Finally Stopped Burying My Head In The Sand!!

laura-19851

Hi all, I really hope that you don’t mind yet another diary but I really need this to keep on track!! I currently have £33,843.62 debt. Yes, you read that right. I have posted a little about my situation on other boards but I’ll put it here just in case anyone is reading this.

Until recently I had a good paying job and was able to meet the minimum repayments on all of my debts. My job was in sales and I was terrible at it, I was very unhappy as it was extremely stressful and as I was so bad at it I was on the road to being sacked. I decided to leave as I couldn't take it anymore. I have always wanted to work in care so I left my job in February and I now work as a homecarer. The pay is terrible and I have different hours every week so my wages will vary from month to month. I am so much more happier in my new job than before but as the pay is so poor I have missed several payments on loans etc. Over the past few weeks I have been seriously considering bankruptcy. I know this is probably the most sensible option however I have decided today that I’m not going down this road. I do not want my parents to find out about the mess that I am in and also I feel that I have spent all this money therefore I need to deal with the consquences and pay it all back. I feel ashamed enough that I am in this situation but personally would feel worse about being bankrupt. (No offense to anyone who is bankrupt as I obviously don’t know your own situations)

It’s going to take a loooong time to pay this off but I am determined that I am going to do it (and not get myself into more debt along the way).

Lx

laura-19851

A little bit more about me & my debts:

I'm 25 & still live at home with my parents (who have no idea about my situation) My hours of work vary on a weekly basis, between 23 & 37, and I am paid £6 an hour. I am currently looking for another job (hopefully full time) as I am going to college in August & this job is costing me way too much in petrol, but I need the car as I travel between clients homes all day. As I live with my parents I have very little outgoings:

Rent - £200
Mobile - £30
Petrol - £150
Car - £60 (includes insurance, tax, rac etc)
Food - £40
Clothes - £20 (includes toiletries & haircuts)
Entertainment - £20

My wages vary month to month, a bad month would probably be around £600. I don't get travel expenses, I need to claim this back from HMRC next April.

My debts:

Halifax Overdraft 1: £3,046.50
Halifax Overdraft 2: £293.98
Halifax Overdraft 3: £97.99
Halifax Credit Card: £2,380
Santander Overdraft: £3,016.47
Halifax Loan: £14,173.04
Tesco Loan: £10,835.64

I haven't yet spoken to any of these banks yet (I've been burying my head in the sand hoping it would all go away :mad:) as I need to sit down and work out what to pay to who. I will most definately 100% be contacting each of them tomorrow though.

Lx

laura-19851

With regards to the Halifax overdrafts:

I am not over my limits on any of the accounts (although very close) and I am being charged £1 a day. When I go over my limits, which I will at the end of this month, I will be charged £5 a day. As I understand their collections department will not set up an arrangement with myself until the account is £50 or more over the overdraft limit. How do I get around this or do I wait until the fees take me to this amount before setting up an agreement?

Lx

JasX

First up, you should post a proper SOA using the makesenseofcards link.

Secondly don;t want to dampen your hopes but financial hardship is one of if not the number one reason for students dropping out of college..... generally they're not taking 20k+ of Debt into college / uni with them. Do you have a robust plan on how you're going to finance your study AND service 20k of debt? or should you be considering all options (eg part time study around a full time job, defering a year while you pay off existing debt etc etc)

worst outcome would be starting college, getting further into debt, dropping out before completion and ending up with more debt, no qualification and not being able to get LEA funding for a 2nd attempt at college later in life, good planning prevents bad outcomes

laura-19851

Hi JasX, thanks for your reply. I will only be at college 2 days a week next year so will be getting a full time job to work around that as I know I'm not going to be able to cope if I don't work full time & I really really want to do this as it is only a 1 year course and afterwards I will be able to make alot more money than I am at the moment.

