About to go under

abouttogounder

Hi All

Like most people Ive been reading these messages for a while now and finally got the courage to post a SOA and try and get some help with my own problems. Scary reading to me but im sure your's are just as scary to you. Ive come come out of a marriage with these debts and so far all payments are up to date but I know I cant maintain them for any longer and feel I'm about to go under:

Income: 2378.00

Gym 22.00
BT 17.00
Broadband 14.99
Utility 35.00
Rent 475.00
Maintenance 350.00
Loan 1 75.00 - 4000 Remaining
CC 1 140.00 - 7000 Remaining
CC 2 160.00 - 8200 Remaining
Loan 2 130.00 - 4000 Remaining
CC 3 160.00 - 8000 Remaining
Loan 3 160.00 - 8000 Remaining
Sofa (HP) 80.00 - 1000 Remaining
Mobile Phone 40.00
TV Lic 10.00
Travel (100 Miles per day commute)
250.00
Car Insurance 45.00
Council Tax 65.00
Loan 4 12.00 - 300 Remaining
Loan 5 34.00 - 1000 Remaining
Overdraft 30.00 - 4000 Remaining
Food etc (me plus son part time)
160.00

So there you go. Not sure about APRs at the moment Total Debt is £45500! Total Outgoings is £2307. That should leave me about £70 per month but obviously theres always other stuff like car servicing etc and things you cant budget for. I never have any money left and dont have any money for going out/doing things with my son. I'm considering the DMP route and any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks in advance.

lynzpower

hi there

Welcome to DFW!

Few things to note here. You say theres things like car servicing you cant budget for, well you can, but when you are in this situation, its very diffficult. Some people put a set amount per month in. They add up what they would spend say on servicing & MOT a year, then divide by 12 then stick that in a seperate account every month, then they have the money when they need it. Such inevitable spends need to be brought into your budget.

Couple of things then
If you dump the gym you have a further 22 a month to give to your debtors, Personally, Id give it to loan 4, as this one has nearly run its course and can be closed fairly soon.

You could also go on PAYG with your phone, ask your network provider. Saving a further 25 a month, if not more.

Any chance you can move somewhere cheaper?

saying that the DMP route might be the best way for you, others will be along soon x

Molanole

Hi there,

I'm not very good at commenting on people's SOA's as I'm only just starting out myself, but wanted to say well done for posting. There will be some experts along pretty soon who will have some real solutions for you that might help you before you think about going down the DMP route, so hang in there.

Take some time to have a look at the Old Style board and have a look at some of the menu planners on there. You might find that with help from there you're £160.00 food bill could see some reductions.

Anyway, welcome to the gang :hello:

GreyPilgrim

Ditch the gym. Every single saving help. Have a look at http://www.shapefit.com - there's a load of exercise workouts routines on there which will suit you whether you've got equipment at home or not. It's a really good site. I might even start doing some of the exercises myself at some point.

Annie_Fanny

Hi there - well done on posting. I know it is pretty hard for you at the moment but it will get better - I promise! I would advise that you ring on of the FREE organisations below for advice on your debt. You do not have to sign up to anything if you don't want to. I suspect that speaking to them though will certainly give you some peace of mind.

Consumer Credit Counselling Service (aka CCCS)
Wade House
Merrion Centre
Leeds
LS2 8NG
Tel: 0800 138 1111
http://www.cccs.co.uk/

Payplan
Kempton House
Dysart Road
Grantham
Lincolnshire
NG31 7LE
Tel: 0800 917 7823
http://www.payplan.com/

Citizens Advice Bureau (aka CAB)
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Take care

Annie

nadnad

Firstly at this point you need to cut all luxuries - gym is a luxury, it costs nothing to take a run down the road. Thats £22 saved.
Secondly you need to cut your food bill - do meal plans that way no food is wasted, don't buy ready meals or convenience foods, they are too expensive.
Thirdly your mobile bill is a wee bit big - I assume this is a contract - do you use all the minutes etc - have you checked for anything cheaper?

Do you have a spare room? could you get a room mate - that is going to be a major help to you, cutting down on your rent and bills etc.

Can you post the APRs of the cards and loans and for the loans how many months you have left to run on them? If you post this then it would be easier to come up with a plan for paying them off.

This is going to be difficult for you but you are on a really good wage and therefore in a better position than a lot of people - just think forward a few years to when you have all this debt paid off and think of all that spare cash you'll have then!

KatrinaC_2

abouttogounder wrote:

Hi All

Income: 2378.00

Gym 22.00 Get rid of this, you don't need it. Go for a walk instead or take your son and play frisbee
BT 17.00
Broadband 14.99Have a look to see what the lowest priced broadband actually is
Utility 35.00
Rent 475.00Is there any way of reducing your rent? Whether this be moving to a cheaper place, sharing with someone else or taking in a lodger
Maintenance 350.00
Loan 1 75.00 - 4000 Remaining
CC 1 140.00 - 7000 Remaining
CC 2 160.00 - 8200 Remaining
Loan 2 130.00 - 4000 Remaining
CC 3 160.00 - 8000 Remaining
Loan 3 160.00 - 8000 Remaining
Sofa (HP) 80.00 - 1000 Remaining
Mobile Phone 40.00can you get onto a lower priced contract, or even PAYG?
TV Lic 10.00
Travel (100 Miles per day commute)
250.00Is this the absolute cheapest way to commute? It might be slower but what about public transport or car sharing?
Car Insurance 45.00Again, make sure this is the absolute lowest quote. We got ours through a small company which the search engines don't always pick up on
Council Tax 65.00
Loan 4 12.00 - 300 Remaining
Loan 5 34.00 - 1000 Remaining
Overdraft 30.00 - 4000 Remaining
Food etc (me plus son part time)
160.00 How part time is your son? It's hard to cut back when he is there, but have you thought about trying to cut back on the cost of food when he's not?

Given the number of credit cards and loans you have you should think about snowballing and shuffling - moving the debt around to get it into the lowest APRs possible and then overpaying the debts on the highest rates. Once you know what they are, try calling up the cc companies to see whether any of them will allow you to do long term, low interest balance transfers. I know it seems a bit like rearranging the deckchairs on a sinking ship, but it might buy you some breathing space.

Start a spending diary; write down every penny you spend and you will be able to see where that remaining £70 actually goes and what you can cut back on.

Also have a think about any items you have about the house which you could sell - CDs, DVDs, clothes, sporting goods, jewellery and the like tend to accumulate in cupboards and be ignored. Have a clear out and see what you can get for it on ebay or at the car boot sale. Immediately fling that money at your debt before you get tempted to spend it!

Think about finding ways to earn more money - possibly the only bonus of your son not living with you all of the time is that you are able to work overtime if needs be without worrying about the nursery/childminder. You could even get a second part time job if needed.

Finally, I know that you're worried about not being able to do things with your son that cost money, but most kids who only see their dad part time are FAR more interested in spending time with their dad than spending his money.

Kat

abouttogounder

Hi All and thanks very much for the support and advice so far. You guys are really making a difference.

I am working on the food bill and shopping around for cheaper phone contracts etc and Ive definaltley made progress. I'm really reluctant to give up the gym. I get a lot of use out of it for £22 pounds a month and I feel I need something to keep the stress at bay! I take the point about the good wage. Its just so frustrating to see that amount of money going in and straight out again! I should comfortable but instead im watching every penny.

I would really appreciate so info on going the payplan route. i.e how long is the process to start?, can you make over payments? can you pay it off if you win the lottery?!!!(not that I do it anyway!), do they leave you enough money to live on!?

Thanks