Deepindebt...anywayout....!!

bella123

Gas £80.00
Electric £80.00

Surely you can lower these two bills.

dreams_R_free

Apologies: Very long post coming up!

Welcome Cabbyste:beer:. Well done on taking the first and hardest step of admitting your problem and posting your SOA on here. I'm a fine one to talk as I haven't plucked up the courage to do mine yet:eek: but there are such kind and wise folk on these boards and that light at the end of the tunnel will appear to you soon I know it.

One thing has struck me about your SOA. If your wife receives an allowance for looking after her Mother, does that mean her Mother lives with you? If so and your wife is unable to go out to work because of her caring duties surely she should be eligible for more than the £199 a month she gets now. Does your MIL make any financial contribution to your household budget if she lives with you?

If your wife is not required as a full-time carer then it would seem sensible for her to seek a part-time job, if only to pay for her own cigarettes which, in your financial state(never mind health reasons) really need to be cut right back. I've never smoked myself but my sister did and she got all sorts of free help to encourage her to quit. Yes, it wasn't easy but she loves the extra money which she has now to spend. She feels better too.

One thing puzzles me though. Is your wife 100% aware of your financial problems? The hardest thing for me has been telling my DH the full unvarnished truth about the mess I'm in. He still knows very little as they are my debts and I'm doing what I can to repay them without bothering him as he hasn't been well. If your wife is fully in the picture and as determined as you are to repay your debts I'm sure she would be able to make a bigger contribution.

Things like entertainment, tv packages and new clothes really need to be cut right back until some of your debts are cleared. If you've been spending such a lot on clothes can you try managing what you already have and not buy any more? Do you need all the tv channels you pay for? With the Summer round the corner do you really need to watch tv much at all? What is the 'entertainment' you are paying so heavily for? That's something that really needs to be cut right back too. You could halve your food bills too. That's why I wonder whether your wife is fully in the picture. If she isn't then please get her on board now as she could help drastically cut your household expenses. Easy for me to say as I haven't told my DH the extent of my problems, but I know life is so much easier with problems shared.

As a self-employed man, are you claiming all the expenses you possibly can? Is the car/phone needed for business use?

Can you sell something? Lots of MSEers(including myself) are making money through eBay and Car Boot Sales. It's not much some months but with the Car Boot season starting up there's so much more scope for a bit of extra income towards paying off the debts. Can you downsize your car? If it isn't needed for work (when you may need to make a good impression), anything safe and reliable would do. That's what I did and made a few thousands to throw at my biggest debt. I still have 'wheels' and am perfectly happy knowing I owe less even though my mode of transport won't impress anyone:rotfl:.

The most drastic but potentially most lucrative idea would be to downsize your home. As it's paid for is it possible to sell and buy somewhere smaller, or maybe rent for a while? Or even rent out your home and find a cheaper place to rent for you and your wife to live in? Or if MIL has a home of her own, could you move in with her in the short-term so you can throw several thousands at your debts and clear them faster?

Whatever you do, the very best of luck. You're on your way now you've made your initial post and I hope your mind will be much easier thanks to all the help that will be coming your way from the lovely people on here who know first-hand what it's like to feel there is no way out. Please keep posting and let us know of your progress.

cabbyste

mornin' from' one bleary eyed wanna sleep but can't sleep' person , i am a cab driver i work 6am till 6pm 6 days a week, my wife kinda knows 90% of prob ,she has triedfor p/t work but is not in good health , i know i can cut down on my personal expend if i itemise everything , its just that if i could get credit cards to freeze % rates and take reduced payments , mentally i reckon i could begin to see a bit of light at the end of the long dark tunnel ..! i gotta go ... thx 4 all advice , ...get back on later , regards ste

cookie9

Do you have books, DVDs or Cds you could sell on Amazon or ebay?

Electricity - look at changing provider. Don't leave things on standby, switch off when not in use.

Entertainment has to go - there are lots of free things to enjoy especially in the summer. Check out free tickets for cinemas etc

Clothes - this is high can't you cut back?

Phone Tv package is high too - perhaps freeview would be better. Call your provider and see what deal they will offer you.

Food - menu plan, use up store cupboard and freezer food, buy food in season. Stick to your shopping list.

Set yourself small targets so you don't feel overwhelmed eg Aim to pay £1000 towards your debt in 3 months. (I think you could save £250 per month by cutting back and I think you could make £250 by selling bits and pieces and by using cash back websites such as quidco.)

cabbyste

Well i've made 1st steps to cut back on my outgoings , soon as i got in from work i got on the phone to my gas and electric supplier and requested they take out my prepayment meters and asked to pay future bills by direct debit , this way i wont pay any additional extras and i will be able to 'shop around' for cheaper suppliers on this payment method , i also cancelled my phone, TV and broadband , so that should save me 75 a mth , i will get freeview and just use computers in local library , also i have found someone that sells cheap cigs , so instead of paying 47.50+ for 200 cigs , they will cost 28.00, still a lot i know but i cant just wave a magic wand to make my wife give them up ..!! i'll go thru rest of my outgoing list to see were savings can be made , once again thx 4 all advise thats coming my way cheers,:beer:

katecheshire

well done cabbyste for acting so quickly on the advice. It's easy to put these things off because you think you might get 'knocked back'.

I cut back substantially on my electricity last year - simple things like NEVER using the immersion heater, turning thermostat down, switching things off. I saved 52% on my electric use . . . pity they put the prices up so much, but I would have struggled to pay the higher bill so I was glad I did it

chunky79

Will your OH smoke roll ups, i was a cig snob years ago but when i saw the financial difference it makes it wasn't a hard choice also i smoked menthol for a while until i got used to it i have also cut back loads too. both me and my partner now smoke roll ups and spend £50 a month total for both of us.

cabbyste

hi kate, i didnt realize how much extra i was in fact paying by using the pay as you use prepayment meter ..!! till folk kept sayin ....'HOW MUCH '... lol its just seemed so much easier to find the occasional tenner to keep it topped up .. i'll just have to keep close tabs on whats in bank when d/debits are due and as 4 rollies chunky .. she been there ...broke a few rolly machines ... had a few fatty then skinny cigs ... so much so i think friends were certain she was on the wacky backy .... ha

chani1

hi cabby ste, as said by some one else earlier its not always recommended but what about consol the whole lot within a mortgage it will be at a much lower rate and a more managable amount without going down the DMP or bankruptcy route. Good luck and well done for the first step.

sammy115

Hi Cabbyste, with regard to what one of the posters said about your income tax. If you are earning 17,000 per year you have a tax free allowance of 5,000 therefore pay tax on £12,000. Therefore 20% of 12,000 is 2,400. You are still not saving enough so you need to put more away.

Also with regard to freezing interest etc. If you call national debtline they will go through your options. If you have more than £100 spare per month to service your debts they will get the interest frozen for you. I found that when I tried to do my own DMP my creditors wouldn't listen until I mentioned National debtline. However, once I had my interest frozen I ran my own debt management plan.

Good luck!