My situation-Advice wanted

Skint_Entrepreneur

Hi, I have read this forum recently. I faced up to my growing debt two months a go. The story goes back 10 years. In 1995 after 2-years marriage my wife had our first child. Our daughter had some bad leaning and motivational skills problems and with no family to support us within 100 miles my wife gave up work. We lost £900 pcm. I was on just over a thousand per month take home. In 1997 we moved house as our first house had no garden at all and we wanted another child, her age was starting to go against her too. in 1998 we had our second daughter. In this time I was on shiftwork earning around £1400 take home. I was also sinking into more debt. I took on part-time work and set up a part-time business and did actually make £20K gross profit on top of my salary which was of course declared. In 2001 I was badly injured in a fire at home but survived. It sent me off the rails a bit but I pulled it together and got back to work. In 2002 my dad died and we decided in 2004 to move home as I had to move nearer my elderly mum, if we didn't move we would not have been able to for another decade because it would affect my daughters' education and we needed a larger house. The new house was £10K more than the one I sold but in a poorer area, East Kent as opposed to Surrey. In 2005 I was promoted but had to take a wage cut as I was now off shift. I lost £10,000 p.a. but looked at the long term benefit. I am now applying for a new post at my new grade on shift which will claw back £10K p.a. on my now higher basic. Without tempting fate I am more than qualified for it and there are plenty of posts available so fingers crossed for me eh? I will also save £2000 p.a. travel as it is local to where I live. I pay £3000 p.a. train fare.
I took advice of the CCCS. I spoke to LloydsTSB (my bank) credit card people and they were very helpful. Thank you LloydsTSB. I have been with LloydsTSB for 20 years, maybe that helped? Alliance & Leicester were quite unhelpful and said because I had used my card to withdraw money a month before they were unable to help. I had a bill to pay and didn't know what to do. They told me to pay what was owed. They said if I had not done this they might have been able to assist. The guy I spoke to was aggresive, spoke over me raising his voice and called me 'immoral.' I wondered whether vulnerable people might have taken a rope to themselves after that 20 minute episode. I don't wholly blame A&L though feel they have been like a kid who has had his toy taken off him, I do think their customer receptionist needs a talking to by his line manager though. That said to date they will not help me so I am paying them £5 pcm until I can get payments back to where they should be i.e. £105 pcm. I have written twice to Marbles too and they haven't even responded! Lloyds, A&L and Marbles are getting £5 pcm until I work out how to pay them in full each month. This is all I can afford. I owe inclusive of overdrafts on two accounts £30,000. CCCS told me to get my salary paid into a new bank account but I have been with Lloyds for 20 years and I think they appreciate this and I prefer not to do that to them. I am still running my part-time business but have no real funds to invest in it so am getting a residual income. What happens now? A&L will not accept me on a payment plan, they are helping me go further into debt, I am paying something (not much) to my creditors. Lloyds I owe £14K, A&L 5K, Marbles £3K the rest is a couple of thousand on my wife's Barclaycard and Overdraft. All credit cards have been destroyed and sent back to the companies. I managed at least to pay off a car loan as we need a car at the moment. I need to clear these debts, I want to get my p/t business motivated as I know it will pay well and is a real niche and I want to eventually offer employment to others. I hopefully will secure an extra £10K p.a. (gross) with this new job. I am even thinking about joining the reserve forces (I am still eligible) to learn something that will help my business and provide more income. (My wife said to me as long as she gets a war pension to go for it....thanks wifey).
I have a big mortgage (£900 pcm), £5K in shares in an American company currently worth not a lot and I have spent £10K in the last year out of savings to pay household bills and some other debt (car loan). Fortunately my wife secured a job 4 months a go, abeit part-time which brings in £550 pcm. I need to earn another £800 net pcm part of which will be sorted with this new position if it comes to me and the rest will be satisfied if my wife goes full-time, but my daughters are still young (8 & 11).

inmypocketnottheirs

Hi and well done for having your light bulb moment. So that some of the fine folks round here can give you the benefit of their very considerable advice could you work out a 'statement of affairs' i.e. list all your outgoings, balances, interest rates, assets and liabilities, so that they can help you find some extra cash each month. It really is worth the effort and does pay dividends.

You are in good company here, the folks will make some sound suggestions.