Massive debts to tackle

gargrave50

Hi all, I'm sure the last thing you all want is yet another diary! However, I lack focus to be brutally honest and I was fortunate enough to have my/our LBM around 2 weeks ago. In the meantime I have self-admin my own DMP, and written to all of our creditors offering reduced payments. I'm ashamed and embarrassed to have gotten ourselves into this mess, but here it is the brutal truth. The SOA I've compiled is with the reduced payments and not necessarily the minimum payments. My letter has asked them to freeze interest and charges however I haven't received confirmation from any of them. I intend to persevere as we can't really afford much more, and I'm trying all the time to stash a little to make F&F when we can manage to do so.

My OH is extremely hard working, and owns his own van which he uses to do "homers" with his trade for extra money. I am just about to qualify as a midwife (waiting on my registration due mid October in order to practice). Sadly there are no jobs in Glasgow / Scotland. All the work is in London and surrounding areas which gives us additional costs if I need to work away from home. We are in a quandry. I work part-time but given the economic climate there is no option of going full-time / overtime in the meantime.

We realise we have stupidly gotten into ALOT of debt over the years, and want to be rid of it finally. The wage used for my husband is the minimum he would receive any week. Any additional income is planned for debt repayments.

I do surveys etc for shopping vouchers to manage Christmas and birthdays, and have budgeted for this also as my lovely son has friends and family parties to go to. The surplus goes towards Christmas.

We try really hard. I am expecting my LAST bursary payment this month (31st), and haven't included this in the SOA because after this payment I get zilch! We are trying to work out whether I can afford to take work in London (I have an interview scheduled for 31st July), with the additional living costs, childcare costs for my OH to manage DS and travel to see my family when I can. What kind of existence would it be?

Sorry to rattle on, I've posted my SOA. We have tried cutting back our living costs. I've already bought my DS school uniform for next year in M&S using survey vouchers . In my entertainment budget I've included £15 for DS tae kwon do. Its his only hobby and paying by d/d means we get one class free per month:cool:. Our Council tax includes 25% student discount which we won't be entitled to after September 2009, and includes £25 arrears payment. Our mortgage has been changed to interest only last year at 1% above base rate variable to give us some breathing space until I secure a midwives salary. The plan is to return to repayment once secured employment.

My plans are:

Use OS board to get ideas for reducing grocery budget
Continue to Ebay / Amazon anything not pinned down (or that we don't need:rotfl:)
Cahoot loan due to finish Jan 2010 therefore reattribute this money to debt payments
Continue with survey sites for vouchers
Make further enquiries re: employment as a midwife, send speculative letters to maternity hospitals in Scotland.
Pee/shower in the early evening to save turning lights on :rotfl:
Aim for 10 NSD's for rest of July and join the challenge for next month
Start a spending diary to track down this missing money:j

I'm sure we have missed out some expenditure because we definately do not have literally anything to spare at the end of the month. We have a hardship claim in for bank charges (we had council tax arrears at the time but have now entered into a repayment plan - not holding out hope for this to be honoured). Other bank charge claims are on hold. Credit card charges have been claimed around 2 years ago and used to get rid of old CC's - MBNA and Morgan Stanley.

Any help is appreciated, and your support is much wanted as I have NO WILLPOWER! Hopefully keeping a diary will keep my motivation high and let me see I am getting somewhere! I am missing some APRs will get a hold of these over the next few days and update. Thanks to you all in advance.

Should mention that we have recently opened another bank account with a bank which we have no financial relationship, so that we can control what we pay our creditors.

Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........1
Number of cars owned.................... 1 (also own a van - paid off)

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 666.00 (spooky I know)
Partner’s monthly income after tax....... 1733.33
Other income............................ 122.08 (child benefit + tax credit)
Total monthly income.................... 2521.41

