Please help, feeling very low here...

LolStevo

Hi, as you can see from my signature i am very much in debt and as a 20 year old college student its not very good!

I currently work around 20-25 hours per week getting around £450 per month. I was on a dmp with CCCS but the past 2 months have only got around £200-250 due to sickness! Hence i have not been able to pay my dmp!

My debt is also increasing as i am still receiving a monthly charge on each account with natwest aswell as default letters even though they have agreed to the payments being made to them from CCCS. Therefore i dont know if i can afford to stay on the dmp.

My monthly outgoings are:

Petrol £60
Food £80
Mobile phone £35 (cant get out of contract)
Clothes around £50
DMP with CCCS £100

I dont think i could get a loan to consolodate this otherwise this would be my first option! Please can anyone help me im so low its unbelievable and i want to get this sorted before i move away to university in september!!!

Thanks xx:o

frugalpam

LolStevo wrote: »

Hi, as you can see from my signature i am very much in debt and as a 20 year old college student its not very good!

I currently work around 20-25 hours per week getting around £450 per month. I was on a dmp with CCCS but the past 2 months have only got around £200-250 due to sickness! Hence i have not been able to pay my dmp!

My debt is also increasing as i am still receiving a monthly charge on each account with natwest aswell as default letters even though they have agreed to the payments being made to them from CCCS. Therefore i dont know if i can afford to stay on the dmp.

My monthly outgoings are:

Petrol £60
Food £80
Mobile phone £35 (cant get out of contract)
Clothes around £50
DMP with CCCS £100

I dont think i could get a loan to consolodate this otherwise this would be my first option! Please can anyone help me im so low its unbelievable and i want to get this sorted before i move away to university in september!!!

Thanks xx:o

Hi and welcome to the forum. There are a lot of experienced folk here who'll be along soon, I'm sure, to give you some great advice.
Just a couple of things.... have you been in contact with CCCS to explain your circumstances about your reduced earnings due to sickness? They might be able to help you.
On your budget.....£50 per month on clothes is a lot to be spending, specially as a student. Have you tried the Charity Shops? Honestly - you pick up some great bargains, and often the clothes haven't been worn before. I go to ones in a nearby town (quite a wealthy seaside resort) - get a good class of cast off there! Last winter, for example, I bought a wool and cashmere coat (M+S) that had obviously never been worn, for £3.50. I'd seen similar in M+S for over 100 quid!

Pam

LolStevo

Thanks for your replies! I admit i am a compulsive shopper and i do spend too much on clothes i dont spend £50 religiously every month tho this month i will spend nothing!

Ignore the clothes one that was just a random figure!

Anymore help?!?! x

art_student

Hi! I am also a student with much debt. You are certainly not alone! Are you at university at the moment or do you start in September? If you are in difficulty while at university, you can apply for an Access to Learning Fund which is money that universities have from the government to give to students in financial difficulty. There is a good thread on the student money saving forum about this topic - do a search for it.
I haven't really got any bright ideas except are you able to work full time over the holidays and have no social life to crack the debt a bit before you go off to uni? It would be good at least to get back within your overdraft limits!
Good luck fellow student!

LolStevo

Hey art_student! No i will be going to uni in september! i have no social life at the moment so it will be hard! haha im trying to get as much work as possible but can you tell me if your bad credit rating affects any student grants or loans or student accounts? Thanks xx

chevalier

ref the student accounts, I can't see why they wouldn't credit check it just as with any application. What are you working at that only pays £450 for 25 hours? On a good month? Can you do more work - ie a second job? As you are 20 you could do bar work no worries?

But the most important thing is to talk to CCCS
Also if you have bank charges then you can reclaim them. But best to set up another account first before doing this.
regards
chev

duncans-mum_2

Hi, I can't offer any practical advice apart from you really need to contact CCCS to advise of your circumstance change to see what they say. If you just don't pay that and ignore it, you will just be back to square one (pre lightbulb moment... sand ...head...bury) It takes a lot of effort to acknowledge you have a problem in the first place, you did the hard part sorting out a DMP, don't spoil it by giving in. (((((Huge hugs)))) that you are feeling low, everyone goes through it from time to time and I gues sickness/lower wage must take its toll. Chin up, and keep talking to CCCS. You can, and you will sort it.

LolStevo

Thanks! I shall phone CCCS on monday!

I work in asda part time and try and get any overtime i can but with there being loads of students also working there you have to be quick on the overtime!
I have signed up for an extra shift so i will be workin 6 nights a week which does not help my college work but i know it has to be done! I will try and find another job tho! Thanks people! xx

art_student

Hi LolStevo, Can't give you any advice about the credit rating as mine was probably ok when I started uni. However, I believe that banks are less likely to do a credit check on you if you are already a customer so if you stick with your current bank and just ask them to change your current account to a student account you might be fine. Also, I do not believe that your credit rating will affect your loan, for a start it is based on your parents' income and also it is not from a bank, it is from the government and the only criteria I know of is that you have to be in full time education.
Hope this helps!

smashedbooboo

Hi, well done for joining up and welcome. I know the debts you agve seem like a fortune but as far as repaying them it can be done. What about the charges that are added on to your accounts. Have you checked to see what charges you have on each account. You will probably be able to reduce some of those debts if not get rid of some of the small ones. Hope you have kept all your paperwork, statements etc. If not they can be got easily enough. And at least you are facing up to things now before they spiral out of control. You are young. Dont get older withdebts around your neck. We will help you as much as we can. But please stop spending on clothes. Get yourself sorted first hun. Big hugs from me and good luck, xxxxxxxxx

tesuhoha

I was just going to say that Nat West do a student account with a 0% overdraft, so maybe you should speak to them about that. If not then perhaps you should change your bank. Read Martin's advice about student accounts. There is a lot about them on this site. You may be able to transfer your overdraft, I dont know. The £80 you spend on food, is that money you give your parents? You have not mentioned rent, so I assume you are living at home. If so, you could try asking them if you could live rent free for a few months while you sort yourself out financially for going to university. Otherwise maybe you could give a bit more detail about how this £80 is spent and maybe that could be reduced.