How to pay

Lexxi

Being off work has given me lots of time to stop ignoring all sorts of things I was ignoring.
I originally signed up for MSE to get some advice on a debt that I ended up not really getting advie on.

I owe my parents 30k, it was a loan from almost 5 years ago, I keep putting it off. I think I'm not earning enough, or what I offer would be paltry or just get swallowed up in their day to day paying it back bit by bit or if I saved it up I'd dip in and when I finally gave it back it would be as they're beyond spending it (ok worst case)

So today we got a possible offer of a job and I figured I would ask you guys what the best way forward is. I can't post a full SOA as there is no income and few luxury outgoings as when we're in work there's no time.

The debts are
£2000 MBNA
£30000 parents
£2000 council and hmrc
£53000 mortgage

So how would I start paying my parents back? They don't struggle or have debts, they sold me their house at a loss which is why I owe this, but they aren't well off, they have a mortgage which they're just letting run it's course, they're in the process of getting a loan and I've seen notes with PPI on it and I just think they probably wouldn't be getting a loan if it wasn't for me, they've never given me any nudges to paying back but they do want the money

Ames

To be blunt, for now you need to forget about paying your parents back and concentrate on HMRC and council tax, they are really important, and neither one messes around.

DarkConvict

I agree, HMRC and Tax are priority debts, they will go as far as taking your bankrupt without much concern. Generally they need paid within 12 months, 3 years maximum.

Lexxi

They will be, the amounts are under the amount for bancruptcy. I'm not late with the hmrc payments, I need to see when the job will start or when benefits will come through to see if I can pay the fulll amount, this should half the debt if I can pay them

I'm just trying to make longer term plans so that we can get ahead with our money. We'd just got on our feet when everything went wrong and then the hairdryer became more powerful than the car!

Nottoobadyet

As you can see from my sig, I also have a lot of debt in the bank of mum!

If the problem is that you are dipping into the money you set aside for them, cant you pay it off in smaller chunks? Say give them £1000 whenever you can? Or alternatively put it in a savings acount that you dont have easy access to, one of the 30 day notice ones?

Lexxi

I didn't really want to give it them in dribs and drabs, I feel short changed if I've lent someone money and it's come back at a tenner a week, it gets swallowed up in the day to day of everything.
How are you paying your mum back? If you don't mind me asking. I was wondering about getting some money together giving them that and then setting up a standing order maybe to their savings.

Not sure it's ever going to get to it anyway, there's more to the council tax than I thought and I had to pay off a debt for OH from a few years ago, I had to give them an address and I'm worried I might have opened the flood gates

Nottoobadyet

My mum lives in America, so I put the money aside into an easy access account and send it to her in tranches when the exchange rate is good, or if she has a bit of a shortfall one month she tells me and I send her what I have. Since transfering money abroad is expensive, I also send it back in wads of cash when she or another family member visits