Can Fallen Angels Fly Again ?

GreyhoundAngel

So here we are again… Another year on & a year older – but definitely not feeling any wiser … Just cart-loads of regrets … Why can things only be so clear to you with hindsight ? I’ve been back on the boards for a little while … revising what I learnt then forgot .. NO, Wait – what I learnt then stopped doing!

It’s so great to read the progress you’ve all made – I’m chuffed so many have reached the pot of gold! And as always, so awed & humbled by the determination & camaraderie you all show to get there – Especially as I seem have that of a gnat in comparison. Thank you so much for the inspiration.

There’s no point in re-hashing old ground, but if you’d like to see my previous diaries (very short n sweet!) then you can do so Here and Here

However in a nutshell; In 2008, my world basically crumbled due to my partners critical illness and the death of my father. The following couple of years then boomeranged between good, bad & so so. Finally November 2010; My house was sold albeit with negative equity, but was no longer pulling me further down with all the additional costs that still had to be met whilst it was empty / The equity release company seemed to be onside with the resolution plans / Final bills were coming in for the debts meaning no further charges etc – I thought I’d finally got to a position to move forward. :cool:

Jan 2011; DCA letters suddenly started coming in & phone calls started (on my dad’s ex directory number which has never been given out!), court summons suddenly appeared and to cap it off – a new account manager took over at the equity release company and overturned the resolution plans and pushed for possession of the house (dads). _pale_

After much time spent at hearings, courts etc and trying to deal with all this stuff hitting at once and then actually getting to the day before the threatened possession; a private mortgage angel threw me a lifeline. I will be forever grateful to this Mortgage Angel, and the very generous repayment structure they have given me.

I can not even begin to find the words to describe the depth and extent of the stress, emotions & despair that I felt. I’ve been in difficult positions and low points before – but I’ve never ever been in a place like that, and I don’t ever, ever, ever want to visit it again. The road forward is going to be a long one, with the increase in the debt figures and the total wipe out of credit rating, and only me with regular but P/T incoming finance to do it. :undecided

SO….
I’ve returned to the boards not only because I admit I need the help on so many levels …. Budgeting, meal planning, cutting back, stretching resources, increasing resources etc - But also just as importantly, I’m finally ready to accept & admit to myself and others here – that I can’t cope anymore with doing this all alone.

* SOA (Estimated) to follow shortly on post # 2
* Quick Summary on post # 3 – which will be updated regularly for those who just want to skim.
* Action Plans / Idea’s on post # 4 – which will also be updated regularly with any new ideas / suggestions, and please feel free to add your thoughts or womble the ideas for yourself if they’re helpful.

I’d really love, and be grateful for, any company on my journey forwards (even if it’s not always strictly upwards).

G'Angel xx

GreyhoundAngel

SOA – 12/09/11


Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 750 (New Estimated Figure from 01/10/11)
Partners monthly income after tax....... 82 (DLA Basic Care Rate)
Benefits................................ 190 (Estimated W/Tax Credit 01/01/11)
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1022

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1 (As stated this is on a payment “hold”)
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 1 (Pending agreement)
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 105
Electricity............................. 60 (Estimated)
Gas..................................... 30 (Estimated)
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 50 (Pending Meter decision)
Telephone (land line)................... 30 (combined with broadband)
Mobile phone............................ 10 (PAYG, Free double Loadup via Mr T)
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 (Estimated)
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 250 (Estimated)
Road tax................................ 25
Car Insurance........................... 40
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 30
Buildings insurance..................... 50 (Combined House & Contents)
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 25
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 939

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 250000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 251500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 130000...(1)........0
Secured Debt.................. 10000....(1)........0
Total secured & HP debts...... 140000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Old H/H Utility Debts..........1500......10........0
C/Tax Back Payments............1500......10........0
Water Back Payments............900.......10........0
Dad's Backpayments.............6600......0.........0
Private Family Loan............5000......0.........0
Old Business Debts.............2000......10........0
Lloyds C/C Debt................1500......10........0
Cap 1 C/C Debt.................1700......10........0
Old B/Account Debts............2500......10........0
Total unsecured debts..........23200.....70........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,022
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 939
Available for debt repayments........... 83
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 70
Amount left after debt repayments....... 13

