My first post here

Toomuchdebt

Here is my incomings/outgoings etc(all monthly)
Income from benefits £1816.12
Outgoings
Rent £750
Council Tax-0
water £61.30
home insurance £12
Gas £35
Electricity £33
TV licence £11
travelling(petrol,car insurance,road tax) £131
phone and internet £46(year contract)
mobile phone £20 (also in contract)
violin lessons for children(subsidised) £20
dog insurance £17.95
clothes £50
food and other shopping £250
pet food £50 month (dog with sensitive stomach-his food costs £30 a month and all other pets)
total outgoings £1447.25
money for creditors =£368.87

Debts
Barclays -balance-7181.67 minimum payment £143 but they have agreed to take £73 and freeze the interest
mastercard- balance-6761.89 minimum payment £108.62(refused to freeze interest or reduce payments)
lloyds tsb 1529.44 min payment 35.00
monument balance 1743.04 min payment 52.00(have to ring them Monday morning to see if they will reduce payments)
morgan stanley balance 698.64 min payment 14.00
halifax balance 1220.47 min payment 24.40
abbey credit card balance 8606.36 min payment 120.45(refused to reduce payments or freeze interest)
barclayloan balance 1384.22 min payment £40(taken by direct debit monthly and payment reduces as balance goes down)
lx direct catalogue balance 31.76 min payment 5.00
evans balance 47.50 min payment 4.00
burtons balance 24.70 min payment 4.00

total £480.87
As you can see I am around £120 short each month.

.Also my bank account is overdrawn at -1780.91 and my other account is overdrawn at -£161.04 so that will need to be paid off too.

I have been thinking of bankruptcy but it seems very drastic and has repercussions in that I may lose my car(and it's an hour's walk to school one way).I don't have anything to sell-I wish I did.If those 2 big cards would agree to reduce the payments I could manage but they refuse.They said if I didn't use the cards for 3 months(which i won't) they would reconsider but obviously I have to try and make payments for 3 months.I will try and ring the other card companies also but as their payments are already very low I dout I will get anywhere.I just don't know how to get out of this hole I'm in.I am considering finding a new home for the dog as most of the money on pet food does go on him however that's not an ideal solution as the children would miss him a lot.The budgies and fish etc don't cost very much monthly to feed and look after,and the cats aren't a huge expense either.I wish so much I hadn't got into this mess but now it's up to me to get out.I just don't know how.I can't snowball anything as there's nothing there to snowball with.I can't cancel my contract for phone/internet as I have to stay there for a year.My mobile phone is essential for when I am driving with children-I don't feel safe without one-and I very rarely go over the £20 a month-for that I get 200 free minutes and 500 texts so it's a pretty good deal.I cancelled my gym membership and my contact lenses last month.The violin lessons for the children are the only things I pay for(their Dad pays for ballet etc) so i don't want to cancel those(I get a reduction as it is because I am on a low income).Gas and electricity are taken by direct debit monthly.
What do you all think?Should I go for bankruptcy or try and pay these debts off??I'm not sleeping well with all the worry and I've been crying quite a lot today trying to get to grips with it all.

Prudent

I was wondering how many children you have? I am not being nosy - it would help me comment on the figures like the food bill etc.

chelly63

Hi
I have only just began posing on here (OH 34year DMP) and I must say I really do understand how upset and scared you must be. I am sure someone wise will come alone soon and offer advise, have you spoken to National debtline? they are really great.
I have found ppl on this site so supportive and non judgmental, so hang on in there you are not alone.
Sending you a virtual hug
Michelle

Graham_Devon

Is the 'Income from benefits' a mistake? Or have I missed something?

Toomuchdebt

Hi-the income from benefits is as follows:
Income support £229.80 monthly
Child Tax Credit for 4 children £576.12 monthly
CSA maintenance £50 monthly
Child Benefit for 4 children £210.20
Housing benefit £750 monthly(rent is £750)

I have 4 children aged 11,8,5 and 3.HTH

MCBIRNIE25

Hi too much debt. The creditors will have to accept reduced payments if you are struggling to pay, simple as that. They say they can't to try to test your resolve. Give cccs or national debtline a ring, you will feel better then.

all_hours

Hi Toomuchdebt

Do you really need a car if you're not working?

Sorry I've just reread your op and seen the distance to school. Would public transport be an option?

Steve1963

When I first posted on here, not too long ago, I stated there were some things I was not prepared to give up. I had some quite blunt, but very good advice about this and as a result have got rid of many expenses I thought were indispensible. What I realised was my debts were making me and my family unhappy and without drastic changes it would carry on like that.

It is hard to cut back but the sense of relief as you see the debts go down cannot be overstated. I haven't felt so good in a long time.

You will get plenty of support on here as well as very sound advice. The first step is hard but well worth it.

Steve

ben500

Hi
Welcome to mse, you have made a good move coming here, there will be lot's of help available to you on tap and cost free. I'm sure the financial wizards will soon crack your finances but for now the best help I can offer are the following threads, these will enable you to attack your grocery budget and reduce the effects of any cost cutting methods on your lifestyle.

Read the first page for the basics and then you can skip to the end of each thread to get up to date opportunities.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=216379&highlight=tesco

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=237370&highlight=tesco

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=213516&highlight=tesco

If your smart you will learn to exploit those companies you spend your money with at every opportunity as they will you.
Cashback sites can help you do this, there are many, some are listed on the forums home page for you. Check them all out and see which is the best for you, if you are spending any money online at all then do it through a cashback site it will mount up quicker than you think.

Prudent

I think you do quite well with the pet costs. My two picky cats cost me £20 per month to feed. The dog does seem to be costing a lot - what a difficult decision to have to make. I am a single parent too and when one of my cats needed the sensitive stomach food the local cats protection league gave me advice as to how to gently ween her off and back to normal food. Maybe you could move the dog back gradually?

Your violin lessons are very cheap. I would keep them going as its a real benefit to the children.

your own food bill could perhaps be cut back. Have you checked out the old style board?

Toomuchdebt

all_hours wrote:

Hi Toomuchdebt

Do you really need a car if you're not working?

The gir's school is an hour's walk away so unfortunately I do need a car.The 3 year old has half day sessions at playschool (next to the school) so if I didn't have a car I would be walking 6 hours a day.

I will try ringing the helplines again on Monday and will read the threads-I just feel so helpless now