taking responsibilty to get me where I want to be

efes_shareholder · 3 May 2018 at 10:55AM

Good morning MSE'ers
I have been reading diaries for the last few months and have found peoples stories so inspiring that I am hoping for some company on my own journey , this will be my own log which hopefully will motivate me at times of bleakness so I can look back on any progress I have made
My sitituation is quite unique , My long term relationship broke down 7 years ago and i spent the next 6 renting on the private market and looking after my 3 kids on just the one income.
This , ultimately led to lots of juggling , credit facilities being utilised and to be accountable for myself poor choices.
I'm now hoping I can turn this round - my credit file is rated as poor however I a share of the property purchased as the family home ( my children now all over 18 reside there when they are not at uni) and one day this will be sold and i need to be in a position to reinvest this money and acquire a property of my own
I recently received a part payment of the equity ( around 5%) and have used this to take responsibilty for my historic debts and settle the accounts on my file which show in default
This was as follows
£899.52 - Argos store card
£1799 - M&S Credit card ( passed to Lowell)
I also paid my overdraft off to the tune of £1500 and a £1000 from my credit card
I have around £3554 remaining on my credit card ( which i have stopped using) and also £880 on Very ( approx 450 on 0%)

I have placed around £5000 in to my esavers account and i would like to build this , I would like to tackle my remaining debts without dipping in to this as its my safety net should I ever need legal action to get my share of the house once the kids are more established

Historically I have lived for the moment and as long as the cash machine continued to distribute then I would continue to withdraw , I've enjoyed trips away that I knew I couldn't afford but I looked upon life as when we leave , we are only taking our memories so it is best to make some whilst our health allows

At the grand age of 45 , having spent my years from 18 parenting I want to start fulfilling my bucket list however I need to do this without over committing myself !!!

This is my introduction , I will hopefully post an SOA at some point later today

Thank you all for reading

efes_shareholder · 3 May 2018 at 11:16AM

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.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1688
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1688

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 270
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 40
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 47
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 25
Groceries etc. ......................... 70
Clothing................................ 70
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 45
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
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)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 200
Holiday................................. 100
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1197

Assets
Cash.................................... 500
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 155000
Total Assets............................ 157000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
NATIONWIDE C/CARD..............3554......91........17.9
VERY...........................880.......38........NaN
ANGLIAN WATER..................392.......40........0
Total unsecured debts..........4826......169.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,688
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,197
Available for debt repayments........... 491
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 169
Amount left after debt repayments....... 322

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 157,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,826
Net Assets.............................. 152,174

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

UncannyScot · 3 May 2018 at 12:01PM

Hi and welcome

Hope you find the company and support you need here, I know I have

If you need any info or advice just post up and folks will help out.

Looking forward to following you and supporting you on your journey

efes_shareholder · 3 May 2018 at 12:46PM

I hope so

On paper I should have a fair amount of disposable income as I have moved back to my parents and as such am kept and fed for my rent, council tax and Virgin payments

I seem to over commit though and have 4 intended trips away this year which I dont know how i would have financed had i not had a small share of equity paid

I do love to travel though and I do love to have something to look forward too .............I often wonder if I a bit bi-polar or at least touched with a bit of depression which runs in the family

It's a matter of finding the balance I think.

I don't owe a huge amount however it would be nice to not have the payments to make every month and to be able to invest rather then repay

UncannyScot · 3 May 2018 at 1:31PM

efes_shareholder wrote: »

I hope so

On paper I should have a fair amount of disposable income as I have moved back to my parents and as such am kept and fed for my rent, council tax and Virgin payments

I seem to over commit though and have 4 intended trips away this year which I dont know how i would have financed had i not had a small share of equity paid

I do love to travel though and I do love to have something to look forward too .............I often wonder if I a bit bi-polar or at least touched with a bit of depression which runs in the family

It's a matter of finding the balance I think.

I don't owe a huge amount however it would be nice to not have the payments to make every month and to be able to invest rather then repay

I believe that is just it... balance

Have you seen Martin's Money Mantra?

Basically if you answer NO to the following then DO NOT SPEND/BUY

IF YOU ARE SKINT
ask yourself;
Do I need it?
Can I afford it?

IF YOU ARE NOT SKINT
ask yourself;
Will I use it?
Is it worth it?

I've been using this simple wee mantra to help keep tabs on spending (so far it's worked too

)
I also believe there is a link between depression and spending / debt...

efes_shareholder · 3 May 2018 at 2:11PM

it's funny i used to say to my daughter " theres a difference between want and need "

my first step this month is to pay my car insurance up front , I can get this for £280 per year as opposed to £41.25 a month in doing so and that £40 odd then go towards making additional payments to my credit card

I do have a small emergancy fund now and i am thinking that it may be better put to the VERY account since a portion of that is at 39.9% apr

beanielou · 3 May 2018 at 4:49PM

Happy shiny new diary

efes_shareholder · 4 May 2018 at 7:55AM

So today I am off to a "adults" music weekend , its great fun and i've been every year for the past 5 and made many new friends and assoicates
Fortunately it doesn't work out very expensive as we stay in caravans at the event and take most of our food and drink with us
It is the anticipated event on my calender and always results in great memories and more friendships
I am car sharing so fuel costs are halved , £30 worth of alcohol in the boot along with a few provisions to get me through the weekend and ensure that I don't starve.
I have £40.00 in my purse and will NOT be spending anymore than that which should see me through to the end on monday

efes_shareholder · 8 May 2018 at 8:43AM

So today I am back at work after a fantastic weekend at the longest running soul weekend - had a great time
Kept my spends down , however did use my card for a pub lunch with family who are in the area

my legs feel like bricks and I ache all over however it was worth it

This morning i have moved money from my savings to clear my very account of everything with the exception of the items on interest free.
I do like to have the savings there however 39.9% APR is enough to set my mind that i need to clear that balance ASAP and not myself over the next few months

efes_shareholder · 9 May 2018 at 9:21AM

So yesterday my only spend was a £6.00 trip to the sunbed shop
I do this because it really really helps my eczema , it must be 5 months since i last had one , it gives my skin a lovely base coat for a tan over the summer however having been at the coast all weekend , I burnt like a Tomato so with Summer now on its way I will take this up again - just 10 minutes once a week makes the world of difference to my skin.

In other news I have returned from my weekender with bites on my bum !! I am not happy , they are causing some discomfort !! I am assuming they are Gnats bites from the hot weather - but i'm also keeping my fingers crossed the caravan didnt have BED BUGS !!

I have PMT and I am in a really "unpleaseable" mood - I hate that frustrated feeling where you don't know why you are feeling like you do and that frustrates you even more

I drove in to work hoping the needle doesnt go red as i am hoping to stretch the tank out another day or so , I WANT a NSD !!

efes_shareholder · 9 May 2018 at 2:58PM

So I have just spoken to my car insurance company as this year I will be paying upfront and my renewal is due
I have been with the same company for 5 years however I have called them and my prem has increased , I can get it over £100 cheaper and get £45.00 quidco cashback by changing insurer
My current insurer will only match their own quote online which is still £60 more then what they have sent me , I do have key cover ( I learnt a very expensive lesson many years ago) and the new provider quote does not appear to have included this however I am sure the difference still makes it much more beneficial to switch
I don't like switching , I do always phone around anyway but my current supplier does not seem to want to be competitive this time

taking responsibilty to get me where I want to be

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