Unhappy and depressed, dont know if i can do this, but have no choice

WASHER

well done for calling them, I bet you feel instantly better. Never mind about the Debt free date, its today that counts, not tomorrow or next week, we never know what is around the corner.

I know you mentioned you didn't have enough to treat the kids. Would you post an SOA here that the CCCS has set for you and we will look it over and see if we can make suggestions to reduce your outgoings further, the CCCS can be generious in some areas, cause they have allocated £, it doesn't mean it actually cost that to buy it.

icecube2009

WASHER wrote: »

As for your shopping bill, Loo rolls etc, Tesco value ones are actually very good for the price, I think they are £1.45 for 12. Tesco Value washing powder is fine too, a huge box is approx £1.64, you can buy a nice smelling wee box of whatever is on offer and mix it in together.

As for cleaning stuff, if you buy trigger kitchen cleaner etc, keep an empty bottle of the same type and when you purchase a new one, pour half into the empty bottle and top each up with water...two for the price of one.

Have a look at the Old Style board for tips on saving money, I have tried many of the tips and I've saved quite a lot of money by taking some of the advice of the lovely OS ladies.

Another tip I picked up, is when you cook a chilli or bolognese sauce etc, keep a portion back and freeze it in an old marg tub, if you do this over a couple of meals, you will have in effect one meal free.

I know it all takes time and effort, and I know you have lots on your mind at the moment with money etc, but honestly if you get on that OS board,you will never look back and you may find yourself with a wee bit of spare cash to treat the kids and yourself.

I do buy the cheapie loo roll but my son has eczema, so I havent changed washing powder for 11 years! would be too scared it may cause a flare up!! i do need to be more organised with regards to shopping, I worked till 6 last night then had first aid training till 9 (unpaid!) so DH said he would do the shopping (as we were very low and he got paid yesterday) I came home & he had bought dinner (BOGOF pizza's) and made a pasta sauce (he can cook when he wants to, but not very often) half for today & half to freeze) had bought bread too, but thats it, no loo roll (we were almost out) and nothing for the kids lunches, so I had to nip down ther local corner shop for milk, and a few bits this morning, so ended up spendong more than i needed to, if he had got his act together!

icecube2009

milliemonster wrote: »

Hi Icecube

I haven't been on a DMP myself but I just wanted to say please please talk to CCCS, can you also not ask for your CCCS payment date to change to a later date in the month so if you do get paid a few days late again you won't incur bank charges?

I have also changed the payment date to 10th of the month, i had asekd them before & was told they couldnt do it, someone not doing their job properly!

icecube2009

I have one more question, we currently have a small overdraft with lloyds (one of the 5 lloyds debts we have) and its the only one that they have accepted the DMP for, and stopped any additional interest or charges. The CCCS were sending them £10 a month, but I have been thinking about it & obviously that is going to go down now (probably by about £2-£3?) so would it be wise for me to send them the additional couple of pounds myself just to make it back up to the £10 rather than upset them & then start whacking more charges & interest on??

WASHER

Meal planning is the way forward...type a weeks menu up on your computer, print it off and stick it to your kitchen cupboard, and stick to it. Take a copy of it when you go to the supermarket, do not buy anything else but what is on your list.

Remember, you can freeze bread, whole and semi skimmed milk, so you don't end up spending lots at the corner shop.

Organisation is the key and it does take time and a little effort initially, but this will become second nature after a while.

My son too has Eczema, it is worse in the winter months than in summer, mix a little of the tesco value washing powder in with your normal stuff and see if he gets a reaction. I used to buy Fairy powder but it is so expensive, It was on offer last week at Tesco, so I stocked up, check out Asda.com or Tesco.com for offers before you shop, it works for me.

WASHER

icecube2009 wrote: »

I have one more question, we currently have a small overdraft with lloyds (one of the 5 lloyds debts we have) and its the only one that they have accepted the DMP for, and stopped any additional interest or charges. The CCCS were sending them £10 a month, but I have been thinking about it & obviously that is going to go down now (probably by about £2-£3?) so would it be wise for me to send them the additional couple of pounds myself just to make it back up to the £10 rather than upset them & then start whacking more charges & interest on??

I wouldn't send them further money yourself, they could start calling you and asking if you can repay more and more, let the CCCS deal with them, lloyds do not have the best reputation on this board.

icecube2009

WASHER wrote: »

My son too has Eczema, it is worse in the winter months than in summer, mix a little of the tesco value washing powder in with your normal stuff and see if he gets a reaction. I used to buy Fairy powder but it is so expensive, It was on offer last week at Tesco, so I stocked up, check out Asda.com or Tesco.com for offers before you shop, it works for me.

my sons is worse in winter too, i find johnsons baby cream (under£1 in tesco) works wonders, better than anything the doctor has given us!
I will try the soap powder, i have used DAZ since he was tiny strangely that wasnt a 'usual' powder it just happened to be on offer one week so I bought it & then when i tried to use something else his skin flared up, chances are it would be fine with something different now!
Thanks for your help. will give the meal planning a go too, would be much better to know what we are having now anyway with me working till 6 (have been stuck with all afternoon shifts & stuck with all the cleaning!)

milliemonster

I'm really glad you've called them and had your budget adjusted, I agree with Washer, don't give anymore to Lloyds than has been allocated by CCCS in your DMP as that could open up a whole can of worms I would guess (they may think you have been deliberately trying not to pay much), try to switch off from your creditors now and don't let it get to you. Concentrate now on your family and your life.

Mealplanning is a fab idea, we do this and honestly it saves you loads of money and time, esp if you're like me and leave it til the kids get home from school before trying to rustle up somethng for tea!

WASHER

I'll try the johnsons baby lotion on my son. I agree the Diprobase the Gp has given us is no longer effective, and trying to get an GP appointment is a nightmare here, I would have more chance of making an appointment with the Queen for afternoon tea!

If you work afternoons, and only home at 6, can I suggest a slow cooker, that means you can prepare something in the morning, leave it simmering in the SC during the afternoon and then you walk through the door after 6 to a lovely meal. You could also partially boil your spuds in the morning to save time on your return home from work, and reheat once home.

Mash potato can be cooked in the morning, pop into fridge and reheat in the evening, simply add a little more marg or milk to prevent burning when reheating.

newlywed

icecube2009 wrote: »

I have one more question, we currently have a small overdraft with lloyds (one of the 5 lloyds debts we have) and its the only one that they have accepted the DMP for, and stopped any additional interest or charges. The CCCS were sending them £10 a month, but I have been thinking about it & obviously that is going to go down now (probably by about £2-£3?) so would it be wise for me to send them the additional couple of pounds myself just to make it back up to the £10 rather than upset them & then start whacking more charges & interest on??

No. It wouldn't be treating all your creditors fairly would it? They each get a percentage of your £300, divided up fairly. Leave it at that.

CCCS would say don't do it. If other creditors found out (although unlikely), they would ask for an extra £3 each too.