SOA (sort of) all advice welcome

Stayathomemom_2

Hi all, here is my income and outgoings, not official SOA, I am currently on a DMP, but circumstances have changed so please have a look .....

adults in house...............2
children in house.............3

Take home wage.............1100
Child Benefit...................201
Tax credits.....................676

total income...................1977

Mortg............................501 (interest only)
Secured loan...................205
DMP payment..................179
tax bill............................77
Rates..............................47
electric..........................100 (we live in N. ireland, no other provider)
oil..................................35
buil/cont ins.....................25
landline/internet................25 (child going to secondaryschool so dont want to lose internet)
tv licence.........................12
sky tv..............................20 (the only treat kids have)
mobile phone x2.................40 both reduced to lowest contract
life ins.............................. 25
road tax.............................17
car ins..............................47 (this should go down slightly soon)
Fuel..................................110
food/housekeeping..............433
clothing/footwear................40
kids sports........................ 20
pocket money....................30
emergencies ......................30

total outgoings= 2018
total income =1977
short = £41

unsecured debt =£48000 approx DMP @£179 22year term

We have a mortgage for £95000, house value around £100000, we are putting the house on the market but houses arent selling here.

most of the above figures where put in place by the CCCS when the DMP was set up, I know there are places where we could cut money,(we have started the process for having the car returned to hp company, mum is gonna buy us a £500 run around) like kids pocket money, kids sports, but it seems that it is the children that are always going without, we never have anymoney for cinema, or trips to mcdonalds, nice new clothes that all their friends have are a no no, I know that our lifestyle now means we have lost the right to any luxeries but it is so much harder when young children are involved!

The other thing that hasnt been included is a second tax bill (my husb was self-employed last year), this isnt due till end of the year, but we are expecting it to be around £8-9k

Where I struggle with this budget is things like school trips, milk money, school uniforms (daughter going to secondary school), christmas, birthdays, etc how does everyone else manage

ps sorry for info overload

Stayathomemom_2

Just remembered the unsecured debt total doesnt include the car finance, as they havent actually taken the car yet so not sure how much we will owe them in total but i am guessing in around £10k

dancingfairy

Hi. Have you spoken to CCCS now your situation has changed?
Also you will need to budget for the uniforms/birthdays etc but I'm not sure with regards to what categories you will be allowed if you go bankrupt but you may need to put them in with other categories and change the amounts accordingly - ie uniforms would go in with clothes etc.
I hope some of the experts can come along and you what you are allowed to put down in bankruptcy but I know that in England you get asked whether you have sought independent advice that bankruptcy is your best option - I don't know what the system is in Northern Ireland but I would have thought that taking advice from a debt charity to say yes bankruptcy is the best option for you wouldn't hurt.
I don't know but have you checked that you are getting all benefits you are entitled to?
With regards to the car - is it definitely hp? Is that the one where is you've paid over a certain amount of the payments you can hand the car back and not owe any more money? Check out your options with this - especially if you are near the handback and walk away point.
I'm just wondering if you were planning on renting when bankrupt and giving up the house? Is this something you have considered? I have to say I'm not sure what the rules are but you may find that you are entitled to housing benefit etc when renting?
df

indebtinsussex

Stayathomemom wrote: »

Hi all, here is my income and outgoings, not official SOA, I am currently on a DMP, but circumstances have changed so please have a look .....

adults in house...............2
children in house.............3

Take home wage.............1100
Child Benefit...................201
Tax credits.....................676

total income...................1977

Mortg............................501 (interest only)
Secured loan...................205
DMP payment..................179
tax bill............................77
Rates..............................47
electric..........................100 (we live in N. ireland, no other provider)
oil..................................35
buil/cont ins.....................25
landline/internet................25 (child going to secondaryschool so dont want to lose internet) They may ask you to find a cheaper provider
tv licence.........................12
sky tv..............................20 (the only treat kids have) not allowed stick it under telephone
mobile phone x2.................40 both reduced to lowest contract
life ins.............................. 25
road tax.............................17
car ins..............................47 (this should go down slightly soon)
Fuel..................................110
food/housekeeping..............433
clothing/footwear................40
kids sports........................ 20
pocket money....................30
emergencies ......................30 not allowed stick it under food

I've pointed out the bits that I can think of, but someone will come along who is much better than me to do this for you x

Stayathomemom_2

dancingfairy wrote: »

Hi. Have you spoken to CCCS now your situation has changed?
Also you will need to budget for the uniforms/birthdays etc but I'm not sure with regards to what categories you will be allowed if you go bankrupt but you may need to put them in with other categories and change the amounts accordingly - ie uniforms would go in with clothes etc.
I hope some of the experts can come along and you what you are allowed to put down in bankruptcy but I know that in England you get asked whether you have sought independent advice that bankruptcy is your best option - I don't know what the system is in Northern Ireland but I would have thought that taking advice from a debt charity to say yes bankruptcy is the best option for you wouldn't hurt.
I don't know but have you checked that you are getting all benefits you are entitled to?
With regards to the car - is it definitely hp? Is that the one where is you've paid over a certain amount of the payments you can hand the car back and not owe any more money? Check out your options with this - especially if you are near the handback and walk away point.
I'm just wondering if you were planning on renting when bankrupt and giving up the house? Is this something you have considered? I have to say I'm not sure what the rules are but you may find that you are entitled to housing benefit etc when renting?
df

Thanks for reply, yes we contacted CCCS, they suggested bankruptcy as a last resort, but first we had to reduce our outgoings as our income had gone down (this was the change in circumstance), this is why we are handing our car back as it was £311 per month.
It is def HP, over 5 years, we are 2 years into it at the moment.

