the blackhole of debt

Mentalminis_2

Hi everyone

I am hoping that someone is able to help me with my spiraling debt problem, i have used the site already to get my usual bills as low as they will go however i still have a ways to go to make ends meet.

(this feels a bit like DDA - Deep debt annomius)

i currently have debts of £11k and have no real way of paying them off, i am earning what you would class as a good wage here in norfolk (£6.1095 an hour before deductions) overtime is not really available as i am still only a temporary member of staff (although i have been working there for 5 months now) and what overtime money i do get soon gets swallowed up.

I am currently oweing but not behind on repayements on my credit cards which amount to £6,823.57 (can't forget the 57 pence)
£746.28 to my bank i only have a £550 overdraft though
£434.42 electric
and finally £2995.73 to my very generous father who has helped me out in the past....namely paying for everything whilst i was unemployed for a period of time last year.

my outgoings per week set are £174.95 not including any of the fore mentioned debts and spending money is not an issue as i'm not allowed any and my basic income is £198.51 per week thus leaving me with £23.56 per week to try and pay off my debts...it just ain't happening peeps.

I have contacted a debt consolidation company but they can only consolidate them for £100 a month (£25 a week) which again puts me over budget unless i get overtime (which is not gaurenteed), they have said that they can get the interest charges stopped on my debts and thus i would be paying off the debt rather than just interest.... is there anyway i am able to do that myself rather than paying a company to do it for me??

any help would be much appreciated and if you need more precise info i will glady give it if it helps me get out of this mess.

carl

comeonthetic

A bit more info would probably help.

£6.10 an hour. But how many hours? 16? 24? 35? 37? A weekly/monthly income amount would be better.

What other bills/expenses do you have? Do u live alone, with a partner or with parents?

Have you did a budget? yes. How much spare cash do you have?

Which CC's do you have? amounts owed, limits and interest rates needed.

Over your overdraft limit. Big penalties for this. Can u up your o/d limit for a short period?

Electric Bill. How much do you use? How much is your normal bill? Offer a small amount above your monthly usage.

Apologies that I have more questions than answers (A Question of Sport springs to mind) but if you want help you will need to spill the beans a bit more.

Comeonthetic.

Mentalminis_2

ok comeonthetic not a problem, you never know what people want to know so i don't like putting too much first off.

my weekly income is £198.51 for a 40hr week

i am living alone (other than the dog)

Mortgage = £87.05
Council tax = £15.00
Electric = £10.00
Gas = £1.65
Landline = £3.75
Food = £15.00
Petrol = £15.00
Cheap baccie = £5.00
Mobile phone = £12.50
TV Licence = £2.50

all in weekly formatt. not counting debt repayments as they fluxuate so hard to put in a budget.

My credit cards are

MBNA = credit limit of £6.600 and current balance = £4054.82 interest rate = 1.3133%
Capital One = credit limit of £3,900 and current balance = £2789.20 intrest rate = 1.563%

unfortunatly i have not been able to get in contact with my bank as yet to get an increase in my agreed overdraft limit (if they would be so kind to do so)

my electricity usage is 913 units and is in the region of £60 a month, i am unable to pay anymore than the £40 payments i am making now, i am currently with British Gas and am on the E7 tariff.

I hope that helps you to help me...lol

carl

sorry forgot to mention the electric bill is actually quarterly usages

Malestrom

You need to do a proper budget. You've given a weekly amount for petrol but not included associated costs such as car/bike tax, insurance, maintenance and so on. Also, you've listed a mortgage but no house or contents insurance. Read Martins article on budgeting here and then either download the budget planner or do it online.

Your struggling with money so your options are 1) Earn more money or 2) Cut your outgoings. Easier said than done I know. You already appear to have cut down on your spending and you say that overtime isn't reliable. Looking at the outgoings you've posted, I would say that the electric useage is very high for a single person who also has gas. Are you using electric for heating and gas for cooking? Electric shower perhaps? Seems very high to me, this is an area to save money. British Gas always seem to come out as being the most expensive supplier. Also £12.50 a week for a mobile is plain stupid for someone in your position, thats £50 a month!! Also, are you claiming your 25% reduction in council tax for living alone?

Now, forgetting all that i've just waffled for a moment, lets look at your debts.

Firstly, get onto the bank ASAP and extend that overdraft, if you can, to stop the hideous penalties. I would also advise you open another bank account with a different bank, just a cashcard account will do, more on this shortly.

