Any advice?

lynne1985

Hi im a single mother of 2 children aged 3 yrs and 6 months i've just admitted the fact that i need help with my debt.

my incoming money is £668.36 a month

im not really good at this but here goes all the things i have to pay out

BT Line rental £11 month (usually £18 including calls & vat)
Gas £30 Month
Electricity £25 Month
Council Tax £24 Month
Mum £100 month (Owe £1975)
Loan 1 £71.27 month (owe £1340.03 interest 16.9% apr)
Loan 2 £78 month (owe £233.13 interest 16.9% apr)
Internet £11 Month (12 month subscription ends 12/1/07)
Virgin Mobile £50 month (12 month contract ends 21/3/07)
Orange mobile £50 month (12 Month contract ends 11/10/06)
Rent £65 month
Great Uni £20 month (owe £142.89)
Empire stores £41.40 month (owe £207)
Littlewoods £55 month (owe £275)
Food & nappies £160 month
Capital one £20 month (owe £475)

i think thats everything as you can see i don't have enough money coming in to cover the debts i was paying them with my credit card but now that is maxed and i've realised im in trouble, if you's can think of anythin i can cut back on or do please reply.
Lynne

Chortle_2

Hi Lynne, and welcome to MSE!

Its late, so you won't get many responses til the morning, (I just can't sleep for some reason!) but you will get loads of advice once the others get up

Firstly, I've rearranged your SOA a bit, to make it easier to read:

Income £668.36

Household Expenses

BT £18
Gas £30
Electricity £25
Council Tax £24
Internet £11
Virgin Mobile £50 (contract ends 21/3/07)
Orange Mobile £50 (contract ends 11/10/06)
Rent £65
Food/Nappies £160

Total Household Expenses - £433

Debt

Mum - £100 p/month (total £1975) - 0% APR?????
Loan 1 - £71.27 p/month (total 1340.03) - 16.9% APR
Loan 2 - £78 p/month (total 233.13) - 16.9% APR
Great Universal - £20 p/month (total 142.89) - APR????
Empire Stores - £41.40 p/month (total £207) - APR????
Littlewoods - £55 p/month (total £275) - APR????
Capital One - £20 p/month (total £475) - APR????

Total Debt - £385.67 p/month (total £4648.05)


So. You're under by £150.31 each month.

My first question would be why did you take out a new mobile contract in March this year when you still have one that runs until October? £100 on mobiles is a LOT! Even though you won't be able to cancel the contracts, you should be able to change tariffs, and get this lowered. You probably also need to use them less

Your gas and electric seem high to me, could you try switching suppliers? Turning all appliances/lights off when not in use? Turn your heating down 1 degree?

I don't have kids, so I have no idea how much nappies etc cost, but I'd bet that reusable ones are a lot cheaper than disposables long term! Also, could you split that £160 up, to show the food/nappies seperately? Most people find that they can save a lot of money by looking at their food bill - check out the old style boards for loads of tips.

Could you find out the APR of the catalogues etc? And tell us how many payments there are to go on your loans? I am guessing that loan2 ends fairly soon, which should give you a bit of leeway, but in the meantime you are going to need to cut back! Is there any chance your mum would let you reduce your payments to her for a while? (I am presuming shes not charging you interest?!) I know that sometimes owing money to family feels worse than owing money to credit cards etc, but if she can be flexible, it'd really help you out. You can always increase your payments once the other debts have reduced.

Good on you for posting, and for realising that you need help - you're definitely in the right place!

southernscouser

Hi lynne!

Couldn't sleep so thought I would do something constructive!

As chortle says you should get the mobiles on the cheapest tariffs posiible. How come you have got 2?

Also with the nappies, quite a few people used the re-usable ones at home but if they go out then they use the odd disposable!

Could your mum let you off the payments for a while why you get sorted?

Are you claiming all the benefits you are entitled to?

Do you work? Any chance of extra hours at all?

Also sell anything you no longer need/want on ebay! It's a great way to make a few quid!

MrsTinks

CANCEL VIRGIN!!!! You're withing 14 days of taking out the contract and you can cancel it so PLEASE do so. If you need 2 mobiles (not sure why) then get a PAYG Call Orange and tell them you want to reduce your monthly line rental to the lowest there is, With any luck this could shave off as much as £30 plus £50 from the Virgin phone so we've just found £80

Any chance of a payment break on any of the debts to help you clear one of the smaller outstanding debts? If you can clear say Loan 2 and Empire and Littlewoods (the actual ones would really depend on APRs on the catalog debts!) and this will leave you a fair bit extra each month to clear the remaining debts.

However you HAVE to realise that catalog debts are the worst ever as they charge enormous APR and are a huge no no in future. Cut up the cards, because otherwise chances are you'll end u using them again at some point

tyllwyd

I agree that £100 on mobiles when you have less than £700 coming in doesn't make any sense - I think you should cancel both of them, and only start them up again when you have got the money to pay for them. And £18 is high on BT as well - why not go down to the basic package, and use one of the other call providers for calls. Food for your kids is more important than telephones.

