Struggled with debt for 12 years and now at the end of my rope.

sanfrancisco

Hi,

I have made some suggestions for savings below. I do actaully think there is quite alot of room for saving in your budget. Sorry for the capitals below. The figures I have put are what I think you could save. This adds up to £197 per month.

So...you have £227 left over every month. add that to £197 comes to £424 left over every month. If you did surveys etc you could make £30 per month. If you did ironing or babysitting and earnt another £100 per month, you could easily have £554 for debt repayments.

Your £25k could be gone in under 4 years. Or less if your husband increases his earnings and or you go back to work.

You have loads of options to change your life. You are in charge. You can sit back and be happy for 2 weeks and make no change and be back here in 2 years in the same/similar position. It is very empowering to sort out your own finances, and you will feel great doing it. All the things I have suggested are not really great hardships and can be done easily.

One the debt is gone, the world is your oyster and you will have hundreds every month to save or take your lovely family on holiday with or buy a house.

Good Luck and never let money worries effect your health. You and your babies are way more important. xxx



Electricity............................. 86 - CHANGE SUPPLIER; REDUCE CONSUMPTION - £15
Gas..................................... 60 - CHANGE SUPPLIER; REDUCE CONSUMPTION - £15
Water rates............................. 47 - REDUCE - THIS IS HIGH = DO YOU HAVE A METER - £17
Telephone (land line)................... 40 - REDUCE - £30
Mobile phone............................ 30 - GO PAYG - JUST USE FOR EMERGENCIES - £30
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 - REDUCE BY £50 - GO TO OLD STYLE BOARD
Car Insurance........................... 56 - V HIGH; HAVE YOU GONE TO CONFUSED.COM
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25 - STOP THIS
Electical insurance (white goods)....... 15 - STOP THIS

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
CCCS DMP ......................25000.....120.......0
Payday loan....................825.......175.......0
Payday loan....................200.......260.......0
Total unsecured debts..........26025.....555.......


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,035
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,764
Available for debt repayments........... 271
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 555
Amount short for making debt repayments. -284

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,600
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -26,025
Net Assets.............................. -24,425

Willing2Learn

sanfrancisco wrote: »

If you did surveys etc you could make £30 per month. If you did ironing or babysitting and earnt another £100 per month

That was bought up earlier in this thread (or maybe a different threat as I can't remember) and it's still a good idea. I get extra income this way and I know many other MSE folks do too.

cupcake32

Thank you Sanfrancisco. Now that we've sorted the Payday loan horror the next item on the agenda will be tackling the £25,000 debt. We'll be looking closely at our outgoings again to see how and where we can cut back in order to free up money to put towards the debt.
Just wondering: Does anyone know what Stepchange will do if we free up more cash each month? Won't they just force us to give it to them for the DMP. Sounds like I'm missing the point, I know, but I wondered if I could save the money myself and contact each creditor in turn and try and get some shaved off the balance for settling the account. What do you think? Is that underhand, or sensible?

sanfrancisco

I am not sure about that. I have no knowledge of F&F settlements.

Do you trust yourself to save? Have you ever saved before?

spacey2012

How much has your total amount payable increased to ?
You might be popping the Champaign a bit early.
32 years of hard debt.
Hardly something to celebrate.
Exploring the alternatives would have seen you debt free in 2014 and credit worthy again by 2019.

cupcake32

spacey2012 wrote: »

How much has your total amount payable increased to ?
You might be popping the Champaign a bit early.
32 years of hard debt.
Hardly something to celebrate.
Exploring the alternatives would have seen you debt free in 2014 and credit worthy again by 2019.

We can eat. And sleep again. That's all that matters at present. I'm not saying that we won't opt for bankruptcy some time in the future but it seems unlikely. Paying the debt off might actually be easier.

cupcake32

sanfrancisco wrote: »

Do you trust yourself to save? Have you ever saved before?

Er... no. I've never saved before. I've never been able to as we've always had debt crippling us to be honest. I'm not sure if I trust myself to save. I hope I've changed as a person because of this experience so like to think I can.

Willing2Learn

cupcake32 wrote: »

T
Just wondering: Does anyone know what Stepchange will do if we free up more cash each month? Won't they just force us to give it to them for the DMP. Sounds like I'm missing the point, I know, but I wondered if I could save the money myself and contact each creditor in turn and try and get some shaved off the balance for settling the account. What do you think? Is that underhand, or sensible?

Run everything through Stepchange. It is my understanding that they try to encourage people to learn how to budget, which in my book includes saving. It helps to prepare for lumpsum payments for car servicing, insurance premiums or whatever. So speak to them and use their expertise.

sanfrancisco wrote: »

Do you trust yourself to save? Have you ever saved before?

Good question

cupcake32 wrote: »

Er... no. I've never saved before. I've never been able to as we've always had debt crippling us to be honest. I'm not sure if I trust myself to save. I hope I've changed as a person because of this experience so like to think I can.

You could tip your toe in with a regular savers account and see how it works for you. Some of the better ones pay 4% interest too (such a N&P Family Regular Savers - I have this a/c). Speak to Stepchange & see what they think.

Do you have or are you planning to start a spending diary btw?

cupcake32

I did a spending diary a few months back and found it really useful when it came to highlighting where I was wasting money and making some cutbacks. It's a good idea to start it again now though.
I will check out savers accounts and see what's what. Thanks.

eyeopener2

Can I make a suggestion?

Just take it easy for 6 months and learn to live within your budget. If you start cutting back too much you could find yourself short, and borrowing from mum again.

Once your comfortable living on a very limited budget, then start to look for small savings or, even better, upping your income.

There is no rush at this early stage.

Baby steps.