Drowning, not waving :-(

hellnearth

Ah well, here goes. I joined a few weeks ago and this forum is an absolute godsend. It's scary coming on and seeing just how many people are in debt crisis, but at the same time the advice and support offered is really heartening.
I'll be 50 this year and I could slap myself. I am a serial fritterer and sometimes it seems I will never learn my lesson. I worked abroad for over 20 years, latterly in the UAE and came back to the UK with a son, a dog and a bit of gratuity money. I should be minted really, but.........
I bought my house with a mortgage and took out a secured loan with a view to upgrading - I have about 24,000 remaining on the mortgage ( house was valued 3 years ago at 76,000, and about 15,000 on the secured loan.
The gratuity money was going to go towards paying off the loan, but there wasn't enough to do that and have money to live on til I sorted out employment in this country ( I used to teach TEFL. )
I started up a small retail business from home selling craft materials, and invested some of the gratuity money on that, but business is really slow. I live in the Outer Hebrides so there's not a great captive audience. Expanded to Internet selling, but that's slow too.
In April, I took on a part-time job which is an 8 hour retainer paying just above the minimum wage, and we are surviving on my wage from that and on tax credits.
Been working on my SOA which has really made me pull my head out of the sand ( sea? ) and face the fact that my outgoings are more than the money coming in. Jobs are very hard to come by here. Looked into remortgaging, but low income and self-employed.
The last year, I have basically been swimming against the tide and getting nowhere, and I am really tired. It's also no life for my 14 year old.
I'm at the stage now where I think for the sake of my health, mental and physical, and for my son's quality of life, we should sell up and rent.
Sorry to be so gloomy.
On the brighter side, following some of the very good advice and cases on here, I challenged the loan company re: the PPI on the policy ( being formerly an expat, and currently self-employed ) and they have agreed to take the amount and interest paid to date off the outstanding balance :T
It's a start...............

hypno06

How about joining in the "make £10 a day challenge"? Lots of the ideas there can be done no matter where you live as they are all based on the internet.......that would bring in a fair bit of extra money which would quite possibly make all the difference. On the first page of that challenge is a list of things to try.

Also head over to the "up you income" board and see if anything there grabs your fancy.

missymoo81

Hi and welcome, I can't offer any great advice just yet, but I will keep popping to offer my support and motivation.

Chin up and keep smiling

Missy x

EssexHebridean

Hi Hellnearth - well done on starting up a diary, it will really help you to keep your thoughts and plans in order.

I can certainly understand the problems relating to employment etc where you are - re selling up and renting - would you really make that much of a saving for it to be worthwhile? Also how easy would it be to find the sort of rented property you would want in the area you're currently in? Would it mean a move to somewhere like L'b'dale or Balivanich? One of those is OK but I don't think I'd want to be bringing up a 14 year old in the other!

Are you going to post up your SOA? If you do - just as a note to others who may comment - the options for reducing a grocery budget for someone living in the Western Isles are pretty limited - Supermarket wise within a sensible distance (by that I mean, not involving taking a ferry trip!) of where hellnearth is are several co-ops, and a couple of independants. There is nothing in the way of markets etc where many of us on the mainland woud shop to reduce our spend, and I can only think of one butchers too at a quick think...... On the flip side there aren't too many options for getting tempted by takeaways either, are there! (Actually, you asked over on my thread whether I wouldn't miss things like Tescos/shopping areas etc nearby - I still maintain that I don't think I would, but I WILL miss chinese takeaways! )

I think posting up your SOA would probably be a valid exercise if you feel up to it - as there may well be places where something can be chaved off even if by rethinking the way you do things. Also as mentioned above the make £10 a day challenge is definately an option for you - and what about things like the matched betting and bingo? As and when the holiday season comes along what about offering your services as a cleaner for holiday lets? It'd only really be one day a week, and would need to be a busy day, but if you could get enough takers in a smallish area it might be a viable way of boosting your income?

I've subscribed to this one because, for obvious reasons, I have an interest in seeing how you go on. I wish you lots of luck and look forward to following your progress.

cavework

Hi Hellnearth.. said I would keep up.
Just a HUGE (((HUG))) from me.
xxxx

hellnearth

Hello all and thanks for the moral support and some great ideas.
EH, I'd forgotten that you know the place so well!! :-)
Yes, I'd rather stay where I am now and I actually emailed the Hebridean Housing Partnership on Friday( they took over from the Council re: housing ) to see if they have any options. My son would be quite happy to go to Balivanich as most of his friends live there, but yea it's a bit of a lottery.
I reckon the saving would be worth it. I currently pay 250 per month for the mortgage ( bought at a good time! ) and 275 for the loan ( guess that might go down to around 240 now I got rid of the PPI ). Council (HHP) rents are around 60 per week. I've only got about 1100 coming in with the job and tax credits.
I'll post my SOA as soon as it's done. Hang on in there, y'all.

EssexHebridean

There is certainly a saving to be made by renting then isn't there - and presumably there is also a bit more security if you were renting via HHP rather than from a private landlord - that was what I always hated about renting - the "what if" every time it came to renewing the tenancy. It was always fine, the landlord was great and loved having us in there because he felt we were good tenants (in fact he put off selling the place until we were ready to move on!), but you always wondered......I'll cross my fingers that you hear back from them with something positive tomorrow.

savingholmes

Hi just wanted to wish you luck on your journey - and second hypnos suggestion on the Make £10 a day challenge - it could be a little lifesaver for you!

EssexHebridean

How's things? Did you hear anything back from the HHP? Fingers remain crossed for you down here.....

hellnearth

Aww, thanks for the thoughts and support. Yes, HHP got back to me and advised that I need to seek professional financial advice from someone like CAB before applying for the scheme.
And then there was a bit of a development. I decided to check my credit report thro Experian and there was a link to a mortgage company on there, so I decided to try out their calculator, as you do.
I'd made enquiries with two of the banks I have accounts with about remortgaging, but they wouldn't consider me. Anyway, this company phoned me and said that, because there is a fair bit of equity in the house, there are some companies who would consider me and they have got me a deal with Abbey to consolidate the remaining mortgage and the loan :T The payment will be HALF what I'm paying out for the two at the moment..
That is if it all goes ahead - they seem pretty confident. It would so give me the breathing space I need at the moment. Keep your fingers, toes and everything else crossed for me.
Have also applied for a couple of full-time jobs that have come up here too.

macgirl

Hi hellnearth

Definitely try the Up Your Income and £10 a Day.
These have certainly motivated me into making a few extra £'s this month - all from the comfort of my living room - so location should not be a problem for you.
Good Luck!