Light Bulb Moment seeking Life Raft

sams247

Well, some of you know the journey that got me and my partner to this grave state, in brief the result of escaping abuse and constantly moving. Have been working hard to resolve debt problems now and have worked closely with CCCS. My partner has just collapsed with raised blood pressure and I realised that actually we are not coping so much as sitting in a leaking dingy. So any further advice and help more than appreciated. Today is my light bulb moment. I need more help. CCCS say that the only further step we can take is to go for a debt managed loan. We did look into this but as my partner is also self employed and relies on being able to pay for items from the states on line we didnt want to lose the bank cards and bank accounts. Maybe there is a way around that we haven't considered? We (probably foolishly) hoped to get back onto the property lader as our rent is so very high, and even have a friend who would join us in this but have no idea how possible this might be. A 2 bedroomed house in this area (just outside London) goes for £200,00 and a 3 bedroom for £300,000. We looked into travelling into work and colleges etc but property doesn't get much cheaper for about 50 miles, which would be extortianate in travel costs. We have four children between us, although one is now at Uni. We sell what we can on ebay, we sell on Amazon, we do online surveys. We have no savings (rofl) no pensions, no property and no rich uncles! We are happy, love our family and desperatly want to start rebuilding.

Here's the damage, if I haven't put interest rates its because I haven't found out what they are yet. I have lumped all items together rather than saying what is mine and what is partners.
Money in :
Me : Pension 968
Child Benefit 68
Tax credit 214
Work 200

Partner : work : 1130 (850 fixed work, 280 self employed work)

Money Out
Gas 58
Elect 74
Phone 70
House Ins 26
Sky 21
Car Ins 55
Water 55
Rent 1130
Food, clothing, TV licence, running cars etc – what we have left!

Plus cards and loans (with explanations)

Egg: should pay 225 currently paying agreed 40 no interest charged
HSBC Visa119
Creation: currently pay 14 company will not agree reduced amount, interest charged
Cap 1: should pay 95 currently paying agreed 35 no interest charged
Bo Scot: currently pay 9
M&S store card: should pay 33 currently pay 30 in an agreed package interest still charged
Waitrose: store card currently pay 20
HSBC Loan: should pay 173 currently pay agreed 70 but this is temporary agreement for three months only, interest being charged
M&S Visa: should pay 150 currently pay agreed 48 in package, interest being charged
Egg Loan: should pay 214 currently pay agreed 40 interest not being charged
Abbey Loan: should pay 151 currently pay 30 this still being negotiated, interest being charged
Furniture: should pay 43 currently pay 12 no interest
Tax: have to pay 45
Council Tax: currently negotiating, should pay 152

Egg 13,793
HSBC Visa 4000
Creation 572 (2.2% monthly interest)
Cap 1 3482
Bo Scot 410 (1.52% monthly interest)
M&S 1088 (1.45% monthly interest)
Waitrose 400 (1.21% monthly interest)
HSBC Loan 10503
M&S Visa 4750 (1.52% monthly interest)
Egg Loan 12884
Abbey Loan 6640
Tax man 1100

So thats it, quite frightening when you stand back and look at it. I know we're lost in debt at the moment, but I also know we're looking for signposts out! Thank you for your advice, any appreciated.

lynzpower

Hi there
First off your rent is astronomical! Where abouts are you living??

Welshlassie

Well done on taking this first (scary) step, everyone here is really helpful and friendly.

First your gas and leccy look quite high, have you checked USwitch to ensure you are getting the best deal, if you do this through Quidco you will also get £15 cashback.
Your phone also looks v high, as above with USwitch also check out Martins article on finding he best deal for you.
Do you really need Sky - that would save you £21 per month £252 per year, get yourself a Free view box (can pick them up for little over one months Sky cost).
Consider going onto a Water meter, this is significantly cheaper and could save you at least £15-£20 per month.

Pop over to the OS board there are loads of threads there about how to save money in the house and grocery challenges to reduce your shopping bill.
Best of luck, you in goo dhands here with this lot.

littlestar1981

yes the rent stands out HUGELY. Is there no chance of moving at all?

saubryn

Since you're getting tax credits, can you not get a little help with the rent too, if you are unable to move? Or is housing benefit already included in the tax credits on your list?

vyvyan_2

A quick point about the rent. It is perhaps unimaginable for people outside of the London area to appreciate the price of renting (and buying) around here. I live just outside West London within a smidge of the M25 and not too far from Heathrow. My rent is £875 for a small 2 bedroom starter home. I would expect a standard 3 bed semi for the OP's figure, nothing more than that. I will never be able to afford to buy around here and didn't choose to live in an expensive area as I was born around here and have stayed within a 10 mile radius ever since. Moving out of the area to get far enough away to an acceptable rent level would mean at least 50 miles or so. I hope that helps keep the rent question into perspective. Good luck!

david_hellier

According to my calculations you have £59.78 to spend on food, going out, clothes etc. In order to avoid any further overspending you need to ensure you spend no more than this per week. A spending diary will help. Keep a record by subtracting what you spend. Ignore your bank balance. Do not borrow any more money or use credit cards.

In terms of cutting back all I can suggest is you negotiate further with your creditors for no interest and lower repayment levels and find somewhere cheaper to live. Do not buy.

The figures are as follows:

Good luck.



income weekly monthly
self
partner 1130.00
pension 968.00
child ben 68.00
TC 214.00
Work 200.00



total 0.00 2580.00
595.39 divided by 4.33

595.39 total weekly income

spend weekly monthly
rent/mortgage 1130.00
council tax 152.00
elec 74.00
gas 58.00
water 55.00
secured loans 0.00
TV licence 10.99
fines 0.00
phone 70.00
house ins 26.00
sky 21.00
car ins 55.00
egg 225.00
creation 14.00
cap 1 95.00
bos 9.00
m+s 30.00
waitrose 20.00
hsbc 70.00
m+s visa 48.00
egg load 40.00
abbey 30.00
furniture 43.00
tax 45.00






total 0.00 2320.99
535.61 divided by 4.33

535.61 total weekly spend

Start= income - spend = 59.78 per week

Mrs_Sparkle

I must admit that I don't think that rent is astronomical at all! See what London property prices do to you. 4 years ago we were paying £1K a month for a rabbit hutch, sorry 1 bed flat in Shepherds Bush and it's not much cheaper in the suburbs.

If you've got a friend to share the mortgage with you then buying a property might be a good idea- at least you'd be paying off your own mortgage than someone else's. Bear in mind though that all your outgoings will be taken into consideration and the fact that you haven't got a deposit won't be good for favourable rates.

My only advice would be to start a budget for food, TV licence, cars etc. Overspending on food used to be one of my main "black holes" and now that I'm watching the pennies and budgeting through the month I find I'm coping better.

Good luck!

sams247

Thank you for all your comments. Yes, the rent is huge, the CCCS lady nearly choked when I told her, but that is not unreasonable for here. We have three girls and one boy so need the bedrooms. It is not a big or impressive house and certainly not in a fancy area! The bills are high as I am repaying some amounts missed over the last year or so, sorry I didn't make that clear, and the phone bill includes our mobiles, which we use for incoming work mainly, and I use them to kep in touch with son when away at Uni. We have looked for cheaper places to rent but when we did try our credit rating went against us and we can no longer raise the deposits required (about 2 months rent). We applied for help with council tax and rent but were told that my income is too high to claim.