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 251,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -140,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -23,200
Net Assets.............................. 88,300

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

So that's it in a nutshell Gang, suggestions very welcome.
G'Angel xx

GreyhoundAngel

Quick Summary

These are my targets I want to achieve - and my Overall Target is 5 Years including the Mortgages

Debts to repay (I am classing the Mortgages as Debts)


MTGE : 130,000 / 0 /
Neg Equity : 10,000 / 0 /

H/H Utility Old Debts : 1,500 / 61 / 1,439
C/Tax (Back Payment) : 1,500 / 570 / 930
Water (Back Payment) : 900 / 300 / 600
Old Accounts O/Drafts : 2,500 / 0 /
Cap 1 C/C : 1,700 / 0 /
Lloyds C/C : 1,500 / 0 /
Old Business C/C & O/D : 2,000 / 0 /

Loan (OH Family - pay back when able) : 5,000 / 0 /
Dad's Back-payments : 6,600 / 1,661.41 / 4,938.59


Sub Total Debts : 11,6000 / 931 / 10,669
Sub Total Mtges: 140,000 / 0 /
Sub Total Dad's : 6,600 / 1,661.41 / 4,938.59
S/T OH Family : 5,000 /


Total Owed : 163,200 / 2,592.41 / 160,607.59

GreyhoundAngel

ACTION PLAN
4 x Sectors = Cash Neutral / Living Fund / Debt Fund / Mortgage payoff Fund

Cash Neutral
Quit Smoking (reduction programme already in progress)
Meal Planning & Batch Cooking
Grocery Bulk Buying / Cheaper Sources
GYO / Chooks / Foraging (blackberries etc)
Vouchers & Coupons etc
Cut Bills
Make do and Mend / Freecycle / Recycle etc

Living Fund
Basic Wages from Main Job

Debt Fund* / Mortgage Payoff Fund*
Over-Time (from Main Job)
Lodger (if poss)
Wages from 2nd Job (if poss)
Audit Work
Freelance Work
M/Shopping
Surveys
Daily Clicks
Cashbacks
Shop & Scan (waiting to hear)
Comps
Paid to Advertise
Ebay
Carboots etc
Cottage Industry items (online & Fairs
£2 Savers Club / Loose change)
Matched Betting (at a later stage)
Reward Account Bonuses (much later when / if I can get an account)
Anything Else I can think of !!!!

* These items will be started together, as I want to ensure I have at least 6months of money for emergencies. Then I will focus on the debts and use the snowball method to speed up paying them off.

I will be using a couple of MSE Challenges to try and remain focused on my Dream -:

* PAD (Payment a day Challenge)
* Monthly £10 a Day Challenge
* NSD (No spend day Challenge) = Well this is going to be everyday except essentials !! lol


I will use a couple of Props to aid me in focusing & keeping track of progress -:

* Chunk It Challenge 1,000 x £250 Chunks (borrowed from a MFW diary)
* Dream Board Pictures of what I want to achieve & anything else that will be motivational
* “Jigsaw Pictures” of each section (ie house photo for the house finance etc), which are filled in as I pay chunks off.

G'Angel xx

Wordsmith

What a terrible few years you've had, and thank God for the wonderful help you've received. Good luck with the onward journey. You've hit rock bottom, now the only way is up!

Added: Have read through your earlier diaries. Gosh, GA, you really have been through the mill. But re-reading your posts above, you have obviously thought in detail about how to move forward, with lots of great ideas and plans. You are so strong, I am sure you will get there. Again, good luck.

GreyhoundAngel

Hi Wordsmith :wave:

Thanks for dropping by, and it's good to see you around again ... I know we missed you muchly on the SE work from home thread while you were goned :A I'm still wading through all the diaries to catch up with everyone ... not sure I'll ever do it, so may just have to skim through their current ones :rotfl:

Wordsmith wrote: »

What a terrible few years you've had, and thank God for the wonderful help you've received. Good luck with the onward journey. You've hit rock bottom, now the only way is up!

