Rushmoor CAB

This section contains four menu items to help you manage your money, namely, our 'Debt Pack'; 'Budget'; 'Spending Diary' and 'Bankruptcy'.

The Debt Pack is a Word document that gives more detailed information and practical help than this page. Besides expanding on the topics below it also includes two sample letters that may be adapted for writing to your creditors.

The Budget is an Excel spreadsheet and is a working copy of our personal budget that automatically totals your income and expenditure and makes pro rata calculations for the non priority creditors. Please note that if no money is available the offers will be nil. The spreadsheet shows a monthly budget but if you prefer a weekly budget then simply change the four cells with 'monthly' into 'weekly'.
If you do not have an Excel program then the budget may be downloaded in Adobe PDF format by clicking here for completing by hand.

The Spending Diary is another Excel spreadsheet to help you monitor your day to day spending. If you do not have an Excel program the Spending Diary is available with the Debt Pack.

Finally, the Bankruptcy page sets out our procedure for helping people with bankruptcy.

Managing money can be difficult for many people. However, it is worth taking time to plan your spending. A sensible budget can help you set aside money for bills and avoid problems with creditors.

Here we aim to give you some idea on how to best manage your money, and how to deal with problems if they arise.

One of the best ways to help you manage your money is to draw up a personal budget, or financial statement.

It is very important that you budget to include all your priority expenses. This is because if you do not you may lose a service such as electricity or gas; or even your home. Priority expenses are:

rent (or mortgage)
council tax
gas, electricity and water
court fines

When you have put down your priority expenses you need to look at your other expenses. Remember to set aside an amount each week for food, clothing and travel. Include any other regular payments such as catalogues or club payments. You will also need to set aside money for other bills such as telephone or television licence. You can be fined or imprisoned if you don't have a TV licence.

When you have put down all your expenses, add them up. If your expenses come to more than your income you will need to look again to see if you can reduce any of the costs. If your expenses are less than your income, you will have money left over for yourself; or saving!

Once you have calculated your income and expenditure you need to look at your debts. Like the expenses these are divided into priority and non priority, the priority debts are the same items as for expenses, it follows that credit & store cards, catalogues, personal loans and any unsecured loans are non priority.

This distinction is important because negotiations with creditors differ depending upon whether it is a priority or non priority debt. The normal procedure is to reach an agreement with the priority creditors and then any money left over is divided pro rata between the non priority creditors depending upon how much is owed.

If you do not pay your rent or mortgage, you could lose your home.
If you do not pay your council tax, bailiffs may come and take your possessions and you could be imprisoned.
if you do not pay for your gas or electricity, your supply could be cut off.
If you do not pay court fines, you may go to jail.

Problems often arise when things change. These changes can include a relationship starting or ending, the birth of a baby, children leaving school, illness, unemployment, or a change of job.

All these things can change the money you have. They may mean you can get a benefit, but sometimes you can lose money.

If you have any doubt about the effect of a change, we can help you check it out.

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MONEY ADVICE