Page 1 Your personal budget Before you can decide what is the best way to deal with your debts, you will need to work out a personal budget. The options you have will depend on how much money you have left over after taking account of your essential outgoings. There is lots of guidance in Dealing with your debts to help you. This includes help on what it is reasonable to spend on things like housekeeping and clothing. ‘Working out your personal budget’ on pages 14 to 22. If you need to complete a budget summary If you are going to negotiate with your creditors yourself, use the information you have gathered in this personal budget to fill in your budget summary. You can then send the summary to your creditors. Some boxes in your personal budget are numbered to help you fill in your budget summary. Where you see a box with a number, you can copy the figure into the same box in your budget summary. Keep your personal budget safe and up-to-date Keep a copy of your personal budget to help keep track of how you spend your money. Make sure you keep it up-to-date and fill in a new budget sheet if your circumstances change. Contact us if you need another copy of our budget sheets. You can also print off copies from our website: www.nationaldebtline.org. Your income Include all types of income coming into your household. For hints and tips on how to list your household income: ‘Working out your income’ on page 16. Remember: do not send this personal budget to your creditors All they need to see is your budget summary. You should only start to fill in the budget summary once you have finished your personal budget. Information: you might prefer to prepare your budget online If you think you will find it easier to fill in your budget online, visit our website: www.nationaldebtline.org. See our fact sheet: Budgeting and saving. Salary and wages Include normal take-home pay. This means wages and salary after tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. Only include overtime payments if you receive these regularly. Your salary or wages (take home) Your partner’s salary or wages (take home) Other salary or wages Other salary or wages Total salary or wages When completing a budget summary, you can copy the figures in the numbered boxes into the same box in your budget summary. Box 1 £ Monthly amount
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Page 1
Your personal budget Before you can decide what is the best way to deal with your debts, you will need to work out a personal budget.The options you have will depend on how much money you have left over after taking account of your essential outgoings.There is lots of guidance in Dealing with your debts to help you. This includes help on what it is reasonable to spend on things like housekeeping and clothing.
‘Working out your personal budget’ on pages 14 to 22.
If you need to complete a budget summary If you are going to negotiate with your creditors yourself, use the information you have gathered in this personal budget to fill in your budget summary. You can then send the summary to your creditors.Some boxes in your personal budget are numbered to help you fill in your budget summary. Where you see a box with a number, you can copy the figure into the same box in your budget summary.Keep your personal budget safe and up-to-date Keep a copy of your personal budget to help keep track of how you spend your money. Make sure you keep it up-to-date and fill in a new budget sheet if your circumstances change. Contact us if you need another copy of our budget sheets.You can also print off copies from our website: www.nationaldebtline.org.
Your incomeInclude all types of income coming into your household.For hints and tips on how to list your household income:
‘Working out your income’ on page 16.
Remember: do not send this personal budget to your creditors
All they need to see is your budget summary.
You should only start to fill in the budget summary once you have finished your personal budget.
Information: you might prefer to prepare your budget online
If you think you will find it easier to fill in your budget online, visit our website: www.nationaldebtline.org.
See our fact sheet: Budgeting and saving.
Salary and wagesInclude normal take-home pay. This means wages and salary after tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. Only include overtime payments if you receive these regularly.
Your salary or wages (take home)Your partner’s salary or wages (take home)Other salary or wagesOther salary or wages
Total salary or wages
When completing a budget summary, you can copy the figures in the numbered boxes into the same box in your budget summary.
Box 1
£ Monthly amount
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Other types of income you might haveChild maintenance Rent from boarders or lodgersNon-dependants’ contributionsStudent loans and grantsOther income
Total other income
Your benefits and tax creditsJobseeker’s Allowance (income based)Jobseeker’s Allowance (contribution based)Income SupportWorking Tax CreditChild Tax CreditChild BenefitUniversal CreditEmployment and Support Allowance or Statutory Sick PayDisability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance or Personal Independence PaymentCarer’s AllowanceHousing Benefit or Local Housing AllowanceCouncil Tax Benefit or Council Tax ReductionOther (for example maternity benefits)Other benefits or tax credits
Total benefits
Your pensionsState pensionsPrivate or work pensionsPension CreditOther pensions
Total pensions
Boxes 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = Total income
£ Monthly amount
£ Monthly amount
£ Monthly amount
Box 2
Box 3
Box 4
Box 5
Box 6
When completing a budget summary, you can copy the figures in the numbered boxes into the same box in your budget summary.
Your assetsAssets are things like savings or the value of property, such as your home or car. When you complete your budget summary, you will need to confirm to your creditors that you have considered whether you have any assets that you can sell to make lump-sum payments off your debts.
Your assetsI have no assets that I can use to make lump-sum payments Tick box 3
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Your outgoingsInclude all your household’s outgoings. For hints and tips on how to list your outgoings,
‘Working out your outgoings’ on page 16.
