"Simply not solvent!

Seaxwyn

HI all. Just popping on quickly whilst checking bank balances etc etc Thanks for all the support, you are a fantastic bunch.

Chev, hope the person liked your super-tidy house and good luck with the move if you don't make it on here before. Can't wait to read about your new life in NZ. All your thoughts were spot on and I will investigate online shopping. There is something deep in OH's psyche which makes him overspend on luxury foods, so I do have to do something to keep him out of the shops!

I finished my article, phew! Feeling very relieved. And fate dropped a lovely gift on me - a surprise invitation to visit an old friend who was staying on a luxury houseboat on the Thames near Hampton Court. So I spent Thursday night drinking wine and watching ducks and rowers on the darkening river. It was really magical.

For once I have a weekend with no work deadlines hanging over me so I'm determined to spend the time tidying the house and garden. And seeing if I can make my work space a little less manic - Chev you are right that would help lots. I'm even thinking hard about Emmy's laptop idea. I still have £1k space on my 0% credit card.....

Karmacat

Ooh, your Thursday night sounds lovely, how wonderful. Beats me sitting in builders dust watching Bones on Sky One! :rotfl: Tidying and gardening - sounds good, if wet. I'd love to be tidying, but I have to clean before putting things away, and I'm not sure I have the energy. Still, if you can get your workspace and the nearby environment into a place with good vibes where you can work, it could be incredibly positive for you, I hope you can do it.

chevalier

[quote=Seaxwyn;10991991

Chev, hope the person liked your super-tidy house and good luck with the move if you don't make it on here before. Can't wait to read about your new life in NZ. May take a while to get on line. We are not flying out until about the 10th June.

All your thoughts were spot on and I will investigate online shopping. There is something deep in OH's psyche which makes him overspend on luxury foods, so I do have to do something to keep him out of the shops! I guess he thinks but it is only x £s and we owe so much or something like that. Maybe he hasn't 'got' that lots of only x £s is part of the reason you are still in debt.... I would defo go for the online shopping I think it will help a lot. Also whilst it maybe the only choice, shopping in Sainsbury is going to be more expensive anyway, so is there anyone else you can do online shopping with? ie Tesco or Adsa?

I finished my article, phew! Feeling very relieved. :T :beer:


For once I have a weekend with no work deadlines hanging over me so I'm determined to spend the time tidying the house and garden. And seeing if I can make my work space a little less manic - Chev you are right that would help lots. I have been pleasantly surprised myself, how happy (if that is the right word), I feel now that the house is so much more tidy. I hate house work with a passion. But I also think that is because OH has to be nagged into doing any of it, and also because it gets left too long, so the task seems insurmountable. Hmmm that sounds like your work and your deadlines......:D .

I'm even thinking hard about Emmy's laptop idea. I still have £1k space on my 0% credit card.....[/quote] Maybe a long shot but put a want on freecycle. People seem to upgrade their equipment far more regularly than I do (my computer is older than the boys and the oldest is nearly 7!), so maybe there might be someone who can't be bothered to sell their old one... Would mean you still had the gap on the card for an emergency!

chev

taxi73

EVENING Seaxwyn..nice to see you have caught up with yourself and that you had the weekend free...would it be an idea to condense the work into the same timeframe as an office job and then you will also have a lot of free time to relax and maybe be a lot more stress free time to enjoy as you please for you and your family and a computer with no internet access sounds ideal.

mizmir

Hi Seaxwyn

Well done on finishing that article! And your evening on the river sounds lovely - that sort of thing is a real boost isn't it? Hope you had a good weekend and are all refreshed for the new week.

Seaxwyn

Aaargh! Panic time! I don't know what to do.

OH has no more work at the College..... and has fallen out with his only other client, so we may be back to the situation that lasted several years where he actually didn't earn. And at the same time, I have less work than before.

So failing a miracle (and I'm a strong believer in miracles) our income could be under our outgoings for the next few months (and has been all but one month so far this year).

Obviously we put all energy into finding more work but meanwhile I have a dilemma over OH's loan. The one I said I'd paid off this month with money BT'ed from my 0% Virgin card. Because... actually I didn't pay it off, and have been using that money to live on, so am now something like £800 short of the amount needed to pay it off.

That loan is our highest interest debt, at 12.7%. And we loathe HSBC and would love to sever all ties with them. So I still want to pay it off and as I see it there are several options, which I will put in another post as this one has already got too long...

Seaxwyn

All our debts are at low interest apart from one HSBC managed loan which is at 12.7%. Settlement fig just under £3,300

I want to pay this off.

I have £2400 in my current account. BUT would prefer to leave £500 in this account. So approximately £1,900 available there.

I have £600 available on my Virgin card, 0% til July 09, with 3% Balance transfer fee) - just spoke to the man at Virgin who said that if I paid a couple of hundred off that card now, they would very likely increase my credit limit by more than enough.

Or I could transfer it to my Sainsbury's CC - interest 5.94% for LOB, also subject to 3% fee.

And another idea is to transfer it to my Sainsbury's CC and stick the £1900 currently in my current account into my Cash ISA (paying 5.3%) - which appeals strongly as I do want to have money available for lean times and for my tax bill.

Sorry that is so confusing - I would love to know what others would do.

Or I could just leave the loan, put the £1,900 into my ISA, and pay the loan (receiving 5.3% interest).

What would you clever people do?

chevalier

Sorry my brain is swiss cheese after all the late nights this week. Have the college explained why they haven't given him more work? What work is he going to do in the mean time? Has he signed on? Does this mean you have working tax credits?

How long is left on the managed loan? Could you pay it off in installments to spread the debt?

Really don't know the answer
chev

mizmir

Will you be able to pay it off by July 09? If so then the 0% sounds like your best bet - especially if they will increase your credit limit. You ideally need to keep something aside for your tax bill. If nt sure that you can pay it off I would go for the low life of balance but set aside whatever you need for tax + a few hundred for emergencies and pay some off from the current account as well.

Seaxwyn

Thanks Chev. I think the college work just winds down at this point in the academic year. No more lectures. All being well he will work there again in October.

No idea what he is going to do. Maybe he can deliver sandwiches again. He can't (or won't) sign on. It is next to impossible when you are self-employed because you have to give up your self-employed status and therefore say goodbye to any prospect of working in the future. But maybe our working tax credits will increase, that's a good point, thanks!

The loan has 43 more months to run and is not at all flexible.

I have written a list of our options down for OH and hope to discuss it with him this evening. We could pay it off with cash we've got available now if we agreed to really tighten our belts - as you know I need to convince him of this! He ha