dont know what to do,

laikadog

dont know where to start , what to do , how to get out of this (insert swear word here)
got no money, our van is out of mot in feb, tax runs out end of this month, getting behind on c.cards, b****y landlord turns up today and wants £300 arrears which is a total kick in the teeth as 5 weeks ago he agreed to only take £10 a week to make up the shortfall on our rent instead of £25 and said he would be back in 4 weeks to get £40 of us, he has now decided he wants £25 a week from when we moved in (minus £150 that i paid him 5 weeks ago).
i just want to sit and cry cos i cant see how i can sort this mess out, i dont want to loose this house, in fact i am crying now , how pathetic is that, worse cos im at home alone cos husband gone to pick kids up from grans and wont be back till sunday, which is more expense cos it will cost £40 in petrol, at least he'll be bringing back an old washer we've been given, sorry got to stop, will make a cuppa and get control of myself and be back soon

I_was_a_fool

Just want to send you a big hug! Read the sticky from SouthernScouser at the top of the forum & prepare & post an SOA & lots of advice will be forthcoming! Things look black just now but you are in a good place that can give you loads of advice & support & put you back in control.

I speak as someone up to their eyes in debt!!

laikadog

thank you , your setting me off again !

i'll go have a look

Snaggles

Hi Laikadog! Sorry you are feeling so overwhelmed at the moment. As I-was-a-fool says, you are in exactly the right place to get advice and a friendly ear. Pop your soa up, and I'm sure there will be plenty of suggestions for cutting costs etc. Also, I don't know what sort of budget you have for food shopping etc, but have a look on the 'Old Style' board, there are loads of tips on there for reducing it without living on beans on toast. Take care and don't panic, you have taken the first step towards taking control of your finances. Love Snaggles xxx

I_was_a_fool

Dont despair! I came here in despair three months ago & things are so much brighter for me now!

You also want to have a look at the CCCS website at http://www.cccs.co.uk/

This is a charity that will run a debt management plan for you for free & also give you loads of advice. You can put in all the facts & figures about your debts and your budget and they will email you an advice booklet. You can then follow the advice or not, there is no obligation.

They really help you sort out what is important to pay, such as council tax & rent & what can wait, such as credit cards!

I have been on a dmp with them for 3 months and most of my creditors have accepted this & frozen interest & charges. (not all have, but my debt is reducing slowly & I hope they all follow on eventually)

Dont go near those companies that advertise on TV, vultures!

laikadog

us,
me, husband , 3 kids.

incoming.

jsa, £88 pw
child tax £106pw
c.benef. £40pw

get £300 paid off a £400 rent pcm

outgoing:eek:

rent £25pw
gas £10+ pw on prepay meter
elec £10+pw key meter
water not had bill yet
tv lic £5 pw
freeview £2pw
phone/internet £5pw
animal feed £20 pw (horse, dogs cat chickens)
van insur. £15pw
petrol £20pw
horse insur. £5pw
baccy £10pw
food/lunch boxs £70+pw
household stuff £10pw (washing powder, bog roll etc)
credit cards, havent worked out yet !!
car tax havent had to pay yet but will soon !

owe,
£300 rent arrears (git)
tsb (1) £1,720 (d.deb @£35 pm)
tsb(2) £2'234. (d.debit@£40pm)
cap one £243
barclays £333
virgin £2,220
bacleys want £57 now and cap 1 want £69 now darent look at virgin !!
i think thats everything ?
we live in a rural area, so need a car, 20 mile round trip to supermarket, 4miles to get petrol. we do own 8 acres of woodland and are usually self sufficient in eggs woo hoo !

laikadog

feeling a bit happier already, thanks for being here

Snaggles

First thoughts are:

Food - £70 per week isn't bad for 2 adults and 3 kids, although it could possibly be reduced quite a bit. One tip is to have a look through your storecupboards, fridge, freezer etc, and try and get things used up that have been lurking in there for a while.

Baccy - could this be reduced, or cut out altogether? (Not that easy, I know). I'm just thinking that if you could get rid of this, it would free up over £500 per year, which I'm sure would help ease the pressure on your finances.

Do you know what the APRs are on the credit cards, and what the limits are? Is there any possibility of moving balances around to get all the debt at the lowest interest rate possible?

If you do need to speak to someone in person, as previously mentioned, the CCCS, Payplan and also the Citizens Advice Bureau are all good sources of free, confidential advice - please don't go near any of the others that advertise that they can wipe off large chunks of your debt, as they charge huge fees for the priviledge.

In the long term, you mentioned you are self sufficient in the egg department - you also have a large plot of land - could you plant other fruit/veg etc, and become even more self sufficient?

I'm sure the morning shift will be along in a few hours with some good advice too, so hang in there, and try and get a good nights sleep.

laikadog

thanks im off to bed now , will have a proper read + reply tomorrow.

dawn2dusk

laikadog wrote:

us,
me, husband , 3 kids.

incoming.

jsa, £88 pw Are both you and hubby claiming JSA ? Are either of you looking for work ?
child tax £106pw
c.benef. £40pw

get £300 paid off a £400 rent pcm

outgoing:eek:

rent £25pw
gas £10+ pw on prepay meter
elec £10+pw key meter
water not had bill yet
tv lic £5 pw

freeview £2pw I thought freeview was free, why £2 pw ?
phone/internet £5pw

animal feed £20 pw (horse, dogs cat chickens) I know this might sound insensitive but in your situation can you afford to keep these animals ?

van insur. £15pw
petrol £20pw

horse insur. £5pw Can you afford this ?

baccy £10pw Try a smoking cessation clinic in your area, you will get help and either free nicotine patches or subsidized ones.

food/lunch boxs £70+pw Have a look at the OS board on this forum, plenty of ideas to reduce food bill.

household stuff £10pw (washing powder, bog roll etc) Look at OS board again

credit cards, havent worked out yet !! The card with the highest APR pay off first. Don't know what your credit rating is like but try snowballing for lowest APR.

car tax havent had to pay yet but will soon !

owe,
£300 rent arrears (git)
tsb (1) £1,720 (d.deb @£35 pm)
tsb(2) £2'234. (d.debit@£40pm)
cap one £243
barclays £333
virgin £1,990 What are the APRs on these cards ?
bacleys want £57 now and cap 1 want £69 now darent look at virgin !!
i think thats everything ?
we live in a rural area, so need a car, 20 mile round trip to supermarket, 4miles to get petrol. we do own 8 acres of woodland and are usually self sufficient in eggs woo hoo !

Smashing

How is the job searching actually going? Is there anything in the pipeline?

Hate to say it, but can you really afford to keep a horse? Would you consider loaning it out to bring in some income?

Smoking and food are other areas to cut down on, but really you need to be looking at raising your income as a priority.