My SOA - Gulp! Lightbulb moment!!

Prudent

Supreme

I can see that the house is a huge burden. I was just acknowledging that sometimes parents do feel a need to make very different choices to single people. When I took on a mortgage it worried me so much that I had it paid off within two years. I couldn't do that with the size of the Op's mortgage.

Supreme_2

St0lli wrote: »

Hi Prudent! Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping to stay in this house for the next 3 years until the fixed rate is finished and would fit in with my sons plans to go to university. Then I want to move to a small flat. Thats dependant on me keeping the mortgage going of course! I definitely need some tips from you on how to shop. Do you work full time as well?

Son already receives a bursary and another discount for the length of time he's been there so I don't think there is much more I can do there - apart from ask for more money from his Dad..

Based on the replies I've got so far I've had a look at go compare for life insurance and I could get covered from around £26 from Norwich Union. Thats not got critical illness cover so I need to have a read of my exisisting cover and decide if I want to go without being covered for critical illness. But what a saving from £115 to £26!!!

I'm also going to look at getting different internet provider but Virgin is the only cable provider around here and I just want to be clear in my mind what the performance difference is if I go via Sky - although for £15 saving that may not be a consideration!

Thanks everyone!

Just out of interest... have you worked out what happens to the size of the debts if you make minimum payments for 3 years?

St0lli

Hi Supreme, no I haven't. I'm going to give the CCCS a call on Monday (if I can get through) and see if I can get an appointment with a debt counsellor to see if a DMP would be suitable for me.

I agree with you that the best option for me would be to sell my house but I'm not sure if even that is an option in this present climate. Also my mortgage is fixed for 3 years and I'm tied into them for the three years so I would have to pay huge penalty charges if I changed my mortgage within that time.

Prudent

St0lli - I do work full time. I am a special needs teacher, so its a fairly demanding job. I have a cooking session at the weekend and make lots of soup, casseroles, currys, chiili etc and freeze them in two person portions. I also bake if I have time.

I also involve my daughter a fair bit in the budgeting and give her a monthly allowance, which helps her see what can and cannot be afforded. I use some of the money from her dad for ringfenced things for her like her allowance and out of school activities. It may help to have a budget for your son which covers his share of the outgoings, so you can see if you need more of a contribution from your ex. Remember to include things like extra petrol and electricity in this plus the 'biggies' like holidays.

Taking a fixed amount out of the bank for food, petrol, clothes and entertainment helps me budget. I take out £100 every Saturday morning and it is a real incentive to spend less in the supermarket. I put my daughters allowance into a bank account on the first of the month.

UncleBuck

st0lli, there's already been some good pointers already but my 2p's worth, for what it's worth:-

1. You haven't given an indication of the size of your home but do you have a spare room to rent out? Friends of your son may be suitable residents?
2. Can you not move some of your Halifax and/or Lloyds debts onto other loans? Even after paying the 3% fee, this must be worth while
3. I know it will take a lot of courage but once relatives\friends are made aware of your situation, i'm sure that they will try to help. There's going to be a lot of 'war time spirit' around for the next couple of years and you won't be the first or last
4. Can your son not help by getting a Saturday job and paying a nominal rent? I did at that age and it's a good grounding for the real life.

Anyway the best of luck.

Supreme_2

I know this isn't too accurate, but i have worked out the size of the debts if they are paid at the minimum rate each month:

This is what they would be like (approximately) at the start of 2012.

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Halifax Visa CC................5900......62........29.95..... £9,800 << can this one be moved? is it really only £62/month?
Citi Card CC...................6892......192.......21.9..... £4,750
Egg Card CC....................1060......27........17.9..... £710
John Lewis CC..................1376......68........16.9..... £370
LLoyds TSB CC..................11500.....217.......24.94..... £12,150 << can this one be moved too?
Halifax Loan...................8400......151.......6.9..... £5,400
MBNA CC .......................11723.....278.......34.9..... £13,900 << and maybe this one?
Barclaycard CC.................9300......183.......17.9..... £7,750
M&S Money CC...................1889......47........23.9..... £1,550
Capital One CC.................7400......216.......17.28..... £4,250
Nat West CC....................420.......9.........17.95..... £315
Egg Money CC...................2678......61.6......16.9..... £1,900

Total: £62,545

St0lli

Hi Unclebuck

I do have a very small spare bedroom - just room for a bed and thats it. My son is only just 15 so his friends are either 14 or 15 so not yet ready to move from their own homes.

I don't have enough balance on my cards to transfer balances to them and I think its highly unlikely that I would be considered for a new card given my current debt.

I know I should tell my mum about my debts (I'm an only child) but I know that she will make herself ill with worrying (she's 75) and she has only recently finished chemotherapy for colon cancer.

Son is unable to get a job until he is 16 but he's already said that he is going to start enquiring a few months before his b'day to make sure he's got something in place by the time he's 16....

PasturesNew

Do you live in an area where there might be weekly commuters looking for Mon-Fri lodgings only? e.g. IT Contractors.

People who have their own home/life elsewhere and who are working away from that home on fixed-term contracts (3-6-12 months at a time).

I used to do this, I'd drive from home to work on a Monday morning, need a bed Mon-Thu nights, then go home straight from work on a Friday. I used to use a B&B mostly.

The sort of people you'd get like this will tend to be quieter/less hassle than a regular lodger type. They'd pretty much only use the room to store their suitcase and sleep - and you'd have the house to yourself at weekends. They'd also be good about handing over the money on time, weekly.

Depending on your area, you could charge about 60% of what a cheap B&B does per night - and not offer breakfast. e.g. £50-60/week. The advantage to them is that you know it's a short-term solution and so do they. If your circumstances change then you can stop taking somebody like that in when the current one has their contract end.

Supreme_2

Have you checked that you are getitng all the benefits you can get?
http://entitledto.co.uk

angelflower_2

St0lli wrote: »

Based on the replies I've got so far I've had a look at go compare for life insurance and I could get covered from around £26 from Norwich Union. Thats not got critical illness cover so I need to have a read of my exisisting cover and decide if I want to go without being covered for critical illness. But what a saving from £115 to £26!!!

I'm also going to look at getting different internet provider but Virgin is the only cable provider around here and I just want to be clear in my mind what the performance difference is if I go via Sky - although for £15 saving that may not be a consideration!

Thanks everyone!

Insurance sounds like a great saving!!!

I use payg internet broadband. It cost me about £50 for the dongle thing then I pay £10 a month and get all the usage I need. Its fab. It works by piggybacking the mobile phone networks so if you use a laptop, you can take it almost anywhere!! Best thing I ever did. It meant I got rid of the landline and now I only pay £10 for my payg mobile and £10 for my dd's mobile then £10 for the internet.