The cutting out/cutting down alcohol thread (part 7)

skintscottishgirl

brokepaolo wrote: »

Morning,

I GOT THE JOB AT THE PUB KITCHEN!!!WOOHOO!!

WOOHOO:T

Congratulations BP what great news!

Hope it all goes well.

Well done on your positive attitude re your Dad, i can see where you are coming from, and it would make you feel so good feeling in control of everything and paying everything off...

Have you looked as the debt remedy link someone posted (YM?)

I am personally on a DMP with the CCCS I was having to pay about £450 per month now i am paying £166. it will take about 8 years to pay off all my debts but it will pass no bother and meantime i feel so much more on top of things, and i also know i am taking responsibility.

You are quite right to think it all through and it's a lot easier speaking to someone face to face.

Hope you get an appointment soon

Good luck

XX

brokepaolo

skintscottishgirl wrote: »

WOOHOO:T

Congratulations BP what great news!

Hope it all goes well.

Well done on your positive attitude re your Dad, i can see where you are coming from, and it would make you feel so good feeling in control of everything and paying everything off...

Have you looked as the debt remedy link someone posted (YM?)

I am personally on a DMP with the CCCS I was having to pay about £450 per month now i am paying £166. it will take about 8 years to pay off all my debts but it will pass no bother and meantime i feel so much more on top of things, and i also know i am taking responsibility.

You are quite right to think it all through and it's a lot easier speaking to someone face to face.

Hope you get an appointment soon

Good luck

XX

Yes, I did the debt remedy link with the CCCS a couple of months ago and they came back telling me that I could start a dmp to clear my debts of approx £10k in 2 years by paying £470 per month towards a DMP. At first I thought I had no option but to go for it so I accepted and they sent me the paperwork and gave me a reference number. Since then, my rent went up and the payrise I got in May didn't translate into as much extra income as I'd expected so I told the CCCS and they offered to lower the monthly payments to £400 per month.

But even at that, after my rent + bills of £400 per month and the DMP's £400 are paid, that leaves me with £400 to last the month which I know isn't the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination but it would be incredibly difficult to adjust to living on £100 a week, there's always an emergency cost lurking around the corner, then other expenses like medical bills as and when they arrive, clothes every now and then, even catching a train to see my dad in devon would be a massive blow to such a limited a budget.

and for 2 whole years?? I'm sorry, I don't want to come across as a greedy big spender, but it would be hell!

and all for what, my credit record would still be just as bad for years and years to come because my debt has been there for ages.

I'd have been happy if the DMP was say, £150 per month over 5 years, that's what I would have gone for if I were to take out a consolidation loan but £400 a month to live on, buy food and general day to day expenses for 2 years seems a bit much for me, and not at all stress free.

I know that drastic changes are needed to my budgeting but I really doubt I'd manage to cope with such a huge cut, it would be extremely difficult to maintain for 2 years and I'd be very stressed out about it, I'm sure.

skintscottishgirl

brokepaolo wrote: »

I'd have been happy if the DMP was say, £150 per month over 5 years, that's what I would have gone for if I were to take out a consolidation loan

Have you put this to the CCCS?

Could you get a consolidation loan?

Maybe you should do that if it's better for you?

skintscottishgirl

brokepaolo wrote: »

Yes, I did the debt remedy link with the CCCS a couple of months ago and they came back telling me that I could start a dmp to clear my debts of approx £10k in 2 years by paying £470 per month towards a DMP. At first I thought I had no option but to go for it so I accepted and they sent me the paperwork and gave me a reference number. Since then, my rent went up and the payrise I got in May didn't translate into as much extra income as I'd expected so I told the CCCS and they offered to lower the monthly payments to £400 per month.

But even at that, after my rent + bills of £400 per month and the DMP's £400 are paid, that leaves me with £400 to last the month which I know isn't the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination but it would be incredibly difficult to adjust to living on £100 a week, there's always an emergency cost lurking around the corner, then other expenses like medical bills as and when they arrive, clothes every now and then, even catching a train to see my dad in devon would be a massive blow to such a limited a budget.

and for 2 whole years?? I'm sorry, I don't want to come across as a greedy big spender, but it would be hell!

and all for what, my credit record would still be just as bad for years and years to come because my debt has been there for ages.

I'd have been happy if the DMP was say, £150 per month over 5 years, that's what I would have gone for if I were to take out a consolidation loan but £400 a month to live on, buy food and general day to day expenses for 2 years seems a bit much for me, and not at all stress free.

I know that drastic changes are needed to my budgeting but I really doubt I'd manage to cope with such a huge cut, it would be extremely difficult to maintain for 2 years and I'd be very stressed out about it, I'm sure.

Then again, imagine being debt free in only 2 years. Maybe it would be worth the temporary struggle?

It's not a long time.

Then you could do it all again....:rotfl:

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi Brokepaulo....once you have the 'maximum figures' that the official receiver would allow (beleive me they're very generous)-if you use them you'll find yourself with more than the £100 you're allowed as an excess monthly....

See http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=493051&highlight=debtmonkey on here to show you what i mean....immediately 'miscelaneous personal expenses + meals at work' eats away ANOTHER £100 (obvioulsy you'll make sandwiches!!)...those figures were from June 2007 so I'm sure they are higher now...do some googling or maybe as Simon on the link i sent??

Brokepaulo...you WILL have to cut down on your living expenses etc for ONE YEAR max (may even be just 6 months)...but if you get your own place 1st that'd be a start......BR is the fastest way to be debt free in my opinion for you....but get some advice & ask Simon on that link. Don't think twice about screwing the moneyshop/someone else over a week or 2 before you declare for the fees...(!).....don't forget that the split second you go BR the creditors HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE RECEIVER-THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DEAL WITH YOU-hence all the stress goes away!!! Let me know how it all pans out!

yellowmonkey

Great news about the job BP :T

brokepaolo

I very much doubt I'd be eligible for a consolidation loan, my credit score is probably sub-zero at the moment.