Essential spendingMortgageSecond mortgage or secured loanRentGround rent and service charges (factor fees if you live in Scotland)Mortgage endowment and mortgage payment protectionBuilding and contents insurancePension and life insuranceCouncil tax (including water charge if you live in Scotland)GasElectricityWater (may not apply if you live in Scotland)Other utilities (coal, oil, calor gas)TV licenceMagistrates’ or sheriff court finesChild maintenanceHire purchase or conditional saleChildcare costsAdult-care costsWrite other essential outgoings here:Write other essential outgoings here:Write other essential outgoings here:
Total essential spending
PhoneHome phoneMobile phoneOther phone costs
Total phone costs
TravelPublic transport (work, school, shopping and so on)Other travel costs (such as taxis)Car insuranceRoad taxFuel (petrol, diesel, oil)
When completing a budget summary, you can copy the figures in the numbered boxes into the same box in your budget summary.
Box 29
Continued >
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Travel (continued)
MOT and car maintenanceBreakdown or recoveryParking charges or toll-road chargesWrite other essential outgoings here:Write other essential outgoings here:
Total travel costs
HousekeepingFood and milkCleaning and toiletriesNewspapers and magazinesCigarettes, tobacco and sweetsAlcoholLaundry and dry cleaningClothing and footwearNappies and baby itemsPet foodWrite other essential outgoings here:Write other essential outgoings here:
Total housekeeping costs
Other spendingHealth costs (dentist, glasses, prescriptions, health insurance)Repairs, house maintenance, window cleaning and maintenance contractsHairdressing or haircutsCable, satellite and internetTV, video and other appliance rentalSchool meals and meals at workPocket money and school tripsLottery, pools and so onHobbies, leisure or sport (including pub, outings and gym)Gifts (Christmas, birthdays, charity and so on)Vet bills and pet insuranceList other spending not included elsewhere – do not include debt paymentsWrite other essential outgoings here:Write other essential outgoings here:Write other essential outgoings here:
Total other spending
Boxes 28 + 29 + 30 + 31 + 32 = Total outgoings
£ Monthly amount
£ Monthly amount
£ Monthly amount
Box 30
Box 31
Box 32
When completing a budget summary, you can copy the figures in the numbered boxes into the same box in your budget summary.
Box 33
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How much do I have left to pay my creditors?Total income
Total outgoings
Total money for all creditors
Your priority debtsList any priority debts that you have and payments that you haveagreed to make. For advice about how to deal with priority debts:
‘Dealing with your priority debts’ on page 23.
Mortgage arrearsSecond mortgage or secured loan arrearsRent arrearsMagistrates’ or sheriff court fine arrearsCouncil tax arrears (including water charge arrears if you live in Scotland)Child maintenance arrearsGas arrearsElectricity arrearsOther utilities arrears (coal, oil, calor gas)Hire purchase or conditional sale arrearsWrite other priority debt you are paying here:Write other priority debt you are paying here:Write other priority debt you are paying here:
Total priority debt repayments
If you have no money left to pay your priority creditors, contact us for advice.
When completing a budget summary, you can copy the figures in the numbered boxes into the same box in your budget summary.
How much money do you have left for your non-priority debts?Total money for all creditors
Total priority debt repayments
Total money for non-priority debts
Information: what are my options?
If you have little or no money left over to pay your non-priority debts, ‘Working out offers of payment to non-priority creditors’ on page 19 to work out what options you have.
Extra advice: money for creditors
To find out how much you can offer to pay your creditors, take away your total outgoings from your total income. If you have priority creditors, the next step is to work out how much you can pay off these debts. Do this before you work out what you can offer your non-priority creditors.
Box 34- take awayBox 48
Box 49
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Your non-priority debtsList your non-priority creditors (continue on another piece of paper if necessary).If you are creating a budget summary, copy over this list of non-priority debts.
If you are going to negotiate with your creditors yourself, you will need a budget summary. Use the information you have collected in your personal budget to help you fill in the budget summary.
Total repayments
Total owed to non-priority creditors
£ Total you owe
£ Monthly repayment offers
Box 50 Box 51
Extra advice: making reduced payments
If you have enough money left over to make reduced payments to your creditors and you want to make the offers yourself, you will need to divide it fairly among them. This is called a ‘pro-rata’ distribution.
‘Working out offers of payment to non-priority creditors’ on page 19 for information on how to work out your payment offers. There is a sample letter on page 51 you can use to write to your creditors.
Extra advice: making token offers or no payments
If you do not have enough money to make reduced payments, you can offer your creditors token payments, for example £1 a month.
‘Working out offers of payment to non-priority creditors’ on page 19 for information on how to make no payments or token payments. There is a sample letter on page 52 you can use to write to your creditors.
Your next step – fill in your budget summary
‘Working out offers of payment to non-priority creditors’ on page 19 for informationon how to work out offers of payment.
