nowhere to run

moneyspender_3

After weeks of being inspired by those of you out there who have faced your debts I've finally plucked up the courage to tackle mine head on.

Events have come to a head for me as I was diagnosed with cancer last month and am now having to have time off work for treatment (approx six months). Don't want to play the sympathy vote just outling circumstances as i can fight the disease it's my debt I can't tackle! :A
I have been in my current job for six months so only qualify for one months full pay and two months half pay including ssp. I have no protection on any of my loans or credit cards as I was made redundant from my previous job last year and had loads of hassle trying to get them to pay out so when I got my current job I cancelled all my cover! :embarasse

My OH has no idea of my personal debt and I have kept quiet all the time that we have been together. However I now have nowhere to run as I face the possibility of being on reduced pay with all my debts still to pay. :eek:

Reading previous threads I know I have to calculate my current debt so here goes........... It's a bit sketchy at the mo but I'll fill in what I have calculated so far.

Total Bills Per Month 638.14
Total Wage 749.81

egg loan 5902.56 apr 6.7% minimum payment £215.10
egg credit card 6637.24 apr? minimum payment £142.77
mint credit card 7000.00 apr?minimum payment £153.00
student loan (deferrd due to low wage)
overdraft 1700.00 apr? interest charge £19.30
rent to oh £100.00
online dvd rental £7.97

I was able to borrow based on my previous wage of £22K but in my new job my wage is £13,500.00 (job satisfaction but low paid)

How can I calculate my debt free day? - can't see a way out at the moment
How can I reduce my debt when my credit limit has reduced based on my wage?
Should I tell my loan/credit card companies that my wage will be reducing due to sick pay - how helpful will they be? (Family have agreed to help out somewhat during treatment time if needed but don't want to admit debt amounts owed)

feeling overwhelmed right now

K9cuddles

Hi... I'm not good at giving advice as I'm kinda in the same boat.. but the snowball calc is here.. that will give you a debt free date.

moozie_2

Hello there

I am so sorry to hear about your circumstances :grouphug: I think the best thing you can do is contact CCCS or Payplan or CAB. You will need help and support over the next few months and any of the above mentioned charities, will be a 'shoulder to lean on' in your effort to manage your debt.

Keep posting here of course, great support network and some very knowledgeable peeps!

Best of luck!

oops_a_daisy

awwww you have done the right thing coming on here - Im sorry to hear about your circumstances too and you need to sort something out so that you dont have to worry about debts and concentrate on the months ahead. Well done for putting your information on here - Im sure other more experienced DFWannabes will be on soon with advice.
Your SOA doesnt seem to include any living costs ie. food, travel, living expenses ?
Is there anyway that you can speak to your OH about it - even if it is to tell him the situation and let him know that you are dealing with. I have seen a few people on here that have been frightened to tell the OH but have felt so much better after they have.

good luck for the future :grouphug:

CLAPTON

sorry to hear about your circumstance.

can i ask some questions to clarify the financial situation
your income is £13,500 gross and £748 take home but after a month it will fall to £374 approx for two months and then just SSS afterward?

your expenses are
bills plus rent to OH =738
debt repayment =540 on debts of about £21,000
total outgoings = 1,278

so even on your full pay your costs are £500 more than your income?
if you provide a full breakdown of your 'bills' I'm sure people here will suggest way of reducing these outgoings

but even with out your current medical problem this is not a situation you can deal with by yourself...you are going to need the support of the people about you...i would say you really must find a way of telling your other half and family.

you should contact the CAB or CCCS/payplan to discuss ways of managing the debt repayments as you're not in any position to repay even the mimimun payments for quite a long period.

japanesegirl

Hi - I was in the same situation 7 years ago - firstly I have just found out that there is a fund that helps you out when you are facing time off for treatment, dont know what it is but would be worth trying to find out about it, if you dont ask you dont get.

Secondly, I had absolutely fantastic help from MacMillan who paid for all my childcare - at the time my youngest son was 18 months. Then they organised with Social Services to provide, cleaning, shopping, ironing and literally anything else I needed - they were completely amazing and after all the bad press you get about social services they couldnt have been more help.

Thirdly contact CCCS, you only pay them what you can afford whether it is £300 a month or £3 per month. Going to someone like that will take the stress of having to organise and think about it yourself, when you need to thinking about your health, explain your situation in full and they will do all the contacting of your creditors and will also advise that in 6 months time you will be able to increase the amounts when back in full-time work.

I know its not going to be an easy 6 months but positive thinking helps enormously.

the very best of luck - :grouphug:

moneyspender_3

Wow thanks for all your advice guys - I cant believe what a relief it has been to finally face my debt. All your advice has given me the confidence to get it sorted and not just put my head in the sand (it's how I got here in the first place)

I've got my debt free date of february 2010 using the snowball calculator - cheers for that k9cuddles. At last there is light at the end of my debt tunnel!

I may not have explained my debts correctly in my original post. My bill total is the sum of all my minimum payments to loan/credit card companies + rent + dvd rental. The rest of my money is then what I have available to spend on food, going out etc.

I have called my credit card companies today and have a further update

egg loan £5902.56 6.7% apr £215.10 minimum payment
egg credit card £6637.24 15.9% apr £142.77 minimum payment
mint credit card £6830.71 13.9% apr £153.00 minimum payment
Student loan (deferred due to low wage)
Overdraft £1700.00 £19.30 interest payment

I didn't know what help cccs could offer so will definately be calling them soon. I've got this far with your support guys will let you know how it all goes!

lynzpower

Cancel your DVD rental and just go round doing all the free trials! You can get cahback as well for trying out things for free- I got a blockbuster free trial for er, free, and got £25 for doing it via Quidco.

Not bad at all x