I could do with some help.

automum · 23 June 2006 at 9:18AM

I have been stumbling along with debt for over 14 years now, various

circumstances and denial being the main reasons.

My soa is something like this

Wages 1400

Benefits 500

My outgoings are

Mortgage 585
tvlicence 12
council tax 112
life ins. me 16
life ins.oh 47
water 44
powergen(both) 70
bt 22
tesco internet 17.99
mobile 22
diesel 120
groceries 300
respite 15
school 18
haircuts 25
takeaway 5
dog groomer 7
diy 15
hsa 32
holiday 15
days out 8
baccy 6
motorcycle ins 7
dog/vets 12
pocket money ds2 20
xmas and birthdays 30

total 1582.99

Debt

Cahoot loan 203.80
60months 36 to go
balance £7300

Marbles cc 14.9% 168
balance £9100

Next 28%
balance £360 34

john lewis 15% 20
balance £410

m&s 18.9% 8.50
balance £215

Abbey cc1 22% 180
balance £4200

Abbey cc2 14% 16
balance £900

skycard 22% 110
balance £4500

mint 17% 165
balance £7500

asda 25% 10
balance £500

Abbey od £1600

Oh my goodness a grand total of £36,585.

My situation is I am married to a great guy who works shifts with

occasional o/t, we have two sons my eldest has severe learning difficulties

and autism this results in quite challenging behaviour and many breakages,

hence the diy line and high food bills, we also have a dog and 2 cats.

The diesel is quite high as I transport my eldest son to school some

distance away.

Obviously we are faced with a shortfall of some £300 a month, we will be

cancelling hsa shortly (I am just having some new crowns fitted) the school

costs are the outings everyday swimming and canoeing, also respite is

around every 6 weeks and includes transport and pocket money costs.

Thanks for looking

Automum

Sea78 · 23 June 2006 at 9:28AM

automum wrote:

I have been stumbling along with debt for over 14 years now, various

circumstances and denial being the main reasons.

My soa is something like this

Wages 1400

Benefits 500

My outgoings are

Mortgage 585
tvlicence 12
council tax 112
life ins. me 16
life ins.oh 47 This is very high - is there a reason for this? Have you shopped around for the best deal?
water 44 Again this is high - have you got a meter or is this just the rates?
powergen(both) 70 Best deal?
bt 22 This is high - what calls do you make? I've heard of primas 2 (i think!) which gives free calls evenings and weekends
tesco internet 17.99 Can get this for less..
mobile 22 Is this just one?
diesel 120 WOW! Can you cut this down at all?
groceries 300 Have a look on OS board for hints and tips on how to cut this right down...
respite 15
school 18
haircuts 25
takeaway 5
dog groomer 7 Is this really necessary? I know it might help, but again, this all adds up...
diy 15
hsa 32 So you're cancelling this right?
holiday 15
days out 8
baccy 6
motorcycle ins 7
dog/vets 12
pocket money ds2 20 What does this cover? Perhaps you could give him an extra £3 to do the dog!
xmas and birthdays 30 Good to have factored this in.

total 1582.99

Debt

Cahoot loan 203.80
60months 36 to go
balance £7300

Marbles cc 14.9% 168
balance £9100

Next 28%
balance £360 34

john lewis 15% 20
balance £410

m&s 18.9% 8.50
balance £215

Abbey cc1 22% 180
balance £4200

Abbey cc2 14% 16
balance £900

skycard 22% 110
balance £4500

mint 17% 165
balance £7500

asda 25% 10
balance £500

Abbey od £1600

Oh my goodness a grand total of £36,585.

My situation is I am married to a great guy who works shifts with

occasional o/t, we have two sons my eldest has severe learning difficulties

and autism this results in quite challenging behaviour and many breakages,

hence the diy line and high food bills, we also have a dog and 2 cats.

The diesel is quite high as I transport my eldest son to school some

distance away.

