Finally, my lightbulb moment has arrived........

moosetastic

postingalwaysposting wrote:

:hello: :wave: hello tina :wave: :hello: i missed when this was first posted, rl got in the way lol, please phone cccs, they are great people and have helped lots of people on here start the road to debtfreeness, you will get there hun

Thank you, its so great to see how nice people are here x

kathfisch

I'm another who didn't see this when you originally posted, just wanted to say hello and welcome

You'll feel so much better when you've spoken to cccs, there are loads of people on here who'll tell you that! I think they usually make an appointment for you which could be a week or so later (depending on how busy they are) so the sooner you call the better :T

You say you've joined pigsback, have you had a look at quidco too? The best of the cashback sites, in my opinion.

How is your OH now? Are things progressing on the work side of things at all? Something that I don't think anyone mentioned was mystery shopping. Would your hubby feel able to do the occasional mystery shop and fill in the survey online afterwards? You can usually get about £10 plus expenses for these and it normally takes me less than 10 mins!! I'm with grassroots (a quick google will find them) but other people can give you the name of more agencies. Its totally optional whether you take each shop offer or not, you don't have to make any commitment.

Good luck with cccs!

Kath x

moosetastic

Hi Kath, thanks very much, and yes, i am still plucking up the courage to ring them, but hoping that I will soon.

My OH is a little bit better. He had a first appointment with the Job Centre Disability Advisor last week, hes going to take part in whats known as a Job Preperation, 30 days or so with an employer to get used to working again, and to put recent experience on his CV. He's been to see the placing company today, who are hoping to put him with an employer by the end of the week so fingers crossed!! He wont get paid, apart from travel expenses, but he doesnt lose his benefit so thats good. Hes really looking forward to it :j

I shall pass on about the mystery shopper thing, sounds like a good idea xx thank you

kathfisch

moosetastic wrote:

Hi Kath, thanks very much, and yes, i am still plucking up the courage to ring them, but hoping that I will soon.

My OH is a little bit better. He had a first appointment with the Job Centre Disability Advisor last week, hes going to take part in whats known as a Job Preperation, 30 days or so with an employer to get used to working again, and to put recent experience on his CV. He's been to see the placing company today, who are hoping to put him with an employer by the end of the week so fingers crossed!! He wont get paid, apart from travel expenses, but he doesnt lose his benefit so thats good. Hes really looking forward to it :j

I shall pass on about the mystery shopper thing, sounds like a good idea xx thank you

Glad to hear things are moving forward for your OH, sounds like a very positive step for him to get some recent experience, as you say.

As for cccs:

Go Tina, you can do it!
Go Tina, just call them!
Go Tina, you can do it!
Go Tina, just call them!

Snich once called us a virtual cheerleading team :T and I found this pic:



Aren't we sweet?!

moosetastic

heh very sweet!

i have one question about the cccs. Dave and me have got the chance to buy into a shared ownership house, 50% would be ours, for less than we pay on our rent at the moment. Would doing something like going through cccs scupper these kind of chances, to get a mortgage I mean?

kathfisch

moosetastic wrote:

heh very sweet!

i have one question about the cccs. Dave and me have got the chance to buy into a shared ownership house, 50% would be ours, for less than we pay on our rent at the moment. Would doing something like going through cccs scupper these kind of chances, to get a mortgage I mean?

Ooh, I'm not sure. I mean, entering a dmp would normally mean you couldn't keep up minimum payments any more, in which case defaults would normally be registered by the companies involved anyway. Have you already defaulted or been late on any, or think you will be in the near future? If so then you would struggle to get a mortgage anyway (or a competitive one).

I'm not speaking from experience here though so hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along to advise

moosetastic

I did a credit rating thingy yesterday with Experian, and my credit score was listed as GOOD!!!!! which I cant believe. I havent defaulted on any, was late on a couple but have now got a regular payment plan in place with them which ive never missed. I know that I dont have a lot of money left over at the end of the month, butI am meeting all my payments at the moment

kathfisch

moosetastic wrote:

I did a credit rating thingy yesterday with Experian, and my credit score was listed as GOOD!!!!! (960 out of 1000) which I cant believe. I havent defaulted on any, was late on a couple but have now got a regular payment plan in place with them which ive never missed. I now that I dont have a lot of money left over at the end of the month, butI am meeting all my payments at the moment

That's a really good situation to be in :T

We've been cheering you on to phone cccs but perhaps you don't need them

If you can meet your minimums then you've got a good starting point - you can try and make/save as much as possible and increase the payments to be rid of the debt even quicker

Not all agencies hold all info on you though, might be worth getting your report from the others too, someone will give you the names.

If your reports look good, though, then a mortgage might be possible. If it really will save you money each month then it's worth looking at. Thing is, will there be costs associated with it (start up costs, moving etc) that your budget just can't take? It sounds great but you don't want it to push you over the edge.

moosetastic

thanks kathfisch, yeh there is start up costs, something we really cant budget for, but the fact that it would be partly our house is spurring us on even more. I have only just applied, and there were only 3 houses left, so not holding my breath, but at least we'll be on the waiting list for when the next 40 houses are released next year, which may be better anyway.

thanks Henry, i have mentioned to him about retraining, he isnt into it though, he needs safe and security and something familiar around him, which is understandable. his confidence is also rock bottom after being out of work for over a year, but i will pass on your kind words to him. Thanks very much xx

kathfisch

moosetastic wrote:

thanks kathfisch, yeh there is start up costs, something we really cant budget for, but the fact that it would be partly our house is spurring us on even more. I have only just applied, and there were only 3 houses left, so not holding my breath, but at least we'll be on the waiting list for when the next 40 houses are released next year, which may be better anyway.

thanks Henry, i have mentioned to him about retraining, he isnt into it though, he needs safe and security and something familiar around him, which is understandable. his confidence is also rock bottom after being out of work for over a year, but i will pass on your kind words to him. Thanks very much xx

Perhaps not getting one now but being on a waiting list will be good thing, might give you a bit more time to figure out how you can manage the costs and perhaps put a bit aside (even though you don't have much spare, I know!!!). Perhaps by then your OH will be working and that will help you to afford the costs of doing it