i need help.

pinky2681

I've just watched my mum & dad in debt all there life and i dont want to go that way....but i am and i need help. I have about 15k in debt broken up like this:

Mortgage arrears £3300
Loan £7.5 K
Cap one - £600
Halifax £750
Natwest £3100
overdraft £300

I've recently been on maternity pay but that has run out and i cant afford to go back to work (no childcare ), my other half works ft so i'm not entitled to anything. I've worked out my income & out goings and work out my payments i need to make pro rota.
I had to lie with the figures so we had spare income as my partner smokes but i couldnt include this.

My spare income is £66 a month
i currently pay: i should be paying (pro rota)
Loan - £25 ............32.00
overdraft £25 ..........1.50
halifax - 10 .............3.50
natwest - 10 ...........13.50
cap one - 5 .............2.50

my mortgage now includes £15 extra a month to pay off arreas (i've included this in total outgoings). Do i ring my creditors and tell them my new figures?

How the hell do i get out of this mess? How do you really live, do you never go out ever anywhere? no day trips with the kids and how do you afford birthdays, home improvements, christmas?

i got a letter through the post saying i owe tax credits £50 and i have to pay a cancillation fee to my my car insurance of £60. Its only a small amount but i cant afford to just pay it off like that. I'm so ashamed of myself i just dont see the point anymore, is this my life now until i die?

sorry a bit of a morbid post for morning.

Tixy

I would really suggest you speak to one of the debt charities.
Are your mortgage company happy with just £15 a month to pay off £3300? If you have mortgage arrears then really you should only be paying token payments to all your creditors until those arrears are paid off.

Even if the mortgage company are happy with £15 I would suggest you set up a DMP with a charity rather than go it alone - or get some advice and template letters from them at least.

Don't phone your creditors - you need to do everything in writing.
You also need to make sure you have opened a new bank account first with a bank not connected to your current overdraft or any of your creditors.

You also need to ensure your budget includes a small budget for things like presents etc before you work out how much you have for debt repayments, otherwise you simply won't be able to stick to your repayments. I would suggest you post up a statement of affairs so people can advise and can tell you what level of expenses your creditors are likely to consider reasonable, and therefore make them most likely to accept your DMP.

Have you checked you are getting all you are entitled to in terms of child tax credits etc as well as child benefit?
Could you look at trying to get a partime job in the evenings/ weekends or whenever your partner is at home to look after the children so you don't need to pay childcare?

pinky2681

the mortage company were ok with the payment of £15 a month and i think they said if we keep repyaments they add it on to the top of the mortgage after 12 months or something.
I have my list of income and out goings with me now its following:

income (monthly)
dh wages - 1030
tax credits - 448
child benefit 130

outgoings (monthly)
mortgage -450
rent - 98 (we have a 'my choice homebuy' shared equity)
council tax - 80
house insurance - 30
electric - 50
gas -50
water - 40
tv licence - 12
home phone/internet - 27
mobile - 80 (2 phones tied into 24 month contract)
car expenses - 350 - my partner used ALOT of petrol for work
clothing 20
child expenses - £15 (5 a week school dinners/milk - he'll have to have one week of packed lunches)
houskeeping (food) 240 (including baby food/nappies etc)

total expenditure 1542

pinky2681

things i've done to help myself, stop smoking (i really could do with one tho), sold things on ebay and bought my babys clothes off ebay (rather than shops), changed my gas and elec to cheaper ones, changed car insuracnce so its cheaper. I'm just feeling depressed with it all, i know i'm not as bad as some people at all but i just want to crawl into bed and not get up again at the min.

Dabooka

Hi there,

Didn't want to read and run, but I'm stunned at £350 / month for work petrol! How does he use that much? If it's for work does he claim the full amount back? If it's just for the commute he needs to review his job as a third of wages shouldn't be going on petrol.

Does he keep his receipts?

Tixy

Your elec bill looks massive - is this in arrears? how recently did you switch? have you tried reducing your elec usage?
Is water metered or unmeasured? if unmeasured have you looked to see if a meter would be cheaper? If on a meter do you try to follow the water saving tips?
Does car expenses also include road tax, car insurance, mot & servicing, cost of new tyres etc?
You need to budget for things like haircuts, presents, otherwise you will not be able to keep up with repayments.
Is OHs smoking in with the housekeeping costs?

Have you looked into how much childcare would cost compared to how much you would earn?
Can OH increase his income at all? can he do overtime?

I'm sorry you feel really down at the moment, and it probably will be tough for a few years, but it won't be like this forever, and it does get easier to live on a budget. You should be able to work once your child in entitled to some free childcare if not before, and certainly be able to do longer hours when they are both at school.
I would also see if there are any parttime jobs you can fit round husbands hours as you are not getting any JSA then anything you could earn would be a bonus.

