Some advice required please!

Beccyhorse

Hi
I'm new to this board so firstly hello! :j

I have a loan of which I'm nearly half way through (borrowed £5K over 3 years) and have £2,600 on a credit card which is at 0% until February 2009.

So in total I owe just short of £6K.

I am expecting my first baby in February 2009 and from 25 February I will be on statutory maternity pay, which is just £117.40 per week (before tax) plus £18 child allowance per week (tax free I believe).

At the moment I'm paying £160 per month for my loan and anywhere from £60 to £100 per month off my credit card (as much as I can, sometimes more, sometimes just the minimum).

When I initially found out I was pregnant (it wasn't planned!) I put my horse up for sale which should have raised about £2.5K which I was going to pay off my card with. However, I must have upset someone upstairs because just before the first viewer came to see her she collapsed in the field and it seems she has developed a heart condition which means she can no longer be ridden. I've contacted all the sanctuaries and explained the situation but not one of them would take her in :mad: , nor can I find her a home as a companion (although I'm still advertising as such). I have moved her to a local field and have cut all my costs to a minimum so I should be able to manage her now on about £60 per month (a massive saving as was previously about £200 pm!) Its not an option to put her to sleep to save the additional £60 as I've owned her for years and... well its just not an option!!

However, I am really unsure of what to do reference my loan and credit card. I am not going to be able to afford £200+ per month when I'm only getting that small amount.

I live with my partner (he owns the house) and I just pay for food, he pays the mortgage, bills, everything else, and cannot afford to pay anymore himself especially as he's in the building trade and it has gone very quiet.

What is the best thing I can do? I thought about contacting the debt advisory service and explaining the situation.

other people must have this when they have children? We were planning on it for a few years time when I'd have cleared all debts but things don't always work as planned.

So basically, what are the best options please?

Thanks

fiestaman87

Firstly congrats on your forthcoming arrival but also I'm sorry about the bad luck with regards to your horse.

I'm no expert but as your CC 0% offer is coming to an end are you able to move it to another 0% card or maybe a low std rate such as Barclaycard?

HTH

lilly81

Would you be entitled to any tax credits?
Also have you joined any baby clubs like boots/bounty etc as they give u freebies and money off vouchers?
How much do you spend on food?

RAS

Check www.entitledto.com to see if you can get any help with WTC, CTC etc.

Beccyhorse

We need to sit down and work out what WTC & CTC we are entitled to but it won't be a lot as my other half is self employed and from his previous experience (he already has a 5 yr old daughter from a previous relationship) they base it on the company turnover and not what he actually pays himself. But obviously every bit helps and I'll be sitting down and working out every penny on this!

I have just applied (and had agreed) another 0% card with Barclaycard which is 0% for 14 months. It will cost me about £70 to transfer the balance but I will obviously save in the long run and at least won't be building up interest.

I did toy on getting another 0% card and transferring the loan to that so at least I would not be paying the interest. Do you think this would be a worthwhile option or in the long run would it be worse (I try my best with these things!).

Food wise, at the moment I do 2 big shops a month (every other week) which are normally about £100 each time and includes toiletries and washing powders, etc, then I do a top-up shop for fresh fruit, veg, salad, milk etc every other week which are normally about £30 per week. So in total about £260ish, sometimes a bit more when we have family or friends visiting etc.

I am going to start investigating Lidl and local markets for fresh produce soon when I go on maternity (there isn't one that local to where I work and I work long hours so struggle to go anywhere but ASDA!).

I have joined every baby club you can think of! and have got all coupons and freebie bits which have saved me loads. The boots baby club is great as I bought £60 of things but got a free changing bag worth £20ish and £30 of extra points!