Up to my neck, need help please

confusious

Hi there

I'm kinda new to this forum (read alot, never posted)
I'm in serious debt at the moment and I am unsure about what steps to take to help my situation so any help or advice will be very gratefully accepted

Ok so here's how it is ;

Loan : 21k plus the interest almost 32k - 540 a month only taken out in May first payment was August
Credit card : 3500
Both debt in joint names
So far I have not missed a payment but have been using the little that we had saved to live on etc, that has all now gone and I dont know how we are to meet our outgoings.

OH brings in around 1300 per month
I bring in about 600-700 per month however I do not get paid 2 months of the year and have had to take some unpaid leave recently due to ill children (2 under 4)

We dont own our own home we are private tennants - 540 p/m
We have 2 cars but both are needed as we respectively work 20 and 40 miles away

Have contacted the CCCS who suggested an IVA but we are so scared of this , the other alternative is a DMP which sounds brilliant apart from the fact it will take 14.5 years to pay off under our current situation (which is unlikely to improve) I dont even know if the Halifax would agree to an IVA as the loan is so new (taken to consolidate old debt and have no idea how they accepted us in the first place but too late for that now)

Please if anyone can offer advice on the best way to go please do so

BeautyandtheBeast_3

Hi and welcome - you are best to complete an SOA and then peoplon here can try to help you xxxxx

trish2568

hi hope you get some helpful advice shortly.only thing i have to add is that possibly you would have been entitled to dependants leave(sick kiddies)i know some employers give paid time off for this.hope this helps x

confusious

Hi Beauty and the Beast will do that now
Hi Trish unfortunately my work doesnt give dependants leave

BeautyandtheBeast_3

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

:money:

Nargleblast

You could always start off with a debt management plan, see how it goes for a few months and then reassess your situation maybe early next year once the Christmas nonsense is out of the way. But certainly do the SOA first and see where costs can be cut, then take it from there.

confusious

Statement of Affairs as given to the CCCS

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details estimated as not paid 2 months in a year
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 584
Benefits................................ 172
Other income............................ 280
TOTAL .................................. 2156

Monthly Expense Details
Rent ................................... 540
Electric ............................... 100
Oil .................................... 50
Contents Ins ........................... 8
Telephone, mobile and net .............. 77
TV license ............................. 15
Sat .................................... 20
Repairs and maintenance ................ 10
Vehicles spares and serivces ........... 20
Road tax ............................... 20
Car ins ................................ 134
Fuel etc ............................... 260
Food etc ............................... 390
School meals and meals at work ......... 100
Pet food ............................... 21
School trips and activities ............ 10
Medical ................................ 4
Dentist etc ............................ 2
Hairdressing ........................... 24
Clothes and footwear ................... 50
Newspapers and mags .................... 20
Sports/hobbies/ent ..................... 25
Pocket money ........................... 20
Charity donations ...................... 7
Emergency .............................. 25

Total monthly expenses.................. 1952


Assets
Car(s).................................. 7000 + 800

Total Assets............................ 7800


Unsecured Debts
Halifax - 21k - - - 32k with interest added - 540
Credit card 3500 105
Total unsecured debts 645


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2156
Outgoings 1952
Available for debt repayments 204
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments 645
Amount short for making debt repayments. -441

poorandindenial

confusious wrote: »

Statement of Affairs as given to the CCCS

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details estimated as not paid 2 months in a year
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 584
Benefits................................ 172
Other income............................ 280
TOTAL .................................. 2156

Monthly Expense Details
Rent ................................... 540
Electric ............................... 100 - is this really every month? do you have arrears? this is HUGE
Oil .................................... 50 - I know that oil is expensive but with electricity you are payig £150 per month :eek:
Contents Ins ........................... 8
Telephone, mobile and net .............. 77 Very high, with Sat (assume sat TV) you are paying bearly £100 a month on this, didtch the pay TV, cut back the mobiles etc etc
TV license ............................. 15
Sat .................................... 20
Repairs and maintenance ................ 10
Vehicles spares and serivces ........... 20
Road tax ............................... 20
Car ins ................................ 134
Fuel etc ............................... 260
Food etc ............................... 390 (£450 on cars each month!!!!!! do you really need to run both? have you checked you are getting the best insurance deal? (if not check and switch via quidco for cashback)
School meals and meals at work ......... 100 can be cut back a LOT by taking food in
Pet food ............................... 21
School trips and activities ............ 10
Medical ................................ 4
Dentist etc ............................ 2
Hairdressing ........................... 24
Clothes and footwear ................... 50 you can cut this back which you are getting sorted
Newspapers and mags .................... 20 - can you cut back on this?
Sports/hobbies/ent ..................... 25
Pocket money ........................... 20
Charity donations ...................... 7
Emergency .............................. 25

Total monthly expenses.................. 1952


Assets
Car(s).................................. 7000 + 800

Total Assets............................ 7800


Unsecured Debts
Halifax - 21k - - - 32k with interest added - 540
Credit card 3500 105
Total unsecured debts 645


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2156
Outgoings 1952
Available for debt repayments 204
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments 645
Amount short for making debt repayments. -441

A few suggestions from me, you are paying way over the odds for several things, witha bit of shopping around and forward planning you can save quite a bit. There are also a few things missing, such as Groceries

Horace

Hi

I can understand kids having school meals but you and OH can take packed lunches to work rather than buying food at work. Cut out the charity donations too and maybe buy one newspaper a week (a Saturday or Sunday paper so that you have some magazines to read and some tv pages).

