newbie on the edge

kickingkay

ive been lurking and wanted to post for ages but like most ive prob only realised just how serious the debt is
well i owe today 70000, thats without my mortgage
i have a seris of loans and cards non of which are priority debt ie none are secured im married have low wage and have a husband with 3 dependant children
im really after some hope and advice my debt started a year ago but recentley it has gotten out of control due to my wftc being stopped as overpayment issues so im really short and unable to pay my cards etc
my youngest is in childcare so im paying out 400 pcm and only clearing about 200 each month im left with just over 150 spare each month now ive worked out a pro rata payment for each creditor but im terriefied to contact them i have contacted national debt who were fab and have offered to do all the ground work for me i guess what im asking is can you remember being in my shoes and can you give me advice how to get through each day
i guess i had better start by explaining how it got so bad:
well i found out my father was dying i hadnt seam him for some years and it blew me away with the whole coming to terms thing and i started to gamble as a way of blocking it out when it got bad i took out loans to cover this but i didnt stop gambling i have now stopped very recently due to my partner pleading he has only just found out theseverity of it but anyway its my mess i intend to pay it all off but is it realistic to expect them to let me pay it off in 14 yrs
#i dont have enough equity in my property to pay it and even if i did iwouldnt be able to then pay my mortgeg
any way a rather ashamed and dessperate klare xxx
ps if youve got this far thankyou xx

*Sparkle*_3

Hi Kay,

I can understand how your feeling, i have double the debt you have, but if you work at it and be strict then you can pay it off.
The guys on here are really helpful so keep visiting and keep posting on your development.

Good luck and best wishes!

southernscouser

Kay, first of all welcome to MSE and well done for facing up to your problems and tackling them head on. :T

There are loads of ace people on here with all different types of financial issues, backgrounds and knowledge so you will get loads of FREE advice.

I don't know anything about National Debt but the CCCS and Pay Plan have great reputations on here. Someone else with experience on them will be able to help you more.

The first thing we normally ask newbies is to list all their incomings and outgoings in as much detail as possible so we can look for ways to help you cut back.

Forgive me if I'm asking too a personal question but is your husband going to help with paying all this off? If so, put down his income and outgoings aswell.

Also break down everything you owe and to who, including length of loans and how long to go, APR's on everything, credit limits on cards, balances. Everything. Do you know what state your credit rating is in? Have you missed many payments? Defaults?

Then we will all try our best to help you out.

Good luck, you're not alone.

brokenwings

hi there

listen, you have taken the hardest step of all by admitting your problems

my debt is so huge i am embarrassed to add it to my signature - but i am currently working out a debt free date thanks to southernscouser and will add that soon

it wont actually HELP but it might make you feel a tad better to know i owe MORE than you

since i found this forum i have found a TON of helpful advice
i have found new casual work to add to my ful timejob, so my income has increased -and i have found ways to reduce my outgoings - grocery shops alone have reduced from £450 a month to £100!!

i guess what i am trying to say is that there is always hope and there is always a way - whether its through cccs or payplan or whether its something you buckle down to and solve yourself over time -

things will work out in the end now that you are looking for help and a way out

good luck and welcome!

Xbigman

Just to clarify. You say in your post you owe 70,000. Is that right? Or do you mean 7,000.
Regards




X

kickingkay

hi thanks for your replies
well it is actually around the £70,000 mark i know i feel sick just writing it
in fact since speaking to one of those debt managment agencies i feel worse he has told me i only have IVA as an option, which was the last resort for me
im not sure of all the apr
so ill do my best
hsbc loan 1 17000, 6% approx repayment 295. pcm
hsbc loan 2 22500 6% approx repayment 255.pcm longer terms
virgin card 4400 normal apr min payment 2%
hsbc card 7000 " min payments 2%
cahoot loan 1 8800 6% 181. pcm
cahoot loan 2 6800 6% 151 pcm
hsbc card 700 3% 25 pcm ish
mint card 400 min pay 9 pcm
barcleys 1300 25 pcm
next 425 about 40 pcm

so as you can see rather alot
my house hold expenses etc
mort £ 585
insur £ 29
house/ build insur £ 33
life cover £ 56
life cover £ 40
sky £ 42.50 in process of cancelling
council tax £ 92 paid up til next year
water £ 26
elec £ 28
gas £ 40 both have recently been changed to lower cost
tv liscence £ 8 its 31 per 1/4
mobile £ 34 tied into contract
ntl £ 47 this has also been changed for lower payment includes broadband
food £ 450
child care £ 400

it is shared debt although im responsable for most the guilt is really tearing me apart and i do want to get it paid but im so scared of the worst case losing are home
ive been dead calm about it but im not sre how much longer i can keep it together i just which it would all go away and i would wake up
sorry having a low morning
thanks all
klare xx

Tondella

oh Klare

Big hugs, I haven't been through the debt management thing but I know from all the other posts I've read that speaking to someone who has seen it all before and can offer you professional help is an immediate relief and people wonder why they didn't do it ages ago!

My OH always says that action conquers fear. Someone with some more experience than me will post in a minute and give you some great advice and personal wisdom and set you on your way to getting this tackled. You will feel so much better for it because you'll be back in control. If you look around here you'll find people who are in the process of clearing debts of your magnitude, so you know it can be done. Hang on in there chicken!

8pnoodles

Also, if you haven't already thought of it, have you checked out gambler's anonymous as a way of making sure you keep on track with not gambling? It could give you (and your husband) the additional support you probably need.

Check out PayPlan or the CCCS, don't pay any company to sort out your debts for you, the two I mentioned are free.

One thing, £450 for food seems a lot, check out this board for help on how to reduce this:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=33

gixxer6_2

pse dont try to sort this out yourself creditors can be nasty and your phone will not stop ringing, i have just started with payplan and i would urge you to phone them and they will help

kickingkay

thanks all i have just spoken to a really undestanding lady at cccs?
they have given me an appointment dtae 9th nov! i have been advised to stop alll payments and to pay what i can affor which is what io shall now do she has also given me 2 numbers fofr ga whoim i shalll be ringing when my lo next goes for a sleep
i feel much better although im still to coward to ring these companies so i shall be putting it all in writing and sending it special delivery dearer i know but at least im doing it, i will be requewsting all correspondance to be done via cccs andf by post
i think thats about it oh someone ased why 450 a month
i have to buy formula milk and nappies which amount to justy over 12 pw so im only really spending 400 pcm which im trying each month to get down but obviously i have to give the higher amount so on some months when my bill may be higher i dont starve
but like i said i am always trying to cut down i want to get my grocery bill down to at least 50/60 pw if i can
thanks all klare xxx
on the road to recovery!

tattooed_lady

Hi Klare,

:grouphug: Big hug to you.

You've done the right thing by going to CCCS, once you start your debt management plan with them things will not seem so bad. Just do what they said, whack out letters to all your creditors and let them deal directly with the CCCS when you've had your phone consultation. CCCS give you a reference number which you will need to give to your creditors.

As for your shopping, there are 5 in our family including 3 kids (youngest 19 months) so I have nappies etc to buy and we have cut our shopping bill down to approx £70 pw, sometimes less. Check out the Old Style board for some tips - it's brill! Also, read through the site to get some more of Martin's tips on how to cut down on utility bills etc. I've saved loads!

Anyway, take care. You've done really well already just by posting on here.