Hello from newbie !..bit of a moan sorry!

dancingfairy

I don't see how you can possibly be a bad mother. The dla money is to help with extra expenses your child might need becasue of their disability as far as I know but if the money is needed to keep a roof over their head in the short term then that's what's needed.
df

eyeopener2

Hi

You really really need to speak to CCCS,Payplan or CAB. They may even suggest bankruptcy (if you have no assests and little or no income). Speak to them and see what your options are. There is always a way of dealing with debt, your not on your own, i've found that out recently.

Oh and the people on this site are fantastic. I can guarantee there is someone who has been through a similar situation to yourself who will be along to help. The replies so far confirm that.

E2

dancingfairy

Ignore Aaron Kraus - obviously from another planet. We do sadly get some people with nothing better to do.
df

Always-a-rain-cloud-above

Hi I'm back! Thanks for the new replies...I've now filled in the SOA (thanks for telling me what it is!) and here it is...(not good is it, please don't shout at me too much!) Obviously it will improve when dh starts generating business and drawing a wage! I included my sons dla in with the benefits we get and also child tax credits. LJ

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 496.2
Other income............................ 277.33
Total monthly income.................... 773.53
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 595
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 110
Electricity............................. 120
Gas..................................... 90
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 25
Mobile phone............................ 80
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30
Internet Services....................... 30
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 45
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
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...................... 25
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1801

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1800
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1800

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
william goldberg...............25000.....100.......0
Total unsecured debts..........25000.....100.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 773.53
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,801
Available for debt repayments........... -1,027.47
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 100
Amount short for making debt repayments. -1,127.47
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,800
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -25,000
Net Assets.............................. -23,200

Always-a-rain-cloud-above

p.s I'm going to call cccs now...wish me luck ! (only prob I have is that all paperwork we had, we sent to William Goldberg so we dont have any creditor letters now...and I think they read and shred) eeek ! LJ

ANewEra

I know you said benefits are on hold and you are working through the paperwork for HB/CTB at present, but these are an absolute priority as your income is barely enough for those let alone basics like food/electricity etc.
Also a priority is speak to the utilities and agree a payment plan, even if it's £10 a month for now, you can't afford what they want.

Can either you or husband take on some evening work right away to make a bit extra? Bar work, delivering pizzas, local chip shop? anything really just to make some money quickly. You really need to try and get some income ASAP. Just some suggestions that possibly are a case of start work straight away rather than lengthy interviews and waiting time.

From what I can see on the SOA, you don't have enough to cover your essentials, so a DMP is out of the question. Definitely speak to a debt charity either tonight or tomorrow, CAB often have waiting lists but give them a call and see what your local one has to offer.

I don't have the best advice but I can guarantee there will be plenty along who will be better than me, but I didn't want to read and not give any support. really hope things start looking up for you. Best of luck.

Oh and just to add, completely agree with dancing fairy, DLA is for your son, keeping a roof over his head and food on the table is his priority so do not feel bad and feel like you need to treat him out of it, you can treat your kids as much as you like when you're in a better financial position. My kids get CB and CSA but I don't specifically spend it on things for them, it goes towards feeding, clothing, heating for them which is essential.

Triggles

Electricity £120 - a little high, especially for this time of year. If you can shave any off it by making sure things are unplugged when not using them or not using a clothes dryer and hanging up washing to dry instead, it can add up.

Gas £90 - again a little high. What does this cover? heating? just cooking? water heater?

Water rates £40 - is this a set rate? seems a little high as well.

Mobile phone £80 - this is very high. Is this for 2 mobiles? Are you locked into contracts? For how much longer? What kind of NECESSARY usage is going on them? PAYG can be much cheaper if you use them for emergencies only.

Groceries £300 - not sure what your habits are as far as impulse buys and brand shopping or whether you buy lots of snacks, sodas, etc, or for that matter how old your children are, as that can affect it as well. You probably can trim this by meal planning, buying only what is needed or on sale, and buying more basics/store brands.

Petrol £250 - this is very very high! what is all this for?

I think it's a good idea to put something into an emergency fund, as well as life insurance (and a will as well for both of you but that's a WHOLE other soapbox LOL).

I also think you need to contact CCCS or Payplan and get your DMP through them. There is no point in paying for your DMP when that extra money can go towards your debts.