Lx

Tebheag

Hi

I know its hard but have you considered talking to your parents about it, perhaps even reducing the amount that you owe when you tell them they may be able to help with part or reduce your rent so you can pay more to debts. Also it would leave you feeling less stressed worried about them finding out.
Why do you have to claim travel expenses back from hmrc ? Are you able to make extra money selling things on ebay etc as there is lieelt left towards paying of your debts.
Also sorry to ask but how honest are you being with your entertainment of £20 as that does not seem much to be going out on when you young ?
Good Luck x

dbt3mummy

Didn't want to read and run,

Well done on getting your head out of the sand! It's better not only for your credit profile but your mental state to tackle this head on.

I bank with Halifax but am not sure what their policy is however I don't see why you should have to go further into debt in order for them to set up a repayment plan.

Are you debts student loans? Or do you have anything to show for these debts that could be sold in order to raise some funds to start paying back?
I think you should be open and honest with your parents as at the end of the day you are under their roof and worst case scenario if the baliffs were to turn up could end up costing them. There may be a way they could help you out.

Do you have your APR for each debt?

GAH

Well done on the noticing the problem. From the brief information you have given its going to take a long time with a lot of interest being paid.

I am coming towards paying off my debts now, but at the time I had 20k and felt like i couldn't tell anyone as i was so embarassed and ashamed.

It took a lot of courage for me to tell my parents and I felt sick at the time, as I thought they would go mad, but they weren't, maybe a little disappointed, they helped me financially, I had to pay them back but the crippling interest and sleepless nights were off my back.

They may not be able to help you financially but they are your parents, and I promise you a problem shared is a problem halved.

laura-19851

Thanks everyone for their replies

Tebheag ~ unfortunately talking to my parents is not an option, they are in debt themselves & would not be able to help me and cannot afford for me not to give them rent money. They would be so disappointed in me, it's just not an option I use my car for work andmy company do not pay petrol money so we need to reclaim it through hmrc (i think thats who it is) at the end of the tax year. I have recently started selling things on ebay and will continue to do this until I have nothing left! I hardly have any friends these days and rarely go out so £20 entertainment should be fine!
dbt3mummy - I have the apr foreach debt somewhere. My paperwork is all a big mess just now. I'm going to sort through it all tonight and will post back when I find out. I don't have anything of real value, there is a few things which I could sell on ebay which i'll be doing soon.
GAH - Unfortunately I can't speak to my parents at the moment about this. I will take onboard what you and everyone else has said and I will think about doing it in the future.

Thanks everyone for your comments, they are very much appreciated.

Lx

laura-19851

Just transferred £59.40 from my paypal account (from selling things on ebay). I'll put this into the smallest overdraft account when it comes through. I know I should deal with the largest apr 1st but I would like to get rid of the 2 smaller debts 1st so that overall I have less debts.

I feel worse about all this today as I'm getting all the figures down in black & white but know this is what needs to be done. Need to log off now as I can't think about this anymore

Lx

B120WNY

Heya Laura, I know how your feeling. I had my LBM in July 2008, with debts of £31,000 and Im now just two months away from being debt free.

When I first dug out all the paperwork and seen just what I owed I was shocked, as for months Id just been robbing Peter to pay Paul. However, once you get it all out in the open to yourself, you can sit and get an action plan together.
I registered with CCCS who are a free service, and of an enormous help along the way. Im fortunate enough to have had a promotion along the way which has helped, just like your college course will to you to!

If I were you, Id contact the CCCS and get a Debt Management Plan (DMP) arranged. The debts are always yours to pay, but the are like a mediator between you and our creditors, you pay them, and then the ypass it on. These are hard times and by no means are you in the minority in this situation.

Once your up and running with the DMP it will feel like a weight off your shoulders, youl begin to live by your means and just look forward to the day its all gone. Be honest with yourself and the CCCS and theres a road to freedom, it might seem long, but will great when you get to the end of it.
Try to avoid defaulting if you can, as it will stay on your file for 6yrs and might stop you getting a mortage if you want one. Usually the creditors will reduce the interest on the loan/card anyway once an arrangement to pay has been made.

Hope that helps! PM me if you nee anything else.

Paul