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 99 (interest only until we are out of this mess)
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 446.97
Council tax............................. 125.87
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 60
Water rates............................. inc in Council Tax in Scotland
Telephone (land line)................... 12.00
Mobile phone............................ 35 (2 mobiles - contract due to finish Nov will cancel for PAYG)
TV Licence.............................. 12.00
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21.00
Entertainment..............................100.00
Internet Services....................... 7.34
Groceries etc. ......................... 220
Clothing................................ 20 (uniform is already bought for this coming year)
Petrol/diesel........................... 80 (for both)
Road tax................................ 15.00
Car Insurance........................... 38.76 (for van and car)
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10.00
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0.00 (no pets)
Buildings/ Contents insurance..................... 17.90
Life assurance ......................... 9.29
Other insurance......................... 0.00
Childcare................................72.00 (2 days after school club each wk)
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40 (I do survey sites for vouchers to cover the rest)
Haircuts................................ 10
Critical Illness Insurance.............. 0.00
Dental Insurance........................ 27.00 (for both adults)
Mortgage Payment Plan................... 0.00
Total monthly expenses.................. 1472.13

Assets
House value (Gross)..................... 110,000
Savings (Endowments) ………… 0.00
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 1500 (van)
Total Assets............................ 117,500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 74000.... (99).....1.51% (int only at present)
Secured Debt................ 49,898.... (446)......7.4% (used prev. to consolidate:mad:
Total secured & HP debts...... 123,898

Unsecured Debts
Description......................... Debt.............Monthly...... APR
AA VISA................... ...... 1920.58........40.00.......... 24.9%
BOS VISA..........................4914.63...... 60.00.......... 22.53%
Cahoot................................886.07.........131.72.........12.7%
Alliance & Leicester............3898.09........164.31.........12.9%
Barclaycard.........................1820.89........50.00...........25.97%
BOS Overdraft.....................699.97........30.00...........7.9%
Next.....................................1210...........30.00...........29.9%
Shop Direct Littlewoods........2128.32......40.00...........? TBC
Shop Direct Choice...............3260.24......50.00...........?TBC

Total unsecured debts......20738.79......... 596.03

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income...................2521.41
Expenses (including HP & secured debts) 1472.13
Available for debt repayments........... 1049.28
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 596.03
Total.........................................................2068.16
Amount left after debt repayments....... 453.25 (this is a fallacy I must have missed something!)

To be fair by offering reduced payments to our creditors I have saved around £450 per month. This is the first month where we have made reduced payments so will need to see if I can increase some of these if this "surplus cash" turns out to be real.
Apologies for the lengthy thread - look forward to your feedback :rolleyes:

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 117,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -123,898 :eek:
Total Unsecured debt.................... -20738.79
Net Assets.............................. -27136.79

not_so_good

Well done for taking the first step. I have no advice (not wise to be giving advice in my shoes!) but you do have my support!

Intergalactic_Floozie

If the SOA says you have £450+ leftover but your bank account says you haven't, then it must be going somewhere! Try keeping a spending diary and see where the money goes.

Also, read through other people's threads, they are very motivational.

I'm exactly the same as you are, by the way, lack focus and get bored easily! Wait til my update tomorrow on my diary - am I going to get flamed!!!!!!

Regarding the dental plans, do you actually need much work done when you visit the dentist? Reason I ask is because my ex employer used to pay £10 per month into a savings account and it was originally planned for dental expenses. He never had to visit the dentist in 15 years (I don't know if he had to as I don't work for him any more) but he had all that money to one side still. He reckoned he didn't eat a lot of sugar and took decent enough care of his teeth that he didn't see the need for check ups. However obviously if you don't have an NHS dentist and do spend more than £324 at the dentist then it's not worth giving it up.

Mobile phone bill - don't necessarily say you will go on PAYG. See what your existing supplier can offer you. I was paying £29 per month, but when I rang to cancel they offered me (minus a new phone) a SIM only deal of unlimited texts and 100 cross network minutes + unlimited calls to other 3 mobiles for £9.74 per month.

Otherwise I can't really see any way of cutting down your outgoings, they're pretty much less than all of mine!

Good luck and stay focused.

Fire_Fox

A new diary is always exciting!

How much do you actually spend on presents, including the survey vouchers? Could you agree with family only to buy for children? Some lovely things to be got from pound shops, supermarkets and discount stores.

Also have you thought about looking for work in Leeds or Bradford? We have a huge Asian population so LOTS of babies, presumably plenty of work for midwives ... Bradford is also very cheap to live in and Leeds is on the main train line to Scotland! I work for the NHS myself. :A

KatieShopstoomuch

Well done for starting a diary i will be following! Unfortunately i haven't any great advice as i'm a DFW too! I see you've made plans for NSD and certain challenges, good look with them

gargrave50

Intergalactic_Floozie wrote: »

If the SOA says you have £450+ leftover but your bank account says you haven't, then it must be going somewhere! Try keeping a spending diary and see where the money goes.

