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I have gone full circle with everything :-(

Hi,

I am sitting here the same place i've been all day trying to make sense of everything....and i just cant !!

We are in soo much debt i just dont know what to do.I called one of the credit card companies today to ask them for help and they don't want to know !! We owe lots on credit cards and the amounts are very high.We have been paying the minimum and a bit more until recently but one of them (virgin) has just changed the way the minimum calculation is done and has now increased by £80 a month !!

Well as my wages haven't increased i am already £80 a month missing and then all the other ones have increased as we have been using them to get by so the spiral has continued and now here i am stuck without a clue what to do...

We both work, my husband full time with one job and me part time with 2 jobs (with the hours i think its full time hours) ....I know we have made the mess and i hate it....i feel so so stupid !! As now we have this mess nothing to show for it really and no way of it going away....

I want someone to tell me that its going to be ok, or give me a clue how to help ourselves a bit. I came on here earlier and done a debt analysis with the cccs and they gave me the two options of an IVA or a debt management plan....i think the debt management will be better but i just dont know !!

Its all scaring and stressing me out beyond belief......

I hope some one can help me make sense of all of this and help me figure out what to do next...

to give you a rough idea of what i am dealing with now ill list the debt below...

Credit cards

virgin - 8600
opus - 8600
barclaycard - 8300
IF card -7050
santander - 950
Halifax - 1800
barclaycard - 1200
egg - 1250

we have a mortgage also which we are paying too, the mortgage is for £184000....

between us we bring home about £2800 a month including tax credits and child benefit

I dont know if this is helpful or if anyone might be able to give me a clue where to start but i really hope someone can help me

thanx in advance
«1

Comments

  • Hi sorry I cant help you i havent been here long enough but I want you to know everyone is soo lovely and im sure someone can help. I know the citizens advice are a good place to start usually and they will help you speak to your lendings and get the minimum payments down and the interest frozen so you can start feeling like you are getting somewhere. I do hope that is correct please dont quote me and please I hope noone will jump on me if im worng. I was the same and went bankrupt 6 years ago but dont let it get you down anymore.
    One you start getting yourselves sorted you will start to feel a lot better good luck xx
    DMP with CCCS £9,000 Awaiting exact figure when everything sorted x January 2013 DUE January 2017
    Doing everything and anything to clear by January 2014
    Save £2013 in 2013 £0 Earn £2013 in 2013 £0
    Quit smoking 31 dec 12 current saving £65.55 x
  • hey, didn't want to read and run. Post an SOA on here https://www.makesenseofmoney.co.uk I think is a good starting point. Dont forget to post all the mim payment amounts and APRs on the debts. It's scary but once it's up here there are so many helpful folks who will try to see if they can help you loosen up some funds. Go to Citizens advice or CCCS which are free services. the creditors are more likely to listen to them. Hang on in there, there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.

    lovenhugs x
  • NeverAgain_2
    NeverAgain_2 Posts: 1,796 Forumite
    What is the mortgage payment, about £1,000?

    That leaves you with £1,800 a month for all household bills, food, etc for two, which might be manageable provided you were otherwise free of debt.

    But there's about £38K on the credit cards.

    Is there any equity in the house?

    If the answer is 'no' or 'negative', I think you should consider bankruptcy.
  • hunny123
    hunny123 Posts: 8 Forumite
    would going into a debt management plan not be something to start with ?? I cant lose my home .... I really dont want that to happen ??

    I thought there would be other options than bankruptcy...

    we dont really have equity im afraid as with house prices going down we are probably only just under our mortgage amount.
  • hunny123
    hunny123 Posts: 8 Forumite
    Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

    Household Information

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

    Monthly Income Details

    Monthly income after tax................ 1551
    Partners monthly income after tax....... 960
    Benefits................................ 730
    Other income............................ 0
    Total monthly income.................... 3241


    Monthly Expense Details

    Mortgage................................ 1009
    Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 195
    Rent.................................... 0
    Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
    Council tax............................. 126
    Electricity............................. 72
    Gas..................................... 67
    Oil..................................... 0
    Water rates............................. 34
    Telephone (land line)................... 11
    Mobile phone............................ 20
    TV Licence.............................. 13.24
    Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40
    Internet Services....................... 10
    Groceries etc. ......................... 250
    Clothing................................ 20
    Petrol/diesel........................... 80
    Road tax................................ 0
    Car Insurance........................... 0
    Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
    Car parking............................. 0
    Other travel............................ 0
    Childcare/nursery....................... 620
    Other child related expenses............ 0
    Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
    Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
    Buildings insurance..................... 28.51
    Contents insurance...................... 0
    Life assurance ......................... 13.24
    Other insurance......................... 0
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
    Haircuts................................ 10
    Entertainment........................... 10
    Holiday................................. 0
    Emergency fund.......................... 10
    Total monthly expenses.................. 2648.99



