In a complete mess of unsecured debt - please help

grocerymiser

I'm posting on here as I cannot sleep, eat or even function at work because debt has taken over my life and I know that the brown stuff is about to hit the fan.

Due to pointless spending in the past, coupled with an internet gambling habit (now completely kicked) trying to make some extra cash (I know...) and finally being ripped off by a couple of fraudulent investment schemes that I thought would solve our problems (learnt a hard lesson), I am 50k in unsecured debt across multiple credit cards. These are mostly in my name, with about 5k in the OH's name.

I don't need anyone to tell me how stupid I have been because I tell myself that every single hour of every day.

We're sinking further into debt by about £500 per month due to my credit repayments. Unfortunately the OH doesn't know the full extent of the debts and I am not able to discuss this as it would cause her a lot of pain.

I have looked at the options and cannot face or consider bankruptcy because I am in a sensitive job which does not allow bankrupts. Also considered Payplan and the CCCS but the feedback seems to be that they are quite harsh and that I would have to put my family's lives on hold for the next five years, and submit to constant financial scrutiny.

I've kept everything current up to now through robbing Peter to pay Paul, but that can't continue. I realise that I am legally responsible for the debts and cannot ignore them completely.

My "plan" such as it is, is to get our telephone number changed as I don't want my OH having to deal with creditors, and to contact all my creditors in writing and offer considerably reduced payments (around 20%), asking for the interest to be frozen. I am thick skinned enough to deal with crappy letters from DCA's etc., but cannot risk court action or calls to my workplace (can they do this?). Basically I really would appreciate advice from anyone who is or has been in a similar position, pretty depressed and low right now. SOA below.



Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1820
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1050
Benefits................................ 110
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2980

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 700
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 133
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 28
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 19
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 240
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 30
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 410
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 5
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 25
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 100
Emergency fund.......................... 30
Total monthly expenses.................. 2347


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 139000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 141000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 139000...(700)......2.2
Total secured & HP debts...... 139000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Card 1.....................9000......250.......22
Card 2.....................8800......225.......22
Card 3....................2700......59.58.....15
Card 4...........................500.......20........20
Card 5....................4000......145.......15
Card 6...........................3800......83........15
Card 7...........................1500......67........18
Card 8........................10000.....100.......8
Card 9.........................4500......75........18
Card 10...........................4000......88........15
Card 11...........................3300......65........24
Total unsecured debts..........52100.....1177.58...-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,980
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,347
Available for debt repayments........... 633
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,177.58
Amount short for making debt repayments. -544.58

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 141,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -139,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -52,100
Net Assets.............................. -50,100

mogsi80

Hi there I'm in a similar position £40k in debt, we looked at cccs and decided to do it ourselves, can't really offer advice to you but there are some good template letters on nationaldebtline website, that's what we've used. Good luck with everything!!

Hannah_10

You say Payplan and CCCS are harsh, but I'm not so sure. Have you tried the CCCS's online calculator tool called Debt Remedy? I think some of the amounts it will suggest are higher than the amounts you currently allow actually. What you're proposing has a name, it is called a self managed DMP (debt management plan). Self managed DMP's are a good choice for a lot of people as they offer the most tailored solution. That doesn't mean you can't take hints and learn things from the charities. In fact National Debtline probably have a template letter for requesting the interest be frozen, best you go have a look for it. It's unlikely you will get a result with very creditor, but if you don't try you don't get, so you're right to go for what you can.

What seems clear though is that even at the rate you can afford to repay currently it will take around 6 and a half to seven years if there were no interest accruing. To work out how long it will take you accounting for the interest as it currently is then use this snowball calculator http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx Please let us know what it says. Some of those interests are high, we could be looking at a dramatically bigger number.

Thus it seems evident that changes will have to be made to your SOA. I'll take a detailled look at it now.

CH27

Can either you or your partner do any overtime?

You could reduce your grocery bill by dropping a brand & meal planning. Look at the Old Style Board for tips.

