Sorry old chap, the money has run out!

tony_ack

A couple of weeks gone by, so time for another update.

Mixed news really.

I got a statement from Santander, on which there were no charges or interest, so I assume they've accepted the plan, though I haven't had a letter.

Halifax CC have been a bit funny - I got a letter from them saying that they will accept the plan, but since a payment went out on my card since the plan was set up (an automated payment for eBay fees, which I forgot to cancel), they could not put it into place until they received the card back from me. A problem since I have long since shredded the card!

I finally got through to them today and it appears it didn't matter as they set up my plan, but cancelled it again because I made a token payment which contradicts the agreement! So I had to contact CCCS to resend the paperwork.

Bureaucracy..

Barclays are still applying loads of charges to my old current account so it's now £100 over the overdraft emergency buffer, but nothing else is being paid in. The co-op account is up and running again.

Work expenses are still rubbish - they're late again and have left me short. I've got £400 outstanding, £170 of which is overdue. I've had to work from home this week as I couldn't afford to put fuel in my car. A £100 buffer was a good idea in principle, but it was nowhere near enough.

tony_ack

I ended things with my partner last week. It had been coming for a while and a relief in some ways but it was still unpleasant. Money wise, she is probably responsible for about a third of my total debt, but I really can't see myself getting any of it back as she is working part-time, living in a house paying 'mates-rates' rent and claiming benefits, and is also looking after our daughter. I am still paying towards our daughter's nursery fees, and she seems quite happy with that arrangement.

Things are a little more dull with the debt management plan, which is no bad thing at all. My first payments to creditors are made tomorrow, and I believe they have all accepted the offers (though I have only actually had one letter so far...). I'm spending a bit more than I'd like this month - car tax is due and I also need to do some repairs for the MOT to the tune of £200. I do have an emerency/annual bills fund, but it is still in its infancy so won't cover the whole lot. To complicate things a little more, I have about £350 expenses outstanding still (they are getting paid, but late). I think I'll make it to the end of the month okay, but need to sell some more stuff.

EmmaHerts

I'm sorry, Tony, I am sure you are in a lot of pain at the moment. It does get better though, even though it won't feel like it at the moment.

I just read your whole thread and you have clearly been growing as a person. You should be very proud of yourself!

I know it has already been stated about getting a lodger... but did you know it was tax-free?

"If you already have a lodger or are thinking about letting furnished rooms in your home, you can receive up to £4,250 a year tax-free (£2,125 if letting jointly). This is known as the Rent a Room scheme."
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/TaxOnPropertyAndRentalIncome/DG_4017804

MrsPorridge

Tony also check out any universities near you or language schools. I used to take student teachers - from Monday night till Friday morning and just had to provide breakfast, toast and cereal which they prepared themselves/helped themselves to and then an evening meal - and they just ate with us as a family. this is a great way to earn some extra money because you get the weekends without them!

I also took on language students when I lived in London - they would be there for short periods up to 12 weeks and again just provided breakfast and lunch.

With both the above options the universities/schools pay you directly so there is no issue/unpleastantness over trying to get money out of the "lodger".

bhatti3000

hi

if you can start shopping in aldi or lidi it saved us more then 300pounds each month! it took us over a year to break our tesco habit. aldi has been voted the best supermarket in the uk and its products are winners with which magazine.

try to find out if yo can get a grant, you've been to uni so elizabeth finn care may give you upto 1500pounds for something you need. try the grants search on the main website.

my heart goes out to you, you must be so stressed
best of luck

tony_ack

Hi everyone, another update.

First, thanks again for the recommendations. Taking on a lodger isn't practical right now as I'm in the middle of de-cluttering and redecorating. Once it's all done, there will be a spare room, but it will be barely big enough for a bed. I'm not 100% comfortable at the moment having someone else in the house while my daughter is staying over, but I am warming to the idea of having someone possibly Monday to Friday, now that I'm kind of finding me feet again. Another problem is that I'm not always home at regular times in the evening. I need to finish the decorating first, but that itself costs money which I don't have right now!

