In Debt big time,Help wanted Please

Tottonian

kylie1dw wrote: »

Hiya

Have just had a quick read of your thread. Firstly, well done for facing your debts. Sounds like your making some headway and have the determination to carry this through, just remember little steps will become bigger steps as time goes on.

Maybe I've missed it (as only had a quick read) but dont remember anyone asking if your mortgage was a repayment or interest only? I assume by the amount your paying that it is a repayment mortgage. If that is the case you could ask your mortgage company to change it to interest only for the time being (you can revert back when the debt is tackled) This by my reckoning would reduce payments by £200 or so. I only say that because being in a simillar position as yourselves I had to do that on £155k mortgage and now pay £590 month with an apr of just below 5%.

Also the high insurance you pay for your HSBC loan, I think this could be a mis-sold issue.

Well must get back to the job hunting, and the best of luck to you.

Hi kylie1dw, will be seeking some mortgage advice in the next week or so from our new bank Santander as I feel we may get a better deal & with the future not certain with interest rates possible going up (hopefully not like the early 90s), not to sure about an interest only mortgage as I did speak with Direct Line (RBS now) about this, the person I spoke to confused :huh: me with numbers & interest rates so left it (Plain English please).

coolchan

Tottonian wrote: »

Morning, me & my wife are struggling with house hold bills/dept/family depts. & the mortgage, between us we owe £45-50k not including are mortgage or family loans & have a combined income of around £38-£40k.
We have 2 teenage boys & live in a 3 bed semi. Myself & my wife have had no pay rise in 2 years, we are both in full time employment & I have 1 other p/t job (was 3 in total until the beginning of Jan 2011). It got to the stage were I couldn’t keep 4 jobs on the go as I work nights f/t & on my days off work days p/t or bank. We have never missed a mortgage payment but have been late with some house hold bills, the bank then charge an extreme amount for going overdrawn but when you phone them for help they say there’s nothing we can do (HSBC) !.
I am very worried as we have a mortgage of £142000.00 & we don’t want to lose the house because of are loans/depts. HCBC who we both bank with are most unhelpful, the credit card companies increase the credit limits & also increase the interest, I have been paying interest only for it seems like years but getting nowhere, are bills/mortgage etc a month is around £1450 & that’s not including Food ,Cars/petrol & other weekly things.
It has put a great strain on are relationship to the point we argue most days but is all money related, Could we lose are house ?, are loans are Unsecure along with the credit cards, should we right to each company explaining are situation & making them an offer of what we can afford or even think of a DMP ?, could the companies sell the dept to a 3rd party & then they demand paying with interest on the interest ?, have now changed banks but will still owe an overdraft on this, I have just cancelled all the d/d/standing orders with the credit card companies, I have a loan with HSBC, what can I do with them or can I reduce payments or do I have to keep this going.

This is roughly what I pay each month & I take home roughly £1200-£1400 p/m with both jobs.

Half the mortgage £400
6 credit cards £240-£260 min
HSBC Loan £220
Argos Card £60-£80
Car/Petrol/ins etc £150+
Bills/Gas/Eclectic etc £200+

Roughly £1300 a month & that’s before there’s any if any spare money.

Hi there, just reading your story and it is so interesting to see so many people in the same position as me. I have not been able to get out of debt since I was about 19 years old and went to university. My parents helped me a great deal by letting me move back in with them and pay no board for a while but even when I moved out I still had some.

My boyfriend moved in with me aswell and he had no debts so I was desperate to get out of debt and would have been debt free, excluding my student loan and mortgage within a year. We had a joint income of 30k and had a new two bed semi so household bills like gas, electric and water are very low. Anyway something bad happened in our relationship and we broke up and I could not afford to meet the terms of the loan anymore so I transfered some of it on to credit cards interest free and paid the minimum for the time being. As I also lost his income as he had to move out it really made a difference to me as to what I could afford every month as my income dropped to 15k per year. The mortgage and the rent were still the same price every month. Anyway it was also linked mentally as at this time after breaking up when we were planning to get married caused me big stress I just brought things and had holidays to cheer myself up and the debts got bigger and bigger. In the end I had to put a stop to it as I was close to 14k and maxed all my credit cards out and the interest free period was also coming to an end.