Do you get Nursery/Childcare vouchers?

You can't afford a holiday.

Penelope_Penguin

grocerymiser wrote: »

I have looked at the options and cannot face or consider bankruptcy because I am in a sensitive job which does not allow bankrupts.

Have you considered an IVA - there's a board here for you to look at.

Payplan certainly offer IVAs, but if you contact your CAB they can put you in touch with other providers

Good luck.

WASHER

grocerymiser wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1820
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1050
Benefits................................ 110
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2980

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 700 INTEREST ONLY OR REPAYMENT?
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 133
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 28
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 19 - THIS IS HIGH
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 240 - THIS IS VERY HIGH EACH MONTH
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 30
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 410 - HOW OLD IS YOUR CHILD?
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 5
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0 - YOU MUST MUST HAVE THIS.
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30 - TOO MUCH EACH MONTH
Haircuts................................ 25 - TOO MUCH EACH MONTH
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 100 - YOU CAN'T AFFORD A HOLIDAY
Emergency fund.......................... 30
Total monthly expenses.................. 2347


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 139000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 141000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 139000...(700)......2.2
Total secured & HP debts...... 139000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Card 1.....................9000......250.......22
Card 2.....................8800......225.......22
Card 3....................2700......59.58.....15
Card 4...........................500.......20........20
Card 5....................4000......145.......15
Card 6...........................3800......83........15
Card 7...........................1500......67........18
Card 8........................10000.....100.......8
Card 9.........................4500......75........18
Card 10...........................4000......88........15
Card 11...........................3300......65........24
Total unsecured debts..........52100.....1177.58...-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,980
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,347
Available for debt repayments........... 633
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,177.58
Amount short for making debt repayments. -544.58

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 141,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -139,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -52,100
Net Assets.............................. -50,100

Welcome to MSE and DFW.

I have added comments in above. Are you not entitled to child care vouchers from work? Or child tax credits/child care element.


Do you really need two cars? Are both your cars only worth £2000 in total?

You are in serious need of expert help, it can be solved but you are going to have to do a DMP, unless you tell us that your child will not be using childcare in the very near future, and then you will be able to balance the books, if you have no holidays, no child care and reduce your internet etc. It will be tough but it can be done.

Have you got anything to sell? Ebay anything thats not stuck down, carboot the larger items.

Finally, tell your wife, she may be upset, but its better coming from you that her opening the mail.

WASHER.x.

Hannah_10

If you could find another £150 a month from your SOA you would be in a position to be debt free in around 5 and a half years, rather than nearer 7 as it stands (those numbers don't allow for interest). So that's what I'm settling out to find.


Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 2 Can you cope with 1 car? Walking is free, cycling is almost free (after the cost of the bike), busses/trains can be cheaper than car ownership (check local fares) and small capacity motorcycles do 100mpg for £15 a year road tax.Potentially you could halve your motoring spend.

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1820
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1050
Benefits................................ 110
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2980 This is not a massive income for a family of 3. I see you both work. Can either of you do more hours or take a second job? What about one of you taking up Avon, Betterware, ViginVie or similar? If you have a spare room can you take in a lodger? See this article for ideas.

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 700
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 133 Have you looked into council tax rebanding? Even if it was worth £20 a month that would be a start.
Electricity............................. 40 This can be fairly painless to reduce, simple things like switching off everything at the wall and boiling less in the kettle all count. Perhaps the biggest thing you can do is use a comparisson site like U-Switch to make sure you're on the best tarriff you can be.
Gas..................................... 45 As with electric, this can be reduced painlessly and check for better tarriffs.
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 28 If you are on a meter google for water saving tips and if you are not on a meter consider one.
Telephone (land line)................... 20 Check tarriff again and find out about combined phone/internet deals.
Mobile phone............................ 20 If this is on contract can you reduce it? If it is on PAYG are you getting free texts/calls? Check out the competition and think about how you use yourphone. Many mobile calls could be made from a home landline cheaper.

