Stressed/Worried sick over money

brody77

Morning all,

The past few months have been pretty much a kick in the nuts for me - I lost my gran in November, which kicked off a family feud, my mum went off sick from work for a long while and as a result couldn't pay me the money her & my dad owe me for a loan I took out to help them a few years back,
and trying to provide for my family from then to now has seen me get pretty much shafted by lloydstsb and their lovely daily charges.

I'm now at a point where I can't pay my way in our home - we try to split the bills 50/50 (even though she earns about 3k more than me) and have a 9 month old baby also.

I get paid on the 26th of each month and already I have no money.
I'm not sure how I'm going to survive til my next pay day, in all honesty.
All I've been able to afford this month is 1 weeks rent, which is pathetic.

I'm due a pay rise from 15,500 to 16,250 which should show on my next wage & be backdated to Dec, but that won't be a lot, meanwhile lloyds are kicking my @ss with these charges, stopping me from paying my way, and leaving me wondering how I'm even gonna get to my work for the next 2 weeks.

Last month I even had to use holidays leading up to payday as I couldn't afford to leave the house!

I sent off the letter to lloyds over bank charges, claiming hardship - got the usual response about a week later, but that doesn't help me right now.

I've been trying to get my credit score back up but fear it's never going to happen the way lloyds are hitting me.

I've been thinking about trying to go see the bank, but I'm embarassed and worried they'll just laugh at my problems - I can't realistically expect them to stop charging my account, can I?

Hopefully next month my mum can start paying again, so that's £190 right away, but I don't know what else to do, given nobody wants to be trying to change jobs in this climate.

I appreciate all advice, I've found that these forums are one of the best places to find support.

determinedtodothis

Hey.

Don't take their first reply as the end - write back give them a copy of you SOA, Get the Banking code which describes what banks are meant to use to gauge whether you are in financial hardship - i did this and I won.

Also include in your letter that as they are meant to prove they are helping you as much as possible, whether they would waiver fees for say 3 months till you get yourself on your feet - again something my bank agreed to.

Write up you SOA on here and everyone will take a look and might see savings where you can't.

Chin up - you can get through this. Join some of the challenges on here - the No spend days & weekly spend are good because they really make you think before you spend x

frenchconnection200

I can't offer advice other than to say post an SOA and the fantastic MSE experts who know better than me will be along to offer you help. Have you spoken to your OH about all this as that should be your first port of call.

Naomim

Hi Brody,

Sorry to hear about your Gran and the problems you have had since.

Would it be possible for your to post up an SOA so we can all have a look and see where we can help cut down and reduce your costs.

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html


My immediate thought to your post, why is it only 50/50 if your OH earns far more? Should be proportionate?

Sorry I can't help with any of the bank issues but I'm sure some lovely person will be far more help than me.

Naomi x

brody77

Thanks all!

OH already helped me out with £200 last month, her savings have really taken a hammering and I feel awful for it.
I've actually started thinking they'd do better without me around.

SOA coming soon...

TotallyBroke

You live as a family so should work as a family. Please do a soa and speak to your OH asking for support so that you can clear all your debts together and go onto being a debt free family. Your family would not be better off without you. Sure they would learn to adjust and cope but would not nessecarily be happier so put that idea in the rubbish bin.
You say you are getting a pay rise soon. Go to https://www.listentotaxman.com and work out your monthly salary. This will show you how much extra each month you will have. Do not use this to live on (unless you really have to) use it as an overpayment on your debts.
By doing the soa together we can find you ways of saving cash to be able to live within your means. This payrise bonus will help clear the debts quickly.

Well done for posting it is hard but really helps.

brody77

Ok, I'm not very good with these, so not sure if I've done it right...

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1025
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1025
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Hire Purchase (HP) repayments........... 0
Rent.................................... 200
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 35
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 40
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 22
Car Insurance........................... 23
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 20
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 7
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Laptop.................................. 22
Loan.................................... 175
TV...................................... 22
Car..................................... 158
Total monthly expenses.................. 779

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 6000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
egg............................2100......60........0
IF.............................2300......60........0
Amex...........................1900......50........0
TV.............................450.......22........0
Next...........................1000......100.......0
Car............................6500......158.......0
Total unsecured debts..........14250.....450.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,025
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 779
Available for debt repayments........... 246
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 450
Amount short for making debt repayments. -204
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 6,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -14,250
Net Assets.............................. -8,250
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

I left out a few bits as OH pays them, and I don't know what debt of her own she has (sad but true!)

EDIT - taxman site says I should have an extra £25 a month on my wages...

frenchconnection200

brody77 wrote: »

Thanks all!

OH already helped me out with £200 last month, her savings have really taken a hammering and I feel awful for it.
I've actually started thinking they'd do better without me around.

SOA coming soon...

They would not be better without you, it's only money and it may take time but it can be sorted. Can your OH help you out with her savings in any way and you could pay her back over time if need be?

~Beanie~

You have your loan and TV payment included twice so you SOA isn't actually quite as bad as it looks.

brody77

~Beanie~ wrote: »

You have your loan and TV payment included twice so you SOA isn't actually quite as bad as it looks.

what a wally!
How did I manage that?!!

lilian1977

Your car is on there twice as well, not sure if that's what Beanie meant by loan?