Lightbulb moment! But which to deal with first?

angelatgraceland

Check out the interest rates you are paying on the various cards and start overpaying on the highest interest one. That would make a start. I would personally prioritise water and council tax-things that sort of keep a roof over my head. Do get some proper debt advice though and try to get some interest frozen or something. Catalogues are generally high interest so do have alook at those rates. Paying the minimum will make them last for years, apart from the amound you will have paid them in interest. Make sure that all payments are by dd so that you nevr miss any and have to pay bank penalty fees.

anniestar

Welcome and well done on posting. You will get fab advice on here. Oh and bst of luck with your impnding new arrivial!.

raq

lush_bucket wrote:

Hi guys,

I regulary read this forum and finally decided its time to stop reading and start acting. My partner and I have the following debts mostly accrued by me I might add. We are expecting our first baby next month so this lightbulb moment has come a little late but better late than never.. right? I will list the debts and then hopefully you might help me work out which is the one to tackle first, I'd be ever so grateful of any advice! And just to let you guys know I can't borrow as I have a hideous credit record. I now have a basic bank account with no overdraft or chequebook - attempting to avoid temptation.

Lloyds Tsb - £1500 (My main disaster debt. This is a current account that is still open but that I no longer use. It's a nightmare, the agreed overdraft is 1300. Each month they add almost £300 of charges on it. I have cancelled all direct debits on it. But need to get them to close the account and work out a repayment plan.

Council Tax Arrears - £700. (Currently recieving baliff letters about this. They will accept installments but are going to add £50 on for someone to come and visit us to discuss it.)

Old Council tax bill for previous address - £128. (Recieved an attatchment of earnings order for this.)

Next Directory - £500 - (CCJ received ordering 4 x £125 monthly) installments

Housing benefit overpayment - £500 (Currently with Philips debt collection agency - paying an agreed £10 a week)

Additions catalogue - £435 ( Credit limit of £500 only ever pay the minimum)

Choice Catalogue - £1100 (Credit Limit of £1800 again only make minimum payments)

NTL - £98

Thames Water - £128

Simply be - £62 (Credit limit - £200)

Vanquis - £250 (apr 39.9%)

Our income - (appreciate it's low) My maternity wages - £450.00, Partners Wages - £670, Working tax credit - £180.

We also make a little extra from mystery shoping and ebaying. Approx £60 pcm from mystery shopping and £70 from ebaying.

When the baby is born we will recieve a maternity grant of £500 which we intend to use to pay one or part of some debts as we already have the things we need for the baby. Hopefully your advice would help us decide which to pay.

Our monthly outgoings not including debts
Rent:545.00
C/tax:100.00 (which we havent been paying hence the debt)
Gas:£35
Electricity:£35
Water:£20 (again we hadnt been paying)
NTL - £30 + £12 calls(tv.phone.broadband)
Car insurance - £40
Petrol - £20
Bus Fare - £30
Food - £130
Mobiles - £20


Car Tax £110 Due end of feb
Tv Licence £128 approx due start of March

Thanks for reading. All advice welcomed! I am a self confessed former shopaholic which is how the debt accrued mostly. My partner however, he has a good credit record. And I would hate for my actions to impair his rating, so need to get this sorted now!

Thanks in advance.

You know you can claim the maternity grant from 29 weeks. Get your midwife to sign and send it off. Mine only took 10 days to sign, send it off and it was in the bank

lush_bucket

raq wrote:

You know you can claim the maternity grant from 29 weeks. Get your midwife to sign and send it off. Mine only took 10 days to sign, send it off and it was in the bank

Hi there, yes I did know this but before we have the baby we are inelligible as we arent on any type of benefit or income support. But when we have the baby we will be getting family tax credit of the family plus baby element which suddenly makes us eligible. Quite bizarre as the grant is intended for people to prepare for the baby. Luckily I ebayed our way to owning all the things we need for the baby so the grant is for debt paying!

lush_bucket

Just wanted to say many thanks for your help so far and let you guys know where I'm at with it.

