I can be so stupid sometimes

wdamci

Hi folks

Im 24 and nearly debt free however ive made a couple of daft errors and just wanted some support and advice. (and basicly someone i can moan about my probs too. Dont like speaking to people about my money troubles. Especially when its through my own stupidity)

I was previously in tons of debt (£48000 and only 21yo. Not including house) but managed to more or less get myself sorted with a Scottish Protected Tust Deed. I have now about 2-3 months left of the payments to make. I went through CA so the company i use are very good. They give me a descent budget and allowances. I pay them £140 a month, I make about 1000 a month. I pay my friend £60 who the in turn pays the trust deed people this to cover the equity in my house. They took my brand new car away but allowed me to get a scrapper to get to work. Although I ended up asking them to take this car as well as it was easier to budget public transport.

Anyway the day i realised i was in so much debt was payday and the bank took all my wages. MyCCs were maxed and i couldnt use them (Talk about sticking your head in the sand:o ) I ended up down the CA with a 2 foot pile of unopened letters and broke down. Had to take time off work cos i had no money for petrol. Thankfully they managed to sort me out.

After living such an extravagent lifestyle i found it hard to cope. At christmas 2003 i got a provy loan for £200. I basicly couldnt face the fact my friends were going out etc and i had to miss out. Anyways now i have a legal notification for the sum of £118 from debt collectors threating to take me to court. The thing is i really dont want to give them money cos that £118 is purely interest. I know im going to end up having to but it p%**&* me off:mad: .

The other thing daft i have done is not payed my electricity for months. I have a scottish power card meter. Round about October last year i bought my monthly supply of cards. When i put them in my meter it didnt stamp them. Well i was kind of skint in september and wanted to go out so i just used the cards again and next thing you know its May and im stikll using the same cards. Im now getting worried cos they will eventually catch up with me. I do want to pay it but would rather some how wait until my trust deed ends then put what money i can into it. The meter reading guy has called this month but i was at work so luckily i missed him. Do you think I should phone them now and get it sorted or take a risk and wait. Its hard to free up cash and any i do free up i do admittedly spend on drink and fags.

Oh 1 more thing my morgage. A few months back i missed a payment so im now paying them an extra £40 a month. This is kind of putting a bit of pressure on me as well. especially with the Provy credit needing money as well and the ticking timebomb that is the electricity meter. Should only be 2-3 months until i was debt free but thes months are going to be the hardest and i dont know how im going to cope.

lynzpower

Sounds like stuff is really tough for you right now. So sending a hug

Could you do a statement of accounts, whats coming in and going out, and we can see how the land lies. It'll help get things in a bit of order in your head too

Lynx
x

wdamci

Thanks

Ill really need to work on the SOA cos i dont know where my money gos. I do an SOA for my trust deed people but its totally different from what i actually spend.

I still manage to go out every now and again which costs money but i save cos i get my dinner at my parents. Dont spend much in clothes. My travelling costs between 60 and 80 wheras my soa to the trust deed folk says i spend 140 (i think. need to look this out) But the saving for this covers my equity in my house. Its all a bit weird but ive managed for so long. Its just catching up with me now. Will work on getting an soa this week then post it.

I know i can save money by stopping drinking and smoking but i cant resist them. Wouldnt say i was an alcoholic but i like my drink a lot. Probably too much but compared to 3 years ago im not nearly as bad.
Guess im looking for a miracle!:A

Little_Miss_Winner

Hello,

I think this is whats called your lightbulb moment, you have been there, done it and got the t'shirt!
Well done down for getting your head out of the sand and realising there is a way out of this for you.:T

You are young at 24 with wages of a £1k a month, you will well win this!:p

Post your soa, your real one then list any debs that you owe, not the ones on your Trust Deed as you only have a couple of payments left.

