DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 7

kirstle99

Hi, I was wondering if I could join in with you guys? Our DFD is around April 2016. We have been on an DMP with Payplan since 2008. I have just read this thread and it's really cheered me up to know there are people just like us out there! I've got myself into a pickle this month though. Usually I have a balance sheet set out 2 months in advance, carefully laid out and checked over and over to ensure it is correct before each month starts. However, this month I entered one of the bills wrong and have ended up £180 short for the month! Luckily, I have £80 of ebay sales to get into the bank account, and also another £80 from my mum (phew) but that's all the christmas present money now swallowed up, so hence i'm feeling a little low right now.
I have a freezer full of meat so can save more than £20 to cover the remaining defecit. Why is there always something that happens eh? Sometimes I find it really really difficult to continue plodding on with things, but, like today, I have found comfort in this thread so I thank you all and chin up everyone we will be a-ok in the end!

ianmak

kirstle99 wrote: »

Hi, I was wondering if I could join in with you guys? Our DFD is around April 2016. We have been on an DMP with Payplan since 2008. I have just read this thread and it's really cheered me up to know there are people just like us out there! I've got myself into a pickle this month though. Usually I have a balance sheet set out 2 months in advance, carefully laid out and checked over and over to ensure it is correct before each month starts. However, this month I entered one of the bills wrong and have ended up £180 short for the month! Luckily, I have £80 of ebay sales to get into the bank account, and also another £80 from my mum (phew) but that's all the christmas present money now swallowed up, so hence i'm feeling a little low right now.
I have a freezer full of meat so can save more than £20 to cover the remaining defecit. Why is there always something that happens eh? Sometimes I find it really really difficult to continue plodding on with things, but, like today, I have found comfort in this thread so I thank you all and chin up everyone we will be a-ok in the end!

Welcome!

You're in a similar position to me with start & finish dates, and I still struggle with my budgeting (though it sounds like you're doing much better than me!).

Bigdi

Hello all

Can someone tell me if we are allowed to have a mobile phone contract on a DMP? At the moment I only have a pay as you go phone but it isn't sufficient for my workload. Thanks!

milliemonster

Can anyone offer me any advice? I am thinking about a DMP but for my debts only, both my oh and myself have joint debts of approx £40k. At the moment I am not working as I am doing a return to nursing course at uni, this finishes in Dec and I have a job but won't be able to start until I can re register which will be end of Feb so end of March before I am earning again.

At the moment my oh is the only earner and we are having to use credit cards for food and petrol at the moment. My oh has the most debt but refuses to look at a DMP as he is a prison officer and says he will be sacked if he goes on a DMP. So I am going to have to look at it just for me but don't know how to go about doing an SOA just for me when I have no income at all, although between us we do have enough to offer reduced payments to my creditors only, can anyone help?

dmb_2

Bigdi wrote: »

Hello all

Can someone tell me if we are allowed to have a mobile phone contract on a DMP? At the moment I only have a pay as you go phone but it isn't sufficient for my workload. Thanks!

I'm with T Mobile on contract and there was no problem in setting it up and I think others have said on here that phone companies don't do full credit check even for Iphones.

Wait and see what others suggest, good luck anyway

Twit_Head

milliemonster wrote: »

Can anyone offer me any advice? I am thinking about a DMP but for my debts only, both my oh and myself have joint debts of approx £40k. At the moment I am not working as I am doing a return to nursing course at uni, this finishes in Dec and I have a job but won't be able to start until I can re register which will be end of Feb so end of March before I am earning again.

At the moment my oh is the only earner and we are having to use credit cards for food and petrol at the moment. My oh has the most debt but refuses to look at a DMP as he is a prison officer and says he will be sacked if he goes on a DMP. So I am going to have to look at it just for me but don't know how to go about doing an SOA just for me when I have no income at all, although between us we do have enough to offer reduced payments to my creditors only, can anyone help?

Mmm - several thoughts here.
Wouldn't think that you alone without income could take on a DMP. You must have some regular repayment (however small) to contribute to your debt.
Why is your other half so adamant he will be sacked??? Being in financial difficulties doesn't make you a heinous, reprehensible member of society - he's not likely to end up in one of his own cells for struggling to live in these difficult times!
I hate to be a prophet of gloom but it's no good paying for food/petrol on credit (been there, done that - probably like most of us have) It just isn't sustainable and you'll just dig yourself deeper into the mire.
Pour yourselves a glass of wine, sit down and have a good talk about your finances, and how you are living now and how you see your future.
Next step - talk to the experts about taking care of your debts together. For free debt advice try CAB, CCCS, PayPlan etc.
Reduced payments to creditors, but with a realistic budget to live on, would surely ease your mind. Once you obtain your degree (well done for the future!) your income prospects should improve.
Discuss with the experts but keep posting here to let us know how things work out for you.

