Help and Advice Needed! :(

mourning33

Hi,
Well, I'm not expecting a warm welcome here.. As the debt i got myself into has been down mainly to irresponsible spending.. However the stress of being in debt is horrible and i want to make a change. So i appreciate you all looking at this and offering some advice.

I'm 19, Currently on 18,000 + Commission (23,000 total for 2010/2011 which is around 1,400 after tax a month)
and am in debt with Wonga for £800 which they will take in full this month.

I know compared to alot of the other users on this forum this is not alot of debt.. however as it is a payday loan and i cannot afford to live, This amount is getting higher and higher every month as i have to "re-wonga" to get by and more interest going on daily!

The trouble is that i have been using wonga nearly for 2 years EVERY month (bar 1 or 2 months) and i can't continue doing this cycle. In those 2 years i have never missed a payment with wonga. However, Me being stupid and thinking this was a good way of lending has left banks refusing me for basic bank accounts and overdrafts due to affordability for the amount of money coming in and out through my bank account from Payday loan companies.

I've learnt a valuable lesson.. I moved out early and made some very bad money choices! I want to get something in place to settle it once and for all.

This is where i need your help and opinions! With the outstanding debt of £800 which is due to be taken out on the 14th May i am thinking of getting in contact directly and asking if i can set up a payment plan. Like i said i have never failed a payment with them before and feel i have a better chance if i speak to them prior rather than just cancelling my card and letting it get worse.

Has anyone had experience with Payment plans with Wonga?
Any other suggestions?

Any advice or help is very much appreciated.

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Hi,

Welcome to the boards - I am sure that there'll be a solution so don't worry too much!

You need to start by filling in an SOA - statement of afairs noting down all your income and expenditure

here's the link - http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

This will show all your income, expenditure and debt and give a clearer picture of your financial situation

HTH

D9

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi Mourning, welcome to the boards. You'll get loads of advice & support on here - the best decision you've made is realising that you need to get this sorted out now.

Can I suggest you post a SOA (statement of affairs) as it lets people have a look at your income & all the outgoings https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/107280
it's sometimes easier for "an outsider" to see where easy savings can be made.

I was on the payday loan roundabout for many years and it's terrible. I finally managed to get shot of them and no matter how skint I've been (and there have been times when I've really needed the money) I wouldn't go down that route again.

RFTA

McKneff

Hello there and welcome.

Well done for realising that you are on a downward slope and want to get off.
(and for deciding not to cancel your card, the very worst thing you could do)

All you can do is ring Wonga, explain your circumstances and see if they will help.

Can you in the future stop with the payday loans and try to manage without.

Can you borrow money from friends, family to get you through to next month.

Do you live alone, can you cut your household expenditure ie get a water meter, pay over 12 mths c/tax instead of 10

Stop buying clothes, etc etc. and everytime you pick up something you are thinking about buying, say to yourself
'Do I really need this'

There now, that wasn't so bad wast it?

mourning33

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1400

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 367.5
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 50
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 27
Telephone (land line)................... 13
Mobile phone............................ 80
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 45
Internet Services....................... 17
Groceries etc. ......................... 130
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 40
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 15
Haircuts................................ 16
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 930.5


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 500
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Wonga..........................800.......800.......2735
Catalogs.......................650.......90........0
Bed Ikano......................170.......32........0
Total unsecured debts..........1620......922.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,400
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 930.5
Available for debt repayments........... 469.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 922
Amount short for making debt repayments. -452.5

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,620
Net Assets.............................. -1,120

Created using the SOA calculator
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.


A few bits i should prob mention!

I know £80 is very high for mobile phones however as my mum doesn't have a job... Just to make sure she can stay in contact with the family all the time i am paying for her contract.. and i am also in a £40 iPhone 4 contract for 24 months! Not ideal i know!

The other bills that are showing £0 are because my other housemate is paying the other share!

Sky is fairly high and i will be making sure i go down to the basic package. All other utilities are in contract until July of this year.