But everything else you owe. The loan from Chistmas 2003, get your eleccy read, the mortgage money owed, every single penny you owe to anyone get it all listed, then post a list of your bills. There should be loads left, and you can cross your debtors off one by one as you pay them. Make it your mission to be debt free......its like an addiction....just think when you are debt free. EVERY single penny of your wages will be your own!........sounds good?:j :j

Well lets see your SOA, and we will all help you.

Hugs
pot

wdamci

Heres my SOA so far. I need to get actual figures for some debts so i will update once i have done so.

Incoming

15th Payday £1025

Outgoings

Mortgage £159
inc contents insurance

Council Tax £74

Pinnacle £6.67
this might be life insurance but unsure.

Friends PR DD £7.53
This is also some sort of insurance but don’t know

Electricity ~£50
I think. Havent payed for so long. 1Bed flat white meter

ANCHO £25
Factor for flat. Includes repairs, upgrades and building
insurance

Phone £30
Mobile. Used as house phone as well

Internet £37

JSN £140
My trust deed. 2-4 months left

JSN £60
Payed to my trust deed through a friend (House equity)

Food and toiletries etc £20-40
Havent really set aside a budget as i dont really shop. Theres only food in my house when im hungry. I eat at parents a lot.

Cigs £75
Roughly 10 a day or more. Hoping to stop very soon

Work Lunches £~48
£2.20 for my dinner and a can. I cant resist the canteen so im there every day.

Travel £70
£60 for travel to work roughly £10 for other bus fares etc. It costs me ~£9 every time my lift is off for a day.

Me £150
Drink Snacks and Taxis

Debt

Provy loan £118
Greenhills (ctax debt) ~£400 need to check this. will phone them and update
Elec ~£400 need to discuss with scot power still
cc £80 actually my dads card but i use it for internet purchases
mortgage £200

grex9101

wdamci, ignore the above poster. we all need our little luxuries to keep us sane. i wish you all the best mate, you'll get some good advice from the other guys shortly.

one thing i'm interested in is the Scottish Protected Tust Deed - what exactly is this/how does it work?

wdamci

I think its like bankruptcy except its not as formal. Theres no courts or anything. You declare yourself insolvent with an insolvency agent. Your not allowed credit over £200. You send away your statements to the agents every 6 months and basicly pay them what you can afford. They let you keep your living allowances. i.e travel food rent ctax etc. If you have equity in your home they take it but they will allow a 3rd party to pay it. I think theres something similar in england and wales. An IVA possibly.

As for being a scumbag etc. I didnt get into this position deliberately. I wouldnt recommend it to anyone. Ive lost 3 years of a comfortable life through this debt and lost a few good friend cos my personality changed for the worse. Now i see light at the end i still have a few things to clear up as i dont want to end up in the same position again. I want to get everything cleared up so i can start again.

beanielou

Hi
Your main priority is your mortgage arrears.
Ignore Provy meantime as they are not priority.
Dont miss a payment on council tax arrangement as there are actions they can take.
Best of scottish-hope it all works out ok for you

wdamci

Thanks guys

Ive made arrangement with my morgage at the minute. Im paying the £200 so its £40 extra a month at the minute.

The provy loan are threatening legal action so im going to phone them and see if i can make a small payment just now to keep them off my back until i get the rest sorted.

The council tax is for last years ctax. Ive already paid some of it. Greenhills are the agency collecting. Havent paid recently so i have to phone them as well and make some sort of arrangement. Im paying this years now by dd and intend on keeping on top of it this time.

Electricity bill - ive explained the issue here in my first post. Theyre not looking for money yet but i think i should get this sorted.

OberonSH

Just my tuppence worth - well done at getting your debt down so much, You now owe approx £1198, and that's very do-able, especially on your salary. I have a few idea for saving some pennies to get the last bits down.


Incoming

15th Payday £1025

Outgoings

Mortgage £159
inc contents insurance

Council Tax £74

Pinnacle £6.67
this might be life insurance but unsure.

I'd check what this is for, and see if you could freeze it or cancel it if you don't need it.

