last chance saloon, PLEASE HELP

mia1830

Hi All,

Well here it goes, I really really need help and so much is going on in my head I can't think straight so I am hoping all the lovely people on here can help me sort myself out once and for all. I have been putting burying my head in the sand for too long and been lying to myself that thing will get better when deep down I know I am not doing things right. I have told my husband how bad things are to an extent as I deal with all the money but haven't told him how scared I am, he knows but I think if I talk too much about it I will loose all control, I also feel so so bad because I habdel the money and feel I have gort us into this, everytime he asked if we could afford something I always said yes everything will be fine but now I have hit a break wall and are funds have run out. I have done an SOA so I hope you can look at it and tell me what to do. I don't put money aside for car, clothes, birthdays etc, buliding insurance is in with my mortgage, thinking of canceling life ins if thats wise? my tv,landline phone and internet are one package i just divided by 3. Bills are getting missed every other month or are payed late whoever I miss one month get double the next then someone else misses until the following month but that is getting me nowhere, credits cards are maxed out, most over their limit can only afford minimum payment, then when interest goes on following month I am back to square one, all I am paying is the interst an no balance! I have only had the odd call when I have missed a payment but it gets paid the next month somehow so nobodys banging on the door yet!! My dad is trying to sell his appartment at the minute but no joy, he is willing to lend £20,000 to help clear debts but its on since january and if it doesn't go soon hes renting it out so can't bank on that. Please I am soo desperate and don't know if I should phone or write to companys and ask for reduced rates or what the best plan of action is, no one will let me borrow as we have sooo much debt can't release anything from the house as its through co-ownership, any advice will be so much appreciated. hope i have put enough info down, oh and not so good with all the jargon being usde on here so be gentle with me lol thanks in advance with any replys

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 440
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1130
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1770
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 280
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 75
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 67
Electricity............................. 55
Gas..................................... 50
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 400
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 41
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 15
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 32
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 35
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1182

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 60000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 64500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 40000....(280)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 40000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
bank loan......................480800....130.......0
car............................575000....160.......0
black horse....................759400....236.......0
marshall ward..................80000.....40........0
vertbaudet.....................15000.....10........0
simply be......................22000.....15........0
very...........................200000....80........0
next...........................70000.....85........0
accseory visa card.............210000....100.......0
mbna virgin visa...............200000....55........0
mbna VIP visa..................200000....55........0
egg visa.......................100000....35........0
tesco visa.....................404600....90........0
freezer HP ....................50000.....26........0
clydesdale HP bed..............70000.....26........0
Total unsecured debts..........3436800...1143......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,770
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,182
Available for debt repayments........... 588
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,143
Amount short for making debt repayments. -555
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 64,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -40,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,436,800
Net Assets.............................. -3,412,300

mia1830

sorry for all the spelling mistakes, mind was going a mile a minute and just wanted help so much I didn't even check:rotfl:, thanks again in advance

Ames

mia1830 wrote: »

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 440
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1130
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1770
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 280
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 75
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 67
Electricity............................. 55
Gas..................................... 50 Gas and leccy both look a bit high. Make sure you save as much energy as you can - energy saving bulbs, put a jumper on before the heating, turn the thermostat down a couple of degrees, don't have the boiler on all day just have it on for an hour or so, don't use a tumble dryer, turn things off at the plug. It's amazing how little things add up, my electric bill (I don't have gas) went from £50 to £33, at a time when prices were going up and I still had a small surplus over the year.
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 25 If this is a contract then drop to payg as soon as you can, there's some great deals around.
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 This is high, you could easily shave off £150, probably more. If you look on the old style board on these forums there's loads of advice for cutting back and still eating healthily. If you don't have one yet buy a slow cooker, it'll be your best friend! You can cook almost anything in there, even a meat joint! And you can use cheaper cuts of meat because it cooks so well. If you cook from scratch and make double what you need you can freeze half for the next week.
Clothing................................ 0 you probably need something here.
Petrol/diesel........................... 50 given the high insurance and low mileage do you really need (not just want) the car?
Road tax................................ 0 you need to save this up every month so that it doesn't come and bite you.
Car Insurance........................... 41
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 again, you need to save each month.
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 15 I don't know anything about child expenses but this seems really low? How old is the child?
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 you need something here, even if it's just a couple of pounds a month.
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 32 This isn't too bad, but shop around when it's due to make sure you're getting the best deal. As you have a mortgage and a child you do need to have this.
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 you need something in here, even if it's just a fiver a month.
Haircuts................................ 35 This is high. I get mine cut at the hairdressing college for between two and four pounds a time, and colour at home.
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 you need a little bit in here.
Total monthly expenses.................. 1182