Obviously we are faced with a shortfall of some £300 a month, we will be

cancelling hsa shortly (I am just having some new crowns fitted) the school

costs are the outings everyday swimming and canoeing, also respite is

around every 6 weeks and includes transport and pocket money costs.

Thanks for looking

Automum

Welcome to the board! I've put some suggestions above, and no doubt many more will be along to help as well. You seem to have a lot of balances that have a very high %APR - can you get any 0% balance transfers or low life of balance cards?

If you look at my sig, you can see I have similar debts - it's hard to stop once you've got in the cycle of debt, isn't it? I know that this board really helps and if you put a bit of effort into it, you'll be really clearing those debts and not going into any more debt. At the very least we'll help to stop the £300 over every month!

Look forward to hearing more from you!

Sea xxx

moo842 · 23 June 2006 at 9:41AM

what benefits are you getting?
my eldest has mild autism and we get
£180 carers
£166 mid rate disability
£120 child benefit (2 kids)
£125 tax credits
which seems more than you are getting. have you informed tax credits if he gets disability and if he is over 5 you can claim mobility because they are so unpredictable when they are out and about (we don't need this ds is ok) the nas can probably help you claim this.

JAMIEDODGER · 23 June 2006 at 9:50AM

why are you paying money to the school and for respite? my son has severe autism and i dont pay anything to the school apart from maybe a few raffle tickets once in a while, i certainly dont pay for my respite! also, if your son is out of the area for school, council should be providing transport for him

missk_ensington · 23 June 2006 at 9:58AM

You should be getting the disability premium on your tax credits for your son getting middle rate. I get it, and it upps my weekly tax credits by £50 a week or something like that. Think they can backdate it if you've not realised you're entitled to it.

If I was you Id start by clearing entirely thse 20-odd perecnt store cards. Your Next card is 28%?!?! And you onyl have a balance of £360! On this you are paying approxinately £9 a month in interest for the sake of £360. I'd make things like this a priority, if you have 2-3 cards with a rate like this, with just £400 on it, you could be paying out nearly £30 a month just in interest, when it could be cleared fairly easily.

Have a couple of months with no treats and lots of saving, and get these paid off. You'll also feel better knowing you're one creditor less!

automum · 23 June 2006 at 10:10AM

Thanks for the replies, yes I probably should check the gas and electric

suppliers again, we are currently in credit so are probably overpaying, if

the increase in fuel prices does not catch up with us!

We would be paying more with a meter my son has a

bath every day and the w/m is on all the time.

The dog goes to the groomer every three months we trim her in between

till she gets too bad, obviously we try to stretch this out.

I am tied into a years contract on the broadband but will check when it is

up.

The mobile is another story, my son wanted a super duper new one last year

he was going to buy it with his money, somehow I left my commonsense

at home that day and got talked into having a contract phone, which we are

stuck with for another 5 months, the thing is he got scared of it being

nicked and having a big phone bill so I have inherited it, we are on the

lowest tarrif.

I give money to the respite centre, for pocket money and travelling costs

which is what they ask for, I have never questioned it as they are our

lifeline. Again with the school costs We have a long and troubled history

with our LEA, resulted in us choosing a school out of area, which is so

wonderful I do not begrudge sending in the money it is used mainly for

'life' experiences shopping and leisure centre activities he has spent 10

happy years their.

We have a motability car so have reduced benefits, also tax credits are

only about £44 a month due to overpayment.

We will work on those high interest rates first.

Many thanks for the replies

Automum

Littlemiss-lotsofdebt · 23 June 2006 at 5:01PM

I'm not sure where you get your respite care from, but have you tried your local Barnardo's project or NCH project if there are any in your area? Both of these offer respite services, obviously not all areas, but it might be an idea to check their websites for your nearest project.

https://www.barnardos.org.uk https://www.nch.org.uk

They can also provide advice on support groups, benefits you may be entitled to, and support for the family.

Hope this helps.