Help please !!!

Miss_Poohs

Didn't want to read and run, just wanted to say well done for posting and good luck.

I see you're in Scotland, take a look at the DAS option - it's an excellent way of dealing with debt, and will protect your home from further action so long as you stick with the deal.

Keep posting and once again good luck.

Miss P

curlytop12

lastkiss wrote: »

Thank you both of you, have tried my best to be as accurate as poss on this form, online banking down but figures close to true.
Yeah I completely agree LM next so expensive but I have absolutely no cash and only one credit account - with them. Has been invaluable xmas and birthdays and when kids need clothing, unfortunately has to be paid back

Hope this works...

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 3
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 260
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1040
Benefits................................ 420
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1720
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 350
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 350
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120
Electricity............................. 60 CHECK COMPARISON SITES,GAS AND ELEC SEEM A BIT HIGH.
Gas..................................... 70 AS ABOVE
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 60 GO FREESAT/VIEW.AND LOOK INTO PACKAGE FOR PHONE AND INTERNET
Internet Services....................... 0 AS ABOVE-PROB SAVE £30 A MONTH
Groceries etc. ......................... 450
Clothing................................ 50 CUTBACK HERE!
Petrol/diesel........................... 40 DELL ONE CAR,EVEN "JUST FOR NOW"
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 6
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15 PROB CAN GET THIS CHEAPER COMBINED-AND USE A CASHBACK SITE TOO.
Contents insurance...................... 15 AS ABOVE
Life assurance ......................... 13
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 80 DEF CUTBACK HERE.PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND-IS IT REALLY WORTH THE STRESS?
Haircuts................................ 6
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1827

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 120000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 121500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 65000....(350)......0
Secured Debt.................. 15000....(350)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 80000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
credit card....................3700......100.......0NEED apr'S FOR THESE PLEASE
next account...................1500......100.......0 AS ABOVE
overdraft......................1500......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........6700......200.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,720
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,827
Available for debt repayments........... -107
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 200
Amount short for making debt repayments. -307
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 121,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -80,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,700
Net Assets.............................. 34,800

Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

I'D GIVE THE FINANCIAL ADVISOR A MISS,HE GETS PAID WITH COMMISSION FROM WHAT HE SELLS YOU.YOU NEED TO SHARE WITH YOUR HUBBY,WHILST THINGS ARE ONLY THIS BAD,HE MAY BE ANGRY/DISAPPOINTED BUT AFTER THAT AM SURE YOU WILL BE IN A BETTER PLACE TO SORT THIS OUT.CUT THE PRESENTS TOO,£80 A MONTH!JUST TELL PEOPLE TIMES ARE HARD,YOU'VE BEEN OFF SICK,ARE SUPPORTING YOUR DAUGHTER,BLESS YOU.I BET MOST WILL BE RELIEVED,THINGS ARE TOUGHER FOR MOST THESE DAYS.LET US KNOW THE APR'S OF THE CREDIT CARD AND NEXT ACC AND OVERDRAFT.AND ADD UP HOW MUCH SELLING ONE CAR WOULD SAVE YOU,PLUS THE SALE PRICE WHICH YOU COULD PUT TOWARDS A DEBT.YOU COULD DO A REVISED SOA ONCE YOUV'E FOLLOWED A FEW POINTS HERE,THINGS WILL BE A BIT BETTER,THEN THE ADVICE FROM CCCS OR NATIONAL DEBTLINE EYC MAY BE MORE BEARABLE.
BUT YOU DO NEED TO TELL YOUR HUSBAND!
GOOD LUCK.

kdenty

I have no clue when it comes to DMP's or financial advisers. My worry for you is that you say you have little money left over for essentials at the end of the month so it all goes onto credit cards/overdraft etc.

Whatever you do you need to make sure you do have enough money left each month or it will just pile back on the credit cards and you will be back to being in debt but this time having squeezed some accross to your morgage and being in an ever tighter situation.

I know this happens as in a way I've done it wrong like this myself. At one point I was putting the weekly grocery shop on my credit card and not really looking at my bank balance and spending money I really should have been using to pay off the credit card. It was like the credit cards were an invisible source of cash I could ignore. That is until it got to a stupid amount and I worked out it would take 14 years to pay it all off and the interest alone was £400 per month!!

I found that I had to take my wages and then plan each outgoing cost, including groceries and really stick to this tight budget.

I have a spreadsheet with it all on there. It took ages to sort out but now it's up and running it's invaluable to keep me on track.

I told familiy about our debt and warned that this year we were not doing presents (either given or expected).

I really budget tight with groceries now and have done the 'MSE downshift challenge' ie I buy 'economy/value' food/products rather than branded or 'taste the best of etc'. I managed to half my grocery bill. I also plan exactly what I buy in the supermarket and stick to it. I have discovered that 99p shampoo is just as good as £2 shampoo. 40p noodles in a pot are as tasty as pot noodle and tap water is ok!!

Looks at some of the challenges on here they are excellent to help motivate you and make you realise that your spending habits can be modified. I found the 'No Spending day' challenge good it helped me realise how many things I buy I dont realy need.

It must be very hard with illness and having a large familiy but you sound motivated and I hope you can get there.

Polly_Wolly_Doodle

Hi Lastkiss,

Well done on posting it really helps to get everything that's worrying you out in the virtual open!

Like Miss Pooh said we're lucky in Scotland with different legislation and don't think DAS or DMP are a bad way to go, you pay off every penny you owe with DAS so don't feel guilty. In fact you've already paid for everything and then some with all the interest you've been charged:mad:

We're working with CAB at the moment and i'm so impressed by their knowledge and completely non-judgemental approach.
It's only money not an incurable illness and you'll get loads of support and advice here:D

I'm in the financial field and i wouldn't go to a Financial Advisor, go to CAB or phone Nationaldebtline, they will go through all your figures on the phone and explain the options.
If like us you know you've hit the credit buffers then you may as well stop paying your non-secured creditors and just give them a £1 token payment. Then you have real money for the first time in months and it's an amazing feeling and somehow dealing in cash makes you question every purchase.