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 60000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 64500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 40000....(280)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 40000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
bank loan......................480800....130.......0
car............................575000....160.......0
black horse....................759400....236.......0
marshall ward..................80000.....40........0
vertbaudet.....................15000.....10........0
simply be......................22000.....15........0
very...........................200000....80........0
next...........................70000.....85........0
accseory visa card.............210000....100.......0
mbna virgin visa...............200000....55........0
mbna VIP visa..................200000....55........0
egg visa.......................100000....35........0
tesco visa.....................404600....90........0
freezer HP ....................50000.....26........0
clydesdale HP bed..............70000.....26........0
Total unsecured debts..........3436800...1143......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,770
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,182
Available for debt repayments........... 588
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,143
Amount short for making debt repayments. -555
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 64,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -40,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,436,800
Net Assets.............................. -3,412,300

I've put a few points in, but I don't think you're going to be able to claw back the £555. I think you've made a mistake with the debts and missed a decimal point or something, because three and a half million is a hell of a lot of debt lol! It might be worth you looking at a debt management plan, where what you have available is shared amongst your creditors. I'm sure other people who are cleverer than me will be along soon though.

bottleofred

Hi Mia,

The electricity and gas certainly seem high, as do your grocery bill and mobile phone. You could try switching suppliers for the electric and gas, take advantage of buy one get one free offers and cook things from scratch etc to save cash on the groceries. A payg phone would cost around £10 per month. If you do decide to go down the debt managemement plan route then go with companies who don't charge for this and all the money then goes to your debts. The consumer credit counselling service and payplan are 2 such companies.

Good luck in getting sorted. Once you've started the dmp a weight should lift from your shoulders.

mia1830

Hi Ames,

Thank you for your advise and reply. I will try and explain a few of my debts and god must have hit a wrong button doh! think im about 36,000 in debt excluding my mortgage. I live in N.I so we only have one supplier for electric so at the moment it can be £10-£12 a week, have all energy bulbs, only have one tv though I do leave the virgin box on standby so maybe I should unplug this?This will probably go up in winter till nearly £15 wk Gas again is only one supplier here and have not used it over the summer but I am thinking now for the winter months coming in, it does usually takes about £10 a week. The £25 for mobile phones is my husband has a contract which is about 4mths old and mine is PAYG so I put £10 month for it. Shopping was an estimate I know I will need to watch what I am spending! I work for Tesco and work in the deprtment putting the shelf labels out so always try and get the bargains though I probably spend more than i should, so need to watch this. The car is one of the stupid things I did last year, we had a car owned out right then I stupidly went and traded it in and took more HP out, stupid I know, I need it for work as I start at 6am so no bus then my husband starts work at 12.20pm and would need 4 buses to get to and from work at £1.60 a turn that at 5xwk £128 four weekly thats not including any other travel I might need to do. My child is 3 and will be starting nursery so I have to pay for school meals so thats explains the low expense, our working hours fit around him so no child care needed. Hair cuts are for all 3 of us, though these are about every 6wks and I colour my own to, though I must admit it costs me £20 to get mine cut but as soon as I grow it down this will be cut back to every 12wks.I will go back on and do my SOA again and hopefully do it right. Thank you so much for your advice, can you please check back again when I post a new SOA and see if I have done it right, I also didn't realise you could someone to do a DMP for free, but would I be expected to give house and car up if I have to take this route? Thanks again

mia1830

bottleofred wrote: »

Hi Mia,

The electricity and gas certainly seem high, as do your grocery bill and mobile phone. You could try switching suppliers for the electric and gas, take advantage of buy one get one free offers and cook things from scratch etc to save cash on the groceries. A payg phone would cost around £10 per month. If you do decide to go down the debt managemement plan route then go with companies who don't charge for this and all the money then goes to your debts. The consumer credit counselling service and payplan are 2 such companies.

Good luck in getting sorted. Once you've started the dmp a weight should lift from your shoulders.

Hi thanks for your reply I have posted another reply so if you want to have a look it will explain a few things, I am not sure if I am replying properly, so will these company's help for free? I think it is the shame that has lead to not admit it to anyone else, I know itd my fault and I have been foolish with spend spend spend attitude. Thanks for your impute it is much appreciated

Ames

Hi,you wont be expected to give up the house or car if you do a DMP. If you do an IVA or go Bankrupt you'd have to, but the whole point of a DMP is that it's much more flexible. You can definitely do a DMP for free, check out CCCS/Payplan/CAB or Christians Against Poverty.

