Help , debt is eating me up

trustxdaisyx

Hi im looking for some advice, im being eaten up by debits to the point of having to buy food to feed my children on credit cards, a big world wind is lifting me up as i just go round in circles..

Im 34 live with my partner we both work full time an have 7 children between us.. Im self employed and my partner works 6 days a week so were not sitting on our butts.
Im not frivolous, just changed car insurance an saved money, had my sky turned off an only buy the food in that we need prob every other day. Im a home owner well with a mortgage. My partner moved in with me about 12 months ago an my tax credits more than halved an over the last year the debit has just got bigger and not for buying expensive stuff just the essentials believe me! any suggestions would be greatly received..
Ive tried a budget planner an still carnt see my way out i need to feed the kids what do i do ? :(:(:(:(

mo1_2

hiya,i know how you feel i was there a few years ago,it takes a complete lifestyle change i found out,can u do a s o a ,then people can offer help?

trustxdaisyx

hi, soa? sorry am totally new to this!
total debt is £1073.87
split this up an i have £2029.57 on a mint card
bank account 1 is over drawn by £1518.26
bank account 2 is over drawn by £755.81
tsb loan of 6349.37

we just roll round in our £3000 over draft paying threw the nose an running up the mint card.. totally appreciate being 10 k in debt isnt that bad but at the mint im struggling to make ends meet an have food in to feed the kids
thank u x

danthemoneysavingman

search site /forum for Statement of Affiars (SoA), fill out n post it, then folk can advise how you can cut back further.
also worth looking at other boards on the forum on how to save money on meals etc, take the downgrade challenge at supermarket, etc etc... lots to look into!

Mort

trustxdaisyx wrote: »

hi, soa? sorry am totally new to this!

SOA (statement of affairs) you can format it for MSE at the end.

http://makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

rising_from_the_ashes

Hi Daisy ... you've come to the right place - as Mort suggests, post up your SOA and I'm sure we'll be able to find some places to cut back.

dancingfairy

Hi Daisy. Firstly taking all your income can you meet the essential bills? I mean things like mortgage, food, electric, gas, insurances, birthdays, christmas etc? After you have taken all these things into account do you have anything left over to make any debt repayments? can you afford minimum repayments or not?
Depending on how much is left over after essentials are taken care of will affect what is the best solution for you. There are many to choose from including a DRO, dmp, IVA, Bankruptcy, token payments etc etc.
I would say 1) make sure your budget is realistic because you really do not want to be taking out more credit (especially if you sign up to a dmp or similar - always better to slightly over estimate things). and
2) don't rush into anything and certainly don't go with anyone who promises to 'write off your debts' or wave a magic wand or anything like that.
Once you've done your budget then I would approach one of the debt charities for help and advice - try National Debtline, CCCS or your local CAB. Also if you wish to post the results on here people can help as well.
Best of Luck
df

trustxdaisyx

ok this took a lot for me to do this today an i can say im totally embarrassed an well to let the world see the state im in... but i need to sleep at night too thank you to those who have replied so far x

rising_from_the_ashes

trustxdaisyx wrote: »

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1300
Benefits................................ 387
Other income............................ 188
Total monthly income.................... 2375

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 529.8
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 90
Electricity............................. 58 On the high side - check consumption, readings, bills & comparison sites for better deals
Gas..................................... 58 As above
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 39.91 Have you got a meter?
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 90:eek: Are these contracts? Switch to PAYG ASAP & use for emergencies only
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 56 Sorry but not an essential when you've got debts to clear .... switch to FreeSat
Internet Services....................... 6
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 Should be able to shave around £100 off this - try the Grocery Challenge on the Old Style board
Clothing................................ 100 Cut by 1/2 - e*bay old clothes & use money for new ones
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 350 What are these?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 Need something in here - even £10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 29 On the high side (even if incl contents) - check comparison sites
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 Need something in here - suggest £30 (for the 3 kids)
Haircuts................................ 0 Need something in here - even £10
Entertainment........................... 0 Need something in here - even £20
Holiday................................. 0 What about school holiday times? Usually incurs extra costs
Emergency fund.......................... 0 Essential that you put something in here to cover new appliances & other things that crop up - suggest £40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1978.83


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000 Could you sell & buy a cheaper one?
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 185000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 110000...(529.8)....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 110000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
mint credit card...............2029.57...40........1.736
over draft.....................1518.26...0.........0
over draft.....................755.81....0.........0
bank loan......................6349.37...0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........10653.01..40........-

Are these really all 0% / no charges? Do you not pay anything to them now?

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,375
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,978.83
Available for debt repayments........... 396.17
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 40 Need to incl min figures missing above
Amount left after debt repayments....... 356.17

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 185,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -110,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -10,653.01
Net Assets.............................. 64,346.99

trustxdaisyx wrote: »

ok this took a lot for me to do this today an i can say im totally embarrassed an well to let the world see the state im in... but i need to sleep at night too thank you to those who have replied so far x

It's not all bad Daisy - yes, you have some debt but I've been in a much worse position - and, your assets outweigh these which is good.

Some suggestions above which I hope provide some food for thought.

camuk81

Daisy, just on another note can the council change the council tax to 12 months rather then 10 it may give room to breath. Other then that rising from the ashes has some great advice

Mort

Like Rising said it's not all bad.

Is the other child related expense of £350 maintenance for the other 4 children? You show £65 for satellite/cable but said you have "had my sky turned off", what is this?

You could probably shave some costs of your grocery bill by doing things like shifting down to basics or value ranges.

Have you missed any CC payments?