Realistically, I don't know what your DH's self employment plans are, but is he working FT in this? Can he initially reduce his hours slightly in order to do a part time job in the evenings or something in order to get some money coming in and then shift over to FT in the self employment once it's earning more? Or do some of the work at home for part of the day (like paperwork or something) so that you can work a part time job? I understand the need for self employment, but sometimes it is a luxury IYSWIM that can't always be afforded FT.

carkeyz

Always-a-rain-cloud-above wrote: »

Hi I'm back! Thanks for the new replies...I've now filled in the SOA (thanks for telling me what it is!) and here it is...(not good is it, please don't shout at me too much!) Obviously it will improve when dh starts generating business and drawing a wage! I included my sons dla in with the benefits we get and also child tax credits. LJ

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 496.2
Other income............................ 277.33 Is this SE income?
Total monthly income.................... 773.53
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 595
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 110
Electricity............................. 120 Very High
Gas..................................... 90 Again quite High
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 25
Mobile phone............................ 80
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30 You cant afford this, it has to go
Internet Services....................... 30 This is very expensive!
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 This can be cut down, try OS board
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 250 Wow this is far to muc, try walking cycling ect. What do you use the car for?
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 45
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
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...................... 25 This is expensive, my contents insurance is under £7 a month
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1801

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1800
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1800

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
william goldberg...............25000.....100.......0
Total unsecured debts..........25000.....100.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 773.53
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,801
Available for debt repayments........... -1,027.47
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 100
Amount short for making debt repayments. -1,127.47
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,800
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -25,000
Net Assets.............................. -23,200

Hi have added some notes above, good luck xx

Always-a-rain-cloud-above

Hiya, thanks for your replies... answering a few questions, yes I need to cut my food bill, I shop online so that I dont spend as much but I do buy snacks and possibly too much junk so I really should try and decrease this! I welcome any suggestions! I do meal plan and we have a cat and child in nappies so that is an added expense. The Virgin is a tv/net/phone package and as far as Im aware Its a contract so we cannot get out of it? I tried tp downgrade before but it didnt reallly make a difference! Maybe Ill try again! The gas and electric are high as they include arrears as Im afraid I was awful at paying them and paid other things first! They are putting tokens meters in next week as they suggested this was the best idea before we were forced to have one and be charged for that! They have agreed to take £10 a week debt from each meter for a year which should help clear that debt so maybe I can scrub that one out? Although not sure how much we'll use! I only found out from them today that it uses electric just to leave things plugged in unused! (excuse the thick-ness of me !) Mobile phones we are both on orange and tied into the contract for another 8 months yet..I thought the 'unlimited free texts' would be good and lots of minutes,,,my plan was use my mobile for calling mobiles and the housephone for landlines...however most places are 0845 now and both phone plans charge extra for these numbers! grrrr! The petrol is my husbands work travelling costs Im afraid and cannot be cut! At present his partner filled the tank up this week but after this Im not sure what he can do! He works 9-8 5 days and also weekends! I have applied for bank nursing work but they are not recruiting at the moment due to the state of the nhs! Any other ideas...Im more than happy to work at night Thank you all for making me think.....stating the obvious to an obviously blind me!! I'm off to reshape my finances...what a great way to spend a Friday night Will be worth it in the long run I guess!

Thank you all so much, you are amazing people xx

smccabe6

Hi there, just came across your post and it reminded me so much of my situation.

As a few post have previously stated, I would recommend contacting Payplan or the Citizens Advice Bureaux, these people are the real deal and they turned our debts around. Do not pay any money for a DMP, there are still a few reputable companies who do not try to fleece you and will pay 100% to your creditors. If a DMP is not for you, Payplan will still offer you invaluable advice on other options (we found that many other companies were not interested if you didn't meet their standards). If they cant help, they will try to find someone who can help. They also saved us a fortune on electricity, gas etc by helping us find new suppliers and incorporating the arrears into our DMP, they also helped us find cheaper deals for many of our essentials (life insurance, car insurance etc.). My OH and myself could not afford anything at one point and were relying on family members and friends to help us out on a regular basis but, after contacting payplan, we slowly got back on our feet and hopefully will be back on track soon.
I wish you the best of luck and I hope you are able to find a solution soon.