The car loan should go under secured debts since it's HP. Mainly because you'll have to keep paying it, so it comes under expenses rather than debts. Is there any reason that your insurance is so high, do you have points or is it your age? I'm just asking in case it's going to get cheaper soon.

£25 for two mobile phones isn't too bad.

With £400 spare for a DMP it'd take about six years to clear your unsecured debts, which is perfectly doable, especially since things tend to change for the better - pay rises, or when you can work more hours when little one starts school.

mia1830

Hi,

Did my SOA again, I had originaly put decimal points in my 1st one then deleted the point but made me look like I owed millions doh!!
Have re-done it so hope this makes more sense, plus child expenses on the 1st one I only put £15wk for nurery fees instead of a month so have adjusted that, still haven't put money aside for birthdays, car, emergency fund etc, I don't think I have anything there to put in as I am in minus figures so how have I been paying my bills not sure how this works. Oh and house value is low but thats because we only own half its a co-ownership deal.Thanks again

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 440
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1130
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1770
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 280
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 75
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 67
Electricity............................. 55
Gas..................................... 50
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 400
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 41
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 60
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 32
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 35
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1227

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 60000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 64500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 40000....(280)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 40000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
bank loan......................4808......130.......0
car............................5750......160.......0
black horse....................7594......236.......0
cldesdale bed HP ..............700.......26........0
freezer hp.....................500.......26........0
tesco visa.....................4046......90........0
egg visa.......................1000......35........0
mbna virgin visa...............2000......55........0
mbna VIP visa..................2000......55........0
accessory visa.................2100......100.......0
next...........................700.......85........0
very...........................2000......80........0
simply be......................220.......15........0
vertbaudet.....................150.......10........0
marshall ward..................800.......40........0
Total unsecured debts..........34368.....1143......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,770
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,227
Available for debt repayments........... 543
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,143
Amount short for making debt repayments. -600
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 64,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -40,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -34,368
Net Assets.............................. -9,868

mia1830

Ames wrote: »

Hi,you wont be expected to give up the house or car if you do a DMP. If you do an IVA or go Bankrupt you'd have to, but the whole point of a DMP is that it's much more flexible. You can definitely do a DMP for free, check out CCCS/Payplan/CAB or Christians Against Poverty.

The car loan should go under secured debts since it's HP. Mainly because you'll have to keep paying it, so it comes under expenses rather than debts. Is there any reason that your insurance is so high, do you have points or is it your age? I'm just asking in case it's going to get cheaper soon.

£25 for two mobile phones isn't too bad.

With £400 spare for a DMP it'd take about six years to clear your unsecured debts, which is perfectly doable, especially since things tend to change for the better - pay rises, or when you can work more hours when little one starts school.

Hi, I'm 32 have never had points or any accidents and have been driving for about 8-9 years, I always do a search when due for renewal as to get the cheapest then bargain with my insurance company which have always matched the quote I give them. Its NI we don't get much cheap here, its not even like a live in a rough area its just the way it is here :mad:. So would a DMP be the best for me and would it free me some money every month for all those bits I should be putting money away for? I have just been so foolish and wish I could turn back the clock, I am learning the hard way and will make sure my little one will never make the same mistake! Also I forgot to put on I have an overdraft of £1800 :mad: could it get any worse!! I don't want to dodge paying what I owe, I spent it so its up to me to repay it but just need the right way to do it Thanks again

bottleofred

Hi Mia,

I live in NI too and am all too aware of the only option being NIE, although a company from the south will be offering electric soon, so you may be able to get a better deal. It's obviously your decision, but a DMP would appear to be the best option. However, if you do go down this road, make sure you tell the creditors that you only want to be contacted in writing as they can telephone & occasionally harass you. Good luck in whatever you decide

Ames

Could it get any worse? Yes! It's hard to believe when you're in the thick of it, but you situation really isn't too bad, you can solve it without too much hardship.

Yes a DMP would give you an allowance for all the things you're missing off your SOA, that's the point of it. It takes whatever's left AFTER all your living expenses and shares that out amongst your creditors. They'll shout and scream, they might take legal action, they'll default you, but we can help you deal with all that. I've only ever heard people talk about how much relief it is being on a DMP and how good it is to finally be dealing with their debts and seeing the balance go down.

I think your next steps are to do an SOA with everything in it, even the little things you've missed out, and then contact CCCS and Payplan to see what they suggest. It's always good to get more than one opinion. Once they've advised you then you can decide who to go with and what course to take.