In debt and scared

lynzpower

hi there - thanks for the PM. Now I dont want you to get too upset here, im going to be concise, and it can come accross as blunt- i dont intend to be harsh- just to th point!

Mortgage £558
Water £50 would it be cheaper to go on a meter?
Council tax £100
Gas £50
Electricity £50 ( both gas & electric can be cut down by at least 10 a month follow every last tip on https://www.est.org.uk. As an aside, I only paid 35 pcm for electric - no gas and these small savings really do add up, and become routine!)
Building and contents insurance £40 ( this is high, Id expect you are paying at least 15 quid a month over the odds for this, have you checked, go through quidco, get some cashback)
Telephone, mobile & internet £60 ( this can be slashed right back. What I have is my LL with BT ( 11 ish a month, primus 2 for evening & weekend calls ( free package) and internet 9.99 with bt for the 1st 6 months total pcm at the mo 20.00-- get a PAYG mobile sim- loads of freebies about on MSE, et voila- you saved 40 a month)
TV licence £12
Satellite £43 ( dump this, you cant afford it!)
Repairs and maintenance £100 ( every month- do you really spend this? Is it saved, if so where?)

Childcare £667 ( is this a nursery or childminder- childminders are cheaper, ask your councils childrens info service or ofsted)
Fines, CCJs, Decrees £20
Life insurance/pensions £40 ( have you checked this is the cheapest?)
vehicle spares and servicing £20 ( as below)
Road tax £11 ( are you actively saving this, make sure you put it in a good regualr savcer with a good interest rate, or in an ISA)
Motor insurance £38 ( checked this is the cheapest? go through quidco for cash backwhen switching)
Vehicle breakdown cover £7
Fuel & parking £110 ( ouch! are you certain you need your car? could public transport work out cheper? if you re committed to keeping it get your petrol form tescos for clubcard points or BP or sainsburys and collect nectar)
Food & housekeeping
Food, toiletries, cleaning £395 ( hpow many for! this is high, and I tihnk this is an area where you could save AT THE LEAST 150 a month, if not more! use up what you have, dont waste anything, buy value products and spend time on the oldstyle board- loads of ideas for cheap coooking, cleaning and making do)
School meals/meals at work £172 ( you can save all this by taking packed lunches from home, included in your food budget above)
Cigarettes£70 ( have you trie to give up- or on rollies?)
School trips and activities £30 ( tell the school you cant afford them, they have a pot for paying for these)
Medicines/prescriptions £7
Dentist/opticians £13
Hairdressing £30 ( every month? thats 360 pa, try to go to model nights, or beauty colleges, there are free hiarcuts to be had out of newspaers as well . Also i have my hair wet cut, its only 10 instead of 35 with a blow dry
Laundry/dry cleaning £30 ( every month- have you shopped about to make sure where ytou are going is the cheapest?)
Clothing & footwear £70 ( do you need to be spending this every single month? can you get clothes off ebay?)
Sports, hobbies, entertainment £50 ( look out for free conema tickets, do mystery shopping for meals out you get paid for and a host of other freebies on the "days out " board. Children's pocket money £30
Sundries/emergencies/other costs
Sundries/emergencies £45 ( is this saved or not?)

Total expenses £2,918

Total income £2,993

Total expenses £2,918

Surplus (Deficit) £75

Additional information Comment
No of adults 1 Dependants 3


My Creditor List

Debts

1 Halifax Credit Card £2,000 Monthly payment supposed to be £125 2 Halifax Personal Loan £13,000 Monthly payment supposed to be £236 3 Halifax Overdraft £2,500 Monthly payment supposed to be £125 4 HSBC Credit Card £5,000 Monthly payment supposed to be £125
5 welcome financial services Car HP £7,313 Monthly payment should be £236

TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT IS £29,813 TOTAL Monthly payments should be £847 (had i not defaulted on monthly payments)


I estimate, by using the savings I posted above you could save in the region of 470- and thats not including the savings you COULD make on insurances, clothing, sundries, going out, haircuts etc.

Take this 470 and bring it into your DMP plan- itll take YEARS off paying the debts off

sarah1975uk

lynzpower wrote: »

hi there - thanks for the PM. Now I dont want you to get too upset here, im going to be concise, and it can come accross as blunt- i dont intend to be harsh- just to th point!




