My story any ideas ?????? Help

mccar1965

i am so bad with money i have 4 teens living at home and hubby. i worked full time and had debts then i got M E and collapsed one day , and couldnt work. I now work part time but cant pay all my bills, my hubby has enough of his own bills and cant take care of mine. i then found cccs a credit coucelling service free of charge you pay them so much a month and they pay the debts for u , it takes a great strain of you. But its keeping the debts at bay but it will never get paid off. My huband is now getting into financial difficulties as he is now the main bread winner, he is going under with stress. Even though i have M E it is in recession at this time so i am attempting to go back to work fulll time to help or we could lose our house. The kids are living at home but studying full time they work weekends but receive no EMA or anything as the state says we earn too much , so we dont charge them keep at this time till they finish studying ,The older two want to go to UNI i cant even think about them costs... sorry i am going on and on but its so true we put our head in the sand and hope it goes away , but its real scary to face , geesh i sound like such a chicken :cool: :eek: if anyone has any ideas please let me know x x x thankyou ROSE

ms_london

Hi Rose, welcome to MSE.com!!

You have come to the right place - there are a lot of people in the same boat, so you are not alone!!

You are right CCCS & Payplan are free & can help you sort out your finances, contacting your creditors on your behalf etc - and we are free too, so if you post your SOA (incomings, outgoings & debts) we will do our best to help & advise you!! (You would have to prepare the same thing for the CCCS/Payplan anyway, so it might be worth getting a head start!!).

Try not to worry about it (although thats easier said than done!!).

Big Hugs. xx

jitsuguy

As for the two older teens going to uni. Don't worry about trying to fund them, they will probably have to pay full fees and will only get the minimum amount of Government loan.

Unfortunately debt whilst at uni is a fact nowadays, it is what they do once they finish uni will depend on whether they will continue you down the debt path or become debt free.

On the plus side if they do get into financial difficulty at university there is an emergency fund which they can apply for which is mainly a grant and so they won't have to pay it off.

When I went off to uni my parents were much in the same condition, but I came through the other side with about £2500 in debt, but managed to clear it. I then went on to further study I got my self into alot of debt, but am now looking at paying it off within the next 18 months.

bank_of_slate

Hi Rose and welcome to the MSE family!

You did the right thing going through CCCs, Is it time that you speak to them again regarding your budget plan? Are you leaving enough for the family to survive on?
It sounds like you're all just bumping along from day to day, trying to juggle everything rather than living your life.
Do you have regular family discussions about the situation? It's important that the whole family is well informed of the situation so that you can support each other.
It would help to list your full incomings and outgoings on here, we are great at spotting areas where you can cut back drsatically E.G. utility bills, phones, grocery shopping.
The whole family must take responsibility for the management of the family finances.....If you and your hubby are just carrying this weight of worry on your shoulders you are putting your health at risk, something which a sufferer of ME cannot afford to do. Is your hubby taking all the strain because he worries about your condition and is therefore suffering himself?
Keep posting hunny!
...Linda xx