Trying to get out of debt!!

StrugglingAway

New user to the site and trying to get out of debt which is seriously starting to affect the health of all of us here!

I have been in contact with the CCCS who have advised a self-help start to see how things go. We have prepared a budget & creditors list and have posted these out to all the creditors with the covering letter from the CCCS Self Help pack (to which only one creditors has responded to so far).

Please find below our list of debt and incoming budget plan:

Outgoings before filling in Self Help Pack

All cards are maxxed out & have now been cut up.

Barclays Bank Loan (£15k) - £265 pm
Barlcays Bank Loan (£10k) - £168 pm
Barclays Bank Loan (£2.5k) - £68 pm
EGG Visa card (£2k limit) - £50 pm
Cahoot Visa card (£2k limit) - £50 pm
Barclaycard Visa (£2k limit) - £50 pm
Barclaycard Mastercard (£600 limit) - £20 pm
Capital One Mastercard (Mine - £400 limit) - £15 pm
Capital One Mastercard (Wife - £1500 limit) - £40 pm
Kays Catalogue (Wife £1168 O/B) - £160 pm
Littlewoods Visa (Wife - £1000 limit) - £25 pm
HFC Bank (Laptop finance - £ 859.99 O/B) - £39 pm
Littlewoods Catalogue (Wife - £836.19 O/B) - £200 pm
Monument Visa (Wife £500 limit) - £20 pm
Abound Catalogue (Wife - £305.14 O/B) - £17 pm
Great Universal Catalogue (Wife - £291.95 O/B) - £40 pm

Proposed CCCS Calculated Self Help Plan Offers:

Barclays Bank Loan (£15k) - £78.42 pm
Barlcays Bank Loan (£10k) - £53.58 pm
Barclays Bank Loan (£2.5k) - £12.50 pm
EGG Visa card (£2k limit) - £16.72 pm
Cahoot Visa card (£2k limit) - £13.86 pm - Has been accepted on a 3 month trial basis to be looked at every 3 months by Cahoot. Charges have been frozen but not interest
Barclaycard Visa (£2k limit) - £13.66 pm
Barclaycard Mastercard (£600 limit) - £4.12 pm
Capital One Mastercard (Mine - £400 limit) - £2.95 pm
Capital One Mastercard (Wife - £1500 limit) - £8.59 pm
Kays Catalogue (Wife £1168 O/B) - £8.09 pm
Littlewoods Visa (Wife - £1000 limit) - £6.56 pm
HFC Bank (Laptop finance - £ 859.99 O/B) - £5.95 pm
Littlewoods Catalogue (Wife - £836.19 O/B) - £5.79 pm
Monument Visa (Wife £500 limit) - £3.26 pm
Abound Catalogue (Wife - £305.14 O/B) - £2.11 pm
Great Universal Catalogue (Wife - £291.95 O/B) - £2.04 pm

Cost of Living Budget

Rent - £320 pm
Water - £25 pm
Council tax - £95 pm
Gas - £20 pm
Electric - £28 pm
Contents Insurance - £12 pm
Telephone/Internet - £60 pm (in arrears so extra added on to clear)
TV/Satellite - £52 pm (4 kids that would drive us mad without SKY)
Car Insurance - £25 pm
Petrol - £60 pm
Food Shopping/Toiletries & Cleaning Items - £400 pm (one child in nappies still)
Cigarettes (both Wife & myself trying to give up!!) - £80 pm
Clothing/Footwear - £50 pm
Sports/Hobbies/Entertainment - £50 pm

Total monthly income (I have been out of work since beginning of May due to ill health & wife looking after the kids & doesn't work) - £1522.20 (including Housing Benefit, Council tax Benefit, Child Tax Credits & Child Benefit)
COL Budget Outgoings - £1284.00 pm
Left over after COL Budget - £238.20 pm
Total Monthly Outgoings before CCCS Self Help Budget (including Rent & Council Tax) - £2479.00 pm (I was in a very well paid job in the IT industry before becoming ill)
Total Shortfall Deficit - £1195 pm

We have cut back on non-essentials as much as we possibly can (illness is not smoking related but problem with nerves and muscles that I am awaiting surgery on). I could live without the TV, but the Wife & kids couldn't (more the kids over anything & the channels they watch are not on Freeview else I would change instantly).

Anyone got any other money saving ideas or advice (barring giving up smoking as we are trying and the stress levels from the kids & the debts are not helping at all!!!!)?

Kevicho

With regards the TV staellite, cant you cut the channels or buy yourself some halfprice months by threatening to cancel your subscription?

Also try to wean your kids off tv, it is such a waste of time! Then you can cancel, try more hobbies, nights as a family

Also the sports/hobbies bit, harsh as it sounds but maybe cutting back on say 10 pouns a month will save you 120 a year

StrugglingAway

Sports & Hobbies would cause even more stress & has already been cut back on a lot already (carp fishing) to the bear minimum. It is the only thing that reduces the stress levels for me presently (lucky if I can get out twice a month at present due to needing to have someone with me because of the nerve & muscle problem).

Kids only watch the TV about 2 hours a day between them, it is just the channels that they watch are part of a premium pack on SKY, which if the basic channels and that package which includes their channels, would save literally nothing per month (and we wouldn't be able to drop any channels until October/November due to contractual issues with SKY+ & Multiroom taken out last year).

Thanks for the suggestions though.

Glitterari

I've not tried this myself but I know that other people have contacted Sky even before their contract is up and advised Sky that they're having financial probs. I understand that Sky are quite helpful with these requests and might allow a few months reduced as they don't want to lose customers. Once the few months reduced is up you could contact them again and say you're still having probs, or it might be time that you could cancel by then.

How old are the kids BTW? Are they old enough to tell them that money probs means Sky is a luxury you can't afford?

sashacat

Why not get rid of the car...as neither you nor your wife need it for work? Also you may well have to accept that whether the kids like it or not you can't afford sky or monthly outgoings on hobbies. The kids may well drive you mad but I could never afford sky and my kids managed very well. Could your wife not take them to the park, for walks, or to play football as mine did. We didn't have a tv at all for many years because we couldn't afford it. What about buying clothes in Charity shops as many people on this board do, and have a look at old style money saving...try the grocery challenge, and have a look at the family recipes that some moneysavers kindly post. Good luck.

CLAPTON

at the moment your income is exactly balanced by your proposed debt repayments and this spending budget.
i'm not sure if your incapacity is tempory and you expect to return to a high paying job or you see this situation continuing.
if this is likely to be a long term situtation, then you need to consider that you have little slack in the budget .... so how will be pay for car tax, MOT, any repairs...what to do if e.g. the washing m/c breaks down, dont the kids ever need things for school;....unless you already have some savings your first priority is to make sure you start saving for these inevitable costs, otherwise you will always be in crisis mode. only then will you be able to decide whether (e.g) a new / repaired maching machine is more important than sky.
presumably while you're off work, your wife could perhaps get a parttime job to add some more income