£29,303...Enough is enough!

So, I’ve had “lightbulb moments” before, but today I’ve reached breaking point. The realisation that we could lose everything, including a roof over the children’s heads, has slapped me in the face. From £4844 of debt 18 months ago, we are now at an all time high of £29,303. Yes, we have things to show for it. We’ve bought a new house and immediately spent £12,000 on repair work and decorating (we had budgeted around £7,000 but lots of cracks had literally been papered over). We also have 3 cars on the drive (I’ll come back to this later). But I’ve had the realisation that we could lose it all in a heartbeat as we’re living beyond our means.

Today is the day that things have to change. I’m off to brew up, cry into my cup of tea, then make a plan. I’ll be back...
«134567112

Comments

  • enthusiasticsaver
    enthusiasticsaver Posts: 15,440
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    It is very common for debt to increase after moving house. Post an soa up here and we can help. Is the debt on interest free credit or 0% deals?
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • WelshKitty85
    WelshKitty85 Posts: 1,439
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    Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

    Household Information

    Number of adults in household........... 2
    Number of children in household......... 3
    Number of cars owned.................... 3

    Monthly Income Details

    Monthly income after tax................ 1370
    Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
    Benefits................................ 395
    Other income............................ 0
    Total monthly income.................... 1765


    Monthly Expense Details

    Mortgage................................ 799.3
    Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 240
    Rent.................................... 0
    Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
    Council tax............................. 146
    Electricity............................. 35
    Gas..................................... 40
    Oil..................................... 0
    Water rates............................. 51.08
    Telephone (land line)................... 23.75
    Mobile phone............................ 41
    TV Licence.............................. 12.07
    Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
    Internet Services....................... 0
    Groceries etc. ......................... 200
    Clothing................................ 0
    Petrol/diesel........................... 130
    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 ......................... 12
    Other insurance......................... 0
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
    Haircuts................................ 0
    Entertainment........................... 0
    Holiday................................. 0
    Emergency fund.......................... 50
    Total monthly expenses.................. 1780.2



    Assets

    Cash.................................... 0
    House value (Gross)..................... 150000
    Shares and bonds........................ 0
    Car(s).................................. 25000
    Other assets............................ 0
    Total Assets............................ 175000



    Secured & HP Debts

    Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
    Mortgage...................... 142000...(799.3)....4.59
    Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 14888....(240)......5.66
    Total secured & HP debts...... 156888....-.........-


    Unsecured Debts
    Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
    Barclaycard....................8099......160.......0
    RateSetter ....................4000......87.64.....7.4
    Hitachi........................11780.....226.5.....3.4
    M&S Card.......................1593......35........22.9
    MBNA...........................3831......70........0
    Total unsecured debts..........29303.....579.14....-



    Monthly Budget Summary

    Total monthly income.................... 1,765
    Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,780.2
    Available for debt repayments........... -15.2
    Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 579.14
    Amount short for making debt repayments. -594.34


    Personal Balance Sheet Summary
    Total assets (things you own)........... 175,000
    Total HP & Secured debt................. -156,888
    Total Unsecured debt.................... -29,303
    Net Assets.............................. -11,191


    Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
    Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
  • WelshKitty85
    WelshKitty85 Posts: 1,439
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    SOA completed as accurately as possible. I haven!!!8217;t included any income for DH as he is totally reliant on agency work at the moment so doesn!!!8217;t have a guaranteed income. He does usually earn enough to cover the bills, but not guaranteed.
  • 0Credit
    0Credit Posts: 52 Forumite
    Hey

    Good luck with this, will be following and chipping in when I can to help and share my own experiences.
  • PositiveBalance
    PositiveBalance Posts: 1,268
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    Hi Welsh Kitty,



    I take it your husband earns something every month and that you aren't getting into more debt every month?



    If so, what's the least he has ever earned in a month and add that to your snowball. Any extra he earns per month can be thrown at the debts.
    Debt: £11,640.02 paid in full! DFD: 30/06/20
    Starter Emergency Fund (#187): £1000/£1000
    3 month Emergency Fund (#45): £3300/£3300
  • WelshKitty85
    WelshKitty85 Posts: 1,439
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    Hi Welsh Kitty,



    I take it your husband earns something every month and that you aren't getting into more debt every month?



    If so, what's the least he has ever earned in a month and add that to your snowball. Any extra he earns per month can be thrown at the debts.


    Somehow we seem to bring in enough to cover the bills each month, but the work is hit and miss at the moment. Today is the first days work he has had in 2 weeks, and he doesn’t know if he’ll have anything for the rest of the month. I’ve done the SOA that way so we know the minimum he has to bring in (or miraculously find elsewhere) just to cover the essentials.

    To explain our situation a bit better, I’m on maternity leave but returning to work in August. We bought our house in November, gutted and completely redecorated the house. We moved in December, a week after baby no 3 was born, so it was chaotic to say the least.

    A large chunk of of debt comes from cars. DH purchased a car around 6 weeks ago. He didn’t view it beforehand and was completely reliant on the dealer’s description that said it was “fully restored”. We’ve since had the car into a local garage who say the car isn’t even road worthy, never mind restored. So, we have submitted a S75 to the credit card company we used to pay the deposit. If our claim is successful then we should get a refund of nearly £5000, which can come straight off the debts.

    I’ve already started on a money making mission and have made £76 on selling sites, have agreed another £20 sale and have more to list.

    I’ve also been a bit cheeky requesting some free samples of baby food as DC3 has allergies (waiting for tests to confirm what he’s actually allergic to) and meal times are trial and error at the moment. So far I’ve had £4 of baby food vouchers, £20 supermarket vouchers, and another supermarket have promised to send something.

    So not a bad start but it’s keep the momentum going that I find difficult.
  • Have you considered piggy banking? Splitting bills/food etc into separate accounts, then you know exactly how much you are short on bills if your husband doesn't get a lot of work? Good luck sorting the car :D
  • WelshKitty85
    WelshKitty85 Posts: 1,439
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    Have you considered piggy banking? Splitting bills/food etc into separate accounts, then you know exactly how much you are short on bills if your husband doesn't get a lot of work? Good luck sorting the car :D

    No I haven’t. I use the one account for everything, but have a monthly spreadsheet so I know exactly what’s going in and out and can see if there will be a shortfall. I also usually use the M&S credit card to pay for petrol and shopping then pay it off in full each month. I can keep track of the monthly spends that way and we earn cashback vouchers on it too. But, now I’ve had to use that card because of the mess up with the car I need to get that balance cleared ASAP as it’s the highest interest.
  • WelshKitty85
    WelshKitty85 Posts: 1,439
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    Week 1 targets:
    Sort & declutter DC2s room & list outgrown toys & clothes for sale
    Sort & declutter loft (play room) and list unwanted toys for sale
    Chase refund for an item not received
    Aim to earn an additional £100 this week (have agreed £45 worth of sales already - if they show up to collect!)
    Send PPI claim letter
  • WelshKitty85
    WelshKitty85 Posts: 1,439
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Forumite
    Its the beginning of a new week. Lets start as we mean to go on.

    Minimum payment made to barclaycard and Ive been able to transfer some of the M&S balance to this card on 0%, so they currently look like:

    Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
    Barclaycard....................8380......160...... .0
    RateSetter ....................4000......87.64.....7.4
    Hitachi..........................11780.....226.5.... 3.4
    M&S Card......................1161......35..........22. 9
    MBNA...........................3831......70......... .0

    Total debt now £29,152
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