Stupid ex-student

Kochanski

Hi all, I'm really hoping ypu can give me some advice as I'm terrified and very ashamed at the state of my finances.

I graduated in June with a crappy degree in Travel and Tourism. I haven't been able to find a job since and have absolutely no income at the minute. At present I am caring for my ill mother and cannot get carers allowance. I stupidly assumed i'd find a job straight away after graduation, but have since been turned down by the likes of Tesco (a huge confidence boost!) and so have been living on the remainder of my overdraft.

I received a letter the other day from the bank demanding £600 from me by the end of the month, due to going over my arranged maximum overdraft limit. I'd buried my head in the sand until then, hoping I'd get a reply from one of the many job applications I had made. I am terrified as I have other credit accounts to pay also and have no way of paying for this or them.

If anyone could give me some advice I would greatly appreicate it.

Headintheclouds_3

Hi Kochanski and welcome Good on you for looking after your mum. I hope you have a local carers support group - you need to remember to look after yourself, too.

First off - why are you unable to claim carers allowance? Have you contacted your local Jobcentre about it? Have you advised your bank of the situation?

Headintheclouds_3

I've just read your other post and see that you've been accepted onto a Masters - congrats - which I assume is the reason for ineligibility for carers allowance. I guess that if you secure funding for that, you can pay off your overdraft? In the meanwhile, I would speak to your bank and perhaps register with an employment agency (if you have one nearby) - sometimes easier to find something through them than via ads in the paper.

Good luck!

Kochanski

Thanks for the welcome

I'm not sure really, they turned down my claim, something to do with my degree, I think I claimed too soon after finishing in June or something. Even if I did manage to get it my mum is in debt too any any money I'd earn I'd have to give some to her to make ends meet.

The bank were as helpful as a chocolate teapot, I explained my lack of job and income but they said If i didn't give them the £600 they would demand the full overdraft as well :mad: I just don't know what to do but I'm terrified.

yung

welcome to the DFW forum, is your mum claiming DLA of she is you should be able to claim carers allowance, are you claiming Job seekers allowance for yourself? the best thing to do is check this to find out if you are entitle to any benefit at all. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?s=&daysprune=-1&f=23. then come back here and post an S.O.A so the folks here can give you advice.

cobbingstones

Hi there

Congrats on degree!

Is your mother receiving DLA? If not this may be the reason.

best wishes

T

james32_uk

Dont be too downheartened about getting kicked back from job applications. I've been job interviewing recently and it's amazing the reasons why you wouldnt want to employ somebody - you just need to get lucky with an employer who clicks with you. No matter the title, a degree is not 'crappy' as it shows you are dedicated enough to put in the work and effort to achieve something.

Keep going Chrissie!

james32_uk

Oh, and I know it's hard, but try not to worry too much about the bank's threats. The very worst they can do is remove your overdraft limit and if they did that they'd agree a repayment plan with you for when you begin earning and income.

It would probably be a good idea to get yourself a different account in the meantime as things can get messy if you start paying income into a bank who is getting funny with your overdrafts.

Kochanski

Headintheclouds wrote:

I've just read your other post and see that you've been accepted onto a Masters - congrats - which I assume is the reason for ineligibility for carers allowance. I guess that if you secure funding for that, you can pay off your overdraft? In the meanwhile, I would speak to your bank and perhaps register with an employment agency (if you have one nearby) - sometimes easier to find something through them than via ads in the paper.

Good luck!

I did get accepted but no matter where I looked, there was no funding available and the only way for me to do it was to take out a personal loan which would have been impossible for me to pay back. Over here in Northern Ireland there are very few graduate facilities on offer, such as a career development loan. You're pretty much on your own.

I've signed up to the local jobcentre, and various recruitment sites but so far no luck.

Kochanski

james23_uk wrote:

Oh, and I know it's hard, but try not to worry too much about the bank's threats. The very worst they can do is remove your overdraft limit and if they did that they'd agree a repayment plan with you for when you begin earning and income.

It would probably be a good idea to get yourself a different account in the meantime as things can get messy if you start paying income into a bank who is getting funny with your overdrafts.

Thank you for the kind words

It's really difficult over here, I know in England there are some banks that gradually lower the overdraft limit over a couple of years after graduation but we can't get there here. There have been reports of lack of competitive accounts over here and it's true, none of them offer those kind of services. Halifax (who I'm with) was the only decent one I could find when I started my course and now I can't wait to get away from them!

Headintheclouds_3

Kochanski wrote:

I did get accepted but no matter where I looked, there was no funding available and the only way for me to do it was to take out a personal loan which would have been impossible for me to pay back. Over here in Northern Ireland there are very few graduate facilities on offer, such as a career development loan. You're pretty much on your own.

I've signed up to the local jobcentre, and various recruitment sites but so far no luck.

Ah, you're in N Ireland. Well, if you're not going to continue with the studying your best bet on here is to start a new thread with your SOA, as yung suggested; see southernscouser's sticky thread. There's some fantastic advice knocking around on DFW - I bet someone could help out.