First time SOA - Please be gentle. Am so worried.

Gettingtherequickly

Hi Sim

Been reading this and just checking to see that all went ok for you. I've only been on th eforum a little while, but the support is fantastic. Unfortunately I did not know about it when I started to deal with my debts about 2 1/2 years ago, the support would have been wonderful.

I've been lucky in that I have been able to deal with my debts with out need for DMP or anything, but as I did not know how much I owed when I started to deal with them, it came as a huge shock to me when I discovered at the weekend that by the time I am finished my payments (all going to plan in Jan 11) I will have paid off just under £25k. However, I will continue to read here for support long afterwards.

Just got to focus on the fact that they are REDUCING numbers, that will help, consider each payment to be a little bit of dye in water, soon it will be all the same colour and the walk of the 1000 miles begins with one step. You are well past the first step.

HamsterWheel_3

Hiya honey, sorry i havent popped in for a while had a lot going on,

Hope things are ok for you and you managing to juggle things about, i saw you on another thread re drink so thought i would pop in and see how you are doing regarding staying off it

much love x

SimIsOnTheUp

Thanks Guys.

Sorry for the delay in my replying.

I have asked Vodafone to reduce my iPhone tariff, to no avail!

£45 per month is unaffordable, so I'm considering including the debt (14 months' line rental to go..ouch..) in the DRO which I'll probably go for.

Re CAB appointment, I had to postpone this.

Will be seeing the CAB on the 23rd of June, and will probably go for the DRO then.

I've unlocked my mobile, and will use a PAYG SIM from next week, as I just can't afford the £45 a month, and I need to stop wasting money.

Cheers - Sim x

SimIsOnTheUp

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 590.32
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 590.32

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 297.96At long last, I'm up to date with the Rent
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 55.16Currently, in receipt of CTB, so not having to pay this at the moment. Just the arrears to sort (as per below)
Electricity............................. 61.2This is current Electric usage, as well as paying off the arrears. I have not been paying this for some time. Have not been able to afford it - I contacted NPower, to advise I'm seeking help from CAB. NPower advised, that they have 'put my account on hold'.
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 26.8Not paid this for some time either. CCJ imminent
Telephone (land line)................... 6This is so low, as I'm thankfully, on BT Basic = £4.50 per month line rental + £1.50 for not paying by DD.. I'll start paying this by DD, when I'm more on top of things
Mobile phone............................ 45 I will reduce this down to £10 - £15 per month, when I find the cheapest SIM on PAYG, which I can use on my iPhone
TV Licence.............................. 23.75Not paying this at the moment, as have not been able to afford it. Need to clear arrears ASAP
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 5.99Up to date with this
Groceries etc. ......................... 171.5I can bring this down to £160 per month for now
Clothing................................ 10I have hardly any clothes! Need 'basics' /charity shop finds!
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 5Forget this. Will be ZERO. I don't speak to my family anyway at present.. At least, that saves having to buy presents! :-/
Haircuts................................ 8Should be every 8 weeks, on average - so make that £4.00 per Month
Entertainment........................... 10Was going to allocate this for DVD Rental, but scrap this for now, as can't afford it, so ZERO again for now
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 5
Total monthly expenses.................. 731.36671.26 after taking into account the reductions, as above


