What options are available to me?

sickasachip13

Hi,

Well done for starting to try and sort it out. Put up a statement of affairs (SOA) - all your income and all your outgoings and that will help people give some specific tips and suggestions
SAAC

moohound

I think this might be a light bulb moment for inbetweener!

Can you do anything else, switch energy provider? Switch to better mortgage deal? Ditch Sky telly,switch to a cheaper mobile phone? without a statement of affairs it is hard to guess where savings can be made.

I earn £40000 a year, yet I holiday in a tent and I wear my 64 year old mother's hand me down clothes all because of debt. Without it I would have a very different lifestyle.

sickasachip13

moohound wrote: »

I earn £40000 a year, yet I holiday in a tent and I wear my 64 year old mother's hand me down clothes all because of debt. Without it I would have a very different lifestyle.

....just to satisfy my curiosity, you are a woman aren't you :eek:

moohound

:rotfl:Hahaha yes not a cross dresser.

inbetweener

From reading tips on the site i am aware of maybe slight changes i could possibly make (i dont have sky or spend hardly anything on myself etc)
Your comments are very much appreciated and i know by asking for the SOA you are trying to help, the advice i was looking for was to see what people would do in my situation for the next 6 months to a year

From what i can gather, apart from trying to tighten the belt another notch, i have got to keep on going as i am for the forseeable

cutestkids

I think if you keep going as you are the come this time next year you will be in a complete mess, lets say you are putting £300 a month on the CC for general living expenses at the moment come next January that will be another £2100 that you have added to the debt that you already have.

I know that the idea is for your wife to get a part time job in the new Year , but she may not be lucky to get a job quickly.

You have asked others what they would do in your situation well if I was you I would post up my SOA and take any advice I could get with regards making savings, you would be surprised what people can come up with as ways to save money.

It may be that you are already in Debt Crisis in which case you do have options that with make your life easier in the long run such as a DMP.

You may think that you have it under control but if you are relying on the credit card to pay for petrol and shopping then things are already unmanageable and will only get worse.

It is best to deal with it properly now rather than wait until the bank and credit card companies decide you are a bad risk and your options will be limited.

katsu

I don't think you have had your lightbulb moment yet and I am concerned for you and your family.

In your situation I would want to really understand where your money is going and why you currently "need" to spend £230-300 more than you have in income. I would then look at how to reduce that £230-300 (preferably to 0 but at worst to a minimum) as at some stage all that debt has to be paid back and if you are overspending, what happens if you need a new washing machine/fridge/car/...?

As part of that I would post an SOA and take advice on what people feel could be cut and how - from breakdown cover to utility costs or haircuts and kids entertainment.

I would then work out how to change my lifestyle so we could avoid getting into more debt.

I hope that you and your wife can make lifestyle changes rather than just keep adding to this CC debt.

Best wishes for your new addition to the family.