Secondly, after doing a proper budget I think you'll find that you have only a token amount left over to service your debts. This means a debt management plan is needed. Contact CCCS or National Debtline and speak to an advisor. They will deal with your creditors and arrange a payment plan that you can afford, even if its a token amount to each. They will also probably be able to get the interest frozen. As the overdraft will count as one of your debts, you will need to have your wages paid into the other bank account, otherwise your current bank may try and do the dirty on you and swallow your wage when its paid in, to clear the overdraft.

I would strongly advise you to rebudget, look at your outgoings and make cuts where appropriate. You need to be thinking about clearing those electricity bill arrears so you can transfer to a cheaper supplier. Sort out your mobile phone spending. Contact CCCS or National Debtline.

Good Luck!

EDIT: I notice your edit about electricity being quarterly, thats why you need a proper budget, so you know what your paying for EVERYTHING on a weekly basis.

Mentalminis_2

will do my best to put an updated version on there for everyone to see, it won't be pretty though, the mortgage does include all associated insurances and unfortunatly the council tax is with the single rate reduction

cars, now i'm not sure how to put maintence costs in but i'll try.... i understand what you mean by the insurance etc though, if i put that in i won't have any money left at all each month, so no token payments could be made...... i am just about to contact my electricity supplier see if they can drop the payments slightly as i credited my account by £120 this quarter and paying slightly less might help short term aswell as paying it off in a reasonable amount of time (would take 4 months at that)

comeonthetic

No problem mentalminis,

Lets do monthly calculations as most CC's as I presume your CC payments are monthly.

By my calculations your monthly income is £860.21 and your outgoings £725.62. You therefor have £134.59 left over to pay for everything else. Where is this going?

What are your monthly payments on your CC's? If this is less than £110 a month you have your extra £20 for the electricity.

Your electric is pretty steep at £60 a month normal usage. Do you have electric heaters instead of Central Heating (low gas consumption)? Without trying to be harsh in any way, if your normal consumption is £60 per month you cannot just pay £40. You either have to find the extra £20 from somewhere or be more economical in your consumption.

Being temporary, do you get paid for holidays? If not you will need to have a stash to cover your bills when you are on holiday. And also car repairs and maintenance needs to be thought of.

From your budget there are not vast savings to be made. Mobile £12.50 is the obvious one. Do you need to spend £50 odd a month on your mobile. I would guess not. Petrol: Is this for getting to work? Could you car share? Other than that you are looking at giving up the baccie or/and the landline to subsidise your outgoings.

Sorry about more questions, but they have to be asked.

First and foremost I think you need to get the bank situation sorted. Phone them now, a minute later and every minute until you get someone to sort it as it is only going to snowball. And also the electricity, which I have touched on already.

Comeonthetic

comeonthetic

Malestrom stole my thunder somewhat, but alot of what we said was similar and highlights where the problems lie.

With regards to the electric, I think you would be better paying as you are or more if you can. As Malestrom pointed out savings can be made if you clear this debt and change supplier.

Mentalminis_2

right here we have it the bare bones again in weekly formatt

mortgage = £79.10
contents insurance = £4.52
buildings insurance = £3.42
Council tax = £15.00
Electricity = £10.00
Gas = £1.65
Landline = £3.75
Food = £15.00
Petrol = £15.00
Road Tax = £3.43
Car Insurance = £4.98
Baccie = £5.00
Mobile = £12.50

Internet/broadband = £5.86

total = £179.22, excluding debts

total income £198.51

Mentalminis_2

WOHHHH slow you down, 2 posts in the time it took me to write one....steady you on i'll get confusled

Mentalminis_2

as regards to my mobile i feel i have done well with this bill through personal control, i admitt it still requires a little working, but i have budgeted for £50 i don't actually use it, last month was £32, a instant saving of £18 that month..... however these i consider to be cheap considering my old habbits i used to have 3 figure phone bills per month...seeee i am trying guys

Malestrom

comeonthetic wrote:

Malestrom stole my thunder somewhat, but alot of what we said was similar and highlights where the problems lie.

Sorry about that old chap (or chap-ess ) I didn't mean to. We've posted similar responses so we must be doing something right though!


EDIT: MentalMinis, can you just run through that last expenditure posting again, I think you might have weekly and monthly amounts mixed up. £13 odd a week for car tax??? £19 a week insurance? Blimey....