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Rent Arrears...................24........0.........0Paid this off - Rent Arrears are now ZERO!
Council Tax Arrears............459.31....0.........0I contacted Council. Account on hold. Council agreed not to pass to bailiffs. They advised, that they had applied to DWP for deductions from my ESA, 2 months ago. I checked with DWP, and they have had no contact from Council!?!
Electric - NPower..............719.......0.........0 This is actually £635.00 since I gave NPower 'actual meter readings'
Student Loans Company..........14000.....0.........0I can't even afford to start repaying this yet sadly. Wish I didn't have it!
Ex - Girlfriend................1458......0.........0I've started repaying my Girlfriend, by Standing Order of £5 per week - £10 paid so far
O2 (DCA).......................1055.27...0.........0
O2 (DCA).......................588.23....0.........0
O2 (DCA).......................480.28....0.........0
Next Directory (DCA)...........108.59....0.........0
Empire Stores (DCA)............532.05....0.........0
Littlewoods a/c (DCA)..........536.35....0.........0
Vanquis Visa CC (DCA)..........357.89....0.........0
Capital One Visa(DCA)..........688.33....0.........0
TV License Arrears.............71.25.....0.........0
DWP Crisis Loans...............710.82....29.28.........0Jobcentre Plus have just started deducting this £7.32 (weekly) = £29.28 (monthly). I have told them, that I can not afford this. Will write to them next week, asking them to lower repayment rate
Housing Bft O/Payment..........2370......0.........0I asked Council, if they would consider writing this off, due to my unaffordable debts. Council refused, as expected
Severn Trent Water.............180.......0.........0 CCJ about to be issued, unless I pay in full next week - I can not afford this
Total unsecured debts..........24347.37


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 590.32
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 731.36671.26
Available for debt repayments........... -141.04-80.94
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -141.04-80.94

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -24,347.37
Net Assets.............................. -24,347.37

I have tried to sort out these newly calculated figures tonight, but will check, and recalculate this properly, tomorrow, when I'm more awake!

Started Voluntary work last week, for a homeless charity. Rewarding stuff. Love it.

As for getting the money in, I don't quite feel ready to work full time yet, due to health reasons, so it looks like I'll be applying for a Debt Relief Order :-( Any ideas, as to how to sort this mess out guys?

Night Night,

Cheers - Sim x

Spirit_2

Looks like lots of progress on bringing your outgoings down closer to your income. On your groceries - have you investigated the old style board for ideas on how to eat well,meal plan and reduce your food bill? It is not 'just for families' the ideas are for anyone on a budget. The was a poster MrBadExample who had a great thread running as he learnt to cook and eat more cheaply. Try the grocery challenge and see how much other single folk budget for food.

Well done on the voluntary work:T

Staying well has to be your top priority....and I am really impressed that you have got your rent back on track...your home underpins a lot .

Good luck with getting support to resolve your other debts.

SimIsOnTheUp

Hiya Spirit,

Thanks for the well wishes!

I do need to bring down the food bill.

Will check out the forum, thanks again.

Sim

purpleheather2810

Hi Sim, am following your thread with interest and am very impressed with the progress you have made thus far - well done! I am worried about your utilities being in arrears. Are any of these in danger of being cut off? Have you spoken to the water company? Most water companies have some kind of charitable trust (I know Severn Trent does) that will help people in exceptional hardship who are in arrears with their water bill - maybe worth a try??

Nessie23

Hi Sim,

I have just been reading through this thread and I wanted to say "well done" for working hard to try and turn a difficult situation around!

mobile phone - some operators allow you to reduce tariff after being with them for half the contract. Also try and explain your financial difficulties, I tend to find with call centres that depending on who answers you, the answer you get can be completely different. If everything fails try writing a letter to them, nothing to loose.

groceries bill - big spend here so anything that can bring it down will help your finances. My suggestion is to avoid any ready meals and try to cook thinks from raw ingredients - maybe you can borrow a cooking book from the library, or get ideas from the internet. Have you considered doing some shoping in a 'budget supermarket' such as Lidl or Aldi?

Utilities - check out wether they have any provisions for people in financial difficulty. I found this on Npower's webiste "Please contact us straight away if you are finding it difficult to pay your gas or electricity bill. Our customer service advisers will be able to discuss all options available to you." so it's worth speaking to them to see whether they can help.

Last tip remember to use http://saynoto0870.com/ to avoid premium rate numbers when calling utilities, helplines, etc.


Finally good luck on your CAB meeting and hope the above is of use.

Nessie