    Assets

    Cash.................................... 0
    House value (Gross)..................... 190000
    Shares and bonds........................ 0
    Car(s).................................. 0
    Other assets............................ 0
    Total Assets............................ 190000



    Secured & HP Debts

    Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
    Mortgage...................... 184000...(1009).....5.75
    Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 10500....(195)......5.5
    Total secured & HP debts...... 194500....-.........-


    Unsecured Debts
    Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
    opus card......................8600......253.......28.9
    barclaycard....................8300......180.......21.9
    virgin card....................8600......220.......25.9
    barclaycard....................2700......60........18.9
    barclaycard....................1250......30........19.9
    IF card........................7000......135.......19.9
    santander......................950.......18.9......0
    halifax........................1800......25........0
    egg............................1257......30........16.9
    Total unsecured debts..........40457.....951.9.....-



    Monthly Budget Summary

    Total monthly income.................... 3,241
    Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,648.99
    Available for debt repayments........... 592.01
    Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 951.9
    Amount short for making debt repayments. -359.89


    Personal Balance Sheet Summary
    Total assets (things you own)........... 190,000
    Total HP & Secured debt................. -194,500
    Total Unsecured debt.................... -40,457
    Net Assets.............................. -44,957
  • footiemom
    footiemom Posts: 47 Forumite
    Only advice I can give is to give the Cccs a call, they will go through all your income etc and tell you your options. I have been where you are owing more than yourself and sitting chewing my nails worrying about the future. But since I started my dmp 3 months ago life has been a lot easier. Yes at the start u will get letters and phonecalls but it will settle. I still get the odd night that I wake up in a panic but as my oh says we have each other our 3 lovely kids And our health so we are very lucky. I wish you all the best for the future

    Footiemom
  • Hi Hunni123

    We had got over £30K of debt like you with credit cards and a loan and we have just started a DMP with CCCS i know what you mean with virgin this was the final straw for us too. personally i would go with the DMP not an IVA, yes an IVA only last 5 years but once it ends any equity in your house can go towards final settlement. I would recommend The CCCS they have been very good so far and at the moment 3 out of the 5 creditors have accepted our reduced payment with interest frozen (Virgin one of them). Yes it is scary and stressfull but once you start to sort things out it does get better, good luck x
  • bottleofred
    bottleofred Posts: 2,902 Forumite
    Hi Hunny,

    Yes, you certainly could consider a debt management plan and I would personally recommend the consumer credit counselling service who mine was with. The service is free and I think they're great. I've put some thoughts below about your statement of affairs. It's obviously the high interest on the cards that is hurting your finances, but don't feel stupid at all, as lots of my debt was incurred due to putting the grocery shopping on the cards, or filling the car with diesel etc. Don't misunderstand me, I was also incredibly stupid and wreckless with cash, but I know how easy it is for it to spiral out of control. I didn't believe that life would go on without loans and credit cards etc, but it does and is pretty good, as you become very aware of where all the money goes in a way I never kept track of before.

    Good luck

    Red

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

    Monthly Income Details
    Monthly income after tax................ 1551
    Partners monthly income after tax....... 960
    Benefits................................ 730
    Other income............................ 0
    Total monthly income.................... 3241

    Monthly Expense Details
    Mortgage................................ 1009
    Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 195
    Rent.................................... 0
    Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
    Council tax............................. 126
    Electricity............................. 72Expensive, can you get a combined deal for it and the gas?
    Gas..................................... 67
    Oil..................................... 0
    Water rates............................. 34
    Telephone (land line)................... 11
    Mobile phone............................ 20A payg would cost around £10 per month
    TV Licence.............................. 13.24
    Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40Expensive, can you reduce this?
    Internet Services....................... 10
    Groceries etc. ......................... 250Try cooking things from scratch, batch cooking, taking advantage of bogofs and freezing for later. Recipes are on the old style boards
    Clothing................................ 20you could miss a month here or there and also consider ebay etc
    Petrol/diesel........................... 80
    Road tax................................ 0do you not pay anything?
    Car Insurance........................... 0see above
    Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
    Car parking............................. 0
    Other travel............................ 0
    Childcare/nursery....................... 620
    Other child related expenses............ 0
    Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
    Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
    Buildings insurance..................... 28.51
    Contents insurance...................... 0
    Life assurance ......................... 13.24
    Other insurance......................... 0
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
    Haircuts................................ 10
    Entertainment........................... 10this figure is low, nobody expects you to stay in forever!
    Holiday................................. 0
    Emergency fund.......................... 10
    Total monthly expenses.................. 2648.99