Added: Have read through your earlier diaries. Gosh, GA, you really have been through the mill. But re-reading your posts above, you have obviously thought in detail about how to move forward, with lots of great ideas and plans. You are so strong, I am sure you will get there. Again, good luck.

I think when you've been a dogshair breath away from basically losing everything, you know there's no where further you can fall.
Whilst I regret the outcomes, I can't regret the reasons behind the choices made - they were all done for the best reasons.
In a perfect film world .. there would have been near misses, but all the gambles would have eventually paid off, In the real world it doesn't always work that way.:(

The reality now is; that although I've got defaults on virtually everything, because they've been passed to DCA's - there's no further interest or charges being added. The amounts are fixed, so it's just a matter of paying them - and they're only going to get whatever I can give them, no more. The only priorities are the utilities which I need to keep happy.

I just need to find the ways to make it happen,,, and make it so.:)

I recently joined the Monthly £ a day Challenge threads, to regain some confidence in myself and to ease back into the swing. My thanks to everyone who gives such great encouragement to every “newbie” to the monthly threads. I’m hoping that it will inspire me to be creative & focused in getting extra income in the door.

One thing I really must restart, is the survey / clicks etc … I know this is going to take some time to get back into the habit of doing not to mention accumulation of funds. It’s not much in the great scheme of things, but if I can turn over enough of these it will mean I can invest in the books I need for one of my main focuses for next year – GYO.

It’s frightening how much even the basics ranges have gone up (is it cynical of me to think it’s because the Supermarkets have realised so many are switching to them ?), and I really need to reduce the amount spent on grocery shopping. Yes, it’s more time consuming … but hopefully it will result in a return (saving) for almost the same as if I was doing another paid job. I see it as working for myself, even if it’s a long term investment! And I’m very lucky to have the garden room to do this.

G'Angel xx

chevalier

I am sure you will get loads of helpful advice on here, welcome back. Sorry if this is a bit delicate, but if your dad has passed away, why are you paying his debts? I thought that debts were paid from the estate? Like I said sorry for asking, just wanted to be sure you weren't paying something you didn't have to.....
chev

GreyhoundAngel

chevalier wrote: »

I am sure you will get loads of helpful advice on here, welcome back. Sorry if this is a bit delicate, but if your dad has passed away, why are you paying his debts? I thought that debts were paid from the estate? Like I said sorry for asking, just wanted to be sure you weren't paying something you didn't have to.....
chev

Hi Chev :wave:

Nice to see you and thanks for dropping by - No worries, I really appreciate the thought behind your reason for asking

It's a combination of repayments needed to HMRC for an overpayment on one of his pensions, and also tax owed - they've been really good though to take small payments from me as there is no cash available from dad's estate to use (just the house).

The other (and larger) portion of it, is unfortunately linked to something with the house. I've put in a request to have it dispelled (or whatever it's called) but until I know, it's been included.:undecided TBH, for now that's fine - it's frozen so not increasing so it can sit on the back burner.

I guess more importantly, my focus atm needs to be on finding extra revenue sources not reliant on my paye job - and preferably either from home or very close by, as with the recent petrol increases it's costing me about a third of my wages just to get there and I don't want to add much more to that!:eek:

G'Angel xx

Eager_Elephant

Hi GA

I saw you pop up on a few of the regular diaries I read so thought I would be nosey and find out about you.

Just wanted to say what a lovely strong person you are to have come out the other side of everything that has been going on.

Looking forward to seeing the SOA.

EE

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Hi there Angel,

So sorry to hear of the path life has taken you these last few years. The only advice I would offer for what its worth is try not to stray from your diary. I find these forums offer so much hope and encouragement and we all need hope. I am on my own facing debt with my 8 year old dd. And when you feel alone it does make the journey so much worse than you imagine it could be with the support and backing of others. Thats why these diaries are so important and will help you know that you can and inevitably will get there and achieve debt freedom, and peace of mind along the way. All the best and enjoy your bh.

Aesop

aha, found your diary!

am not going to read right now, otherwise no studying will get done, but have subscribed.

xx