Help - I'm a mess :(

flis21

mfmaybe wrote: »

Hi Flis

I haven't had time to pop in for a few days, but just wanted to comment (again!) on how well you are doing. You write very eloquently, and as others have remarked your change in attitude in such a short space of time has shone through - I was particularly impressed by how you handled some of the slightly more critical posts, I'm not sure I'd have sounded so mature! Some further great ideas on here such as creating a website. I know what you mean about surveys etc taking time, I haven't got around to doing anything either. Give yourself time to get the payment plan set up, I suspect all the hunting around for financial paperwork, doing a food audit etc has taken extra time, but once you get the routine down you'll start to free up time again. Babysteps remember.

Well done on the stopping smoking, and also the tumble dryer! You said you had used it to do bed sheets, but I hang those on my airer also. And if I'm really short of space I hook a sheet off a door! However we do have 2 sets of sheets so I don't need to make sure they are dry the same day.

Do you have a smartphone? They aren't MSE obviously, but if you already have one, use it to your advantage. I find Ebay Mobile much faster than doing it the regular way (though I've learnt to my cost to be careful about weighing stuff and working out postage properly first). There are also apps for things like quidco, sometimes you get a payment just for tapping a check-in. But don't get one if you haven't already

Thanks for the positive comments. My friend told me she does her bed sheets over the doors. I have a kingsize bed, so the sheets are way too big for the airer, which is why I put them in the dryer, but will be trying it on the doors next time!

I think you're right about remembering to do babysteps. I just feel like I wanna do everything I possibly can to improve my situation right now!!! The kids are off to their Dads this coming weekend, so I'm planning on having a good read through the thread from the beginning and writing a list of the tips that I haven't yet looked at / worked on. Then start to work my way through them. Think I will leave the survey thing until I have everything a bit more sorted, but it definitely sounds like a good idea.

I have an android phone, does that count? Tbh I'm not too sure about all the functions on it. My ex bought it for me last Christmas as he's really into gadgets. i use it to go on facebook but that's about it!! When I have some time will sit down and have a look at it.

Flis x

Wellyboots6

Hanging sheets from the doors does work. Mine usually dry in a day

MyLastFiver

That is it, but I do not get that much a month. I will get one extra payment over the year, so what do I do when I get (as in your example) £1500 in 4 weeks, but they are basing the amount they believe I can afford to pay on £1650. Where does the extra £150 come from?

Using our example figures, you WOULD get £1625 [not £1650 - my bad] per calendar month. You get paid £1500 every 28 days, which averages out over the year as £1625 every 30 or 31 days. Let's say for simplicity your benefits arrived in your account on the 1st January. On the 28th January everybody who is paid monthly would be skint, but you would have been paid again.

Or to put it another way again, you get 13*£1500=£19500 per year. Divide this by 12 months = £1625.

If you are using your four-weekly figure as your monthly income, then you are under-declaring your income for the purposes of your DMP. I promise you - you are. It's just maths.

Look at it this way - you have more money than you thought you did.

flis21 wrote: »

The other point on the CCS thing is that they want to contact the 2 debts I have that are nearly statue barred. I would like not to contact them and wait the 3 months and if I don't get any contact I can wipe them off. Also I am not paying interest on any of the debts since the IVA I did, so they are not increasing, just need paying off. I am pretty organised and my Mum is going to help me with anything I need. CCCS have said that they will still be there to support me if I have any problems or questions. If it doesn't work I can always go back to them and do the DMP thru them in a few months time.

Flis

This is a pretty convincing argument for doing it youself. Good luck, but do use accurate figures as a starting point.

Primrose2004

Hiya, i've been reading your thread and you're doing really well.

One thing I did think of whilst reading was re your childminding. You said you'd be able to have another under 5 next Jan but if your son starts school in Sept I think he will be counted as an over 5 from then. You should check with Ofsted but I think i'm right that once they're in fulltime school they count as 5 for your numbers. If I'm right it'd mean you can mind another under 5 sooner:)

flis21

I do get the maths, but I am concerned about what I physically have in my bank. For instance I don't get my tax credits 2 payments in one month until November. if I count from 1st feb to 29th feb I will only have the £1500 so where does the extra £125 a month they want me to pay coming from until I get the 2 payments in one month? My budget is getting streached tighter all the time, I just don't see where I can find that extra money from. I suppose what I'd have to do is when I get the 2 payments in one month, put it all aside and take out 1/12th every month. But what do i do until I get it? Do you see where I'm coming from. I know mathematically that's what I get, but physically I don't have that in my account every month.

Sorry am getting tired now, probably not explaining myself very well!! What I'd like to do is make payments based on what I receive every 4 weeks, so I know I will have the money to meet the payments, then use the extra payment I get in a year to make a larger one off payment towards one (or spread amongst all) of my debts. That will be more manageable for me.

flis

flis21

Primrose2004 wrote: »

Hiya, i've been reading your thread and you're doing really well.