I seriously think that debts are linked to mental health and this is where the problem stems from because before my partner and I broke up I was managing absolutely fine. Now living on my own on only a basic salary is a sturggle to make ends meet and I have had to also take on a part time job to help out, but now that is causing me problems and stress, due to the timing of finishing one job and starting another I am generally late so I have sadly had to give it up.

I reccomend that you get some help and talk through the issues with a professional to find what causes it to begin with and then work on a solution.

I know that if I am happy, settled and feel like my life is in control then I am fine. As soon as I loose that control then it is backwards for me and I think it is the same for anyone.

I am now on a debt management plan and I am currently paying one monthly fee accross to all my creditors and no interest or charges are now added and I can see this going down slowly but surely and if my circumstances ever change and I find myself much better off i.e a decent salary raise, a boyfriend or friend moving in with me then I will be able to increase my payments bigtime and this will be reduced significantly quite quickly.

I recommend you find out the stem of the problem first, do an income and expenditure spreadsheet and review things that maybe need to be cancelled for the time being and see if you can reduce anything. i.e sky, gym memberships, mortgage payments, fuel costs, i.e think about each journey you make and is it necessary and can you afford it and also pay for all your utilities monthly by direct debit as you often get a discount and it also works out easier to manage and then if you still have a defecit talk to a specialist and see if you can arrange something with your creditors which is very flexible i.e a debt management plan and you will be on your way to financial freedom.

The thing I hate seeing most about being in debt is the amount of money the financial institutions take from us in interest and charges when we are already struggling to make ends meet,

Thank goodness I do not have that worry no more as it is frozen thanks to Harrington Brooks debt management team.

Take care and all the best to you and your family. If you ever want to know anything or any advice then I am here.

WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS WORLD OF DEBT :-)

Tottonian

Hi all, still up & down moments. Im worried as only 3 companies have got back to me say they will reduce payments, all the others are still sending me statements & telling me I’m in arrears even though the Offers/SOA letters were sent almost 4 weeks ago. Should I re-send to those who haven’t got back or wait still ?, Have proof of sending to each company as I done all Recorded Delivery.
Another thing is I have agreed repayments with Halifax credit card for 6 months & thieve sent me an application for a loan of up to £25k for being a good customer

Tottonian

:(Great:(, phone call from MBNA who were ringing me about missed payments on my Virgin Credit Card, told them I sent letters off with the SOA & who I own money to. Not really helpful & said the debt will be passed on to the Debt Management team, he did ask what I could afford & I told him the same amount I offered others, he then said “No we wont except that” & interest will still be building up on both my MBNA & Virgin Credit Cards, I did explain that other companies were more understanding & froze interest & will review the situation in 6 months:A, he than said “That’s not are policy & we don’t do this”.:mad:
I have tried & I did set up a Standing Order 2 days ago with both to pay a token payment.

Tottonian

Still haven’t heard back from HSBC,MBNA C/C, Nat West C/C & Virgin
Just been off the phone from HSBC phoning me wondering why I had missed a Loan Payment, I then explained that I was in finical difficulty & had written to them Recorded Delivery back on 4/2/11, he then went on to say can you make a payment over the phone, told him a letter had been sent with SOA & until I heard back I wouldn’t, he kept on so I said I would make a £1 payment, he then said he couldn’t except that ! :mad: (I did try), Same happened to me around 10 days ago with MBNA, I have set up a standing order to pay what I can afford at the moment even though they haven’t written back to confirm along with Virgin & Nat West credit cards.
I’m in the process of re writing letters to those who haven’t got back with my SOA.

emccmindy

Hi just wanted to wish you luck, i really feel for you and your wife, keep going and you will get there