Where do i start?

Maze

I need to be debt free. The stress of debt is too much for me to cope with at the moment.

My situation is this - im self employed and my partner is unemployed and unable to get a job because of health reasons. We live in his fathers house rent free although we pay the main bills (gas, elec, water etc) but if anything was to happen to him we would be out on our ears.

We have three main debts. A loan which at the end of this year will be paid off, an over draft which we live in and a barclaycard bill for £10,000 which cripples us. We havnt put anything on the card in years but the interest means our payments dont even touch the balance. We tried to claim back PPI but they wouldnt accept that it wasnt explained to him and i fear my OH (who isnt very good with phone calls, letters etc due to depression) has missed his chance to complain as it was summer last year they denied our claim. AND we still pay the ppi as hes convinced they may pay us some money for him being out of work he just hasnt got around to calling them ( :mad: ).

We have cut back on everything i think we can although shopping bills are still too high. Life is sh*te, we cant afford to go any where or do anything and my only joy comes from my dogs which admitadly cost a pretty penny (Insurance, health care).

Apart from taking on a second job which i cant emotionally cope with as im so busy being his carer and trying to push my current business i dont know what else to do to get us out of this. Im 26 and feel 130 with no prospects of life getting better

please-let-me-be-lucky

Sorry to hear things arent good for you.

Does your OH claim DLA? Can you claim carers allowance?

opinions4u

First things first, do the following:

1) Go to www.makesenseofcards.co.uk
2) Complete a statement of affairs fully and accurately
3) Post the SOA here and ask for help identifying new cost savings

Maze wrote: »

I need to be debt free. The stress of debt is too much for me to cope with at the moment.

Keep hanging around here. Share the stress out with others who can help. This place is your friend.

My situation is this - im self employed and my partner is unemployed and unable to get a job because of health reasons.

What type of self-employment are you in? Could you employ your partner part time, paying a salary that's below the tax threshold (unlikely, but just a thought)? Is he claiming all the benefits he should be claiming?

We live in his fathers house rent free although we pay the main bills (gas, elec, water etc) but if anything was to happen to him we would be out on our ears.

Ok, worth being aware of, but at present low down the list of worries. Has his Dad made a will that could protect you in some way if he died?

We have three main debts. A loan which at the end of this year will be paid off, an over draft which we live in and a barclaycard bill for £10,000 which cripples us. We havnt put anything on the card in years but the interest means our payments dont even touch the balance.

Okay, I'm assuming the loan payment is contractual so can't be varied and you're not reducing the overdraft. If you have income being freed up soon by a loan ending, this can then be allocated to managing the credit card debt down. So there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's just a long tunnel, that's all.

Are you in arrears / default / poor credit with any of your commitments?

We tried to claim back PPI but they wouldnt accept that it wasnt explained to him and i fear my OH (who isnt very good with phone calls, letters etc due to depression) has missed his chance to complain as it was summer last year they denied our claim.

Go to the reclaiming section of this forum for help with this. If needed, escalate to the FOS.

AND we still pay the ppi as hes convinced they may pay us some money for him being out of work he just hasnt got around to calling them.

Get this sorted too one way or the other. Most policies will exclude claims made too late.

We have cut back on everything i think we can although shopping bills are still too high.

Take a look at the Old Fashioned Money Saving part of the forum. There will be loads of meal options there to give a good balance between nutrition and cost. Rice, pasta, own brand beans along with cheaper fruit can help.

Apart from taking on a second job which i cant emotionally cope with as im so busy being his carer and trying to push my current business i dont know what else to do to get us out of this. Im 26 and feel 130 with no prospects of life getting better

Okay, can your other half help a little bit here?

1) If he can focus on two or three good habits he can work his way out of depression. I'll suggest (i) Give up coffee and alcohol and drink water instead and (ii) Go for a 30 minute + walk every day. Preferably with you and the dogs - the mix of exercise and company can only do him good. You might both want to watch this on the iPlayer over the next few days. No solutions, but he's not alone.

2) If he genuinely can't work, he could take a look at the up your income part of this forum. Online surveys at the likes of www.pureprofile.com or www.valuedopinions.co.uk can generate a little income top up. It may only be £20 or £30 a month, but if that money is allocated to paying more off the Barclaycard then you can begin a debt reduction approach that will accelerate as the interest lessens and the debt falls.

On the subject of the Barclaycard, make sure you opt out of any interest rate increases that come your way.