I think your daughter should try CAB too and see what she's entitled to. Would she get housed given her pg? She must be entitled to some sort of benefit surely?

Keep us posted and good luck and again like the others say speak to your OH, you're not helping anyone by trying to shoulder this burden alone:)

PWD xx

kezlou

Hi lastkiss,

You've done the hardest step, admitting it!!

Please tell your hubby about the debt, trust i told mine and now were actually less stressed as were now going through everything together. Rather than me pushing the boat. Anyways just wanted to let you know, your not alone, i'm in debt right now, and slowly but surely clawing my way out of it. My partner is there helping me all the way.

As for birthdays etc, i made the decision finally to stop giving so many presents. Instead, i bought a card or went to the poundshop spend £3 and split it into lots of different presents. So for instance say a 7yr old boy 1 or 2 car s(from a pack of ten), bouncy ball etc. They happy so was i,saved a fortune.

[QUOTE=lastkiss;42330874
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 3
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 260
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1040
Benefits................................ 420
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1720
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 350
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 350
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120
Electricity............................. 60could you reduce this at all, its hard i know, mines currently £92 for both:()
Gas..................................... 70
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 60(phone up who your with and say look i don't want this service anymore, i want to be reduced or i'm cancelling it)this worked for me with virgin saved me £50 a month!
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 450(get over to the old style thread,loads of ideas there)
Clothing................................ 50( only buy what you actually need,)
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 6
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 13
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 80(just say i can't afford it right now)
Haircuts................................ 6
Entertainment........................... 30 (the weathers warming up now, so maybe take to a free palce.i.e the park armed with a pack lunch, saves a fortune when out and about)
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1827

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 120000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 121500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 65000....(350)......0
Secured Debt.................. 15000....(350)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 80000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
credit card....................3700......100.......0
next account...................1500......100.......0
overdraft......................1500......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........6700......200.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,720
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,827
Available for debt repayments........... -107
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 200
Amount short for making debt repayments. -307
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 121,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -80,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,700
Net Assets.............................. 34,800
[/QUOTE]

Okay the easiest to reduce your shopping bill, i'm not being patronising, as i'm reducing mine right now, and boy has it helped our finances.

Got to the old style thread, join the grocery challenge, its basically wher you set an amount month for groceries and you try and stick to it. Very friendly and helpful people over there. Also another thing to do is post up everything you have in the cupboards, freezer etca nd ask for help for meal plans etc.
A woman came on about two months ago with £25 to spend for two adults, asked for help, people gave and guess what she did as well!:D

You are a strong woman and you can do it!

If you ever to chat etc just pm me
I'll see if can help in anyway, after all were all in the same boat offereing helpd, advice and support to one another.

Best of luck x

snookey

Hi if hubby brings home his work van could you not get rid of your cars. Maybe a bit drastic but they cost a small fourtune to run. Have you checked your tax credits to see if your entitled to more whilst off sick.
You mentioned having had a breakdown maybe worth looking in to disability living allowance, although it can be hard to get, but still worth looking at.

snookey

Hi if hubby brings home his work van could you not get rid of your cars. Maybe a bit drastic but they cost a small fourtune to run. Have you checked your tax credits to see if your entitled to more whilst off sick.
You mentioned having had a breakdown maybe worth looking in to disability living allowance, although it can be hard to get, but still worth looking at.

lastkiss

I don't even know where to begin to thank you all for your warm and encouraging words and advice, I am very very touched and already feel like I am not alone and can get through this. I have decided to take the advice to tell hubby, house is manic at the moment with kids but hopefully tonight when they are all in bed we will have a quiet moment and I will discuss it with him. Not looking forward to that, he is so hard working and tries so hard to give us all we need I know he will be devastated.


I will go to the shopping thread for more tips, have already started cooking everything from scratch but still not cheap for 5 of us, will try to bring that down as much as I can. Just switched 3 months ago to Eon for my gas and leccy, was the best offer - I do check every few months and switch when I can as I have a 4 bedroom house we do use a lot.

I'm not going to put my debt onto my mortgage, I can see that it will just make the situation worse. I will still go to advisor Monday to get the best rate for my existing mortgage and hopefully bring that down a wee bit, also will merge my £15000 secured loan onto that, that should help a lot.

Hubbys car not worth much, a couple of hundred pounds at most, however at least there will be no tax/insurance etc going out for that any longer.

Looked at Credit Union and yeah there is one in Forres, also Grampian one based in Aberdeen, not sure if they will give me a loan straight off and I definitely can't afford to save with them at mo but will give them a call tomorrow and see what they can offer.

Not sure what to do about credit card/store debt. If I keep paying as I am it leaves me no money on budget even for groceries - ive been using my cc for that for many months. I will speak to hubby about options and see what he thinks.

Again many many thanks for support and advice, when I logged on and read all the responses I could have cried, its so nice to not feel alone with this any more.

xxx

Culex

kezlou wrote: »

A woman came on about two months ago with £25 to spend for two adults, asked for help, people gave and guess what she did as well!:D

Did she kill 1 of the adults, then make the cadaver into nutritious stews and tasty soups?

kazwookie

Do you pay at all for water? as nothing is showing on your soa.

On your current mortgage is it based on your husband's and your income, if so that 'might' be a problem as you are on the sick, and your hubby currently is unaware of the money problems, so getting a remortgage could be a problem.

Are you claiming all the benefits you are entitled.?

Good luck with it all