A few questions

Neverending_Story

Hi All,

I'm new here, I'm just working out my SOA and getting even more upset about it. To cut a long story short... I have been made redundant 3 times in 3 years and also suffer from severe depression which I am finally winning a battle against so I want to get myself sorted. I have just started a new job but I have had to take a pay cut which isn't helping but I thought that having any money coming in was better than none. My debt free date has just been calculated at September 2015 but I am struggling to pay even the minimum. I live on my own and my family can't help me.

If I offer reduced payments to creditors does it ruin your credit history?

I am in negative equity with my HP car due to an accident I had with a previous vehicle (About £3000 worth), is there any way to negotiate getting rid of some of it?

Will student loans defer payments if you earn over the threshold if there are mitigating circumstances like mine?

Any advice apppreciated.

Sarah75

Hello there,

I can't offer any advice but I just wanted to say well done for taking the first step and posting here. I'm sure you'll get some great advice soon. Now you've started dealing with your debt issues you'll feel much better.

Good luck

Neverending_Story

Thanks Sarah.

It's rubbish dealing with this on my own! I don't have anyone to make me a cup of tea when I need it either.

x

gettingbackontrack

Hi

Just wanted to say that you're not alone. I've been there (well, I'm still there because I'm not debt-free yet) and when you live alone and there aren't people to confide in it can be tough. Counting up and acknowledging your debts is awful - four years ago I had to do just that after borrowing more and more to try to keep things going. When I added it up it came to £53,000. That's me, a single woman, running up £53,000 of unsecure debt. I was earning just over £30,000 and I couldn't service it. So I started a self-managed DMP.

Four years on, I now owe £18,000 (I'm earning less as I too was made redundant so I've had to reduce my payments and slow things down). It's been hard - it was very hard at first because you have very little money and nowhere to go if you need extra one month (a car bill, a birthday etc). I lived very frugally (Tesco value products) and gradually things got better. I'm now hoping to be debt-free in 3 years and I can't imagine what it will be like to have an extra £500 a month to spend. Or save.

I don't know about student loans and HP, but I'm afraid your credit history will be affected by the reduced payments. Not ruined because the debts will eventually be paid off. And you'll be so used to living without credit that you won't need it anymore. It's a small price to pay for long-term peace of mind and being free of the debt trap. All my creditors froze interest (though Barclaycard have now reinstated it, it's only 3%) and without that I think I would have been looking into the abyss. I know a lot of people worry about their credit history but if you can get interest frozen by admitting you're having problems, you'll get rid of the debts quicker. I feel a lot better paying MBNA £120 a month knowing that all of it goes to reducing the debt instead of £90+ going on interest.

You WILL get there - you're going through the worst time now. Is there anything you can do to make a little extra money? Ebay, obviously, or a part-time job? I can only say from my experience that the first few months were very tight but things did get a little easier and when you pay off that first debt you'll free up some money to ease your way.

You can do it. I felt like you but four years later, here I am. A better person, a happier person and one who can now look forward rather than feeling there is no way out.

Sorry to go on - I just wanted you to know that no matter how bleak things seem, things will be OK.

x

Magi74

I'd echo what has just been written - you are not alone. Plenty of people have been in similar situations and, sadly, there will be many more people dealing with these problems in the future.

Your SOA (whilst painful - I know ours was!) will help you to understand what you've got to play with. There may be savings to make and the folks on here will help identify those whilst being as supportive as they can.

As for defaults....I'm in a similar situation and I'm not focusing on that part of the problem. If my SOA says I've got £200 to pay debt then that's all I've got to pay debt - if it results in a default then it was going to happen. Sure I'm going to try and prevent defaults, but if I can only afford to pay company x £30 there's little that can be done about it.

I can't comment on HP or student loans, but do try to get your SOA up and get CCCS (or similar) involved; CCCS have been brilliant with us so far as our DMP goes live next month.

MattSS

I'll make you a cup of tea if you need one

Delree

gettingbackontrack wrote: »

Hi

Just wanted to say that you're not alone. I've been there (well, I'm still there because I'm not debt-free yet) and when you live alone and there aren't people to confide in it can be tough. Counting up and acknowledging your debts is awful - four years ago I had to do just that after borrowing more and more to try to keep things going. When I added it up it came to £53,000. That's me, a single woman, running up £53,000 of unsecure debt. I was earning just over £30,000 and I couldn't service it. So I started a self-managed DMP.

Four years on, I now owe £18,000 (I'm earning less as I too was made redundant so I've had to reduce my payments and slow things down). It's been hard - it was very hard at first because you have very little money and nowhere to go if you need extra one month (a car bill, a birthday etc). I lived very frugally (Tesco value products) and gradually things got better. I'm now hoping to be debt-free in 3 years and I can't imagine what it will be like to have an extra £500 a month to spend. Or save.

I don't know about student loans and HP, but I'm afraid your credit history will be affected by the reduced payments. Not ruined because the debts will eventually be paid off. And you'll be so used to living without credit that you won't need it anymore. It's a small price to pay for long-term peace of mind and being free of the debt trap. All my creditors froze interest (though Barclaycard have now reinstated it, it's only 3%) and without that I think I would have been looking into the abyss. I know a lot of people worry about their credit history but if you can get interest frozen by admitting you're having problems, you'll get rid of the debts quicker. I feel a lot better paying MBNA £120 a month knowing that all of it goes to reducing the debt instead of £90+ going on interest.