Dont think we are entitled to any other benefits but I suppose it wouldnt hurt to check.

CCCS told us it would onle be a last resort that we would lose the house, but once we gather the fees up we are putting it on the market anyway.

dancingfairy

I'm not sure on the house thing - I guess it would depend on how much the house is officially valued at. I believe that in some circumstances that it is possible to buy it back from the OR ( buying the beneficial interest). I'm not sure how it works but loosing the house is not necessarily a forgone conclusion but like I said you may be able to get housing benefit if renting (again I'm not too sure on this).
df

Stayathomemom_2

Thanks dancingfairy, I suppose there is no quick fix, it took us a long time to get into this, and im sure its gonna take a while to get outta it. I am still undecided if bankruptcy is the way to go, although we have dealt with so much stress regarding these debts the thought of a chance to start again def appeals to me, but by no means do i under estimate the stress of bankruptcy itself!!!

Pee

Have you looked at the old style board? I was there earlier having a look at some of the grocery challenges.

Some of the menu ideas might let you save some money on groceries.

Have you tried freecycle for childrens clothes?

Hope you can treat the children with lots of trips to the park, or something similiar.

Thinking of you.

jockinleeds

Stayathomemom wrote: »

but once we gather the fees up we are putting it on the market anyway.

Just a question - If you are struggling against that budget how would you raise estate agent and conveyancing fees?

Also, we're not in a dissimilar position. Best option for shopping is ASDA type deals - 4 for £3 type meals.. £100 can easily feed the family of four with evening meals. Home made sarnies for lunch.

You'll have ssen the adverts for mysupermarket - you can do all your shopping online and it will suggest cheaper deals and even which supermarket is best. I think there is even a Martin challenge on there where they recommend 'smart price' cheapo stuff..

Stick with it on the DMP - you are showing willing as to what you can afford to pay. Dont grasp the last resort until you REALLY have to... All the best.

OrkneyStar

jockinleeds wrote: »

Just a question - If you are struggling against that budget how would you raise estate agent and conveyancing fees?

Also, we're not in a dissimilar position. Best option for shopping is ASDA type deals - 4 for £3 type meals.. £100 can easily feed the family of four with evening meals. Home made sarnies for lunch.

You'll have ssen the adverts for mysupermarket - you can do all your shopping online and it will suggest cheaper deals and even which supermarket is best. I think there is even a Martin challenge on there where they recommend 'smart price' cheapo stuff..

Stick with it on the DMP - you are showing willing as to what you can afford to pay. Dont grasp the last resort until you REALLY have to... All the best.

Good suggestions but is there an Asda in Ireland (sorry to sound dim OP )....we don't have one here in the Northern Isles.
The other option really for cutting food spending is making as much as you can from scratch and also buying reduced things at end of night!

Stayathomemom_2

jockinleeds wrote: »

Just a question - If you are struggling against that budget how would you raise estate agent and conveyancing fees?

Also, we're not in a dissimilar position. Best option for shopping is ASDA type deals - 4 for £3 type meals.. £100 can easily feed the family of four with evening meals. Home made sarnies for lunch.

You'll have ssen the adverts for mysupermarket - you can do all your shopping online and it will suggest cheaper deals and even which supermarket is best. I think there is even a Martin challenge on there where they recommend 'smart price' cheapo stuff..

Stick with it on the DMP - you are showing willing as to what you can afford to pay. Dont grasp the last resort until you REALLY have to... All the best.

Hi, we handnt realised you had to pay upfront to put the house on the market (really silly I know), so that has put a halt to that, though I am trying to get into work so there will be more money coming in, but living off ' when I get a job' is difficult, but fingers crossed something will turn up.

yes we do have an asda here, although we are a family of 5 lol, we can normally make £100 do, it is only when we need extra toiletries/cleaning products we struggle, but each week we are learning and sacrificing more.

We have decided not to do the bankruptcy, it is knocking at our door cause of the HMRC but we will pay what we can, give up what we can (in process of handing car in), and try to raise the household income. We will have to learn how to deal with the creditors letters and demands because the dmp we are on is gonna have to change to allow for the tax payment. We have been advised it may be forced upon us but we will deal with that when it comes.

Thanks again for all your comments xx