This is how I’m organising my money - can any experts take a look for me?

[StickyShoess]

I’m quite new in taking control of our finances, we were in a mess we had no idea what we had coming in and going out, direct debits were being missed and charges added on, we were living in our overdraft being charged daily for it and I held my breath at the checkout every single time, it was awful
Then we had an unexpected fourth baby and had to extend our house
So we are in a lot of debt

Finally about a year ago I said this is ridiculous and started trying to sort it out, after a lot of trial and error this is my current system -

DPs wages cover all bills and minimum debt payments - all DDs & SOs go out on the first of every month
Every week we get £118 tax credits, £110 of this gets transferred by SO to a separate bank account and this is our groceries & petrol money for the week
Every 4 weeks we get £247 child benefit, £100 goes by SO to our ‘occasions’ bank account and £100 goes to our ‘spending’ bank account
Then on the day before payday each month I take whatever is leftover in the main bank account and send it to debt and start on payday from scratch

I feel like this is the best system I’ve come up with so far but I just feel like it’s so slow moving and I’m never going to pay off our debt
What do you all think? Anything glaringly obvious that I can change?
TIA

Definitely get a 0%transfer credit card and move as much as possible to that then snowball whatever you are paying highest interest on.
If you've got all utilities to the lowest and have done the same with other outgoings then carry on with what you're doing.Things will get better slowly and as your children get older you will be able to work and all that going onto the debt will clear it.

I think you need to be realistic if step change felt you need an iva. Are you paying off more than the interest on the loans? If the average interest rate is say 10% (and it might be a lot more than that) you need £2500 a year before you get into the capital element. I don't think anyone can advise without having all the information but I would say there is a risk that you are applying a lot of effort to make no progress in actually solving your debt issues.

I should add, well done though, for tackling this.

I had burried my head about credit card debt, "only" to the tune of £4k but it was enough when I made an appointment with my bank about something else and she told me I was spending £228 on interest every three months!! I managed to get a credit extension on one card and balance transferred at 0% and increased my minimum payment. Won't be spending on either card unless absolute emergencies, as now I save monthly for annual bills that used to go on CC then breve never quite get paid off. Feel so much better.

Debt payments are around £320 per month, they vary very slightly due to interest
DP brings home £1546 per month and all other bills are £1200ish per month

Our ‘bills’ atm are:
Rent £435
Nursery £148
Gas & Electricity £245 (huge because we’re in arrears, also means we can’t change company)
Council tax £140
Water £46
Tv licence £12
Car insurance £95
Vet £12
Virgin £77
Phone £20

I think that’s everything, I don’t have my notebook with me atm
On lapsed it adds up fine, but it means I’m sending about £20 extra per month to debt which is getting me nowhere fast

I think that for a family of 6, it's pretty impressive. As long as you are paying the debt down (not just interest).

DPs spending is a huge issue, I’ve always said he has delusions of grandeur and he needs to realise that we are not rich, so no matter what X & Z have on instagram we can not have it - but he feels so hard done by 🙄

Thankyou all for taking time to advise btw, I do appreciate it

Lapsed ^upthread was meant to be on paper*

What's virgin for? X

Just wondering..you said you were in a lot of debt because you had to extend your house but do you rent?

Thankyou chakirachakra I lived with my head in the sand for so long and just opening letters used to fill me with anxiety, I feel soooo much better now I’m more aware, it’s amazing!

Virgin is for tv & internet

Yes we rent from a family member, so we did extend the house as the plan was always to buy it off them in a few years - which is also why we’re not keen to do an Iva or similar

I wondered if it was tv.

Then, with love, cancel at least the tv part, and shop around for internet. Virgin TV is a luxury.

Sorry Ricstar I missed your post, this is my worry, that I’m making a lot of effort for not a lot of gain 😕

Can you see your income increasing in a few years? Dh (or you) getting promoted etc. I think that it will take you a minimum of say 10 years at current rate of payments (obviously I don't have all the details). Even if you can increase income a bit it's going to be a really hard 5 - 10 years- no holidays minimal treats. I know an iva is not an easy choice but I really think you need to speak to an expert again. It might not rule you out buying a house forever and that is not a realistic goal at present anyway. It sounds really hard op and you are doing the right thing to try and address it.

There is alot missing from your list

Car maintenance eg mot, service, tax etc
Food
Contents insurance
School dinners
School trips
Travel costs

Get rid of virgin now. We pay £30 a month for unlimited internet and unlimited free house phone calls including mobiles. Which we need a s DH doesn't have a mobile phone. But it would be even cheaper with no house phone add on. You don't need T.V at all let alone paying for it.

£20 every three months on makeup - it was a typo!
And I didn’t say I did spend more than £1 on Easter eggs did I?
Wow you are quite aggressive op, never heard of an “ x post”?
If you only spend £1 each on children’s Easter eggs then there is no need for that cost to be in an occasions budget.

Cancel Virgin tv and your tv license that will save you £56 a month as Virgin Internet is £33 a month. Watch catch up tv only and no bbc iplayer.

virgin is the biggie there - we pay the £25 a month for internet at 50gb speeds. Thats all. theres £50 a month you could add to your repayments

With respect, if you're not earning can you really afford £148/mth on nursery fees?

The MSE article is here - it's a really good starting point:
www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan/

It mentions the Money Makeover, which is honestly worth everyone doing every so often whether they're struggling with debt or not:
www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

Then there's the Debt Free Wannabe forum:
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76

I think this sticky post is a good place to start:
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4895819

It will take time, it will take effort but it will make a difference

Best of luck !

Get rid of the pets (nicely) if you can!! Pet food and vet bills and insurance when you are in debt is insane imo.

Also change internet/phone company!! Free view is all you need!!

And also if you are home why nursery fees?? If it’s not affordable then there is no point.

I agree maybe get rid of pet(s)?

Yes, no nursery! If you are at home then look after the kids, wait until you get funded hours.

Don't get rid of the pets! They are living, feeling creatures. They aren't things!