Got the ball rolling...

theroamingnomad · 12 January 2018 at 2:23PM

Afternoon all!

I'm waist-deep in the process of cataloguing my various responsibilities with a view to becoming debt-free by the end of December 2018.

One little victory I did secure today was with O2. I'm 6 months in a 24-month Refresh agreement with them. The phone and line rental are separate so I get two bills each month; £21 for the phone and £33 for the line rental. I phoned them up today to see what they could do to help and they were kind enough to drop me down to the next lowest tariff. It's only a £3 p/m reduction but I didn't think they'd do anything! £36 a year saved!

I will update later today, or tomorrow, when I've fully catalogued everything with a view to seeking guidance from the experts here as to how to reach my goal on time or a little early!

fatrab · 12 January 2018 at 2:44PM

Howdy!

Welcome along!

One of the first things you'll be asked for is an SOA so here's the link:

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Be as brutally honest as possible.

Good luck!

theroamingnomad · 12 January 2018 at 7:59PM

https://pasteboard.co/H2CyRJQ.png

I've created the above spreadsheet in order to outline my plan. The SOA seemed a bit lacking and didn't seem to cater for my variable payments and snowballing. I've attached it below though:

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1240
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1240

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 380
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 33.97
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 593.97

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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Lowell.........................2100......175.......0
Cabot..........................645.......215.......0
Drafty.........................500.......35........89.9
Phone..........................378.......21........0
Total unsecured debts..........3623......446.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,240
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 593.97
Available for debt repayments........... 646.03
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 446
Amount left after debt repayments....... 200.03

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,623
Net Assets.............................. -3,623

Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.

In order to facilitate this plan, I have made the following changes:

Recently gave up a bigger flat to move into a shared house. A bit difficult at my age but a necessary step to cut costs. It does mean that I'm 'all-in' with just one payment for everything each month.
Growing my hair and beard out so no need for a haircut for the next 4-6 months, aside from a tidy-up that a friend has offered to do for free.
Stopped getting the train to work and started walking - that saved £50 a month!

Anything I might have missed or not considered?

Mnd · 12 January 2018 at 11:18PM

I don't think you will get much response to that.png attachment

I may be wrong about that, but the standard procedure on here is to do the SOA as suggested , modify if necessary and take it from there

theroamingnomad · 12 January 2018 at 11:33PM

Mnd wrote: »

I don't think you will get much response to that.png attachment

I may be wrong about that, but the standard procedure on here is to do the SOA as suggested , modify if necessary and take it from there

It's a shame as the SOA doesn't really do my plan justice. I've added one though.

fiisch · 13 January 2018 at 12:10AM

Couple of points... in your first post, your mobile phone bill total was £54/month, less £3/month reduction, yet in your SOA you have only entered £30.

£150 for monthly groceries is doable, but is very tight.

£33.97 a month for entertainment? This is a very specific amount - presumably this refers to some membership fee? That seems incredibly low and unlikely - no meals out, beers, coffees?

I suspect your available for debt repayments may be a little optimistic considering the above. Bear in mind that when I moved into a shared house, my entertainment spend went up as I was more inclined to go out (cinema, meals out etc.), although granted this is a few years ago and was living with complete strangers.

theroamingnomad · 13 January 2018 at 12:29AM

fiisch wrote: »

Couple of points... in your first post, your mobile phone bill total was £54/month, less £3/month reduction, yet in your SOA you have only entered £30.
The phone bill is in two parts; £21 for the phone and £30 for the line rental. I've out the phone as a debt as it can be paid down

£150 for monthly groceries is doable, but is very tight.
I've been doing it for three months now and always have money left

£33.97 a month for entertainment? This is a very specific amount - presumably this refers to some membership fee? That seems incredibly low and unlikely - no meals out, beers, coffees?
Yes, specific memberships. I don't buy stuff like beers or coffee or eat out

I suspect your available for debt repayments may be a little optimistic considering the above. Bear in mind that when I moved into a shared house, my entertainment spend went up as I was more inclined to go out (cinema, meals out etc.), although granted this is a few years ago and was living with complete strangers
Been doing it for three months now and am always left with excess, hence my spreadsheet articulating it much better than the SOA

I'm hopeful I can achieve this in the time frame I've aimed for

fatrab · 13 January 2018 at 10:04AM

Are your specific memberships wants or needs? You need to get rid of the wants for now.

If its a gym membership, bin it. If you need it for your career, such as a professional body, keep it.

That could be the difference that allows you to pay off Drafty a month early. Which you absolutely MUST concentrate on doing.

Like you say, from then on you can snowball, and with the Cabot loan ending soon you'll see the light at the end of the tunnel in no time.

You're mobile and line rental are also wants, but you've done what you can to minimise them. It would be unreasonable to suggest doing without a mobile with your current surplus and with your situation so close to being under control. Consider sim-only at the end of your current contract just until you get back on your feet.

It would be advisable to also build up a little emergency fund of around £500-£1000 once you have payed off Drafty.

Best wishes

theroamingnomad · 13 January 2018 at 12:41PM

fatrab wrote: »

Are your specific memberships wants or needs? You need to get rid of the wants for now.

If its a gym membership, bin it. If you need it for your career, such as a professional body, keep it.
It's professional body stuff and Spotify on a reduced rate

That could be the difference that allows you to pay off Drafty a month early. Which you absolutely MUST concentrate on doing.
The plan is to have that done in three months

Like you say, from then on you can snowball, and with the Cabot loan ending soon you'll see the light at the end of the tunnel in no time.

You're mobile and line rental are also wants, but you've done what you can to minimise them. It would be unreasonable to suggest doing without a mobile with your current surplus and with your situation so close to being under control. Consider sim-only at the end of your current contract just until you get back on your feet.
Alas, I'm tied in until May 2019 with the contract and £30 is the absolute lowest they will go. I'll definitely be going SIM-free then and buying any handset outright.

It would be advisable to also build up a little emergency fund of around £500-£1000 once you have payed off Drafty.
That's the plan, but I haven't had an emergency in a few years now. I'd rather focus on getting my debt done with.

Best wishes

My image attachment shows my plan in much better detail. If I leave myself a surplus of £50 a month for any unforeseen things that crop up, I can be debt-free by the end of October, hopefully!

gr1340 · 13 January 2018 at 1:22PM

You do know that with a refresh contract, if you pay the phone off you can cancel the line rental with no penalty?

You have 18 months left to pay for the phone at £21 per month so a total of £378. If you pay that, you can cancel the £30 odd line rental and find a cheaper deal of £10 a month of less so that’s £20 a month saved.

gr1340 · 13 January 2018 at 1:39PM

gr1340 wrote: »

You do know that with a refresh contract, if you pay the phone off you can cancel the line rental with no penalty?

You have 18 months left to pay for the phone at £21 per month so a total of £378. If you pay that, you can cancel the £30 odd line rental and find a cheaper deal of £10 a month of less so that’s £20 a month saved.

And, to get the money, sell the phone you currently have and buy this for £15 (or £5 if you use fast track):
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ee-alcatel-one-touch-pixi-3-35-inch-1499-499-10-top-up-argos-collection-2876275

Got the ball rolling...

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free