Time to clear down...

ellebelle_x · 27 May 2018 at 7:25PM

After a long time sneaking around these parts, I'm joining in.

The moment it hit me that I can't ignore it any longer was when I couldn't get accepted for another 0% to transfer my debts again...to create more spending money.

This is how it's built up to £15,828 of debt. It all started with my student overdraft. Then I took out a store card. Then I took out a 0% to clear that store card. Then I started spending on that. Fast forward 8 years, 4 credit cards, a loan and another overdraft later...

...and here we are.

I joke with my friends about my spending and my credit cards. Yet £400 of minimum repayments each month isn't really anything to laugh about.

My partner doesn't know the extent of it. He knows I have credit cards, but that's that. He's good with money - he saves and he invests.

I'm more YOLO when it comes to money. However lets not OLO with £16k of debt saddled to me.

Once he has finished his PhD (roughly 3 years) we'll be looking to buy a house. By that point he will have probably close to £15k saved, and I need to not be £15k in the red.

So. Tackling it.

I've recently started a job with a stable monthly income, after 18 months of a low basic and commission (which was not as lucrative as it sounded). I now have surplus each month in which I can over pay on my CCs and start clearing down.

I've done my SOA (will put that in the next post). I've also done a snowball, and made my first over payment on one of the CCs (woo!).

I need to put better habits in place, so I've budgeted a monthly cash withdrawal to try and stop me from mindlessly using contactless and be more considered about where I am spending money.

I also need to go back to planning meals, bulk cooking and being generally more organised in how I approach this. I used to be really good at meal planning, lunches and having a full freezer of go-to meals - but the last 6 months I've got super lazy about it and the popping into co-op or aldi on the way home from work and buying lunch has become too frequent.

So here's me holding myself to it. Hope you'll read along and I welcome any tips, advice or gentle encouragement!

ellebelle_x · 27 May 2018 at 7:39PM

So. SOA.

It doesn't seem to add up the same as my own budget, and I can't work out what I'm missing on the SOA. My budget gives me £329 as excess, £100 I'm budgeting as cash for the month, so £229 final amount 'spare'.

I split all household bills and rent with my partner, 50/50. He's a student so we get 25% on council tax.

Energy is already at the lowest we can get (just switched).

I'm on an excessive amount of loyalty discounts with Virgin Media so will run with that until they won't discount me anymore - we get TV/Fibre with them so it's just covered here under TV.

There's 3 payments left on paypal credit (apple watch), and my phone is tied in for another 18 months.

No car, I commute by train. Go into London socially on average once a month so have accounted for that as well.

Savings is Moneybox, so it rounds up transactions from my bank/autosaves each week. It's the only way I have ever been able to save and goes into a LISA, so I'm keeping that set at a minimum. I know that extra is £1200 off a CC paid over a year, but if I can build £3600 in that before the PhD ends then at least I have something to contribute to the deposit.

I've not put anything aside for clothes as I do. not. need. any. more.

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.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1761
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1761

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 56
Electricity............................. 10
Gas..................................... 13.5
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 22.5
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 13.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 27.5
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 105
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 25
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 4
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 35
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
Season Ticket (commute)................. 97
Savings (automated)..................... 100
Gym..................................... 20
Total monthly expenses.................. 1069

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
Paypal Credit..................68........16........0
MBNA...........................4643......68........18.9
Tesco..........................4199......113.......18.9
First Direct Loan..............2800......141.......0
Halifax........................2000......20........0
Barclaycard....................2118......48........18.9
Total unsecured debts..........15828.....406.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,761
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,069
Available for debt repayments........... 692
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 406
Amount left after debt repayments....... 286

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -15,828
Net Assets.............................. -15,828

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

Appreciate any advice/suggestions if there's anything glaring I've missed or ideas you have where I can cut!

rockabillygirl · 27 May 2018 at 8:41PM

I didn't want to read and run. Good luck on your debt free journey

beanielou · 27 May 2018 at 9:29PM

Wishing you well on your DFW journey.

PositiveBalance · 29 May 2018 at 1:04AM

Hi Ellebelle! :wave:

I see you are saving £100 a month plus £20 for an emergency fund.

While I agree it is important to have an emergency fund, it seems pointless having savings given that you have 3 CCs with an 18.9% interest rate on them and which is bound to be MUCH more interest than you are getting on the savings.

Might I suggest setting yourself an emergency fund target (say £1K) then throwing everything else at the debt?

PositiveBalance · 2 June 2018 at 12:16AM

P.S. You asked for things to cut out....this might not be popular, but get rid of the cable/satellite TV. I've never yet seen a death certificate that declared the cause of death as 'boredom' and you will find plenty of other things to fill the time.

Time to clear down...

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