You WILL get there - you're going through the worst time now. Is there anything you can do to make a little extra money? Ebay, obviously, or a part-time job? I can only say from my experience that the first few months were very tight but things did get a little easier and when you pay off that first debt you'll free up some money to ease your way.

You can do it. I felt like you but four years later, here I am. A better person, a happier person and one who can now look forward rather than feeling there is no way out.

Sorry to go on - I just wanted you to know that no matter how bleak things seem, things will be OK.

x

This is what happens when you take control, happier life.

mum2one

You've taken the hardest step, and thats having the lightbulb moment, yes your SOA may seempainful, as your putting everything into black and white, but as the old saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved...

I'm just starting the process of a self managed dmp, but I know if I can't get all my creditors to agree, then i have CCCS (there on the debt threads) they have been brilliant.

My plan is over the next 2 weeks to get the companies to agree to 6 month package, then review from there. I've only rang 1, and they were brilliant, freeze interest, stop charges, so like the other poster, (apologies I'm useless remembering names), the apr on that card was 39.9%, so for eg £100 payment, would be £10 debt, £90 interest, for now there accepting £10 per month, so hopeing its the first of many.

Its finding your own way of dealing with it, but you've already got some great comments and support from the other posters. You take care, get the SOA done, as sometimes a 2nd pair of eyes will fund an extra £1 or £2.

xx

Neverending_Story

Cheers people.

I wish I had any money to play with. At the moment it looks like leaving the property ladder and going back into rented accommodation and paying off someone else's mortgage looks like it's on the cards. Unfortunately due to the nature of my job (long hours, tough work, long distance to travel, getting home late) getting an additional job doesn't seem very likely without me suffering physically as a result. I already sell bits on ebay. I tried a bit of buying and selling but there are so many scammers and psychos out there it only made me feel worse about myself! I added it up to about £26K of debt, and I earn just under £35K, where I used to earn over £40K and not have to pay fuel or car. I'm really feeling it. Most of it is from when I was a student or unemployed as I am usually quite sensible with money.

I just want it gone!

gettingbackontrack

Neverending_Story wrote: »

Cheers people.

I wish I had any money to play with. At the moment it looks like leaving the property ladder and going back into rented accommodation and paying off someone else's mortgage looks like it's on the cards. Unfortunately due to the nature of my job (long hours, tough work, long distance to travel, getting home late) getting an additional job doesn't seem very likely without me suffering physically as a result. I already sell bits on ebay. I tried a bit of buying and selling but there are so many scammers and psychos out there it only made me feel worse about myself! I added it up to about £26K of debt, and I earn just under £35K, where I used to earn over £40K and not have to pay fuel or car. I'm really feeling it. Most of it is from when I was a student or unemployed as I am usually quite sensible with money.

I just want it gone!

You've had some tought imes but you CAN do this. You have a lot fo debt but you also earn a reasonable income even though you're suffering from the drop in salary right now.

You've made a great start by adding up your debt and posting it. I was never that brave - my LBM was sobbing down the phone to my mortgage company on my birthday because they wouldn't let me have any more funds though I have equity in my home. I thought I'd lose my home, thought I would have to have a lodger at least and lose my privacym my sanctuary. That was the day i stopped borrowing and started paying back. But what helped me was taking a payment holiday for a couple of months which allowed me a little breathing space while I approached my creditors. Can you try that? I couldn't put "financial dofficulty" on the form but that was OK, I put "household expenses" down and it went through (as it did last year when I took another payment holiday).

One thing I wish I'd done was send a token payment when I wrote to my creditors asking to go on a payment plan - I hadn't found this site then and I kept paying the full amount, then ran out of ways to keep going and sent them nothing for a couple of months.

Can you post your SOA here so people can have a look? I'm no expert but I do know that you can do this. You're not alone - people will help you here (like the kind woman at the bank helped me when I was at a very low ebb). Four years on, I've learned how to budget, I've learned the thrill of buying things (even an item of clothing, somthing simple like that) when you've saved up for it and you have the money in your hand. I am even budgeting for Christmas - a few years ago I thought I had no future and was a complete failure.

You sound like you do an demanding job - maybe you can think of this as a job and approach it in the same way? Please don't give up - your debt can be reduced and things will get better. One of the first things I read when i came to this site was Martin's comment that he'd never seem a debt that couldn;t be solved. I've realised that's true.

Sorry - I've rambled again! But I don't want you to think there's no way out here.

dancingfairy

Hi - have you sought help from anyone like CCCS or National Debtline to go over your circumstances objectively. It can be hard to see the wood for the trees on your own.
Could you afford the mortgage if you only pay token payments to your other creditors for a while?
It's a big step selling up and renting and it often seems like a knee-jerk reaction but when people stop and consider things they don't always need or want to sell up.
If you do an SOA from makesense of cards website and post it up here I'm sure people will give you advice and opinions on where to go next with it all and/or try the debt charities.
Best of Luck
df