it doesn't make good reading

bernie_inn · 30 July 2007 at 10:45AM

Hi all,
This is the first time i've posted on here. I have just tallied up all of my debts and now owe £43000 on cards and loans. I have no equity in my home and am living on credit. I am not in arrears with any of my creditors and my credit score remains healthy. But i have long passed the point of being able to sort my problems out. I have buried my head in the sand and hoped it'll go away and prayed for that all important lottery win ( which lets face it will never happen)I really dont know where to go now i have a baby due in october which will mean massively reduced wages from my wifes side while she's on maternity. I just don't know what to do??? any advice will be welcome

Shineyhappy · 30 July 2007 at 11:01AM

Hiya and welcome to the board! :j

I think the best thing you can do is to get your statment of affairs (SOA) done. There is a sticky thread by Southernscousser on here that you can use as a template, but if you dont know what it is then basically it is all your incomings and outgoings. If we can see this then we can hopefully give you some good tips on how to reduce it. Also if you do end up needing to get advice from a debt charity then they will need to see it too.

Have a look at www.entitledto.co.uk to see what benefits you will get when your little one arrives.

lady_fuschia · 30 July 2007 at 11:02AM

Hi there.
The important thing is that you have just taken your head out of the sand - and that's the first step. It probably feels awful now, but this is the first step to sorting it out.
There are lots of lovely people here who can help you out, but forst you need to post an SOA (state of affairs - see the sticky at teh top of the board for first time posters) and a breakdown of what you owe so that we can see it all laid out and give some practical advice on how to begin tackling the debt.
No matter what you think, there is no debt problem so big that there is NO way out - there is always a solution.
So get posting your SOA and hopefully you should get some advice on where to start.

Oh, and have a hug - you sound like you need it.

angelavdavis · 30 July 2007 at 11:03AM

Hi there and welcome to DFW!

Well done for facing the reality of your debts.

I advise you check out SouthernScousers sticky post and put together your statement of affairs as a first step. This is a statement of your income and outgoings, aprs for credit cards/loans/overdrafts, etc. It is a scary process but vital for getting a handle on your debts. Posting on here will mean the good folk can offer their advice to further cut back on outgoings so you can throw as much money as possible on your debts.

The next thing to do is grab a pocket notebook and note down every penny you are spending for the next couple of months - it will show you how much you are really spending on a daily basis.

You need to make the most of the good credit rating (we hope) you have and move any higher interest debts onto lower life of balance cards.

But its important to complete the SOA and start a spending diary first.

Good luck

bernie_inn · 30 July 2007 at 11:04AM

Ok i'll do that SOA now thanks

bernie_inn · 30 July 2007 at 11:17AM

Ok here we go: i will just do my personal expenditure and debt

My salary - £1750
Partners salary - £500
Benefits - 0

Total - £2,250

Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage/Rent - £1100
Council Tax - £120
Gas - £20
Electric - £20.53
TV License - £10.99
Sky £60
Phone - £40
Food - £180
Car Insurance - £30
Petrol - £80
Life Insurance £20

Total: £1,630

On top of that i have:

Northern rock loan £12000 £164 per month
Cahoot loan £8000 £200 per month APR 14.9%
Egg card £10000 £200 P/M apr approx 16.9%
Goldfish card £3000 £75 P/M 16.9%
Mbna £7000 £140 p/m 17.9%
M+S card £ 2000 £55 p/m 16.9%

Total £835:

total total:2465

:huh:

lady_fuschia · 30 July 2007 at 11:20AM

Is that mortgage or rent? or both? It seems quite high that's all and I wondered if there was a reason.

bernie_inn · 30 July 2007 at 11:23AM

Its mortgage with additional borrowing on the house. The interest rate rises are starting to really bite now

sophiesmum_2 · 30 July 2007 at 11:28AM

i would check out the entitledto website re tax credits and child tax credits - you may get some help with these once the baby is born and the first year with a baby is paid at a higher rate.

Once baby is born you will also get child benefit.

On the website you can play about with some of the figures - maybe you will be better off with wife not working, but if she returns to work you should get some help with childcare costs.

sophiesmum

smudgemanc26 · 30 July 2007 at 11:30AM

Hi & Welcome

The things that jump out to me on your SOA are

Sky £60 - Can you reduce your package, go onto freeview or change to the phone, tv, and broadband package for £26? or try virgin for there home and tv package

Phone - £40 can this be included with the above or if its a mobile can you tariff be reduced or can you switch to pay as you go.

Life Insurance - £20 - Im sure you can get this cheaper shop around try going through quidco and earn cashback ive just changed mine and im sure its only around £6 per month.

Food - Try to reduce this check out the Old Style board for recipes and tips, try batch cooking and freezing. Also if you can try and buy your cleaning products/toiletries from a cheaper discount store, this has helped me reduce my shopping bill.

lynzpower · 30 July 2007 at 11:36AM

My salary - £1750
Partners salary - £500
Benefits - 0

Total - £2,250

Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage/Rent - £1100
Council Tax - £120
Gas - £20
Electric - £20.53
TV License - £10.99
Sky £60 ( this is a luxury you can get rid off, will certainly help)
Phone - £40 ( can you confirm what the breakdown of this is , landline? )
Food - £180 ( how many is this for?)
Car Insurance - £30
Petrol - £80
Life Insurance £20

Total: £1,630

On top of that i have:

Northern rock loan £12000 £164 per month
Cahoot loan £8000 £200 per month APR 14.9% ( is this one of their flexi loans)
Egg card £10000 £200 P/M apr approx 16.9%
Goldfish card £3000 £75 P/M 16.9%
Mbna £7000 £140 p/m 17.9%
M+S card £ 2000 £55 p/m 16.9% ( try moving these interest bearing cards to 0% interest rates so that the debt isnt growing)

Total £835:

total total:2465

all the best of luc k with it, there is loads of info on here, dig in for the long haul with us!

it doesn't make good reading

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free