Please let me know what you think and thanks for the quick response.

mourning33

McKneff wrote: »

Hello there and welcome.

Well done for realising that you are on a downward slope and want to get off.
(and for deciding not to cancel your card, the very worst thing you could do)

All you can do is ring Wonga, explain your circumstances and see if they will help.

Can you in the future stop with the payday loans and try to manage without.

Can you borrow money from friends, family to get you through to next month.

Do you live alone, can you cut your household expenditure ie get a water meter, pay over 12 mths c/tax instead of 10

Stop buying clothes, etc etc. and everytime you pick up something you are thinking about buying, say to yourself
'Do I really need this'

There now, that wasn't so bad wast it?

Hi McNeff, Thanks for your advice. My SOA is below. As you can see the majority of my earnings go on unsecured debt and rent which unfortunately i can't do too much about right now.

Do you think wonga would accept a payment plan?

Thanks again

mourning33

Also,

I know i have had an agreement to pay back the full amount so i understand i would be lucky for them to agree to a payment plan.

Is it worth being perfectly honest and saying i can't continue to keep re-lending? or say the funds won't be avaiable on the day and try and play the loyalty card?

McKneff

I havent had any experience of Wonga mourning, but my own phylosophy is 'dont ask, dont get'
offer to pay them a realistic (for them) say £200 a month, cut your own costs down to accommodate this.
Could yu and your mum get payg phones, cut the entertainment money (wow) £100 down the toilet, get mates
over, tell them to bring a bottle, get one of them to bring their wii's over.
Stop with the clothing, bet you have enough clothes to last you for years.
What is this 'other travel' Cut it out.
Other assets, £500 what is it, an old banger, sell it and walk, or get the bus or lifts.

Good luck and keep posting, there will be lots more advice coming along.

Any chance of borrowing it off your mum.
and by the way, she would be horrified if she knew you were in this state and still paying for her mobile phone,
Im sure she would rather not have it and ring you from payphones. I know this, I'm a mum of grown up children,

rising_from_the_ashes

mourning33 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1400

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 367.5 is this your 1/2?
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 50 As above
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 27 "
Telephone (land line)................... 13 "
Mobile phone............................ 80
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 45 See below
Internet Services....................... 17 Can you reduce this? I pay £9.99/month
Groceries etc. ......................... 130 Should be able to get this down a bit if it's just for you.
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 40 Is this going to work? (Car share?)
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 15
Haircuts................................ 16 Anyway to reduce this - model nights, wet cut etc
Entertainment........................... 100 This needs to come down
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 930.5


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 500
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Wonga..........................800.......800.......2735
Catalogs.......................650.......90........0
Bed Ikano......................170.......32........0
Total unsecured debts..........1620......922.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,400
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 930.5
Available for debt repayments........... 469.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 922
Amount short for making debt repayments. -452.5

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,620
Net Assets.............................. -1,120

Created using the SOA calculator
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.


A few bits i should prob mention!

I know £80 is very high for mobile phones however as my mum doesn't have a job... Just to make sure she can stay in contact with the family all the time i am paying for her contract.. and i am also in a £40 iPhone 4 contract for 24 months! Not ideal i know! How long has your mum's contract got to run? I know this may be hard but I think you are going to have to say to her that you cannot afford to pay this - can she not keep in touch with family etc through her landline?

The other bills that are showing £0 are because my other housemate is paying the other share! Is the rent/gas etc your 1/2 of the bills? Do you have a spare room you could rent out to someone else?

Sky is fairly high and i will be making sure i go down to the basic package. Yup, this needs reduced until your debts are clear - you can buy a Freesat card for a one off payment of £20 (will get the freeview channels) All other utilities are in contract until July of this year. Shop around for deals and see where some saving could be made

Please let me know what you think and thanks for the quick response.

Re Entertainment, I know you're young and want to have fun but if you cut this to £40/month, cut your Sky, broadband etc then you'd have £100+ to clear the debt fairly quickly.

