My State of Affairs

peterg1965

May I ask how much your house is worth and what size is your mortgage? I agree that consolidating is not a good idea, however, I have done it and it all depends on weighing up all the options. IF you do it you need to be disciplined, really disciplined, else you will ultimately end up in a worse financial mess. Should you go down that route a short term unsecured loan would be best. Secured loans are nearly always on a variable interest rate and with rates on the up it could work out very expensive.

angel31572

My house is worth around £155 000. My mortgage is £115 000

can't seem to get an unsecured loan though

angel31572

MinnieSpender wrote: »

Hi angel - good to see you back!

Just a quickie question on the council tax. Do you claim single person's allowance? You mention that you are a single parent, so I just assumed it's you and your son at home. If you are the only adult in the house you should get 25% discount.

HI..thanks for the welcome back.

Yes, I do get the discount. I bought this house last year and it took a while to get the council tax sorted due to problems their end so I have been paying £193 a month until the new tax year. I can't remember what the exact amount is because it doesn't get paid until April, as you know. I know it is no more than £140 but certainly no less than £120.

peterg1965

angel31572 wrote: »

My house is worth around £155 000. My mortgage is £115 000

can't seem to get an unsecured loan though

Is that because you have a poor credit record? What sort of rate/size is the secured loan on offer?

angel31572

peterg1965 wrote: »

Is that because you have a poor credit record? What sort of rate/size is the secured loan on offer?

Yes. Apparently it's not awful..just not great!

The loan is for around £7500 at the moment. I would be increasing by another £6500 taking the payment to £370 over 3 years.

peterg1965

Do you not qualify for any Working Tax Credits? You will also be receiving Child Allowance which should be added to your income. £60 a week for school dinners is expensive, you could condider packed lunches for your son. Sorry to post a few post seperately I keep thinking of other questions/points!!

peterg1965

angel31572 wrote: »

Yes. Apparently it's not awful..just not great!

The loan is for around £7500 at the moment. I would be increasing by another £6500 taking the payment to £370 over 3 years.

The £370 does not sound right to me, £370 x 36 months = £13320. This would appear to be less than the new amount (£6500) plus your likely outstanding amount on the original loan which must be around £7000 (if you have only been paying for 7/8 months). I would check the details/term of the new offer. If it is correct it must be at a very low rate of interest.

angel31572

peterg1965 wrote: »

Do you not qualify for any Working Tax Credits? You will also be receiving Child Allowance which should be added to your income. £60 a week for school dinners is expensive, you could condider packed lunches for your son. Sorry to post a few post seperately I keep thinking of other questions/points!!

Post as many as you like!

I get around £34 a month tax credit which I have added to my income. £60 a month breaks down to £2.50 a day. I also give him fruit to take to school each day. Not much... but this isn't his fault is it? It's mine. My son is working really hard on A Levels. He is an angel who helps me around the house a lot and never gives me cause for concern. He is also almost 6' tall and is very athletic. He plays for an amateur football and is studying A Level PE studies. The last thing I am going to do is give him less money for food. Sorry if that isn't what you want to hear.

angel31572

Sorry for the absence....my sister phoned and that always takes a while!!

peterg1965

Women eh! Why say one word when ten will do!