Seeking support/advice and good recipes

sams247

Its a long story........ I wont bore you, but basically a friend and I are both now divorced and out of abusive marriages. The circumstances of getting away, getting safe and endless court battles means that between us we are now £50,000 in debt (pauses to take deep breath). We have had to move several times, and I have had to have several operations that have kept me from working. But....... a candle of light at the end of the tunnel! We have spoken with CCCS, all our creditors except Egg have agreed to reduced payments (we're working on Egg), we have reduced all our bills except food (we are working on that, and any advice welcome) and I have a new job starting next month. The advice I am seeking from people is in a couple of parts. Smaller one first - we owe on our gas and electricity bills, about £200 to each, although we are now keeping up with monthly payments we cannot afford to pay off those debts yet. It would be cheaper to go to another supplier but we cannot go because of the debt. Seems a circle we cant break. And the biggie - we are now in a private rented house and we live in an area where housing is very expensive. We pay £1200 a month for a four bedroom house, basic house, in basic area, trust me when I say this is the lowest rent we could take on at the time. My friend has 2 daughters, I have a son and a daughter. I have looked at moving slightly further away from work and schools but a) I hate keep moving the children and b) we can no longer afford the deposits on new rented properties and agents dont seem to like our credit rating! I went to see a financial advisor who told me that it would actually be cheaper to buy a small house as it would lower our monthly payments, she said that some companies will take people on with debts like we have. So, this is the advice part, does anyone have experience with this? Would a mortgage company take us on? How can this be if we cant come up with a deposit? The advisor talked about 100% mortgage. The figures she gave would seem to save us a couple of hundred a month and we'd have a home to own......... but I am trying to be cautious. Any advice, support, and good veggie recipes apprciated! Seriously, I have already taken a lot of advice from this site and I do believe we will get there, but I always believe in utilising other people's life experiences. Thanks

mum2many

Not sure if this helps but i bought some cheap recipe ideas from

https://www.budgetmeals.co.uk

she does a veggie version and the meals we tried from the meat version are very nice.

think they cost about £3 and are emailed to you

Sea78

Hi,

It would help if you could fill out a SOA for either yourself, or if you are living with your friend and sharing all debt/expenses, then both of you. Then it'll be clearer where money is going and what choices you have re moving, getting a mortgage, if there is any free money to pay debts off more quickly, or put towards the fees etc of buying...

See the SOA info in the sticky for first timers at the top of the forum. here...
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280
Welcome!!

Sea xx

missk_ensington

Well if a discharged bankrupt can get a mortgage I don't see why someone who just has some debt can't! You will ahve to be in your job a certain amount of time before you can apply and it has to be a permanent job (unless you find a dodgy broker....!)

However I'm not sure about getting 100% mortgage, because you're going to be regarded a big risk to them. I'm a risk on my mortgage as I'm on a self-cert with no proof of income as such, but because they already ahve £10,000 of mine as a deposit that's their security.

Is your friend working? Approx what sort of salary would you have between you?

Some lenders take tax credits, CSA payments, DLA etc into account when offering a mortgage.

Sea78

And also with the mortgage - we used London & Contry (whole market advisors) who deal with quite a few people who have debt issues. We had a CCJ (Oh's) and also 36,000 debt and a lot of other outgoings, and he managed to get us a good deal. We did have a deposit in kind with a relocation package OH is getting, but I reckon it's still possible and I'd recommend them whole heartedly!

Sea xx

maxamos

For cutting down basic household costs and getting good recipes I'd recommend taking a trip over to the Old syle board. It's amazing what they can do with a bit of white vinegar and a few mouldy spuds

sams247

Thank you for the advice and chat so far. My friend and I share most of the bills and pool most of the money, but not all. She earns from several self employed jobs and one employed job. Her wages fluctuate from very good to basic. CCCS worked out we had about £25 over a month dispisable income, which we didn't get too ecited about I have to say! They did allow us quite a lot of rthings we aren't doing yet - like saving for the dentist, holidays, extra clothes etc. When my friend gets extra work we try and pay off some bills, but this seems to confuse the creditors who seem to prefer a steady small income. If we pay them extra they think we can do that each month. I am going to be starting part time, then building up to full time. At the moment every penny is spoken for, and we just dont cope well when the care breaks down (this month) or one of the children needs somethign extra for school (next month). We are keeping optimistic and trying to keep going. Cant believe we owe so much but better to face it I guess. Thank you with the mortgage advice, we will look at that. A deposit is out of the question for several years I'd say. My friend is 55 so she feels she is running out of mortgage life! Houses around here are about 200k for a small 3 bedroom.

beanielou

EEk Im glad I dont stay near you
Hi & welcome to MSE
Glad to hear that you are now safe & happy
Hugs
Lou

pattiemay

Hi and welcome, I'm new here myself so not much advice I can give, but glad to hear you are safe and you have come to the right place xx

sams247

Today Egg have agreed to accept reduced payments, so it was worth sending letter after letter after letter! (advice for anyone who needs it! Just keep trying, stay polite and dont be bullied). Thank you for your support.

beanielou

Great news sams247.Just shows just keep trying works wonders!