at 3:44PM

Well done on starting to tackle this now. You have a fair bit of debt so it will take you a while to tackle that but living within your income is the first thing. £818 debt reduction last month is great but you must be paying more than £200 per month in interest. That next card should be paid off asap and closed or cleared in full each time you use it.

Something you may find useful is a spending diary and a soa which can be found on the DFW sticky.

Good luck in sorting this out.

Stayathomemum36 · 4 February 2018 at 3:47PM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Well done on starting to tackle this now. You have a fair bit of debt so it will take you a while to tackle that but living within your income is the first thing. £818 debt reduction last month is great but you must be paying more than £200 per month in interest. That next card should be paid off asap and closed or cleared in full each time you use it.

Something you may find useful is a spending diary and a soa which can be found on the DFW sticky.

Good luck in sorting this out.

Thank you, I know we can do it and I'm disgusted that its got to this stage... Im just completing the SOA now

Stayathomemum36 · 4 February 2018 at 4:13PM

Ok here goes...the costs are for OH and I, in some cases its a combined bill and Ive split it for things like gas/elec and the landline & internet. I do feel really ashamed but also trying to be positive as we are tackling it.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3827
Partners monthly income after tax....... 100
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3927

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 583
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 248
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 130
Electricity............................. 35
Gas..................................... 35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 18
Mobile phone............................ 45
TV Licence.............................. 12.34
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 4.99
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 275
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 30
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 40
Buildings insurance..................... 14
Contents insurance...................... 14
Life assurance ......................... 18
Other insurance......................... 45
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 75
Emergency fund.......................... 250
Total monthly expenses.................. 2192.33

Assets
Cash.................................... 400
House value (Gross)..................... 170000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 12000
Other assets............................ 5000
Total Assets............................ 187400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 111000...(583)......1.74
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 10000....(248)......5
Total secured & HP debts...... 121000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclay Card...................15500.....363.......15
RBS............................6636......165.......12
MBNA...........................6148......65........0
Next...........................464.......32........22.9
Total unsecured debts..........28748.....625.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,927
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,192.33
Available for debt repayments........... 1,734.67
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 625
Amount left after debt repayments....... 1,109.67

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -121,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -28,748
Net Assets.............................. 37,652

debtaghh · 4 February 2018 at 4:52PM

Well done on starting a diary , I will subscribe. Have you tried to see if you can get a 0%? There is something on here that you can check and it doesn’t affect your credit history.

Stayathomemum36 · 4 February 2018 at 5:00PM

We have an almost 11 year old Golden Retriever and his insurance is becoming costly, in addition to the meds he now needs monthly. We have managed to get the vet to write the prescription which we then submit to a reputable online pharmacy - the saving per bottle is over 50% even adding in the prescription cost. So I will keep this up.

We also pay a £15.50 fee to the vets each month (£186 annual) that covers his flea / tick / vaccinations, Ive spent this afternoon researching and i can get this cost down to £8 per month for his treatments then £40 for his vaccinations giving us a saving of just under £50 per year! I will transfer the £7.50 per month towards the debt reduction. It all seems like small amounts but I guess they will add up.

enthusiasticsaver · 4 February 2018 at 6:58PM

Do you really have £1100 spare each month or is this an aspirational soa rather than actual? I think you need a spending diary. Good you have emergency savings pot. I would check the groceries figure as that looks low for 4 people. You may need more in car maintenance. On the plus side you should have plenty of extra to chuck at the debt. Have you tried to get any 0% cards for balance transfers?

Stayathomemum36 · 4 February 2018 at 7:30PM

That!!!8217;s actual based on bank account although I should up the car maintenance and possibly clothing for the months when both kids need shoes...food spend is correct as oh works away for 2 weeks out of 4 so just me and the kids.

enthusiasticsaver · 4 February 2018 at 7:53PM

So do you actually know how you got to that level of debt when you have such a healthy surplus and seem to have a grip on budgeting.

If you have had large car repair bills then definitely up the car maintenance although with a £12k car I am surprised that it needs a lot of work doing on it.

Stayathomemum36 · 4 February 2018 at 8:23PM

Yes, we didn’t always have that level of income and certainly weren’t good at budgeting. A lot of the debt has been carried for years and we’ve just not focused on paying it off.

In terms of the car, it had to have a new front spring and a window motor along with normal wear and tear

Stayathomemum36 · 5 February 2018 at 8:45AM

Hello Week 2.5... Paid another £10 off my next account this morning. Busy day today taking the guide dog puppy we look after out and preparing for a parent council meeting tonight.

I!!!8217;m astounded at the amount of craft stuff we have - guess thats where some of the money has went....Ive been making a point of doing activities with our 4 year old in the afternoons to use it up so we shall do some crafting after nursery today. Hoping for a NSD - number 6 since payday on 26th jan.

Making The Changes and Sticking to it!

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