Ok first timer! Advice please?

ssparry

I have spent a bit of time reading other threads on here and have decided to join and confront my problems. I am nealry £10k worth of debt and I stay up most nights worrying about it and our future. I am a single mum to a 11mth baby girl. I have 2 debts, a loan and credit card.

I have spoken with the cccs today who were really helpful and not judgemental as I thought they would. However, he says the only way forward is bankruptcy. Now from what I read it seems that bankruptcy may be extreme for a debt of £10k and there may be other alternatives.

At the moment I am on income support and in rented accomodation, I have no savings, no car (belongs to my dad) nothing worth more than £100. (pc 2nd hand) I am returning to work in September but plan to go into Estate Angecy work - I doubt I could do this if I went bankrupt.

Mint have already reduced payments to £1 a month and frozen the interest which is great but only a temp fixture. AA have issued a default notice but I am paying £20 a month (should be £139).

I currently have a shortfall of about £100 a month (forgotten exact amount cccs putting info in post to me which will confirm) so I have no money to pay the creditors. I am very lucky to have a wonderful father who helps me tremoundsly (sp) each month. I also sell a little on Ebay which also helps.

However, i do not have the money to pay the repayments on the loan

Here are the options I have thought of.....

a) See whether I can continue to pay mint £1 a month and also see whether AA would do this - if I say to AA look I have two options - go bankrupt you get nothing or pay £1 or somthing minimal a month and eventually you get it back?

b) Take cccs advice and go bankrupt (really don't want to go down that route)

c) Make a partial offer to settle the account with both creditors....again my wonderful dad would assist me in this but it could not be a huge amount

As I say I am single Mum, my Dad doesn't know the extent of my debts and I only have a baby to talk to and although she is a good listener she can't offer too much advice. So my friend is the computer! I only have you guys to talk to about this and really appreciate your comments. - Would bankruptcy be the only way?

For ref.....

Income: (per monthly)

Income support: £225.33
Child tax credits: £190.66
Child benefit: £75.61

Outgoings: Rent: £88
Water: £32
Gas: £36 (inc debt)
Elec: £24.00
Telephone/Intenret: £40.00
TV licence: £11.00
Dental insurance: £1500 (a must)
Motoring costs (petrol) £60
Food/Housekeeping/nappies: £160
Playgroup/soft play £30.00

DEBTS:

Mint cc: £3144.33 - interest frozen
AA: £5985.27 - interest paid!

littlekitten

Hi,

I just wanted to say welcome ... I'm not very knowledgeable re bankrupcy, IVA's or DMP's so I can't give you any help on that but there are lots of people on here who are who will be along shortly.

However looking at your SOA could you posibly cut down on your phone / internet ? As you can get the internet free with some packages now, have a look at maybe Uswitch the comparison site to give you some ideas on this.

Dental Ins - I'm guessing you missed out a decimal point here !!!!

Petrol - Could you cut this down as it seems high, walk short distances, maybe public transport would be cheaper ???

xx

CLAPTON

clearly you can't reasonably afford to repay anything at this time

i would suggest you write to AA and say

that you are a single mother and that your sole source of income is state benefits
that you accept responsibility for repaying the debts but at this moment you can only offer £1 as a token payment and that you request them to freeze interest and any charges and to withdraw the default on your a/c

go on to say you hope to return to work in ..whenever at which time it may be possible to resume full payments.

Whether or not it makes sense to go bankrupt depends upon how realistic it is for you to return to work and how much you will earn.

you need to look into the feasibility of returning to work, what sort of salary you would get, and what change in your net income this will make.
presumably you will have increased costs, childcare, travelling etc. so you need to find out the details.

If it then looks feasible to start repaying your debts within the year then it may be worth delaying thoughts of bankruptcy and see how it works out.

If on the other hand even by returning to work you aren't going to be able to repay the debts then bankruptcy is a very serious option.

mummymoments

Hi, I'm not all that experienced when it comes to bankruptcy etc but I'm sure there will be some regulars along soon to help you. However I just thought that I would let you know that there is some hope. I am a stay at home mum with no income coming in and back in October '06 I owed approx £7.5k on credit cards, overdraft etc. However I now only owe £2k to my mum and dad (who are also great to me and have lent me it interest free to pay back as and when I can). Admitedly I have a husband but I used none of his money to pay of my debts so in a way I am i was in a similar situation to you.