What is the current situation with the house? what is the value (of your share) compared to your mortgage? is your mortgage fixed or variable? and what is the APR on it? How does the £450 + £98 compare to how much it would cost to rent a property of that size in your area?

MrsTUS

If your OH only earns £1030 per month you are DEFINITELY entitled to child tax credit - my husband earns a hundred or so pounds per month more than your DH and as well as a child tax credit award each month, we also get our child benefit AND housing benefit - though I see you have a mortgage so doubt this would be applicable, but not entirely sure... Ring up the HMRC Tax Credit helpline today - 0845 300 3900 - and get that claim in ASAP. Mention you've also been on SMP as I'm sure that has some reflection upon the amount they award you for that particular year, you might get a bit backdated and find yourself with a helpful lump sum? Please call them, it will ease the burden to the tune of at least a few hundred pounds per month, going on the income details you've advised in this thread..

Edit: Please also apply for a Sure Start maternity grant - if they haven't already stopped these. We were stunned to realise we qualified for this after the birth of our 3rd child last year and recieved an unexpected £500! We could have claimed it in 2009 after the birth of our 2nd child, but we assumed as we were both employed, we'd have no chance.

It's always worth applying for ANYTHING you think you might meet the criteria for, even if you're not sure. They'll only say no. We lived on the bones of our backside for 18 months and then we realised we were actually entitled to housing benefit! They don't like to advertise these benefit entitlements - it's a myth that if one, or even two, parent is working full time that you're not entitled to anything and that only those that do not work at all get all the help..

2nd edit: Sorry, I've just realised you do have tax credit - I'm such an idiot.. dunno how I missed that.

gargrave50

Your hubby NEEDS to stop smoking - how would he feel about rolling up a £10 and setting light to it?!:eek:

Plus, he is putting his baby at risk. It's not only about smoking in the same room as a baby - its just as harmful if he handles or speaks to the baby when he comes back inside (forgive the rant - I'm a midwife).

Ultimately you will have to find some income. I would phone and query the tax credits award - you should be due something. Also, get in touch with your local benefits office and find out what else you could be entitled to ? income support?

Good luck xj

Tink_04

Hi id really check and see what your entitled to as you may be able to get WTC also my DD goes to a nursery (£40 a Day :eek:!!!!) but we get massive help towards the cost as part of out TC and its on top of what you get already so it may be worth a look - i know how hard it can be with childcare and honestly the system is rubbish as a lot of the time your only ever so slightly bettter off working once you factor in cost for travel etc. I was struggling so much 2 years ago and although our debt is not as huge as some its always huge when you dont have much coming in. We ask family to get DD clothes for her birthday and xmas as this helps us out loads and she is very happy with the toys we get her on top - we ebay and freecycle our local area for big toys and have got some great bargins too. Have you been on the OS board? there great for meal planning and cooking cheaply to help bring costs down - and ive got some great xmas presents through the grabbit board too as massive savings!!!

Dont beat yourself up about what is done now and honestly ive never come accross a situation that people on this site cannot help with!!!

Good luck!

pinky2681

Sorry if i miss anyone but i'm trying to answer your questions. £350 isnt just on petrol, it includes tax, mot (divided over the months) and unfortunately insurance is sky high as my dh has previously been banned for dangerous driving and lost his licence, he has took his test again but obv it affects our insurance now.

My gas is £55 a month and elec is £45 i think, not in arrears or anything, i'm on e-on online saver 3 (i think its called) and i pay by dd to get full dual fuel discount etc.

I do avon and earn about £50 a month - i forgot to include this, i've been using this for things like haircuts, presents etc so i havent budget for it as its covered by that but not a guarenteed thing, sometimes i might earn £70 but other times i earn £30.

I keep on at dh about stopping smoking and to be fair he has cut down (20+ a day smoker to 10 a day) i do need him to fully stop as it does cost us about £18 a week (he 'taps' fags of his friends at work if he can lol) - thats just made me sound chavvy hasnt it? i'm not (honest)

the average wage is £6 a hour near me i have been applying for jobs that fit in with working hours as theres a asda down the road - i failed asda online application form and cant apply for 6months now. My friend puts her children in nursery and i beleive it costs around £25 a day? i dont have an exact figure but i think you can do half days too. I have 2 children, 1 starting school next week and one 8 month old. If i work more than 12 hours a week my tax credits goes down. I feed my dc (8months) myelf so i cant be away from him for long periods of time either, i suppose i could switch him to forumla but then i'd have to buy this every week or 2.

I've been told i can get contributions based Jsa i 'fit' into the criteria but i havent earnt enough over 2008-2009 to get any payment from it, i rang inland revinuew who are suppose to be sending me p60's to confirm my wages as i'm sure i have earnt more.