What shall i do???

Feisty_Fairy

Hi there!

I am in a bit of a mess, i am due to to have remortgage soon and there has been a set back and so the completion is going to be delayed. Some of the money was going to be used to pay off my overdraft of £900 and we have had a bit of a struggle with money over christmas so we were also going to top up my account when the money came in to pay all my direct debits.

Checked my account today and im already overdrawn on my overdraft by £95 and have been charged for them paying a direct debit (£30) and then again for going overdrawn (another £28). I still also have about £120 worth of direct debits left to go out and its my sons birthday in 2 weeks, i am worried sick!

My bank have said they can probably add a little to my overdraft, but i am worried i am going to get into a vicious circle that i wont be able to get out of.

Any advice would be greatly received.

Thanks

Feisty!

Fuffa

Hiya,

Do you work?How much do you spend a month or bills etc?

skintchick

Ah, the perils of putting other stuff on the mortgage. Sorry ot hear tings are bad at the moment.

I think you should post your budget, as that is really why you are in trouble, and your debts including what you are putting on your mortgage, and we can help maybe.

Is there anyone you can borrow money from for a couple of weeks in the meantime?

dinkylou

Feisty,

Don't panic!

First I would phone up your bank and ask them for a temporary extension of your overdraft for a month (or however long you need). This will stop you paying any more fees on missed DD's etc.

Then if you want help reducing your outgoings, post your SOA and we will all try and help.

But don't panic too much. Things wont spiral out of control as you are taking control now.

Take a deep breath.

Harassed_2

Also, what your bank is doing is illegal. Check out the link here and get your charges back.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=131408

Feisty_Fairy

Hi all

Well i have already previously posted my SOA and made numerous cutbacks, the only thing that us out of control again after pulling the reigns in was days out in the summer for our children, we felt guilty because we couldnt afford a holiday and so we had days out, which resulted in me needing a £600 overdraft, then ofcourse Christmas happened and we had to extend it to £900. Of course now we have had a bit of setback and a splurge over the holidays and spent more than i should have done in the sales (all of the things bought were genuinly needed though).

Just to give you a rough idea of salaries etc;

I earn £18,000 and my OH earns 14,100.

We have stupid nursery fees of £611 per month (we have checked other nurseries etc and have decied to keep him where he is)

We have cut back on lunches, eating out etc and now have packed lunches instead.

The DDs we have are

Water (cheapest we can get)

Electric (again cheapest we can get)

Car insurance (cheapest)

TV Licence

Wanadoo (my lifeline!)

Phone (also cheaper now due to switching to tesco home phone and reducing contract package)

Council Tax

Phone insurance (darent get rid of just incase!)

Pet insurance (cheapest)

Mortgage

Life insurance

all other insurances that go along with the house (all just checked and changed as appropriate)

Car Loan (£190.08 per month, will be payed off in full when remortgage goes through)


I think thats about it!


Any more info you need then give us a shout.

Thanks

Feisty!

Feisty_Fairy

Hi again

Harrassed i have just checked the link and couldnt make head nor tail of any of it!

How are they doing something illegal an dhow do i get the money back??

Thanks again

Feisty!

hitchins

Hi Fiesty,

On watchinh Make Me Rich the other week, Martin mentioned something about nursery vouchers??? Not sure what they are about but it may be worth looking into. £611.00 per month is ALOT of money! And I would scrap the phone insurance, not worth paper they are written on, never have been when I had it anyway!!

Good luck

woohoo_postingid

hitchins wrote:

Hi Fiesty,

On watchinh Make Me Rich the other week, Martin mentioned something about nursery vouchers??? Not sure what they are about but it may be worth looking into. £611.00 per month is ALOT of money! And I would scrap the phone insurance, not worth paper they are written on, never have been when I had it anyway!!

Good luck

I've had quite a few phones through my insurance with The Link (ok so I did use to work for them so I knew how to work the system) but 9 times out of ten they always paid out to customers - apart from the ones who didnt listen. Phone insurance is up to you OP. At the end of the day it is for your peace of mind.

Kimberley

I agree about the phone insurance, they are just gimmicks to make you pay more. it's like buying a washing machine and paying extra for breakdowns, when they last years anyway. Whilst paying phone insurance, your paying for the phone over and over again.

mrcow

Feisty_Fairy wrote:

we felt guilty because we couldnt afford a holiday and so we had days out, which resulted in me needing a £600 overdraft, then ofcourse Christmas happened and we had to extend it to £900. Of course now we have had a bit of setback and a splurge over the holidays and spent more than i should have done in the sales (all of the things bought were genuinly needed though).

Okay now I'm going to make myself very unpopular, but I'm going to say it anyway because I want to help.....

You are living beyond your means and you need to stop it now.

There was no need to spend £600 on day trips over the summer. A picnic or playing in the park doens't cost anything. Neither does going to beach/woods or having friends over to play? Or spending time in the garden. I'm sure that you could have spent a fraction of this and still have had a great time.

You didn't "have" to spend £300 on Christmas, you chose to, and then you go and spend even more money in the sales on stuff that you "needed" (I bet none of it was life or death was it?).

The reason for my post is that you are now putting this debt on to your mortgage (so will now be paying for it over and over again over the next 20 to 25 years.......was it worth it?....really?....) but if you don't stop spending, you are only firefighting the problem, not actually resolving it.

What are you planning to do for your son's birthday? Maybe this is the first chance to take a deep breath and cut back? I have two children, and frankly they have no concept of money or possessions. A simple toy for Christmas or birthdays is more than enough to suffice, it's all the trimmings (cake & presents from extended family and friends etc) that go with it that make the occasion.

Take care and Happy New Year.

I hope that your remortgage comes through soon.