Council Tax - Received a receipt for previous payment and they charged me £16.50 for sending it! Most expensive piece of paper I've ever owned! Rang baliffs and complained, they said it was in error and recredited it, thankgod! Paid them another £150. So only £550 to go! This is our priority debt and the one I want to rid us of most.

Also paid:
NTL - 43.44
Additions - 10.00
Choice - 15.39
SimplyBe - 5.50
Old council tax debt - 8.90

So feeling much better about things despite havings such a long way to go.

Weve set ourselves a target of March 31st to get rid of the council tax debt and have to say I'm quite excited! Did a mystery shop today too. all I need now is a gold star! Hope you are all geting on okay.xxx

whatatwit

:staradmin

There you go, well done.

lush_bucket

lol many thanks. If I had asked for 5 grand and a gold star.. I wonder if you would have been so obliging!

whatatwit

Too late, I have granted your 1 wish,

lush_bucket

Just thought I'd update a little!

The good news... my partner has been offered a new job with the police yey! Twice his current salary, yey again! The baby is due one month today (even more yey!). I wrote to lloyds about my bank charges.. they sent me the usual blah.. thanks for writing but we wont do anything about it... second letter is written and being posted tomorrow. (bored of the yey's now!) and here is our current debt situation. I get paid on friday so will update again then.

Lloyds Tsb - £1550 (Still £1550 - clearning the smaller ones first)

Council Tax Arrears - £700 (Now £500)

Old Council tax bill for previous address - £208. (Now £190.)

Next Directory - £572 - (CCJ received ordering 4 x £125 monthly) installments

Housing benefit overpayment - £500 (now £490.43)

Additions catalogue - £436.81 ( Now £390)

Choice Catalogue - £1054 (Now £998.24)

NTL - £98 (Now £14.73)

Thames Water - £128

Simply be - £62 (Now £50.00)

Vanquis - £250 (Now £233)

So bit by bit they are coming down. Weve agreed the council tax and the additions are first to tackle. Hoping to get paid approx £500 on friday plus the £360 left in partners account. Minus the rent (£545) leaves us with £315. Not including the 43 weekly tax credit money. So we will plough the £315 into the debts. Also hoping for payment from grassroots mystery shopping. Done 7 since Jan 1st but no idea when they pay. Anyone know? Have everything we need for the baby's arrival with the exception of a few hospital bag items and nursing bra's which are soooo expensive. Any tips on little extras that come in handy to have would be very much welcomed as this is our first and I really don't have a clue other than the checklists they supply you with. We also have my neices birthday, valentines day, my mums birthday and our anniversary coming up ££££££ yikes! So it's guna be a toughy month. So that's our update, thankyou so much for any advice and help you guys throw our way, it's all very much welcomed. We just want to start our new life as a family on the best possible footing!

maureenjscott

hi there, I'm fairly new to this whole mse dfw thing too but just wanted to offer my support and obviously my tuppence worth of advice! lol

I was just looking at what you said about not being eligible for the maternity grant till after the baby is born - I was in a similar position with my sons free school meals when he started primary school. I found it really helpful to have the forms ready to go before the event. Try and get the mat grant form, housing benefit form, and all your Id and stuff that they want before the baby comes. I'm quite sure that once the little one is here you'll have enough to deal with without looking for P60's and birth certificates and all the other bumf they want! Also, as soon as you get out the hospital - or even before you get out - call the tax credit people right away as you might be able to claim child tax credit too!

Was also looking at your comment about the nursing bras and yes they are dear!! Try one of the cash back websites where you will get money back for buying via a link with them. I use https://www.freefivers.co.uk but others here are familiar with more sites such as quidco. On freefivers you get 2.25% back for mothercare if that's any help!

Hope I have been of some help!
Good luck with everything
Mo x