Hi All - Inspiration and Help Needed Please!

rhowes2000

I havent posted on here for a while and my spending is spiralling out of control again, I am trying to get a homeowner loan sorted and I kind of regret it now. It's taken 6 weeks so far and is a right pain to get sorted! I am thinking of seeing what the cancellation changes are and getting a part time job to supplement my full time income. I am struggling to get motivated to do it basically, how do you guys do it! Also I had a nasty letter today about a debt which I havent made any payments on for 6 years, I thought it would be wiped but obviously not. It's from Connaught Collections, saying that they need to issue a statutory demand and I have to contact them. I really can't afford to pay this at all, I'm considering an IVA, i'm in a mess basically!!

oops_a_daisy

well you are in the right place to start getting sorted out - have you done a statement of affairs yet. You can then see exactly where you are and where to go from there. Im sure some of the more experienced MSE'ers will soon be on with really good advice.

skintchick

hi there - first of all, don't panic!

And don;t make any more decisions just yet.

post us all your details: incomings, outgoings, debts, APrs, minimum payments, etc., and we'll see what we can advise.

Getting a part-time job is a good thing - many of us have two jobs. yo're thinking positively which is the main thing, so chin up and let us help.

Broken_hearted

Welcome back

rhowes2000

Thank you for your reply oops a daisy, I have got a spreadsheet with our outgoings (includes OH) luckily she is far more sensible than me!

The outgoings I have detailed excluded this debt I have had a letter about today, I can't afford payments on that at the moment.

rhowes2000

This is combined for me and OH, there are two, one for before the homeowner loan and one after. Please note bothe exclude food ahopping which varies and needs to be reduced:-

Mortgage 506
Ocean Finance 145 (homeowner loan which hasnt been set up yet)
Lloyds TSB 233 (2 loans and 2 credit cards +£2k overdraft)
Natwest Loan 250
Tesco CC 95
Sainsburys 105 (laon)
Electricity 25
Gas 20
Water 29
Petrol 60
Sky 53
Telewest 40 (internet & phoneline)
Bus Pass 40
Mobile 70
Sky Card 15
Buildings Insurance 20
Cat Insurance 14
House Insurance 16
Car Insurance 53
Council Tax 75
Contact Lenses 10

£1,874

Remaining £126

With a £15k homeowner loan:-

Mortgage 506
Ocean Finance 145
Natwest 250
Sainsburys 105
Electricity 25
Gas 20
Water 29
Petrol 60
Sky 53
Telewest 40
Bus Pass 40
Mobile 70
Sky Card 15
Buildings Insurance 20
Cat Insurance 14
House Insurance 16
Car Insurance 53
Council Tax 75
Contact Lenses 10

£1,546

Remaining £404

To be honest at the moment I don't know what the current balance or APR's are.

Thank you very much for your help.

bonnie_2

your car insurance is high.
also £70 a month for mobiles seems extreme to say the least.
do you really need sky at £53 a month.
how much is your food a month, are you saving for bdays, xmas etc or if the car or anything in the house goes wrong.

rhowes2000

I did a lot of shopping around for car insurance, and that was the cheapest by far. Unfortunately I had an accident in March and although it wasn't my fault (brakes went on a car I had just bought and went into the car infront) it had to be due to the nature of the accident. The car I have now only cost £400, less than the yearly insurance premium! Food i'm really not sure about, probably £180-£200 pcm for two of us and two cats. Sky is being looked at, going to try Telewest 3 for £30 pcm instead. That will save us £63 per month. Not saving for anything at all, can't afford to.

skintchick

Ditto bonnie

Also, is your water on rates? Going on a meter might reduce that.

Do you absolutely NEED the cat insurance? If you saved that £14 a month instead, at the end of the year you'd have £168 plus interest, and if the cat doesn;t need any treatment that will add up. I have always had cats, mostly elderly rescue ones, and haven't ever had insurance for any of them.

bonnie_2

i think you can easily cut your food bill, our bill for 4 is £200 a month averages about £45 a week then i buy cleaning stuff seperate.

rhowes2000

Never really thought about pet insurance, never had to use it and we tend not to let them out much so something to consider, thank you. Also never considered a water meter, in our situation I think we would end up better off. Theres only two of us in a 3 bed house and we both work full time so we can't be using that much water.