Becoming a Student & unable to pay loan

polkadot01

Thank you :-)

Well I have about 3 1/2 yrs left and about 5k. Unfortunately the rent on my property only covers the mortgage payments.

By what i'm reading i'm expecting this to affect my credit rating, I guess i'm just looking for a damage limitation solution?

Thanks again for your help!

Snowy_Owl

polkadot - another source of possible income would be to look at the "Directory of grant making trusts". There should be a copy of this in the reference section of your local library.Because a lot of tusts have specific criteria, the trusts are therefore organised into areas and another section on I think it's groups of people.

When I did my postgrad teaching course, I got @£1400 pounds in grants which helped towards housing costs.

Also, check with the uni/SA as there may be a mature students grant you can apply for.

HTH
Snowy

jayII

Congratulations on getting a place on the degree!

Have you applied for the social work bursary (available for both first degrees and MScs)? You should qualify for it if you're a UK resident. It covers fees and there comes with a non-repayable living expenses bursary: you may struggle to work alongside the degree when you're on placement.

tiny_courageous

I've been in pretty much your position (am now a social worker, went back to uni to train while being in debt and having various credit cards and loans to pay off, as well as all the usual expenses).

I think you need to post a SOA first off as from your post it appears that in terms of debt you don't just have the loan to think about, you also have car finance.

It is possible to undertake a social work course without a car - I did it. The major issues in this respect are that it can limit your placement opportunities, but ultimately as long as you get a statutory placement at some point during the course you'll be ok.

Make sure you apply for all bursaries and grants available. There are a lot of changes at the moment but the Community Care forums are a useful source of information about what's available.

You can work during the course, even while on placement, but you have to be organised - I managed 20 hours a week work right through the course and overtime on occasion. It takes over your life but it's worth it in the end.

Finally, it's an amazing career but the job availability depends on what area you're living, and what area of social work you want to get in to. I know a lot of newly qualified social workers who are struggling to find work at the moment. Network as much as you can, as it's often who you know to find out when opportunities are becoming available.

Mach4

Polkadot.

you could do with posting an SOA.

You really need to keep up repayments on this loan. Reason being its a relatively small amount to mess your life up over not paying.5k is quite low to get a charging order but they might go for it and you lose your house. They could get county court judgement which will affect your ability to get a private rent, affect any future mortgage applications car finance etc etc.


If theres no way that you can keep on paying currently by cutting back (surely there is its only an £170 but maybe you are right at the limit anyway) then you need to look at other options.

Eg sell house or remortgage to release some cash. If remortgage you need to do this now whilst you still have a salary.
Is your car worth more than the finance outstanding on it. If it is worth significantly more sell it pay off the finance and use the leftover to buy a banger and pay off some of the loan.

choccybuttons

Hi

What about re-jigging the debt. Use a card to do a superbalance transfer to current account, pay off loan in full (if halifax will allow this), then bounce this balance onto a rate for life credit card and make minimum payments until you are more financially stable.

Mach4

choccybuttons wrote: »

Hi

What about re-jigging the debt. Use a card to do a superbalance transfer to current account, pay off loan in full (if halifax will allow this), then bounce this balance onto a rate for life credit card and make minimum payments until you are more financially stable.

Good plan though I think super balance transfers are difficult nowadays?

A Variant is getting a 0% purchase card, put all your normal petrol/ food/ living spend on it which allows you to keep paying the loan and build up a fund to pay the loan off with.

DVardysShadow

polkadot01 wrote: »

Thank you :-)

Well I have about 3 1/2 yrs left and about 5k. Unfortunately the rent on my property only covers the mortgage payments.

By what i'm reading i'm expecting this to affect my credit rating, I guess i'm just looking for a damage limitation solution?

Thanks again for your help!

You really do need to do a Statement of Affairs to understand how your finances will be. If you are a frugal person, you may be able to get through this without damage to your financial standing, but it will be one hell of a ride. The first thing you need is credit cards with a good limit available and do this:

Mach4 wrote: »

Good plan though I think super balance transfers are difficult nowadays?

A Variant is getting a 0% purchase card, put all your normal petrol/ food/ living spend on it which allows you to keep paying the loan and build up a fund to pay the loan off with.

You probably will not get 0%, but get the best you can. Overall, you will need 36 months of £170 credit plus accrued interest.

You will need to rule your finances with an iron hand and never let the credit card accumulate more than £170/month - everything over this, you must pay off in the month. This will effectively allow you to pay your loan off without defaulting - at the expense of deferring it all onto the credit card to pay off when you finish uni. Depending on how things work out - if you get a part time job - you should be able to stop the debt rising as quickly as £170/month.

If you are going down this road, line up your credit cards now while you are still employed.