Would you be able to get a 2nd part time job until the debts are clear (this is what I did) - if you work in a pub etc, it gets you out and it's fun without spending money!

mourning33

McKneff wrote: »

I havent had any experience of Wonga mourning, but my own phylosophy is 'dont ask, dont get'
offer to pay them a realistic (for them) say £200 a month, cut your own costs down to accommodate this.
Could yu and your mum get payg phones, cut the entertainment money (wow) £100 down the toilet, get mates
over, tell them to bring a bottle, get one of them to bring their wii's over.
Stop with the clothing, bet you have enough clothes to last you for years.
What is this 'other travel' Cut it out.
Other assets, £500 what is it, an old banger, sell it and walk, or get the bus or lifts.

Good luck and keep posting, there will be lots more advice coming along.

Any chance of borrowing it off your mum.
and by the way, she would be horrified if she knew you were in this state and still paying for her mobile phone,
Im sure she would rather not have it and ring you from payphones. I know this, I'm a mum of grown up children,

Hi McNeff,

I appreciate your blunt but helpful suggestions! My assets are my iPhone 4 and a few clothes.

As the phones are in contract, It would cost me more to leave them than it would to keep them as they are. My mum has no job and lives 60ish miles from her mother and everyone.. She thinks im in a better position than i am but all i was trying to do was help her! Maybe not the greatest plan now..

The other £40 travel is my train tickets to my home town! which i do every 2 weeks usually.. I am looking to move back soon which will cut that expense out.

Maybe i should cut down on the "entertainment" and get people round like you suggested!

However i am the king of cashback so i am due some soon i believe.

Like i mentioned on my above post, Do you recommend i give them any reason why i can't pay.. or just say i am having some financial difficulties and would like to set up a payment plan of £200 a month?

Thanks again. Much appreciated.

[Deleted User]

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Total monthly income.................... 1400

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 367.5
Gas..................................... 50
Water rates............................. 27
Telephone (land line)................... 13
Mobile phone............................ 80 this is very high - if you are in a contract see if you can downgrade a tariff, if/when out of contract look at SIM only/PAYG
TV Licence.............................. 0 don't you pay this?
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 45 downgrade or cancel and go freesat/freeview
Internet Services....................... 17 see if you can get cheaper
Groceries etc. ......................... 130 you can cut this back a bit at least if it's only one of you - drop brands, meal plan, batch cook, shop at cheaper supermarkets (Lidl/Aldi)
Clothing................................ 20 stick with what you have for now
Other travel............................ 40 what does this include? could you get it cheaper if you got a weekly/monthly/quarterly/yearly ticket?
Contents insurance...................... 10
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 15
Haircuts................................ 16
Entertainment........................... 100 this is also very high, cut back until you are debt free
Total monthly expenses.................. 930.5


Assets
Other assets............................ 500 what's this? can you sell it to put towards your debts?
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Wonga..........................800.......800.......2735 obvaiously with this APR this is your biggest priority right now - see about cashing in your assets, cutting back on groceries and entertainment etc this month - the APR is astronomical!!
Catalogs.......................650.......90........0 What's the APR?
Bed Ikano......................170.......32........0 What's the APR?
Total unsecured debts..........1620......922


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,400
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 930.5
Available for debt repayments........... 469.5
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 922
Amount short for making debt repayments. -452.5 Is there any way to raise this this month so that you break even? Cash in your assets? Then from next month you will be in a far better position without having to get another Payday loan?

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,620
Net Assets.............................. -1,120

Hi,

It really does seem to be that if you could get your PAyday loan sorted out once and for all that you would have a surplus at the end of the month instead of a deficit with which you could overpay your remaining debts.

Is there anyway that you could raise this money? Cash in your asset? Borrow from family (and pay them back over a longer time?). Have a clear out and sell things on e-bay/Amazon/Gumtree?

If after making changes and cutting back as much as you can, and doing all that you can to raise the cash you still find that you cannot make your SOA balance, then you need to contact one of the debt charities (CAB, CCCS, National Debtline - these are all free, impartial services where you will get non-judgemental advice)

HTH

D9