Also, read through other people's threads, they are very motivational.

I'm exactly the same as you are, by the way, lack focus and get bored easily! Wait til my update tomorrow on my diary - am I going to get flamed!!!!!!

Regarding the dental plans, do you actually need much work done when you visit the dentist? Reason I ask is because my ex employer used to pay £10 per month into a savings account and it was originally planned for dental expenses. He never had to visit the dentist in 15 years (I don't know if he had to as I don't work for him any more) but he had all that money to one side still. He reckoned he didn't eat a lot of sugar and took decent enough care of his teeth that he didn't see the need for check ups. However obviously if you don't have an NHS dentist and do spend more than £324 at the dentist then it's not worth giving it up.

Mobile phone bill - don't necessarily say you will go on PAYG. See what your existing supplier can offer you. I was paying £29 per month, but when I rang to cancel they offered me (minus a new phone) a SIM only deal of unlimited texts and 100 cross network minutes + unlimited calls to other 3 mobiles for £9.74 per month.

Otherwise I can't really see any way of cutting down your outgoings, they're pretty much less than all of mine!

Good luck and stay focused.

Thanks Intergalactic floozie. I'll try giving our networks a call about a month before the contracts are up and see what I can "negotiate";).. In terms of the dentist, we don't have an NHS dentist and although we are both good with our teeth, my husband has been friends with our dentist for years and we have a deal. We both pay £13.50 a month on our plan we get our 2 check ups a year and 2 hygienist visits. In addition it includes any work we need done. This is because my husband did all the work in his new surgery and gave him a good deal (a really good deal!). David is actually doing some cosmetic work on my teeth (replacing old fillings for nice white ones) and isn't taking a penny extra. If we had to - we would cut it, but if we can keep it going in the meantime then its great to help us budget and not have to worry if anything needs done!

Thanks so much for reading, its always nice to get a fresh eye on your "spending"! Good luck, hopefully we can both work on our willpower!:rotfl::rotfl:

gargrave50

Fire_Fox wrote: »

A new diary is always exciting!

How much do you actually spend on presents, including the survey vouchers? Could you agree with family only to buy for children? Some lovely things to be got from pound shops, supermarkets and discount stores.

Also have you thought about looking for work in Leeds or Bradford? We have a huge Asian population so LOTS of babies, presumably plenty of work for midwives ... Bradford is also very cheap to live in and Leeds is on the main train line to Scotland! I work for the NHS myself. :A

Hi Fire Fox, I hadn't thought about that. The "joy" of London is that they are so desperate we can pretty much negotiate what we want in terms of hours/days. They are willing to let me do 3 shifts at the end of one week running into 3 shifts at the start of the next and then home for 10 days. I'll have a look on NHS jobs to check out if there is anything closer to home - worth a look thanks!!!

Almost had a NSD today! Had to shell out the princely sum of £1 for DS Summer Club. I did however find £1 in the car so maybe it could be classed as a NSD?

gargrave50

Thanks to not so good and Katieshops too much for your support also. Wow! I have readers - the pressure will surely be the end of me (I'd rather it was the end of my debts!)

KatieShopstoomuch

Yup pressue is in lol we'll be around nagging if you dissapear. Well done on only spending £1 i'd class it as a NSD if you found £1 in the car because that covers it really

gargrave50

Well I decided to transfer the £1 found in the car to my savings to start my F&F pot, so maybe I can't really claim a NSD today - will have a feel down the back of the sofa to see if I can redeem myself!!!!!

Sending a letter off today to AA VISA to claim back some old charges - it won't be a huge amount probably about £150 in total. They are mainly £12 charges, but I've read about some success with others persevering and managing to get the whole lot back. Worth a try! I've cut and pasted the bits I like from everyone's letters - may as well fight the good fight!!!

KatieShopstoomuch

I re-read my last post pressue is in?? What on earth......Obviously meant pressure is on! Just proves i've been writing these assignments too much now i have mushy brain. F&F pot sounds good! I've done the same capital one refused my claim as some are £12 charges but i'm pushing on and just recently sent my 2nd letter, no doubt they will reject it so i am getting all the FOS forms filled out now ready to send on.