Is anyone else just stuck in debt and fed up?

[Catsarekings123]

I am actually owed a refund of £1500 from something which will be wonderful, but it's just a waiting game and could be another 2 months yet, however I know I will be getting it.

I'm not the worst with money but I'm not the best either. Every month before my wage comes in I calculate everything that's going out that month, and what ill have left.

I live alone. To give a rundown:
Mortgage- £440, boiler cover- £31.50, gas- £35, electric- £35, water not yet been billed as moved in last few months, ongoing orthodontic treatment- £54, petplan and insurance- £43, phone contract and handset- £32, gym- £14, YouTube/netflix- £22, wifi- £24, £300 on clearing debt atm across x2 credit cards and one loan.
Student loan- £30, then it's food, public transport etc.

I know i could cancel the gym but it's working out at around £3.50 a week and benefits me hugely. I don't have any Sky or anything like that and only have netflix so watch a lot of films etc on it.

If anyone sees any areas I could cut back on I'd be willing to take suggestions..I paid £300 alone on my credit card this month but then had an unexpected £190 repair bill.
It's living alone with a mortgage which is stressful as you have to plan for these unexpected emergencies.

I don't get expensive clothes, make up, hair etc. Everything is as cheap as I can make it.
I'm changing jobs next week and will be on 28k base salary and have got an evening job which will be £300 extra a month.
I don't drive, mainly use public transport but occasionally take an Uber, as waiting outside in blistering wind and rain is depressing a lot of the time.
I don't buy expensive food either, do what I can in terms of cheap or free hobbies. Used to do a dance class but now I just do one on YouTube. Will restart running once it warms up next week.

Please don't encourage debt consolidation. It rarely is the answer and very often the opening to increased prolonged debt.

OP take a look at Debt free wannabes on Money Saving Expert. It is a world of great tips and good advice

I don''t think OP should be going without a modest gym membership nor Netflix ( if she enjoys these things)

I don’t think you should drop the cat insurance. Cats are very robust until they’re suddenly not and it can gust thousands. My cat (5 yo) had a blocked bladder last year - cane on suddenly and without warning - would have been dead within 48 hours without emergency treatment. The treatment and a five day stay in cat hospital cane to £3.5k and I’d have been stuffed without insurance. He’s been as right as rain since.

i would look to cancelling the boiler cover as it probably won’t pay out for a new boiler anyway at that age, plus Netflix/gym.

I know, it’s just not the solution I would have gone for until I was at bare cupboards level. Pets can be such company and solace for people. I’ve owned pets for much of my adult life but was still surprised at the total costs of a rescue cat that arrived unexpectedly. Probably £40pm. Scary.

Hi not sure if this has been mentioned but have you tried the Too Good to Go app? We use it and find it to be really helpful, sometimes getting around £20 of food for around £3, may be worth a look if shops/restaurants are covered in your area. Also do you have things lying around you don't use or wear anymore, perhaps sell them online, may bring in a few quid.

I've already found cheaper boiler cover which is great (£17 per month vs £31) now British gas want a £30 admin fee to cancel, but I suppose it'll work out cheaper over time.
I've halved my Netflix fee to the one with ads and going to cancel the YouTube.
Going to put in terms and conditions with the tutoring, as the same person has cancelled twice in a month now so that's £80 I'm down, it's not on.

How about always asking for the next lesson's payment in full, in advance to book it, with no refund upon cancellation unless given enough notice to refill the slot? My dental practice does this.

I get it
I don't drink or go out or go on holiday
My cat, Netflix and online gym membership are the things that keep me sane!

You could hop about a bit - now TV and Disney often have offers on very cheap

Definitely check what the pet plan covers - I flea treat mine with advantage, he's not wormed as he barely goes out, I do vaccinate as it's an insurance condition

have you looked at a pre-payment certificate for your prescriptions. Covers everything for £11.45 a month.

@Catsarekings123 Couldn't you do a balance transfer of your two credit card debts to a 0% interest card? See: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/balance-transfer-credit-cards/

Tbh your bills look quite low already. I'm guessing you use your credit cards, if you were in the situation where you have maxed them out and not actually spending on them you could use stepchange.org to do a debt management plan

maybe your earnings are higher...just because OP is paying for something you are not doesn't mean she's doing alright ffs!

The card isn't maxed out but out of £2300 limit i only have £300 available. It was £500 but then i had the unexpected boiler bill. If I could get it to 50% so £1150 I'd be happy with that. I am due a £1475 refund not sure if i mentioned upthread but it's just a waiting game.
I have a personal loan which was £1500 and I've paid £120 back (only got the loan a month ago)
Then I've got about £400 overdraft and I think that's it.

Can I ask about the student loan? This is usually deducted ‘at source’ at the same time as tax, pension and NI, and therefore wouldn’t usually factor into a budget. Are you paying extra off every month?
Also re: tutoring, if you earn over £1000/tax year, you’ll need to fill in a self-assessment tax return, or ask an accountant to do that on your behalf, which could be a few hundred pounds

I lived abroad for a few years when I was younger. There was a year I couldn't produce a payslip for so they've said I owe them £1400. So as well as it being deducted at source I pay them £30 a month, think I have about £500 left.

My boiler cover is £6.5 per month. Essential for me as if it needs replacing I can’t afford to replace.

Thanks for the tutoring I have heard about the £1000 limit. Made a couple of hundred so far but tbh I might stop it once I can start the bank care home role (just waiting on DBS)

Didn't the boiler cover pay for the boiler bill? Isn't that the whole point of it?

I only got the boiler cover after that. So I've only had that cover this month so far

How are you only paying £70 a month for both gas and electricity combined? Have you spoken to Stepchange at all? They might be able to work out payment plans for you or free up money in other areas.

I agree, my boiler is 11 years old and I've just had to have a big repair done and looking like it might need replaced- no way I could afford to pay for a new one, a small monthly payment that covers repairs and maintenance is definitely worth it for me, I cover all my appliances and it doesn't add up to a lot a month but I've had a new washing machine and a few repairs on my oven and fridge that would have been over my budget.

I don't have direct debits, that's what I put on my utilities each month and that covers them.

I'm also owed £375 from a former landlord for not protecting or paying any of my deposit. They signed an out of settlement agreement with the solicitor to pay me this money by next week, they've had a week so far.
Hopefully they will pay, if they don't then it will go back to court with higher costs incurred but that'll be more hassle and waiting, I've already been waiting nearly a year.
It's just frustrating having all this money owed to me, nearly 2k which would pretty much clear my balance, yet deadlines keep getting pushed back.

What's wrong with watching nothing? Why do you need to be watching something? Before smart phones I didn't own a television for 7 years or any other type of screen. It made me realise just how much other stuff I could do in the time I'd usually be sat doing nothing staring at a screen. You don't need to be watching something to enjoy life. I became an avid reader and got out a lot more. I also became a serious radio listener. There's always something interesting or entertaining on the radio. I would say Netflix is a luxury you don't really need to survive, at least not while you need to conserve finances on such a tight budget, so that would be something I'd probably look to scrap for now.

Another one who jumps from streamer to streamer and only when there's something on I want to see. I never have more than one streamer at a time - and sometimes not at all. I never let them roll over month by month. I just stop and start one for a month when there's something I want to see.

And always the plans with adverts. I'm used to ITV, C4 & C5 so adverts don't bother me. And there are far less adverts on the streamers anyway.

BBC iplayer and C4 's on demand have amazing libraries of films and tv series - so plenty to watch if you want to save on the streamers altogether.

I didn't even know you had to pay for Youtube ? have never done that - didn't know you even could ?