Your electricity is high - is this in arrears or is it estimated readings? Provide proper readings and turn things off when not in use (except for fridge and freezer) - don't leave things on standby.

What is the other income?

Clothes - can you cut down to bare essentials for a few months?

TV, Satellite, Broadband and Mobiles is a lot - cut this down or get rid of satellite and use freeview instead. I know that Virgin Media do a package that includes landline, broadband and tv for about £34 a month and that includes some free calls from Friday night to Monday morning.

Keep a spending diary too so you know where money is being frittered away.

theoretica

If you squeeze your spending until it squeaks you could break even and survive - but it would need to be a major effort all round. Can you find some way of earning more than ten months of the year? Registered childminder? Any hobby you could turn into self employment?

confusious wrote: »

Monthly Income Details estimated as not paid 2 months in a year- this is quite an issue for you, can you find something lucrative to do?
Monthly Expense Details
Rent ................................... 540
Electric ............................... 100 seems rather high, are you paying arrears?
Oil .................................... 50ditto
Contents Ins ........................... 8
Telephone, mobile and net .............. 77could be lower
TV license ............................. 15
Sat .................................... 20luxury
Repairs and maintenance ................ 10
Vehicles spares and serivces ........... 20
Road tax ............................... 20
Car ins ................................ 134seems rather high, have you shopped around or do you have a low no-claims?
Fuel etc ............................... 260
Food etc ............................... 390could be cut, with effort and the Oldstyle board could be halved
School meals and meals at work ......... 100could be cut with sandwiches etc?
Pet food ............................... 21
School trips and activities ............ 10
Medical ................................ 4
Dentist etc ............................ 2
Hairdressing ........................... 24could probably be reduced
Clothes and footwear ................... 50buy and sell on ebay?
Newspapers and mags .................... 20luxury- many are online
Sports/hobbies/ent ..................... 25luxury
Pocket money ........................... 20luxury
Charity donations ...................... 7luxury
Emergency .............................. 25

Total monthly expenses.................. 1952

Amount short for making debt repayments. -441

Ames

confusious wrote: »

Statement of Affairs as given to the CCCS

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details estimated as not paid 2 months in a year
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 584
Benefits................................ 172
Other income............................ 280
TOTAL .................................. 2156

Monthly Expense Details
Rent ................................... 540
Electric ............................... 100Ouch, this is really high. I'm sure you can reduce it - use energy saving bulbs, turn everything off at the switch, make sure you're with the cheapest supplier.
Oil .................................... 50
Contents Ins ........................... 8
Telephone, mobile and net .............. 77 Ouch! It'd be good if you could break this down so we know if you're paying far too much for one of them. When the mobiles are out of contract though you should go PAYG and see them as emergency use only.
TV license ............................. 15
Sat .................................... 20 This is a luxury.
Repairs and maintenance ................ 10 Your landlord should be paying this.
Vehicles spares and serivces ........... 20
Road tax ............................... 20
Car ins ................................ 134 That's horrific! Make sure you shop around at renewal time and try and get cash back.
Fuel etc ............................... 260 That's a lot, make sure you're driving efficiently and getting the best petrol prices. There's an article about it somewhere on here.
Food etc ............................... 390 That can be cut right down, check out the old style board for tips on meal planning and cooking from scratch.
School meals and meals at work ......... 100 If the kids are having a cheap filling meal at lunchtime then fine, if you're having to feed them again when they get home then it's a waste of money, you and OH can take sandwiches I'm sure.
Pet food ............................... 21
School trips and activities ............ 10
Medical ................................ 4
Dentist etc ............................ 2
Hairdressing ........................... 24 I get mine done at the local hairdressing college for £4, you could try that. And leave it a bit longer between cuts.
Clothes and footwear ................... 50 Surely not every month? Check out ebay, charity shops and freecycle to cut this down.
Newspapers and mags .................... 20 a luxury, they can be read online.
Sports/hobbies/ent ..................... 25 This seems a little low, are you sure this is realistic?
Pocket money ........................... 20
Charity donations ...................... 7 I'm sure they'd understand if you cut this. Keep a track of how much you 'owe' and treat it as a debt to pay off once the rest's been dealt with.
Emergency .............................. 25 This is your emergency!

Total monthly expenses.................. 1952


Assets
Car(s).................................. 7000 + 800

Total Assets............................ 7800


Unsecured Debts
Halifax - 21k - - - 32k with interest added - 540
Credit card 3500 105
Total unsecured debts 645


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2156
Outgoings 1952
Available for debt repayments 204
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments 645
Amount short for making debt repayments. -441

A few thoughts from me in pink above. I'm surprised CCCS have suggested an IVA, they're usually best for people with assets to protect, but they're the experts!