20 years old 2 children and struggling with debt..Help!!

charlottechurch

Hi there im 20 years old with 2 small children and i have debt over £17000. i am not working at the moment as i have to look after my babies, but my partner dose work but on a low income. we are really struggling to even feed ourselves at the moment and keep up with the repayments on loans, credit cards ect the debt just keeps piling up. all of the debts are in my name and im wondering what there is i can do to help me clear this as i just cant cope any longer.

Thanks
Charlotte x

Hardup_Hester

Start a spending dairy so you can work out where your money goes, post your SOA & you will give advice on how you can cut down.
Hester

Nargleblast

You need to write down all your income and expenditure so you can see where the money goes - try the SOA (statement of Affairs) link on the home page.

Are you claiming all the benefits you are entitled to?

BeautyandtheBeast_3

hi and welcome!
have you managed to do SOA - the guys here are great at being able to slice things off etc.

i have to say this is becoming my fave site with all the good tips etc!

charlottechurch

Nargleblast wrote: »

You need to write down all your income and expenditure so you can see where the money goes - try the SOA (statement of Affairs) link on the home page.

Are you claiming all the benefits you are entitled to?

Yes we are.. i have written down where our money goes and it all goes on debt and bills mainly. and we have cut down the ammount we spend on food shopping ect but we still cant afford to even just live, i can afford new stuff for my children and that makes me feel like a failure as a pearent. it has become out of control.

Charlottex

tallyhoh

Hi Charlotte,

I think they mean write it down & post it on here so others can see it, they may be able to point out savings or things you may have missed.

Cheers:D

BeautyandtheBeast_3

what new stuff are you buying for your children - have you tried the swap sites or even charity shops?
even going for some value stuff on your food shop will help.

charlottechurch

BeautyandtheBeast wrote: »

what new stuff are you buying for your children - have you tried the swap sites or even charity shops?
even going for some value stuff on your food shop will help.

#

Im not buying anything for them at the moment, and have not done in a while, but as they both are still under 2 years old they are growing out of clothes fast. i cant even afford to spend £10 on them for clothes, not unless i miss loan payments ect. most of my food shop has become a value shop.. i only eat once a day so that my children can eat.. i know alot of people will see this as me making out its worse than it is.. but it really is this bad.

RAS

Hi

Start by filling in this form

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

and read www.entitledto.com to ensure that you are getting all the benfits that you should.

Join www.freecycle.org - like e-bay but free - for stuff for the kids, for you and for the house.

Tixy

Hi Charlotte

Just wanted to echo what others have said. Its best to write up a monthly financial statement of affairs using this link http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Then we can see where you may be able to make some savings. If after savings and cutting back you are still not able to afford your debt repayments then there are other options such as a debt management plan (DMP). In a DMP you agree a monthly amount you can afford to pay in total to all your unsecured creditors which you pay to one of the free debt advice organisations. They then liase with your creditors and arrange to split your payment between all the creditors. Sometime creditors will also freeze interest on your account. It should also stop your creditors phoning and hassling you. There are some negatives to a DMP (it effects your credit rating) but for many people there is no alternative.

You need to start prioritisng buying food for your family before paying unsecured debts.

Once we have seen your SOA we will be able to give you some proper advice for your situation, and make sure you are paying your debts in the right order.

To give you a rough guide this should be your priorities, first rent & council tax, then food, then Gas & elec, then water, then other 'normal' household expenditure, then unsecured debts and finally anything left over for luxuries.

In the meantime sign up to your local freecycle as you often find people giving away good quality babies/childrens clothes and baby equipment.

Also check to ensure you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to using the entitledto.co.uk website.

Hope this helps

RAS

This is the link for the debt charities that can help you. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help