A problem told is a problem halved?

mizzbiz19

Hi all,

I am 20 years old and due to issues at home i am now living in a shared house. I now have to pay £325 pounds per month for rent.

I work full time as an apprentice and so wages are minimal each month. I live in my £750 overdraft each month often going over and paying ridiculous bank fees.

I have complained to the bank about the amount they charge me to which they responded by giving me £50 as a good will gesture and suggested i seek advice in branch. In branch the man told me to attempt to cut down outgoings which I have done.

I owe my parents £1200 and they refuse to let me pay it back when i have finished my apprentieship. They expect monthly repayments of £200.

I also have a contract phone which costs £40 (i know its a ridiculous amount to pay for a phone - ex bf conned me into getting iphone 4s 2 year contract and sold it).

This then leaves me with just £200 for food and living expenses a month. I am only just getting by and I feel miserable all the time worrying about money. I have applied for loans but because of my living in my overdraft my credit rating is bad. I have also applied for different jobs but the job market is rubbish at present time even though i am studying for a degree with the OU and have good a levels and gcse's.

I know that i would earn more money if i worked some dead-end job but it would destroy my soul and in theory this apprenticeship will take me places. I am trying to find a second job to work evenings and weekends but as i said the job market is awful.

Can anyone advise me on how i can boost my income or get a loan of some sort? Feeling pretty hopeless right now...

marliepanda

As you are no longer living at home I assume there are other issues beyond this £1200 loan?

In your position, and maybe people will disagree, but I would stop repaying your parents the £200 (could you maybe afford £100 to them, or £50 even?)

I have borrowed money from my parents over the years when I was a student, and always paid back when I could, but my parents never expected a set payment time (or why would I have needed help in the first place) If your relationship has deteriorated to the point it is now, personally I would 'risk' it getting a bit worse by cutting your payments to your parents. You are earning £750 and they are expecting almost a quarter of that which I think is very unfair.

mizzbiz19

Thanks for your response.

I agree that they expect me to pay too much. I have spoken to them and they refuse to help me. Money is the reason i was thrown out of my house.

LaughingLorna

Hi Mizzbiz,

Well done for taking the plunge and posting. I know others will be able to suggest some excellent ways of making your £200 stretch if needs be so if that's the worst case scenario then it should be a bit more manageable. A couple of suggestions to free up income...

The first issue is obviously the repayments to your parents. Is it possible that they're asking for this arrangement because they think in some way it's helping you to 'be mature and take responsibility'? If so then might be worth setting out a budget sheet and show how you could live more within your means if they could reduce the payment and allow you to get out of your overdraft. You could also do some projections about your income after the apprenticeship and show how you could increase your repayments then?

Alternatively are there any other relatives who would let you rent a room? I don't know where in the country you live but £325 seems a bit pricey for a room in a shared house if that doesn't include any bills.

Also you mention that you are studying with the OU so I don't know how much spare time you have to play with but I found doing silver service waitressing at weddings and racecourses etc. payed decent money fro evenings and weekends plus we got food/ wine before/ after shift so cut down on grocery costs...

LaughingLorna

*paid - darn flu!

LittleMissGiggles123

Have you checked to see if you're entitled to any benefits to help you out? Might not be much but every little helps.

Aapart from that I agree with everyone else saying to reduce the payment to your parents. They might moan at first but they can't get blood out of a stone & if you just keep the payments regular they might eventually see that ou are being responsible & making the effort to pay.

Just dont be tempted to get any credit cards or loans now though, because you really will start struggling then when you have more montly repayments to make.

Good luck x

bluebag

What a difficult situation you are in. The job market is truly dire at the moment.

I can't offer any advice other than keep looking for a job, apprenticeships sadly don't always result in a job, but good for you for giving it a go! But a reasonable job now may be better than a promise of one in the future, that is if one is available of course.
In the meantime just keep trying to keep your head above water.

One positve thing about the debt repayment to your parents is although it's a crippling amount of money it will be paid off quickly.

I wish you lots of luck, it's really hard for people your age at the moment.
bb

Betty_Crumble

hi, i know things seem bad but it will only be for a relatively small time. Please, please, please don't even think about getting a payday loan, if you think you are suffering now then that'll be nothing compared to how bad it can get if you go down that route, not trying to scaremonger but you have mentioned applying for loans and i would hate to think that that is your last resort because it isnt.
Knuckle down, you will feel pap for a few months but afterwards will be great. Good luck.

ukclare

Reading your message tells me that you are an intelligent, articulate woman who can get through this bad patch. The fact that you are on this site tells me that you are capable of tackling the problems. Have a good trawl through the forums as there are lots of people asking for meal plans, etc to feed themselves on £1 a day or similar amounts.
It is not easy, of course its not, but if you can hang in there for just a few more months just think how rich you will feel with an extra £200 a month in your purse.

By 2013 you will have paid off your parents - August, September, October, November, December, January - doesn't seem too long if you look at it like that!

Make sure you talk to your bank - I expect they will treat you as a number rather than a person but you never know! If you are able to form a bond there they may be able to cut you a little more slack, especially if you are able to let them know when you will be getting straight and what you are doing to get there. They will see the potential in you, with your OU and apprenticeship and hopefully regard you as a good bet for the future - even if you don't feel like that at the moment!

Use all of the tips you find on these boards - they are priceless!

Good luck and hang in there!

Chardonnay

Hello, just a quick idea - Lionbridge are looking for Internet Assessors at the moment - working from home, flexible hours, which I'm sure would fit in well with your apprenticeship. There's a thread about it on the "Up your income" section here, or the link to apply is: http://en-gb.lionbridge.com/MultilingualSearch.aspx?pageid=1293&LangType=2057

It's self-employed work but could substantially increase your income. I've worked for them myself, and found the money a Godsend, so am speaking from experience!

Good luck, I know it seems like things will never improve but I'm sure there is light at the end of the tunnel!

determined_new_ms

if I were you I would write my parents a letter explaining you can't afford to repay them at the level agreed (you might even want to do a break down of your income and outgoings) and say from now on you can afford to pay either £100 or £50pm. Say you are really sorry and are committed to paying them back and you will increase the payment as soon as you can find a weekend job and increase your income.

There are a lot of tips on how to stretch your money on the old school board - i.e. find out what time your supermarkets reduce their foods - usually after 6pm. My local sainsbury's reduces at about 7pm. Last night I got a 2.5kg pack of potatoes for 34p and 2 pizzas for £1.09 each (we will have these tomorrow night instead of a takeaway). There are also loads of very cheap recipe ideas. Also, for example there is a item on this week's newsletter about a £6 voucher off of a £10 takeaway. You and a friend could have a takeaway for £2 each.

I do think stick at it the apprenticeship. You won't be on a low income forever. The key to managing on a low income is finding ways to do things as cheaply as possible. So you still get to do the things you want but at a lower cost. I understand when you are young you want to go out and have fun, you can still do that on a low budget. When you go out for a drink only take a tenner. One week go to the pictures with friends on orange wednesday. Look out for what is going on free in your area.

Stay strong this will pass x