'Twitty'

Twit_Head

Bigdi wrote: »

Hello all

Can someone tell me if we are allowed to have a mobile phone contract on a DMP? At the moment I only have a pay as you go phone but it isn't sufficient for my workload. Thanks!

Yup it's allowed. Just make sure you remember to include it in your monthly expenses.
When you have your intial/review consultation (assuming you are with a DMP company) they shoud discuss your usage/need of your phone, and will listen fairly.

'Twitty'

milliemonster

Twit_Head wrote: »

Mmm - several thoughts here.
Wouldn't think that you alone without income could take on a DMP. You must have some regular repayment (however small) to contribute to your debt.
Why is your other half so adamant he will be sacked??? Being in financial difficulties doesn't make you a heinous, reprehensible member of society - he's not likely to end up in one of his own cells for struggling to live in these difficult times!
I hate to be a prophet of gloom but it's no good paying for food/petrol on credit (been there, done that - probably like most of us have) It just isn't sustainable and you'll just dig yourself deeper into the mire.
Pour yourselves a glass of wine, sit down and have a good talk about your finances, and how you are living now and how you see your future.
Next step - talk to the experts about taking care of your debts together. For free debt advice try CAB, CCCS, PayPlan etc.
Reduced payments to creditors, but with a realistic budget to live on, would surely ease your mind. Once you obtain your degree (well done for the future!) your income prospects should improve.
Discuss with the experts but keep posting here to let us know how things work out for you.

'Twitty'

Thanks Twitty, the reason he thinks he will be sacked is it is a condition of employment that he cannot be in financial difficulty (as the prison service see it as a high risk that he could in effect take bribes from an inmate) but I see this as only in relation to bankruptcy, I don't see how his employer would know if we were on a DMP???

Fortunately, our only secured debt is the mortgage which is 20% of our current income so without the debts we would be laughing even on one income!

Is there any budget calculators that give you an indication of what a realistic budget is for things like food/car maintenance etc???

sickasachip13

milliemonster wrote: »

Can anyone offer me any advice? I am thinking about a DMP but for my debts only, both my oh and myself have joint debts of approx £40k. At the moment I am not working as I am doing a return to nursing course at uni, this finishes in Dec and I have a job but won't be able to start until I can re register which will be end of Feb so end of March before I am earning again.

At the moment my oh is the only earner and we are having to use credit cards for food and petrol at the moment. My oh has the most debt but refuses to look at a DMP as he is a prison officer and says he will be sacked if he goes on a DMP. So I am going to have to look at it just for me but don't know how to go about doing an SOA just for me when I have no income at all, although between us we do have enough to offer reduced payments to my creditors only, can anyone help?

Hey Milliemonster,

Me and my OH are only just starting out on DMP so don't know all the ins and outs. Our situation is similar and I would say that digging yourself further into the hole really isn't a solution. We did this for 18 months and have ended up in a real mess. The other thing we've learned by hanging around here and making contact with CCCS (there's another thread to ask them specific questions) is that we are far from alone and we don't need to be so stressed and ashamed about the situation.

Get some advice from the experts and seriously consider whether you'd be better off stopping the debt rising - I wish we'd done it a lot sooner as every month we had to take more from the cards and overdraft because our payments increased.

Best wishes.

smcshane

milliemonster wrote: »

Can anyone offer me any advice? I am thinking about a DMP but for my debts only, both my oh and myself have joint debts of approx £40k. At the moment I am not working as I am doing a return to nursing course at uni, this finishes in Dec and I have a job but won't be able to start until I can re register which will be end of Feb so end of March before I am earning again.

At the moment my oh is the only earner and we are having to use credit cards for food and petrol at the moment. My oh has the most debt but refuses to look at a DMP as he is a prison officer and says he will be sacked if he goes on a DMP. So I am going to have to look at it just for me but don't know how to go about doing an SOA just for me when I have no income at all, although between us we do have enough to offer reduced payments to my creditors only, can anyone help?

If it is a privately run prison do they have a free confidential counselling service? I guess it is a similar situation to those that work in banks. Possibilty of being blaCkmailed if in financial stress. Can he not check with HR what the actual vetting criteria is?
Sx