Total income £2,993

Total expenses £2,918

Surplus (Deficit) £75

Additional information Comment
No of adults 1 Dependants 3


My Creditor List

Debts

1 Halifax Credit Card £2,000 Monthly payment supposed to be £125 2 Halifax Personal Loan £13,000 Monthly payment supposed to be £236 3 Halifax Overdraft £2,500 Monthly payment supposed to be £125 4 HSBC Credit Card £5,000 Monthly payment supposed to be £125
5 welcome financial services Car HP £7,313 Monthly payment should be £236

TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT IS £29,813 TOTAL Monthly payments should be £847 (had i not defaulted on monthly payments)


I estimate, by using the savings I posted above you could save in the region of 470- and thats not including the savings you COULD make on insurances, clothing, sundries, going out, haircuts etc.

Take this 470 and bring it into your DMP plan- itll take YEARS off paying the debts off

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. Can see your points about savings to be made.

Childcare is the cheapest i can get it ..trust me i have checked this out as a way of saving money.

Car expenses are as they are cannot be reduced, i use my car for my job therefore need it to work.

Smoking yes i have tried to give up and failed

repairs on my house are essential i brought a house last year that constaly needs stuff doing to it at the moment, especially the garden too as it is not safe for the kids to play in.

i work full time and have 3 kids so yes i do use the school for school dinners etc as i work very long days.

insurances i have re jigged a while back and got it to the price i have stated in my soa. i wont stop insurances by any means as it is a safety net for myself and the kids especially if the house burnt down or i died tomorrow!!

im not going to stop the kids school trips, they deserve them and i dont see why i should stop them its not extravegant by any means to let them go on school trips and help their development. The school do not pay for kids to go on trips if parents cant afford to let them go, the kids are kept at school and simply get left out of the exciting educational experience of school days out.

Mobile phone is necessary for safety as a single mum i have recently reduced the package to try and save money too and am tied into a contract anyway.

Gas and Electric have done the switching supplier thing and this is cheaper than i was paying.

I have had a water metre before and it is not cheaper for me. so now dont have one in this house.

totally not condoing the debt im in i feel sick just thinking about it, but am trying to sort myself out and pay the money back as best i can.

People would soon be ripping my head off if i just sat on my bum all day claiming income support and declaired myself bankrupt to back out of paying my debts..

i at least have the self respect to work to try and support my family and am trying really hard to sort my debts out.

silkglade

sarah1975uk wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. Can see your points about savings to be made.


Mobile phone is necessary for safety as a single mum i have recently reduced the package to try and save money too and am tied into a contract anyway.

totally not condoing the debt im in i feel sick just thinking about it, but am trying to sort myself out and pay the money back as best i can.

People would soon be ripping my head off if i just sat on my bum all day claiming income support and declaired myself bankrupt to back out of paying my debts..

i at least have the self respect to work to try and support my family and am trying really hard to sort my debts out.

Well done you, It is not an easy job to be a single parent and to work full time. I take my hat off to you and I think you are doing the best you can.

It takes alot of courage to face up to your debts and to make the first steps so WELL DONE YOU!!!

I think that any cutbacks you can make however small will make a difference in your case and I hope you find all the support you need from the wonderful people on here.

Good luck and keep us updated

chinagirl

I agree with you Sarah, about the children's school trips, sometimes you just have to let them take part, and find the money from other areas of your life. These are the things your children will remember most about their school days. I agree with you, water meters are much more expensive if you have more than 2 people in the household. We lived in a rated house and payed £35 a month- moved to same style house just round the corner with a water meter fitted, and now are paying £65 a month (ouch )

Do you claim the 1 adult 25% rebate off your council tax?

What is your mortgage type, is it a fixed rate, or is it liable to increase if the interest rates go up?

Anyroad. hang in there. All in the same boat, and all need the help.

Swishter

Have you tried getting Allen Carrs book easyway to stop smoking book from the library? I'm reading it at the moment as quite a few friends have recommended it. Its worth a shot and could save an extra £70 a month.

Good luck you are doing really well!

lynzpower

I never said dont let the kids go on trips! I just siad let the school know you ar having some finanicaol probs and they would pay! BY LAW the schoool has to include everyone, so if you cant afford to pay, the school will.

I worked in social services for years, and this was something I dealt with every day!

