Finally admitting we have a debt problem

tiredmumof2

Hovel_lady wrote: »

Hello and welcome to the DFW board :wave:

When you have done your SOA if you want the people on here to have a look do post it.
You're definately not alone with it. Nearly everyone on here is in/has been in debt.
Have a read of some of the diaries if you want some inspiration.

(Sorry to hijack your thread tiredmum )

No need to apologise - you're all fab on here so any advice and support for myself or other newbies is more than welcome

honeybean

I am 44yrs old and so happy it took a lot of courage after my divorce 3yrs ago to admit especially to my parents i was in debt , but i did and they helped me so much , maybe for some the thought of your parents looking into your finances and taking you shopping would be horrible but it worked for me. Now at last next week i get my share of my house sell which means i can pay all my debts and finally after 3yrs of struggle be debt free and have a few pennies in the bank to treat myself now and again . Its a struggle you have to be strong and dedicated , i would like to think my dad is looking down on me so proud as he passed away 2 1/2 years and was a strong influence in getting help . I would like to say that the people you owe money too are not evil speak to them i applaude Barclaycard they could not of been more helpful to me. cant wait yipee :j

bexlincs1

From your statement of affairs I would recommend an IVA. As it doesn't look like you have enough equity in your property for it to be affected if you were to enter an IVA, once your secured loan has been accounted for.

Though you have a DI of around £500 a month, an IVA may be able to be done with lower payments once you have spoken to a company in a bit more details.

If you are eligible and think you can maintain payments on an IVA, its usually the best option as you are guaranteed to be debt free in 5 years, and can have a large amount of your debt written off.

The difference between that and a DMP, is that a DMP is informal, but will last for a lot longer, until your debts are fully repaid - so around 10 years if paying £500, where as if you were paying £500 in the IVA you'd be debt free in 5 years.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

tiredmumof2

bexlincs1 wrote: »

From your statement of affairs I would recommend an IVA. As it doesn't look like you have enough equity in your property for it to be affected if you were to enter an IVA, once your secured loan has been accounted for.

Though you have a DI of around £500 a month, an IVA may be able to be done with lower payments once you have spoken to a company in a bit more details.

If you are eligible and think you can maintain payments on an IVA, its usually the best option as you are guaranteed to be debt free in 5 years, and can have a large amount of your debt written off.

The difference between that and a DMP, is that a DMP is informal, but will last for a lot longer, until your debts are fully repaid - so around 10 years if paying £500, where as if you were paying £500 in the IVA you'd be debt free in 5 years.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Hi bexlincs,

Thanks for this but both CCCS and National Debt Service said the DMP was more suitable. Having an IVA is attractive in the fact it's all done and dusted in 5 years but it has a lot of negatives - one which became apparent on Saturday when we opened our new bank account. They asked if we'd EVER had an IVA (not 'have you had one in last 5years) so it will be very difficult to change mortgage fir a better deal in the future. Yes, DMP will take longer but I'm hoping we can increase payments on our annual review.

Thanks for your comments, it's really appreciated x

Alice_in_Poorland

Hi, we started our DMP with CCCS in January, as you can see from my sig we will be on our DMP for quite sometime, although the DFD should become closer once we have paid that car loan and can then pay that money towards out debts.

One thing that has helped me is a spending diary and a meal planner (although I do need to re-jig it a bit, meals have become a bit boring). Also we've had a really good sort out in the house and sold some stuff in ebay and have got loads of stuff ready for a carboot.

Good luck.xx

Teatime

Well done TMO2. You have achieved so much in just a few days.
I am so impressed.

Barbeduk

Wow tiredmum, I can't believe how much you've achieved in such a short time! :T

Can I just suggest that when you've got a minute (!) you pop over to the old style board, loads of money saving suggestions there and, of course, the grocery challenge. If you want to get your food bill down you'll get loads of advice.

Good luck.:)

Sun_kisses

Should you cancel cards first with companies? I'm sure Martin once said you must cancel individual cards when you are out of debt otherwise they will stay on your credit record. do you know what I mean, maybe ask cccs about it.
I would be interested to know.
Also have you done all your work on the internet or have you talked face to face with cccs. How did you prove SOA if you did everything by e.mail?
Look forward to your reply

mini10

Hi tiredmum,
Have read your diary with interest as I am in similar position. Just wondering how you're doing- you've made great progress so far.
Will subscribe to your diary

tiredmumof2

Sun_kisses wrote: »

Should you cancel cards first with companies? I'm sure Martin once said you must cancel individual cards when you are out of debt otherwise they will stay on your credit record. do you know what I mean, maybe ask cccs about it.
I would be interested to know.
Also have you done all your work on the internet or have you talked face to face with cccs. How did you prove SOA if you did everything by e.mail?
Look forward to your reply

Hi sunkisses,

No I haven't cancelled my CC's as I'm still in debt with them! However I have cut them up so I won't be using them again. When the debt is cleared I'll cancel if necessary (if the creditors don't do this this as a matter of course after having a DMP). The default will remain on my credit file for 6 yrs after I've paid the debt so there's no point really in thinking about it at this stage.

All of my dealings with CCCS have been over the internet or over the phone. They know about my outgoings as it's detailed on our bank account and I had to send the statements thorugh as the bank account is one of my creditors. I'm not sure what others have done but they did ask me about my savings plan at work (this is detailed on my pay slip) and I had to explain I'm tied in this for 5 years.

The annual review will ensure any changes in circumstances are captured.

HTH