I am in a mess and don't know what to do

parsniphead · 26 June 2015 at 3:33PM

uselessnow wrote: »

How much do you spend a week on groceries if you don't mind me asking?

Of course I don't mind you asking. We spend around £125 per month going wild. I do shop for the month and meal plan each day. If I have a chicken I will chop it in half and freeze. We never eat a whole chicken if I cook one so this avoids waste. Mince is split into portions and pack of bacon split in two rashers per rsandwich bag so I can defrost what I need. I look for offers in aldi for fruit and veg but prefer the local market. Oh and before shopping I see what I already have and plan from that first.
Aldis washing powder is great. If I use anything else on the little one his skin goes funny. Cleaning is bleach, white vinegar and water. Or a spot of washing up liquid.

I had done my monthly shop this morning for £89 with some to be added tomorrow for fruit and veg.

Try the oldstyle threads, they have so many good ideas.

It's hard when you feel the need to shop. Perhaps try paying a small amount off the debt each time you want to. The little bits will add up.

Don't forget the occasionally treat though. Complete lockdown is a killer.

On and when I started I had £32000 of debt and was single with a mortgage. You can do this, it just takes hard work and a bit of patience.

prettymoney · 26 June 2015 at 3:49PM

Hi I'm a newbie so please be nice!

This post has been really helpful for me, so thanks all

I agree that you are definitely not "useless now" - you're making the first steps which is much braver than many other people are able to do.

I also noticed that your road tax is quite high £44.16 a month (I assume the cars must be gas guzzlers if they're worth £60k - not sure?) I pay £17 a month for one car and it's a 4x4, so it's quite high tax.

Is it worth trading 1 or both cars in to get a more eco friendly / lesser road tax model?

Once you're feeling a bit more settled, could you maybe think about working from home to boost your income and try and clear some more of the debt?

Hope this helps, wishing you all the best xx

[Deleted User] · 27 June 2015 at 6:57AM

prettymoney wrote: »

Hi I'm a newbie so please be nice!

This post has been really helpful for me, so thanks all

I agree that you are definitely not "useless now" - you're making the first steps which is much braver than many other people are able to do.

I also noticed that your road tax is quite high £44.16 a month (I assume the cars must be gas guzzlers if they're worth £60k - not sure?) I pay £17 a month for one car and it's a 4x4, so it's quite high tax.

Is it worth trading 1 or both cars in to get a more eco friendly / lesser road tax model?

Once you're feeling a bit more settled, could you maybe think about working from home to boost your income and try and clear some more of the debt?

Hope this helps, wishing you all the best xx

The original figure for the cars was an error on the first SOA. It has been amended on the second SOA further down the posts. The cars are worth £6000 in total not £60000. Neither car are being traded in at the moment. With the miles done on mine, it doesn't usually get serviced once a year. OH car has been serviced in two years as he has worked from home. The car maintenance figures are a little bit of guess work as it changes from year to year.

I was advised by my doctor and neurologist not to even thing about working again from home or elsewhere. It causes relapses with my condition and ends up with me being in hospital. Don't want to go down that route again I assure you.

parsniphead · 27 June 2015 at 7:13AM

Hi uselessnow. I really struggle typing that.

Do you like gardening or have a garden. If so you could grow some veggies. I don't save loads but it tops up what we have, even grow bag of salad leaf. Outside pottering is a bit of sanity for me. A bit of quiet time.

[Deleted User] · 27 June 2015 at 7:31AM

I hate gardening always have done. I find it very stressful. I can't kneel down and bend over to reach the borders without someone being there to help me up and down.

parsniphead · 27 June 2015 at 7:33AM

Not for you then. Sorry.

nicp60 · 27 June 2015 at 9:11AM

Hi there,
I've read the whole thread with interest and my heart goes out to you OP. The way I see it, you have a couple of options:

1. - DMP set up through payplan. This will freeze the interest on all your debts, but wreck your (and probably hub's) credit file. He will also probably see the payment coming out each month of the joint account and you may even have to switch accounts. On the plus side, you'll be debt free quicker.

2. - Do it the old fashioned way by snowballing. There's really not much room at the moment in your SOA for savings, but you appear to be making your min payments. By stopping spending on the cards and starting a few little challenges here and there, you'll be surprised at how much it all adds up. Focus on the debt with the highest apr and use the snowball calculator to work out your debt free date: http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/snowball-calculator.php

I see very little room for further savings in your soa, especially changes that won't compromise your quality of life and/or exacerbate your health issues, but I think perhaps a spending diary is a must. Have a look around some of the old style boards, challenges (like saving 20ps etc), competitions etc. There's loads around here to keep you occupied and upbeat. Your physical and mental wellbeing must come first at all times, as I'm sure you know, so if I were you I would just take it day by day. Try not to think of the enormity of it all at once.

Hope this helps.

[Deleted User] · 27 June 2015 at 10:20AM

nicp60 wrote: »

Hi there,
I've read the whole thread with interest and my heart goes out to you OP. The way I see it, you have a couple of options:

1. - DMP set up through payplan. This will freeze the interest on all your debts, but wreck your (and probably hub's) credit file. He will also probably see the payment coming out each month of the joint account and you may even have to switch accounts. On the plus side, you'll be debt free quicker.

2. - Do it the old fashioned way by snowballing. There's really not much room at the moment in your SOA for savings, but you appear to be making your min payments. By stopping spending on the cards and starting a few little challenges here and there, you'll be surprised at how much it all adds up. Focus on the debt with the highest apr and use the snowball calculator to work out your debt free date: http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/snowball-calculator.php

I see very little room for further savings in your soa, especially changes that won't compromise your quality of life and/or exacerbate your health issues, but I think perhaps a spending diary is a must. Have a look around some of the old style boards, challenges (like saving 20ps etc), competitions etc. There's loads around here to keep you occupied and upbeat. Your physical and mental wellbeing must come first at all times, as I'm sure you know, so if I were you I would just take it day by day. Try not to think of the enormity of it all at once.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for your post.
I never thought about snowballing. Each card I have, have different APR's depending on what offers were on at the time. Do I list all the amounts as the highest APR or do I list each card several times with each different APR?

parsniphead · 27 June 2015 at 2:27PM

Enter each card into the form separately with the corresponding Apr. It will work out the best way to pay off the debts. You give it the figure you can pay off each month then allocates what payments are needed for each debt. I.e. minimum payments to most then the largest payment to the one with the biggest Apr. It's worth doing and also works out how long it will take.

nicp60 · 27 June 2015 at 7:35PM

uselessnow wrote: »

Thanks for your post.
I never thought about snowballing. Each card I have, have different APR's depending on what offers were on at the time. Do I list all the amounts as the highest APR or do I list each card several times with each different APR?

Ooooh, good question!
I would list the highest APR that applies to each card and use that. I would do it that way because the card companies will allocate your payments to the smallest APR first. It's not like you can say 'right, I've paid off the £525 at 34.9% on that card, now I'll pay off this £299 which is at 22%'.
They will apply the payments as they wish, which is usually set out in the small print.

Or take an average, maybe? Maybe someone savvy with maths will be able to work out the best way to do it. Is there a big difference in the aprs that apply to different parts of the balance?

That's a tough one, actually!!!

I really do think snowballing is the way forward if you want to avoid a DMP

I am in a mess and don't know what to do

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