Im not saying DONT HAVE, Im sayin DO YOU NEED. it sounds like you are dfending yourself, so dont do that, Some of my suggestions should work for you, some of course wont ( eg the car)

If you need the car for work, are they paying you back for your mileage/ parking that you use?

nonsensefactory

Mortgage £558
Water £50
Council tax £100
Gas £50
Electricity £50
Building and contents insurance £40 - is this the best deal possible ?
Telephone, mobile & internet £60 - sounds high, shop around
TV licence £12
Satellite £43 - cancel it ASAP, you can't afford it
Repairs and maintenance £100 - repairs/maintainance for what ?
Childcare £667 - assume this is the best deal available locally ?
Fines, CCJs, Decrees £20 - don't understand
Life insurance/pensions £40 - you might as well suspend any pension payments for the moment IMHO
vehicle spares and servicing £20
Road tax £11
Motor insurance £38 - sounds expensive
Vehicle breakdown cover £7
Fuel & parking £110 - it sounds like you have a very thirsty car - can you car share ?
Food & housekeeping
Food, toiletries, cleaning £395 - sounds high, great meals for 4 can be made for £5 x 2 meals a day x 30 days = £300
School meals/meals at work £172 - take butties, major savings on this
Cigarettes£70 - take it this is rollies ?
School trips and activities £30
Medicines/prescriptions £7
Dentist/opticians £13
Hairdressing £30
Laundry/dry cleaning £30
Clothing & footwear £70
Sports, hobbies, entertainment £50
Children's pocket money £30
Sundries/emergencies/other costs
Sundries/emergencies £45

sarah1975uk

nonsensefactory wrote: »

Mortgage £558
Water £50
Council tax £100
Gas £50
Electricity £50
Building and contents insurance £40 - is this the best deal possible ?
Telephone, mobile & internet £60 - sounds high, shop around
TV licence £12
Satellite £43 - cancel it ASAP, you can't afford it
Repairs and maintenance £100 - repairs/maintainance for what ?
Childcare £667 - assume this is the best deal available locally ?
Fines, CCJs, Decrees £20 - don't understand
Life insurance/pensions £40 - you might as well suspend any pension payments for the moment IMHOim not cancelling life insurance!
vehicle spares and servicing £20
Road tax £11
Motor insurance £38 - sounds expensive motor insurance is cheapest i can get it believe me ive shopped about
Vehicle breakdown cover £7
Fuel & parking £110 - it sounds like you have a very thirsty car - can you car share ? no i cant share i drive all over the country for my job yes this cost is taking account into rebate for fuel, therefore this is an acutal cost.
Food & housekeeping
Food, toiletries, cleaning £395 - sounds high, great meals for 4 can be made for £5 x 2 meals a day x 30 days = £300
School meals/meals at work £172 - take butties, major savings on this
Cigarettes£70 - take it this is rollies ? no i smoke cigarettes
School trips and activities £30
Medicines/prescriptions £7
Dentist/opticians £13
Hairdressing £30
Laundry/dry cleaning £30
Clothing & footwear £70
Sports, hobbies, entertainment £50
Children's pocket money £30
Sundries/emergencies/other costs
Sundries/emergencies £45

thanks to everyone for your help and support its much appreciated xxx

sarah1975uk

chinagirl wrote: »

I agree with you Sarah, about the children's school trips, sometimes you just have to let them take part, and find the money from other areas of your life. These are the things your children will remember most about their school days. I agree with you, water meters are much more expensive if you have more than 2 people in the household. We lived in a rated house and payed £35 a month- moved to same style house just round the corner with a water meter fitted, and now are paying £65 a month (ouch )

Do you claim the 1 adult 25% rebate off your council tax?

What is your mortgage type, is it a fixed rate, or is it liable to increase if the interest rates go up?

Anyroad. hang in there. All in the same boat, and all need the help.

Yes i claim my council tax rebate

my mortgage is interest only to bring down the cost per month so i can try and sort my debts out, no chance of a high street bank helping me switch mortgage because of my credit rating.

thanks for your love and support its appreciated, if only we werent so silly as to get ourselves into such a mess, at least we are recognising it now and really truing to sort ourselves out eh!

kiwi88_2

Firstly :T :T WELL DONE YOU :T :T

Secondly - when the dust settles a bit and you have the main finances sorted here are a few links which might help shave a few £'s off shopping and help with starting meal planning and cheap recipes. They have been invaluable to me and I have halved my grocery/cleaning bills because of them.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=346932
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=458838#post458838
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=56719,
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=47563

Thirdly - :T :T Congratulations for starting your new life :T :T :rotfl: