How To Put Together A Budget Plan
This article is meant as an aide to yesterday’s article, how to setup a debt management plan, and is a thorough guide on how to prepare a budget for your creditors which can be used to convince them that you really can’t afford your debts any longer.
When preparing a budget, it is absolutely essential that you account for every last item of expenditure, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, as each item of expenditure on the budget will reduce the amount leftover to pay your creditors.
The creditors are somewhat oblidged to accept the payment you offer, as long as you have listed reasonable amounts for all of your items of expenditure.
When I first had to write to my creditors with a budget, I spoke to CCCS about my debts and they went through a budget with me. I remember that I listed my entertainment budget as £200 a month, they quickly informed me that considering the circumstances, this amount was too big and would not be acceptable by my creditors. In the end, I had to put down £20 as a resonable amount, which I believe was within the British Bankers Association guidelines limits.
Please use my debt management budget planner to put together a detailed budget for your household finances. This can be used to then negotiate a reduced payment with your creditors for a period of six months or so, until you are able to get your finances back on track.