Please help xx

stablegirl

Hi I am new here, have posted on the credit card and loans forum and was sent here as told that I will get some good advice from here!

We have never been in this situation before and I feel physically sick! We have had a bad few months and things are just going from bad to worse. We have a credit card, the interest is high and is about to climb again in a few weeks. I have applied for the Barclaycard but as of yet not heard back from them. We also have a Tesco loan and my husband spoke to them yesterday to see if we could re loan with them but they have said no due to the credit card bill. He didn't mention that we wanted to use it to pay off the credit card so that we would have one easier to manage payment per month. We also wanted to borrow a little more to pay a huge vets bill that we have (my horse had to have an emergency op, unfortunately we lost her so the bill is even bigger, ins wouldn't pay out due to her age and illness) Do you think it is worth him calling them again to say why he needed the loan and that we would no longer have a credit card to pay as well? We are hitting our overdraft limit or just creeping over for the last few months too which is then occurring fees which takes us back to square one. I am currently waiting for the bank to call me back as need to meet with them to let them know that we are struggling and maybe we could take a loan out with them to pay off Tesco, the credit card and also the vet. One monthly payment would be far easier, although I realise it will cost us more in the long term. I am owed almost £40,000 from the council in equal pay and single status back pay, we know that we won't get the full amount but should get at least three quarters of it but it there is still no date as to when it will be paid. It could even take until next year. If only we would receive it now all my problems would be solved!! Any help here would be greatfully recieved xxxx

elantan

Hey all,

i suggested stable girl come here for some help as i know you are all very good at helping people get on top of their finances ...

stable girl can you do an soa ? http://www.makesenseofcards.co.uk/soacalc.html this should take you there

fingers crossed if you get on top of it all ... by the time you get your payout next year you could spend it on something fun

sorry to hear about your horse

bargainbetty

Hi and welcome,

Don't get your hopes up too high on the loan - you have to remember that they have heard the consolidation argument thousands of times before and to be honest, many people don't get it right. I took one out, paid off the card and debts, then maxed out the card again - it's really common, and the banks have really tightened up their rules on giving people 'available credit'.

Use the SOA to get some really good advice on how to reduce your living costs. If you think you can go without using your cards, there is the option of telling them to freeze the account at the current rate. You can't get any more credit, but they can't hike the interest. It's effectively closed until you clear it.

Speak to the vet about a payment plan. I am sure they would rather accept smaller regular payments than risk you going broke and getting nothing.

Good luck

stablegirl

Have just done an soa and according to it with everything I have put we should have £1000 spare every month! So where is it going? It only took a few emergencies to take us over our overdraft limit and now they are charging us we never seem to come out of it. It's crazy! We have wrote all this down ourselves a few weeks back and still can't understand where the rest of the money is going. We are both due to be paid on the 15th and 18th and already we are nearly at the limit. We haven't bought anything either, we would maybe just get through without going over but I know that they will be taking the charges out in the next few days so basically we are in trouble. Hence using the credit card to live when the over draft is at its limit. This is ridiculous, I need a bank statement to see where it is all going x

elantan

thats a very good idea , also start with a wee diary for yourself for spending ( one for hubby too) write down every single penny you spend ... even if it is on a packet of chewing gum ... you will be surprised how money sneaks out of purses .. how much do you spend on groceries as well ? do you have high t.v costs? ,mobile phone costs etc ? if so can you cut these down?

i have to admit i dont like showing my own soa as i find it very personal and fully understand if others dont as well ... look at it all again ... have a good think ...

what are the %'s on the credit cards etc? can you pay more to them?


well done for starting

antonia1

Hi Stable Girl, try posting your SOA, as the folks on here will spot any places you might have missed some things out, or if it looks like you are budgeting too low for annual costs (such as MOT, insurances). The last few months of bank and credit card statements should help when you are filling in your SOA too. Also, try keeping a spending diary to keep track of all of your outgoings for the next month.

stablegirl

I have just had a call from the bank and they have told me not to worry, he says that he has seen much much worse and we have an appointment next Tuesday to see where they can help us! He was very good and was glad that we had made the call before things get too bad to sort! He even said that it may be worth calling Tesco back to say that we wanted to re loan to pay the credit card and vet and that we could send proof that the credit card has been cleared with the funds. He was quite shocked that they had declined us. Hubby is now considering selling the L200 and buying a van to cut down on fuel costs too but I must admit I will be gutted as it means that I won't be able to do any horse shows this year but hey ho money is more important!! Our credit card interest is ridiculously high and due to rise again in the next few weeks, am hoping that we hear from Barclays to see if we have been accepted for their 0% soon as that will give us more options. If only the council would pay up soon it would pay off all our debts! But they are dragging their heels and could be another 12 months yet I do feel better now that I have spoken to the bank, just hope that they can help us x

stablegirl

Thanks for all your help people, I truly appreciate it!!! I over budgeted on MOT for the L200 and my servicing etc is all included in the plan too!! The only thing that I didn't include was horses feeds and shoes but even if I say 200 for them it should still leave us with over £800!! We really do need to start a spending diary! Looking at past statements a lot of the expenditure is diesel, even though hubby car shares and drives one in 4 it is costing the earth! It didn't help that my daughter was in hospital for 2 weeks and the hospital was over an hour away and it was costing almost £20 a day in fuel to be with her, hence the extra spending which seems to have taken us over the edge. It's a scary place to beI think we should strike to make the council pay out quicker lol!! xx

Butti

I'm confused Stable Girl.
Horse shows? Do you have more than one horse or are you now sharing one? If you do I suspect that would be the first place to look for spending.

Please start with the diary, a bank statement and a SOA to try and identify where it is all going. Plus receipts in your purse if you have any.

DO NOT mistake the bank as your friend. Try to sort out your finances from the above before you take anything from the bank. Remember, they don't really do personal banking anymore, they are there to sell you financial products that make THEM money.

Good advice from Elantan (as always!)

B

stablegirl

Hey Butti, thanks for the advice, it is much appreciated. I have checked the last 3 banks statements to see where it has all gone wrong and basically the answer was fuel!! As I mentioned my daughter was in hospital for 2 weeks and that it was costing us almost £20 a day to be with her. Hubby is seriously considering selling his and buying a van would be cheaper to run. With all the other emergencies, including work not paying me correctly last month and not getting what they owe me until this month it has taken us over the limit, then with the fees it has dragged us into it again for the last few months. Having said this after completing the soa and being totally honest on it we should still have over £1000 a month spare! Am going to start a spending diary so that we can see where the cash is going too. Looking at our statements we are keeping Shell going! x