    Assets
    Cash.................................... 0
    House value (Gross)..................... 190000
    Shares and bonds........................ 0
    Car(s).................................. 0
    Other assets............................ 0
    Total Assets............................ 190000


    Secured & HP Debts
    Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
    Mortgage...................... 184000...(1009).....5.75
    Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 10500....(195)......5.5
    Total secured & HP debts...... 194500....-.........-

    Unsecured Debts
    Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
    opus card......................8600......253.......28.9
    barclaycard....................8300......180...... .21.9
    virgin card....................8600......220.......25.9
    barclaycard....................2700......60....... .18.9
    barclaycard....................1250......30....... .19.9
    IF card........................7000......135.......19 .9
    santander......................950.......18.9..... .0
    halifax........................1800......25....... .0
    egg............................1257......30....... .16.9
    Total unsecured debts..........40457.....951.9.....-


    Monthly Budget Summary
    Total monthly income.................... 3,241
    Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,648.99
    Available for debt repayments........... 592.01
    Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 951.9
    Amount short for making debt repayments. -359.89

    Personal Balance Sheet Summary
    Total assets (things you own)........... 190,000
    Total HP & Secured debt................. -194,500
    Total Unsecured debt.................... -40,457
    Net Assets.............................. -44,957
    If you've nothing decent to say, perhaps you shouldn't say anything.

    £2 savings jar £300:D
    Total credit card debts £1250:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: - Will I ever learn!!
  • mommacrab
    mommacrab Posts: 40 Forumite
    hunny123 wrote: »
    Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

    Household Information

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

    Monthly Income Details

    Monthly income after tax................ 1551
    Partners monthly income after tax....... 960
    Benefits................................ 730
    Other income............................ 0
    Total monthly income.................... 3241


    Monthly Expense Details

    Mortgage................................ 1009
    Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 195
    Rent.................................... 0
    Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
    Council tax............................. 126
    Electricity............................. 72
    Gas..................................... 67
    Oil..................................... 0
    Water rates............................. 34
    Telephone (land line)................... 11
    Mobile phone............................ 20
    TV Licence.............................. 13.24
    Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40 cancel this one
    Internet Services....................... 10
    Groceries etc. ......................... 250
    Clothing................................ 20
    Petrol/diesel........................... 80
    Road tax................................ 0 you need something in here
    Car Insurance........................... 0 you need something in here
    Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 you need something in here
    Car parking............................. 0
    Other travel............................ 0
    Childcare/nursery....................... 620 do you get extra benefits for this? can you get cheaper?
    Other child related expenses............ 0
    Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
    Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
    Buildings insurance..................... 28.51
    Contents insurance...................... 0 you really need this unless it is together with your bld insurance
    Life assurance ......................... 13.24
    Other insurance......................... 0
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
    Haircuts................................ 10
    Entertainment........................... 10
    Holiday................................. 0
    Emergency fund.......................... 10
    Total monthly expenses.................. 2648.99



    Assets

    Cash.................................... 0
    House value (Gross)..................... 190000
    Shares and bonds........................ 0
    Car(s).................................. 0
    Other assets............................ 0
    Total Assets............................ 190000



    Secured & HP Debts

    Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
    Mortgage...................... 184000...(1009).....5.75
    Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 10500....(195)......5.5
    Total secured & HP debts...... 194500....-.........-


    Unsecured Debts
    Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
    opus card......................8600......253.......28.9
    barclaycard....................8300......180.......21.9
    virgin card....................8600......220.......25.9
    barclaycard....................2700......60........18.9
    barclaycard....................1250......30........19.9
    IF card........................7000......135.......19.9
    santander......................950.......18.9......0
    halifax........................1800......25........0
    egg............................1257......30........16.9
    Total unsecured debts..........40457.....951.9.....-



    Monthly Budget Summary

    Total monthly income.................... 3,241
    Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,648.99
    Available for debt repayments........... 592.01
    Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 951.9
    Amount short for making debt repayments. -359.89


    Personal Balance Sheet Summary
    Total assets (things you own)........... 190,000
    Total HP & Secured debt................. -194,500
    Total Unsecured debt.................... -40,457
    Net Assets.............................. -44,957

    I would seriously consider putting a small amount away each month to cover your road tax, MOT and car insurance - they are a must if you are going to keep your car.

    Have you claimed all the benefits you can for your children - such as childcare element of tax credits? Is there anyway you can make alternative arrangements for the children, perhaps a relative can help.

    I've not got any advice as to the best route to take re DMP's etc but no doubt someone with a lot more experience will be along shortly.

    Good luck and don't panic.
  • Sorry i can't be of any help, but didn't wanna read and not reply. Stay strong, you'll get out of it in the end. Sounds like you have got some good advice from here. Big hugs, xxx
    Slimming World Challenge 2017 0/30.5lb

    Grocery challenge 2017 JAN: £5.56/£350
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