I remember when I was filling in the CCCS's debt remedy forms and it got to the breakdown of expenses and for food I put £150 pcm and the website stopped me from going any further saying that they recommended I spend £60pcm on food. Well, I'm sure it is entirely possible to buy food for £60pcm and I don't want to come across as a snob but what horrible sort of diet can less than £20 per week afford you?

When I cook dinner for myself, it's pretty much a given that at least a fiver has been spent on the ingredients.

The glaringly obvious area where I have consitently overspent is going out on the lash, there have been weekends where I've spent over £300 in 72 hours. I've managed to curtail this and I no longer get that horrible fear on a monday morning where I dare not even check my bank balance to see what I've spent over the weekend, however, it is still quite rare for me to spend less than £60 at the weekend, which is something I'd be forced to do if I were to be paying £400 towards a DMP.

Ok, so maybe I should go out less and believe me, I would very much like to have quiet nights in, but when you live in a shared house with a yapping Jack Russell tearing about the place day & night, my room facing the street with cars going by every 5 seconds and all my friends living nearby knocking at my door asking me to come out with them, it's very difficult to stay in. On the occasions that I do stay in, I literally have to switch my phone off, close my bedroom door and hide. Hardly a quiet night in..

I've come up with a list of what action I need to take over the next week or so:

1. contact my creditors asking them for written details of what I owe them and at what point they are in terms of taking action against me. (I've emailed all of them, if I haven't had a response by tomorrow, I shall send the email again and send letters by post as well)

2. Book an appointment, or at least speak on the phone to the CAB with a view to discussing my options in regards to bankruptcy, DROs or the DMP. (I got through to them eventually this morning but they have a new system and an advisor will call me today when they're free to arrange an appointment. If it's too far in the future, I shall go to the drop-in centre)

3. Check out all the links that Debtmonkey suggested about the requirements of the OR and draw up my expenses to see if they fit in line. (I'll have to do that this evening as I've got a fair amount of work to do today).

4. Look for new accomodation, a place of my own where the rent + bills doesn't exceed £550 per month.(I've seen quite a few advertised within this price range and below and over the next two months would be the best time to move because these properties are usually let out to Post Grad students who have moved out once their course is over but there will be a new wave of them arriving come september).

as for getting a loan from the moneyshop to pay the BR fees, probably not an option seeing as the moneyshop are one of my creditors already, whoops!

back in April when I told my father all about my debts and he suggested I declare myself bankrupt, he offered to pay the bankruptcy fee for me so maybe that offer is still valid. I didn't want to go BR at the time so declined the offer saying I'd see what other options were available to me.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Brokepaulo....BRILL that you've been so pro-active! i do apologise if I came over a bit harsh/blunt.....but I know what is was like for me!!

I would definately see if you can find out the maximum figures & categories the OR will allow...Simon may help with this or you can google it...I think under the freedom of information thingy you can view the official receivers manual on line...& get figures from it (!!!).

Thse CAB figures for food are WRONG...if it was £235 PCM for me in 2007 it'll be nearer £300 now!

If/when you get your new place..you could get some cheap drinks (oops..!) & have your mates over....that'd save some money!!!

Obviously when you get your new place either post on here all your outgoings (or PM me if in doubt) & they can be 'tweaked'....I'd definately make it a priority to find out ALL the expenses & maximum figures the official receiver will allow...well done mate!

69chick

Well done on the job BP :T I think if you get your new place to yourself you might find that you can manage on less as like you say nights in will be more of a pleasure..You sound like someone to me who would relish a challenge and 2 years really isn't a long time...

Also I know this sounds bad but if you did have any 'emergencies' that came up you sound like you have family that might help you out...

Shame you couldn't share the flat with your Sis really

right back to work

catch you all later x

Thanks for the well done on my best month yet TP1 xx You are doing great too

brokepaolo

treepotato1 wrote: »

That's about what I live on....have done for - 14 years (well, it has increased every year). It's amazing what you can adjust to doing when you have no choice. I used to be in a very well paid job, but it was destroying my health so i had to pack it in and I have never been able to work again because of illness.

Sorry to hear that TP and I know that it is entirely possible to live on that amount but obviously, if there is a way whereby I can have as much of the salary I work for to myself, then I'd be foolish not to think about it. I'm tired of seeing all my wages vanish towards paying payday loan companies or paying people back for money I've borrowed from them. I know that any money borrowed has to be paid back but with the payday loans in particular, I've probably paid them all back twice over already just with their roll-ver fees. Yes, I know, again that's my own fault but when money is a worry, one's sensible side often falls victim to their friendly offers, as I have found out to my own expense.

I'm 32 now, I work really hard at my job, it's the only thing that keeps me sane really, I live in a small room in a shared house that sometimes I absolutely hate, I'm skint all the time, every time I try to sort something out, another debt swings back into view, sometimes I can cope with it but sometimes I despair and just throw caution to the wind thinking that maybe a bus will run me over and that'll be the end of it.

Ideally, I will be able to declare myself bankrupt, or find a suitable alternative such as a more lenient and longer drawn out DMP, I will find myself a nice place of my own in which I can relax and have quiet nights in, I may even learn to drive(can you believe it? I'm 32 and I've never driven a car!), but overall I just want a fresh start, I want to strat living and enjoying my life rather than just plodding away whilst in the background my financial problems are pulling all the strings.