Friends PR DD £7.53
This is also some sort of insurance but don’t know

Again, check and see what it's for, and decide if you need it.

Electricity ~£50
I think. Havent payed for so long. 1Bed flat white meter

I'd bit the bullet and phone them. Explain your situation and see if they will accept XX a month (checking you can afford it of course!) The quicker it's sorted, the easier it will be to sort out, and will make you feel better for sorting it out.

ANCHO £25
Factor for flat. Includes repairs, upgrades and building
insurance

Phone £30
Mobile. Used as house phone as well

Internet £37

I'd look around for a cheaper deal - I've seen Broadband for as cheap as £12.99 a month unlimited.

JSN £140
My trust deed. 2-4 months left

JSN £60
Payed to my trust deed through a friend (House equity)

Food and toiletries etc £20-40
Havent really set aside a budget as i dont really shop. Theres only food in my house when im hungry. I eat at parents a lot.

Cigs £75
Roughly 10 a day or more. Hoping to stop very soon

Good on you for trying to quit, I'd write this figure in big letters, and stick it everywhere you can to motivate to stop literally burning money! Even if you manage to halve this it's still a saving

Work Lunches £~48
£2.20 for my dinner and a can. I cant resist the canteen so im there every day.

I can't tell you how much I've saved by doing my own lunches - it really is worth it, plus you know what's in it and when it was cooked. Even if you allow yourself a canteen lunch every other day it's a saving

Travel £70
£60 for travel to work roughly £10 for other bus fares etc. It costs me ~£9 every time my lift is off for a day.

Can you look into weekly bus tickets etc? I've just worked out I'm saving myself a whopping £670 a YEAR by walking 20 mins to the £5 weekly bus rider ticket boundary and getting one of those instead of spending £3.20 a day on buses. Plus it saves me going to the gym!

Me £150
Drink Snacks and Taxis

We all need our little luxuries, but is there anything you can cut back on? Why not keep a spending diary and see if you can work out where most of it goes? You'll be surprised. If this is going out, drinking etc, why not invite a few mates over for drinks, or videos? Works out a lot cheaper for everyone, and is just as much fun (with the right people!)

I work out by cutting back a bit here and there you could save approx £209.70 per month (freezing insurance, cheaper broadband, halving fags, going out money & lunch money, £10 saving on buses & halving electric).

alyth

Whilst not wanting to sound quite as harsh as doomed economy, I think you have been extremely lucky with your trust deed company - I finished my trust deed in December of last year and whilst my company were extremely accommodating, during year 2 I had to increase my payments from £200 to £300 because I had an increase in income. Whilst Provident are not the best company in the world, you should not have been able to take out a loan, even if it was for under £250, without the advice of your creditors - as an example I work in law, and if someone has a trust deed they are unable to have any legal advice without putting money up front. You are in serious trouble of returning to the ways you were in before you were able to get your trust deed, and I advise you very strongly to consider things. For example, I went to try and change my bank account today, and because of my trust deed I was unable to - I'm 15 years old than you, and my trust deed will haunt me for the rest of my life credit-wise! Please scrimp and save and pay off the Council Tax, as that has implications if they apply to your employers for an arrestment of wages, which they do very easily. Whilst I'm trying not to criticise you, I have been in EXACTLY the same situation as you and urge you to really think about things, if your trust deed finished in 2-4 months you still have to wait a while before you are finally discharged from it, Mine only came through at the end of April and at any time any of your creditors can ask for more money, it is not a given that your trust deed will be discharged automatically.

A trust deed is the same as an IVA in England, grex9101, the implications are the same, no guarantee until you finally get the piece of paper that discharges you, and then quite frankly it doesn't mean anything!

And as an aside, if you're spending £150 on drinks, snacks and taxis, how did you manage to hide that in your SOA to your trust deed company? Whilst I smoke, I was told that on no uncertain terms was that allowed on my SOA, it was a luxury! As a woman, I was also told that clothes were classed as luxuries and to shop at charity shops, which I do - interested to know about that!