Which brings me to Elizabeth Finn. I looked at the website, and even though I'm not sure I would get anything, I applied for some money to redecorate the bedroom and to fix my roof which is leaking. We'll see what happens.

I already shop at Aldi every other week. It's not bad but I've found that sometimes it works out a lot cheaper, and sometimes about the same or slightly more expensive. I usually go for offer items in supermarkets and items in the reduced section, which I don't see any of in Aldi. Still, it's a nice change every other week.

Well, nothing much has changed on the DMP front. The second payment should be hitting the creditors around about now. There is a marked difference between how you are handled between the different creditors:
Barclaycard - reduced interest to 12.9%, suspended charges
Virgin (MBNA) - reduced interest to 8%, suspended charges
Santander - think they have stopped interest
Halifax CC - appear to have stopped interest, but keep getting letters saying that I'm not making payments when I am
Halifax Loan - not too sure what's happening with these - they seem to have stopped ringing me though
Barclays - Ah... Barclays. The current account is no longer being used, but there were still a lot of charges being applied for the 'personal reserve'. I've checked though and the personal reserve is now set to zero, so maybe they're just going to charge me interest from now on.

As far as day-to-day living goes, it's still quite tough. The car needed £200 of MOT repairs last month, which pretty much wiped out my emergency fund and left me a little short. This month's already looking tight too, and I only got paid a few days ago.

[Deleted User]

A few things I noticed.

Mobile phone - £70

Satellite/Cable TV - £60

Entertainment - £70

That's £2,400 pa straight away.

Also, electricity and gas seem a bit on the high side.

Apologies if these points have already been made, but the thread is close to 200 posts long, so I haven't read it all.

[Deleted User]

Pollycat wrote: »

using cheaper methods for cleaning etc.

Poundland is excellent for cleaning products. I never buy from anywhere else.

1.3 litres of washing up liquid.

1 litre (28 washes) of laundry liquid.

750ml of surface spray cleaner.

6 bars of hand soap.

Likewise, ALDI do 12 rolls of toilet paper for about £1-50.

orcocan

i did read the whole thread...

i really feel for you mate, i'm sure things will get better, rent out your spare room, it seems to me that you're still very tight every month and that'll make a massive difference.

Keep your chin up and best of luck mate

tony_ack

It's been a while since I've been on here, so perhaps a good time to post some progress. It may be an idea to move this to the debt free diaries sub-forum too!

So... where to begin...

Actually, things on the finance front are actually ticking over okay. Well, not completely okay. It's tight. Really tight. But the debt is coming down. I worked out that my total unsecured debt peaked at £37500 while the debt management plan was being set up. Today, it stands at £32700. I should pass under the £30k barrier at the end of May. Annoyingly, over £100 of my £688 per month is still going on interest, but that is better than it was. Halifax CC and Barclaycard are charging me 12.9% which is more than they charge a lot of their customers, and Halifax loan are charging me full interest (as it was loaded on the loan to start with) plus interest on the arrears as well.

I still have £400 owed to my parents from before the DMP was taken on, and that is coming down by £50 a month. To be honest, this is what's making things difficult.

It took a while for the new budget and DMP to settle, but I think it's working out okay now. In September/October, I was still making about £100 per month off eBay, and still only just scraping by each month, but I'm pleased that in the last couple of months I've managed to get by with no additional income. I have borrowed no additional money since the DMP started - either on cards/loans or from family, and I think I'm almost in control. I still try each month to build up an emergency/annual bills fund, but the last few months have been a bit difficult, as I've had the triple-hit of car insurance, Christmas presents and car tax all taking a bite. On the plus side, after this month, there are just a few birthdays and nothing else to pay for until MOT time in June.

I've also got a couple of months now with no council tax to pay. I'm debating whether to use the extra cash (£75 per month) to pay extra off what I owe my parents, or to put it in the emergency fund. I may speak to my parents anyway and see if I can get away with paying them back £25 per month to give me a bit of space.

I've just read back through the whole thread and it's quite amazing what's happened over the last 18 months. It's been really tough, but I'm very glad to be almost back to myself again. I'm working things through with the missus at the moment after taking a couple of months apart and I've got a bit of optimism about the future at least.