What a mess :(

Carrera74

rchddap1 wrote:

Is it just me or don't these incomings add up?

950 + 100 + 450 = 1500???

One other thing I'd add is this. If you are worried about losing your home then you need to talk to your partner about all of this. They are just that .... a partner....and if you can't both work together to solve a problem then what's the point?

And my partner has been fantastic, probably the reason why I finally admitted I have a problem. He's with me all the way and has offered to pay half of my debts but it's my debt, not his, but knowing that should I need more help from him it's there is reassuring but I got myself in this mess and I want to get myself out of it.

Carrera74

ozzyfan wrote:

Hi, have you forgotten your council tax?

Oh dear, I'm not very good at this am I

lynzpower

Carrera

Have you used the budget planner at the top of the page?

It will give you all the categories of things you need to pay for. If somethings annual ( eg mot) then divide by 12 to find out what your monthly need is

Toto

Carrera74 wrote:

Hi

I have been onto the CSA for the last 3 years for maintenance but still waiting.....

Regarding the CSA claim, is your ex self employed? I ask because I have been trying to get some money out of mine for 15 years!

First of all we had a court order in 1991 where he was ordered to pay £25 per week. He didn’t pay a penny. Then the CSA were born and they finally did an assessment in 1996. Over the years he simply ignored all of their letters and they couldn't do much about it because

a) I wasn't on income support and
b) he was self employed so they couldn't do an attachment of earnings.

Out of the blue in march this year (10 years after the assessment) I get a letter awarding me £103 per week, which is a default payment because he won't respond. Of course he has ignored this too and hasn't paid a penny. Now they are preparing their court documentation (which they say might take a bit of time LOL) But they can only backdate 6 years. Still it would be lovely to have 6 years of payments but I can’t see it will ever actually get to court based on their past performance (although I have to say they are all really nice people on the phone).

I have considered going to court myself but they told me not to because it would upset their proceedings. My son is 16 this November so time is running out.

I am not holding my breath here, been pushing them for 15 years and not had a single penny. I hope your ex is nothing like mine, but I am offering my story as a warning not to ever rely on one day the CSA will sort out payments if your ex is self employed. If I had done that I would be in a bigger mess now.

Wonder_Girl

Carrera74 wrote:

Oh dear, I'm not very good at this am I

You are doing great hun, you have taken a major step to solving your problems, everybody forgets something first time round

ozzyfan_2

Carrera74 wrote:

Oh dear, I'm not very good at this am I

Hey, no worries Carrera

I have to agree with everyone whos said to ring the CCCS or Payplan for free advice before you do anything.

Good luck & well done for posting

all_hours

Hi Carrera,

Sorry to add another outgoing but do you pay internet and mobile bills?

little_miss_thrifty

Hi,
Can you get a remortgage to get payments down? Our mortgage is £69K and we pay £290 per month - could save a bit there?
Good Luck x
LMT

wotnext

Carrera74, good on you for finally facing up to the debts. I know it probably seems bleak at the moment, but people here have such brilliant advice that by tomorrow morning you will feel much better about things. I only started posting yesterday and have a whole heap of debts to sort out, but I feel better just knowing that there are people behind me to will me on and help me out.

Best of luck. It's a challenge that you will overcome. Sending a big hug. Hope you feel better by tomorrow.

tawnyowls

Carrera74 wrote:

Thank you. I guess because I am used to getting more debt to clear debt that was the only way out that I could see. I'm going to try to see if I am entitled to any credits and also give them a ring.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there, and to get you out of this you
need to do a fundamental shift of thinking so that you see more debt as making things worse, and look at other ways of getting out of it.

I echo everyone else - DON'T secure your borrowings on your house. All those awful ads (Ms Vorderman, take note!) make it seem so easy but in reality it's just putting off the day of reckoning, which will be so much worse when it finally comes.

You need to check the interest rate on your TSB card, as that's quite a big chunk, and what's the interest on the Sainsbury's loan?

A Doelani says, there are a few things missing off there as well.

House insurance is pretty high - that's £420 a year. I'm insured with MoreThan for 75K of cover for about £250. Definitely need to shop round.

As you've got children, probably can't do without life insurance, but should get it cheaper. If it's with your bank/mortgage company, you're probably paying over the odds.

Could probably take phone down too if you register with 18185 or one of those firms - Martin's article will help you.

Food bill is high, and yes, I know it includes other things, but other people on here spend less including those - i.e. includes all groceries.