Firstly well done to facing up to your debts - that really is a big start and it gets easier from thereon in (althpugh somedays it may not seem so)- your dad sounds wonderful and I really think you should tell him the extent of your debt - trust me I was terrified about telling my parents but they were fantastic about it and it really was a weight off my mind just to talk to another adult about it and who knows how much he may be able to help you.

Secondly just by posting on this board means that you have adults to talk too - I know what you mean about your little one - great listener but not too helpful on the advice front. Theres always somebody on hear to pour your heart out too who will not be judgemental so remember you are never alone. Even on your worst days just look at your little one and smile.

Selling on ebay is a great start to earn a bit of extra cash - have you also considered joing some mystery shopping sites such as grassroots? These usually pay around £10 per assignment and as your little one is only 11months you should be able to take her with you when you carry out the assignments so you should'nt have childcare fees. Take a look at this board for more sites and further details. I have managed to earn approx £100 since Oct from this so is a really good option.

Also are you a member of pigsback and quidco? With pigsback you can get points to exchange for Boots vouchers without even having to spend any money if you use the competitions and pigsback point clicks - again there is more info on this board - these vouchers could then be used to buy nappies etc for your little one and save you a bit of cash that way. I've had 3 x £10 in the last couple of months - OK not massive money but every little helps.

Other ways to have a bit extra cash to throw at your debts could be to cut down at bit on your outgoings - £40 seems quite high for phone and internet a month - I'm with Tiscali for my internet and pay £7.99 a month for peak hour usage (that means I can be on the internet all day everyday between 8am and 6pm and still only pay £7.99 a month which I think is quite good value).

Also maybe now the nice weather is coming (and hopefully will stay for a while) why not consider taking your little one to a nearby park or for a walk instead of going to soft play centres and so many playgroups (don't cut them out completely - just cut back a bit). There are loads of free things you can do with your kiddies like feeding the ducks, playing in the garden etc. Trust me I've learned that they just enjoy being with their mummy - its better than all the money being spent on them in the world.

Hope this helps a little bit and good luck.

Remember you are not alone - we are always here to provide support and advice

mummymoments

Hi me again - just thought of a few more ideas for you to raise a bit more cash until you go back to work

Avon, Virgin Vie, Body Shop at Home etc - any of these may be able to earn you a bit of extra cash and you could do most of them with your little girl in tow

Leaflet distribution - ok pays peanuts but every little helps

Childminding - if your at home with your little one then maybe you could look after some other peoples and get paid a bit for doing it?

Ironing, cleaning, dog walking etc - again you should eb able to take your little one with you or do the ironing at home whilst being with your little one.

Hope these help too.

ssparry

Many thanks for replies....I desperately want to return to work but part time, I will be £9p/w better off, full time I probably would be worse off. I have had problems with my dd so have to delay work until September and then it'll be part time.

CLAPTON

well, if you are only going to be £9 per week better off then you are still not going to be able to repay the debts whether the interest is frozen or not.

there is rush to decide but bankruptcy is the only option for clearing the debts.

webitha

hiya here is my twopenny worth
firstly you are on IS so why are you paying rent are these arrears or a topup?
yu need to pop over to the OS board to reduce your housekeeping
i spend £200 a month which is only £40 more than you and i feed 5 and that incsludes all cleaning products and nappies
also if your a SAHM why are you paying £30 for playgroup? you cant afford it im affraid
i would love to let my little one go but i need to get these debts down i also take her swimming which only costs £2;80
also walk more to reduce petrol costs and healthy for you
and start a spending diary and write down everything that you buy down to the last choc bar you will be surprised

im sorry if i sound a bit harsh so welcome to your road to financial freedom

Kevicho

I feel really bad for you being left in this position, is the dad not contributing?

Are you getting all the help you can get financially?

Id talk to your dad, he seems like he would be able to help, but as said above you are living to the limit of your finances, maybe looking at some ways to earn some free money, such as switching accounts/providers for cashback, or some of the free betting loopholes you may get lucky.

Good luck, and welcome to the board

Kev

azjh77

If the baby is under one your dentist should be free..I'm assuming it's £15 p m not £1500 !!

You are entitled to free dentistry, I'm not on IS (I earn £2 a week too much!) but still get my gnashers sorted for free.

(Having said that, actually FINDING an NHS dentist is a task in it's self!)