I am asking for help

DepressedDad

Thanks for your advice. I do pay council tax over 10 month, I pay for my car tax in one of those months. But you're right, I could use the 2nd month to help clear debt. I have a credit card shuffle in progress

olivia84

new bank account sounds a good idea to me.

just make sure it isn't linked in anyway to any of the debts you have (e.g if you have a credit card with RBS, don't open an account with Natwest etc)

now is probably the time to open a new account if you have ok credit at the moment as you will probably get a normal current account with a debit card and things. once you have bad credit alot of banks will only offer you a very basic bank account. most people advise you to open a basic bank account anyway but i opened my new account in 2008 before i defaulted on any debts and before i entered my self managed DMP and i was given one with a switch card which is good for purchasing online and stuff. if it offers an overdraft facility though - make sure you don't use it!

good luck x

DepressedDad

Thanks. Planning to open it ASAP.

rising_from_the_ashes

DepressedDad wrote: »

In case I do get a DMP / IVA in the future I am thinking about opening a new bank account and use my existing account to pay debts and use my new one for my income and priority debts.

Does that sound like a good idea?

The problem with that is that if payments (ie salaries) stop going into your account with the OD on - the bank are likely to call in the full OD......

whiteguineapig

i haven't done the maths on this but it may be that your partner is working just to run one of the cars (when we had 2 cars it felt like i was)
it is quite expensive to run 2 cars even if they are both fairly new and don't need much maintenence

malmesbury_2

i didnt want to read and run, as you can see from my signature, we are in a very similar boat to you, and statrted fully tackling our money issues back in january.

we have knocked quite a bit off and have v similar outgoings to you, and at the moment, i dont feel v motivated as we are doing everything we can but with xmas around the corner and OH's being self employed and having a quieter month or two, we are feeling the pinch at the mo.

i felt the same as you do about payment plans etc, as we have ever fallen behind with payments etc, the debt is going down so at the moment i am happy with this and prefer to keep my credit rating in tact.

anyway, i have subscribed to your thread and will keep reading to see if you have any money saving ideas that i am missing!


best of luck, i think we have to just be realistic that it isnt going to go away overnight, but as long as the debt is fallling that is the most important thing

marathonic

Exactly. If possible, sell the more expensive car and buy a bike for whoever is withing cycling distance of work. This should clear about £150 a month to pay off your most expensive debt.

Don't do the normal thing and cancel Sky - it's probably part of the reason your entertainment budget is so low.

Sign up for Quidco.co.uk and TopCashBack.co.uk.

If you're not under contract with your phone and broadband, switch providers. Through the talktalk link below, you can get £75 cashback for switching to TalkTalk (bear in mind, you don't receive this for 5 months). Try to pay your line rental in one go if possible (saves £5 per month). By doing this, your phone line and broadband works out as follows:

£114 for one years line rental
£29.25 for 9 months half price calls/broadband
£19.50 for 3 months full price call/broadband
-£75 cashback
£87.75 for the year (or £7.32 per month)

http://www.quidco.com/talktalk/

Although this will require paying the line rental up front (possibly out of the car maintenance, haircuts or presents fund), the overall saving over the year is £17.18 per month.

It's the little things like this you need to do and they'll all add up.

Look into switching electricity and gas suppliers too:

http://www.topcashback.co.uk/confused-energy-dual-fuel/


Basically, look at EVERY expense and reduce it by either cutting down or switching companies - or both.

whiteguineapig

the tip about your wife doing surveys etc is a good one, i do as many as i can be bothered (its a bit boring!) , i keep the vouchers towards clothes and diy etc, i have cut out most christmas and birthday presents now as i can't afford them, but the vouchers are useful, especially for unexpected stuff like bedding , clothing, bits for the garden etc

editing to add, i see you read my post about the cars, i hope you weren't too offended, its quite nice to have a car each but can work out a continual steady drain of money
can you also change the way you shop slightly? we are really liking aldi nowadays especially for cheap fruit and veg
you could also sell everything you don't use on ebay
look into selling any unused gold items

DepressedDad

malmesbury wrote: »

i didnt want to read and run, as you can see from my signature, we are in a very similar boat to you, and statrted fully tackling our money issues back in january.

we have knocked quite a bit off and have v similar outgoings to you, and at the moment, i dont feel v motivated as we are doing everything we can but with xmas around the corner and OH's being self employed and having a quieter month or two, we are feeling the pinch at the mo.

i felt the same as you do about payment plans etc, as we have ever fallen behind with payments etc, the debt is going down so at the moment i am happy with this and prefer to keep my credit rating in tact.

anyway, i have subscribed to your thread and will keep reading to see if you have any money saving ideas that i am missing!


best of luck, i think we have to just be realistic that it isnt going to go away overnight, but as long as the debt is fallling that is the most important thing

Thanks! It's nice to know we're not alone. At the moment, we've just steadied the ship. Currently shuffling some debts around and I have a slight pay rise in January so I think things will get better in 2013. Everyone has been really nice and helpful on here and given me some food for thought!

DepressedDad

whiteguineapig wrote: »

the tip about your wife doing surveys etc is a good one, i do as many as i can be bothered (its a bit boring!) , i keep the vouchers towards clothes and diy etc, i have cut out most christmas and birthday presents now as i can't afford them, but the vouchers are useful, especially for unexpected stuff like bedding , clothing, bits for the garden etc

editing to add, i see you read my post about the cars, i hope you weren't too offended, its quite nice to have a car each but can work out a continual steady drain of money
can you also change the way you shop slightly? we are really liking aldi nowadays especially for cheap fruit and veg
you could also sell everything you don't use on ebay
look into selling any unused gold items

No, I wasn't offended at all TBH I have given serious thought to selling my car before and nearly every other person has suggested it.

Thanks for all your tips!