Can you ask your mum for a few months break from repaying her, and throw any spare money into repaying the catalogues. When they are down to zero, you can start paying your mum again.

shellsuit

Hi, reading through your outgoings a couple of things are confusing.

Are you on IS, or working and also claiming tax credits?

It's just that I see you pay so much for rent and so much for CT.

If you are on IS then sometimes you have to pay something towards the rent, BUT if you are entitled to housing benefit, you are entitled to Council Tax benefit so I don't know why you have to pay anything towards it.

(Ah just thought - is the CT you are paying for arrears in the past perhaps?!)

I agree with the others about the Mobile phones - 1 is OK, but why the need for 2 and why on such a high tariff?

If you cannot cancel these contracts, ask to lower the tariff to something more managable.

I would ring the catalogue companies (I've done this myself and they have been fine!) and let them know you are in some financial difficulty and ask if they would be prepared for you to pay smaller installments such as £5 week/£20 a month.

That alone would save you £56.40 a month.

Ask Mum if you can hold payments until some of your bills are paid off, or ask if you could pay £50 a month instead of £100.

lynne1985

Hi i've spoke to my mum and it seems she actually took out a loan to give me a loan so i can't rduce my payments to her, i don't actually pay any interest on my catalogues as i pay within the twenty weeks, so all the catalogues stated dont have any interest as long as i keep paying the minimum amount, i will get in touch with them and explain my situation.

My orange mobile the line rental is £39 a month and with calls etc it goes to round about £50. i have phoned orange to try and arrange a payment plan as i can't afford to pay my last bill, i asked if i could move down to the lowest tarrif £19 a month but they said i had to be with them for 6 months so ill have to wait till next month.

I phoned virgin mobile my line rental with them is £44 they also said i can't lower my tarrif until i have been with them a number of months i then asked if i could cancel the contract and they said i have had the contract for over a month so that would not be possible unless i paid off the 11 months line rental plus some fee

I dont actually know why i took out another contract (possibly due to the fact that i wasnt going to pay the orange bill) but in the end i did.

I'm an impulse buyer and regret things when its to late to do anything about it.

I am currently on IS and i recieve child Benefit that is all im entitled to, i get housing benefit and i have to pay the shortfall in the rent which is £65 a month, and council tax is £24 apparently with all the discounts im entitled to.

I don't really have anything to sell on ebay as i've not long moved into my own house so im still sorting that out. i will have a look about and see if i have any things that i dont use anymore.

I spend an average of £30 a month on nappies and babywipes
£100 month for groceries (for myself a 3yrd old and a 6 month old)
im not very good at cooking but i can make spaghetti bolognaise and other simple things
also £20 on toiletries and soap powder etc.

Thanks for all the replies.

Bestthingsinlifearefree

Hi Lynne,

Good to see you taking positive steps to get your finances under control.

Is the father of the children paying towards their up keep ?

lynne1985

He doesn't give me money for them as i didn't think he was allowed to due to the fact im on IS, he does buy them things they need clothes etc, he's in debt himself so the kids do tend to come last, after hes paid everything else.

lynzpower

You dont say what the interest rate is on your CC? Is there any way you can move this to a 0% so that your balance will actually be reducing?

I expect your nippers will be growing out of clothes at a rate of knots, so maybe you could sell some of their used clothes on ebay? They seem to get sold, particularly in bundles which limits your listing fees.

Do try to use towelling nappies, the OS board has loads of hints & tips on making own babywipes ( using baby lotion, some flannels and a tupperware for example) which, if you manage to use these successfully, will bring down your spend there by 30 a month, which can go towards another debt.

As a self-confessed impulse buyer, this is what you need to look at. There are quite a few of us on here.

Is there any chance you could get a job, and maybe get a family member to do a bit of childcare for you. Some other bods on here have small jobs (ie less than 16 hours a week) which may not affect your benefit income. I did post this elsewhere on site but if you have https://www.workdirections.co.uk anywhere near you, they have some great help at hand. Otherwise there are bound to be other ways of helping you find work if you are able to such as via your local Childrens Information Service ( through your council) or via the jobcentre. If you are committed to staying at home with your little uns, have you thought of becoming a child minder or doing babysitting for neighbours etc?

Bestthingsinlifearefree

Hi Lynne,

I don't know the implications of the father paying to support his children and whether this would result inyou losing some benefits.

But as a bloke all I can say is he should be doing everything and giving every penny he has to ensure his children have a decent start in life. That should be his only priority whether he is still with the mum or not.

Buying a few clothes here and there does not sound like he is meeting his responsibilties as a parent.

Its not just about financial support but its emotional support and all the rest of it.

I'm not having a go at you, just having a general rant at men who do not take responsibility for the kids they have brought into this world.

Anyway I would certainly ask the benefits office about whether he should be paying and if he did would this affect your benefit and how to go about getting him to cough up.

I wish you well.