One thing I did think of whilst reading was re your childminding. You said you'd be able to have another under 5 next Jan but if your son starts school in Sept I think he will be counted as an over 5 from then. You should check with Ofsted but I think i'm right that once they're in fulltime school they count as 5 for your numbers. If I'm right it'd mean you can mind another under 5 sooner:)

I think it depends whether he starts full time straight away or does half days!! It's very confusing, but when I know what he's doing I'll look into it. I know the childminding trainer who covers our area, so i can always ask her bits like this!

Thanks, Flis x

firesidemaid

Found your thread this morning and have spent the last hour or so reading through:D

i can only echo what others have said re. your positivity and great attitude:).

just thought i'd add a couple of bits to the mix.......

did you get a chance to check up on your water rates? when is your contents insurance due, as you should be able to get it for about £60 a year, perhaps with Quidco cashback too. You can also get cashback on buying things thru ebay - not condoning spending but you can get some bargains for kids toys, gifts, clothes, dvd bundles etc - and then sell them again too;)

your internet and landline costs also seem high still. i am with BT and pay just £10 a month for internet plus unlimited eve and wknd calls. i paid my line rental upfront @ £120 for 12 months too. i make daytime and mobile calls through 18185.

re. food ideas. i make pitta pizzas - using value pittas - i use them frozen, add tomato puree, cheese and toppings and then grill/bake for 10 mins. that way everything is cooked just right (ie. the pitta's aren't overdone).

also, when we do get takeaways, i like to work out the cheapest deals - whether it's macdonalds (some burgers are better value bought in a meal and i get the cheaper burger separate, and me and OH will share one large drink and large fries from meal lol). with the chip shop, we each get a small fish and share a regular chips. doesn't always apply i know, but my mind wanders and does the maths when i am waiting in a queue;)

keep on keeping on x

glasgowsaver2011

Then going on about stuff he wants from the boys for his birthday (which of course I am expected to finance!). He does take the biscuit and I am getting better at standing up to him (he wanted stuff from the boys that totalled £50, I told him i was spending £15 - £20 max. he wasn't happy tho!)

He expects kids to buy him presents worth 50 quid from the 150 a month he gives!

I have a rule in my house that no presents are bought except for landmark birthdays and kids!

Memory_Girl

Hi flis

Just throwing my tuppence into the mix.

I also have the weekly, bi-weekly four-weekly and occasional payments thing going on. If you are in a state that you are constantly juggling at some point you will drop a ball and it will throw you into confusion.

Now despite the fact that my money comes in throughout the month - EVERYTHING else is paid monthly - mortgage, phone, insurances etc etc.

The place we are trying to get you to is that there is ALWAYS enough for your monthly commitments without robbing Peter to pay Paul IYSWIM. It takes a wee while but once you have evened out the delightful peaks and heart-stopping troughs of your monthly cashflow everything becomes so much easier to manage as you move away from "Crisis management".

What I do is work out what I need to set aside at every payday for all my pots - bills, food, debt, spends etc. and transfer it into a separate account.

So I receive £215 per week - on a Friday I take

£30 out in cash for food
£20 for misc spends and kids stuff
Transfer £60 to pay the mortgage
Transfer £50 into bills account
Transfer £10 into my ISA (Holiday and Xmas savings)
Transfer £10 into Credit Union (Emergency Fund)
Over pay mortgage by £25 (used to be my debt repayment amount BTW)

That way whenever the monthly bills come through there is enough in each of the accounts.

So if you are worried that you won't have enough money to cover the debt repayment in month one of your DMP - ask them to give you a months grace by paying a token payment.

Thereafter it will all run like a dream - and any additional funds you happen across through the year can be allocated safe in the knowledge that you have covered all the bases.

Bad cashflow management is what gets most people into the downward spiral of debt - a DMP gives you a chance to break the bad habit and create a smoother financial life.

Please, please consider getting rid of the "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" attitude- it really will just cause you too much stress in the future.

Far better to start off calmly and keep plodding towards you Debt Free Date in the knowledge that you have a conservative, automated and easy to implement plan. And it works - cleared 10K in two years remember!

The joy is - that once you have set this up - you can run it and forget about it. Then you will have so much more energy to devote to growing your business rather than micro-managing your finances.

MG

jonjamie1970

Memory Girl is correct, cash flow management is important in personal finances as well as business, when businesses fail the majority do because of cash flow.

By extending payment terms and spreading costs and ensuring debtors pay on time is a key job.

By transferring this to your personal life then it will work too.

Do a forecast as to cash flow throughout the month and then you wont have any surprises, read some internet stuff about cashflow.

If you use seperate accounts to ensure the money is paid out then that can work as well, as MG says, first month you might have to juggle and explain the situation but after that if you look at it regularly it should be fine.