See this article-directory for general help reducing utilities. The idea is to do all of the painless stuff first, and then see if you need to cut back anything you'll notice. Most people actually don't.

TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 19 See phone.
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 This could be lower, probably without much significant change in how you live either. Someone will no doubt go over this with you in more detail. Nappies costs can be cut too, but that's less painless, it involves laundry.
Clothing................................ 30 Charity shops, freecycle, eBay and the sales are all good for things sometimes, although you may have to resort to paying full price sometimes there are cashback sites, discount codes and special offers to help some more.
Petrol/diesel........................... 240 If you could manage with only 1 vehicle this could be drasticaly cut. Also see this.
Road tax................................ 30 As above.
Car Insurance........................... 35 I halved my insurance by following the tips on this page. It took me half a day, it was the best paid half a days work I've ever done.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40 And there are tips for that too.
Car parking............................. 30 Can you park on the road, a bit further away and walk the rest?
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 410 Tricky to reduce. One option is to ask Grandma to have little one one day a week (wont be for everyone), another is to change your hours so little one spends more time with Mum or Dad.
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 5 Good, but no harm in running a comparisson site over this too- when you get round to it of course, it's hardly blowing the budget.
Contents insurance...................... 5 As above.
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30 Many will say this is high, I'm probably the odd one out in saying this is realistic given you have a child.
Haircuts................................ 25 Consider finding a cheaper hairdresser, using the local college (students do cuts cheaper), using home dye (the good ones these days really do come out well) or investing in a pair of clippers if Daddy or Little One have very short hair.
Entertainment........................... 20 Being realistic, leave that at £20. Any lower and it'll start to hurt. Do try to get the most out of it though, like by using money off deals for days out or the library for cheap DVD rental.
Holiday................................. 100 £1200 a year? This can come down, there are lots of cheaper holidays that are really good. TripAdvisor is your friend with cheaper holidays and has spared me a wasted trip many times. Aiming for £400 to £500 a year including entry to theme parks, but not including self-catering food (you would buy that at home) shouldn't be too painful for you.
Emergency fund.......................... 30 Where's this actually going?
Total monthly expenses.................. 2347

sheslookinhot

You are in too deep. Cancel spending on
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 25
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 100
Emergency fund.......................... 30

200 to share among CC debt.

Can you rearrange your mortgage ?

skyvicky123

Hi - well done for facing up to things. That's the first step to getting into control. I don't have much to suggest as I am new to this too - only that it's going to be hard to sort this out without involving your OH fully and (her I am assuming?) knowing the full extent of the problem. You have quite a large deficit and from what I have read on other threads it would be really useful for you to at least try the CCCS to see if they can help you get the interest frozen. You coudl do it yourself but you say you are having problems eating, sleeping and functioning at work. That's not ideal as your job pays your mortgage so you need to be able concentrate. They can take a big weight of responsibility from your shoulders to help you to cope.

My worry for you is that your mortgage interest rate is v.low - is it fixed and for how long? If this goes up then you will really find yourself in trouble.

grocerymiser

Thanks all for your suggestions and feedback. I am going to see how much savings I can make in my outgoings over the next week or so, using the suggestions, and then reassess. It's going to be tough.

GM

RAS

grocerymiser wrote: »

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Card 1.....................9000......250.......22
Card 2.....................8800......225.......22
Card 3....................2700......59.58.....15
Card 4...........................500.......20........20
Card 5....................4000......145.......15
Card 6...........................3800......83........15
Card 7...........................1500......67........18
Card 8........................10000.....100.......8
Card 9.........................4500......75........18
Card 10...........................4000......88........15
Card 11...........................3300......65........24
Total unsecured debts..........52100.....1177.58...-

Looking as the round numbers, I cannot tell if there is any spare capacity on any of the cheaper cards? Cards 3,5,6, 8,10 in particular?

Card 11 is the one that need sorting out more urgently.

You have to tell your partner, as without their co-operation you will ne be able to manage this debt.