Finally, good luck. Doing the things suggested above will help. Helping your partner do the small things towards getting out of the hell that is depression will, in time, bring his income potential to fruition and things will improve even faster.


The different issues:

1) Depression - small steps and support can help.
2) PPI reclaim - take control of this and get your partner to sign anything needed to pursue it.
3) PPI claim or cancel - get your partner to do this pretty rapidly. Don't let him off the hook this time.
4) Steps to increase income - benefits, survey sites etc.
5) Steps to reduce spending - get the SOA on here and take it from there.

chevalier

wow what a helpful post. That was pretty much what I wanted to say, but so much better put!

If you follow that advice I think you will be well on the way to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel
chev

Maze

Thank you so much for the fantastic replys. Im sorry its late ive had some rather upsetting family issues which havnt helped.

I will fill in that survey now

To answer some questions.
My OHs issues are depression related but mainly mobility problems due to a health condition. I will get him to look at the survey things and im slowly getting through our junk to make some extra pennies however at the moment due to the fickleness of my business ive lost two clients temporarily so the extra gain will barely cover that. Which is how my life tends to go, win some lose loads more. Last year i saved £400 in coins which paid our MOT and servicing (our car is our life line) and then an idiot wrote it off, bye bye £400, income for a month, 3 clients and what was left of my sanity lol.

I earn too much to claim carers allowance and he is claiming all the DLA he can i believe.

Maze

Here goes...
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 800
Other income............................ 50
Total monthly income.................... 2050

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 110
Electricity............................. 70
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 24
Telephone (land line)................... 18
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 15
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 75
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 250
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 60
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1237


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 100
Total Assets............................ 1600

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................10000.....240.......0
Overdaft ......................2500......0.........0
Loan...........................7000......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........19500.....240.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,050
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,237
Available for debt repayments........... 813
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 240
Amount left after debt repayments....... 573

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,600
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -19,500
Net Assets.............................. -17,900


Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Poosmate

Well done on posting your SOA, it's a great start.

Its showing a surplus of £573pm though you haven't allocated anything for various expenses. I can understand that though, I haven't had a prescription for over a year and I can't afford to go to the dentist nor been insode a hairdressers for many years! Still, you should put a minimum of £5 against some of those expenses if only to give you a truer indication of what you really have left after bills and debt repayment.

What leaps out is £250 for pet insurance! EEK!! What ya got? A pack of wolves? Or a princess pooch? lol Does this include your pets food? If just insurance can you get it cheaper? When it comes to renewal plase make sure you go through a comparison site or cashback site which pays you money back.

Do you pay your council tax over 10 months? Remember February and March are free months so you will be £110 better off this month and next. Plus water rates are usually paid over 8 months so add that to your CT savings you'll actually have £134 "spare" cash this month and next.

Rather than leave it where it is to get swallowed up in day to day spends pay it off your Barclaycard debt this month and next.

Can you open a current account and transfer all of the debt payments into it and have them all paid out of it? If you set up a standing order to put what your debts cost you now, in a couple of months time there will be more going in than going out as your minimum paymnts on your Barclaycard CC will be reducing. Use this surplus each month to make a further payment to your Barclaycard. This will reduce your debt quicker without having to up the amount you are currently paying.

You also need to keep a spending diary as £573 is a lot of surplus cash to just "lose" - it's being spent somewhere, you need to find out where.

Good luck,

Poo

Maze

Thanks for the reply. My OH doesnt pay prescriptions and im quite healthy so ive no idea what to put for scripts, you are right though i should put a small amount to be realistic.

My problem is my job changes every week and with little to no notice, a pitful of being in pet care im afraid im at the mercy of my clients. So i dont always get £1200 and sometimes i get more although not often at the mo. I will have to look at that £573 because ive no idea where it goes - scary!

Well a small pack yes, 5 now ive lost my old boy and i have them all insured with the best policy i could afford as if anything was to happen to them i couldnt pay a lump sum. Its a catch 22 as i didnt realise it was so much until i filled the SOA in :eek: but it has got me out of the serious poo a few times now. I know its a huge amount but i dont driink or smoke and rarely go out so they are my luxury. Although to be fair on me (because im feeling guilty lol) i have cut alot down and they dont get nearly as many treats or toys and get extra walks instead.

I hadnt thought of that i will put that money over from the council tax. I have a separate pot in our account for bills that we never touch so its not difficult to put money away, when we have spare money :rotfl:

Since starting this thread ive also signed up for surveys but as i said above lost some clients.