DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

Time_to_face_the_music

lola-bug wrote: »

Hi :-)
New here, but been spending a few days reading through a few pages of this tread - Feeling quite a bit better knowing I am not alone...

Myself and OH have just had our conformation of our DMP with SC, and for the first time in years, I think I see a faint glow at the end of the tunnel !!

My question is this:

How to "Live" on a DMP when you total monthly income is spread across the month ??

On paper, it looks simple - Lump sum Income, with figures for how much I can / do spend on each item / Total Outgoings right??

However, in reality, for us it goes like this: OH wages, last Day of month...
Tax Credits, Every Tuesday
Child Benefit - Every 4 weeks

Maybe I'm tired, it's been a long day so far, with phone calls and letters, but I'm getting myself in a bit of a pickle trying to work out, who gets paid or what I can spend on shopping etc on what day...
I was thinking about getting my Tax Credits changed to 4 weekly, so its a better "lump Sum" but then again I am used to having the £51 each Tuesday

I probably haven't made much sense here, I know what I mean to say in my head, putting it into written form is not easy !!!

Thanks xx

Hi lola-bug and welcome :hello:

Well done on getting your DMP sorted :T

There are a few spreadsheet geeks here, me amongst them, and we all swear by our spreadsheets for helping us get through the month, plus making predictions for how long our debt free journeys will last.

I think mossop's 2 account idea is perfect for you, so when you feel less tired, have a mess around with the figures and see how it looks. Tonight try and relax and congratulate yourself on starting to deal with your debts

Time_to_face_the_music

Fatbottomgirl wrote: »

I wish I was 3 months down the line and everything was a bit more settled. Sorry for moaning i'm sure tomorrow will be different

FBG, it does feel like that at first and I actually spent some days in floods of tears wondering if we were doing the right thing. A couple of months in and you will be in an entirely different place and thinking this is the best thing you have ever done when you see your debt start to decrease.

Don't let it get you down, you will get there soon and never forget .... You make the rocking world go round! I cannot see your name here without singing that song :j

Now where is Just a poor boy, so we can sing to him too

Find_The_Real

Welcome to the board lola-bug and well done on starting your journey. Like most on here you become a spreadsheet geek and every little outgoing is noted against my account balance on a daily basis so I know exactly where I am probably better than my bank.

Congrats Mossop on finally having success with HSBC and although we moan about banks at times, sometimes the little guys that work there can be helpful in giving us advice.

Good luck with the EON saga Julie, I know what you mean about principles and digging your heels in when they are being rather awkward themselves.

A congratulations/sorry/best wishes/well done (delete as appropriate!) to every one else that has posted recently, apologies if I don't mention it individually, I do read it all I just forget specifics as this thread moves pretty fast!

justapensioner

Mossop01 wrote: »

Hi all just had a little breakthrough with hsbc, they have accepted dmp and frozen interest for 12 months on overdrafts, very helpful man told me at moment CC interest is stopped but no record of a time limit, so he advised to check statements and if interest starts to be charged then to get in touch for it to be refunded and if no joy to go to FOS! Was surprised he actually advised this (although it was already my plan to do so)
Huge result for me tho considering up til now hadnt even acknowledged dmp! Happy bunny today!

Good news for you and at least you will feel you are getting somewhere at last

justapensioner

Hi fbg

It may seem to be going slow at the moment but things will change for the better on SC. I went with SC about the begining of February and once new bank accounts were set up and old banks notified and a short waiting period to hear back things seem to be moving forward now. Hope everything goes well for you.

justapensioner

Lola Bug - Similar problem as I receive state pension every 4 weeks in which date changes each month and also small private pension which is on 6th of each month and also pension credit which is paid weekly. So as you can see I will have to keep a close eye on expenditure at first until things calm down. I intend to keep the private pension and pension credit in one current account to cover DD & SO and transfer 50% of my state pension in to my other account to cater for everyday expenditure etc.

schmalf

Hi all - I'm brand new on here, but been reading this forum for a while and it has really given me some hope in sorting out my debt problems - i'd never heard of a DMP before and was terrified that my only options were IVA, bankrupt or years and years of forever debt.:(
Went on SC website and did the debt remedy tool - recomended a DMP. I haven't signed up for it yet though. My questions are:
1) when you do the debt remedy tool, does the figure it comes out with have to be the figure you go with or can you adjust it lower - i was concerned that the figure was not practical as it would leave only a tiny amount left over each month, certainly not enough for any kind of emergency, car repairs etc or even simple things like for instance this month, mothers day gift and a birthday. Obviously when on the DMP you have no other froms of credit so that was a big concern for me.
2) if you input a higher amount then they recomend for certain things, will this get frowned on? My pet figure should be so much higher than their recomended one, as ive got 2 old horses which i have had since way before any of my debt issues, both of which are worth nothing to sell and anyway as you can imagine i woudlnt consider selling my pets, plus a dog. They are all kept as frugally as possible (the horses in a friends field for a bargain rent), but obviously this makes my pet cost really high. Its just a fact of my life and my horses and dog are some of my only pleasures in life at the moment.
3) wha do those of you who are already on a DMP feel is a reasonable left over amout per month to put into the emergency pot? Over the years i have treid to get my debts paid off by overstretching on what i thought i could pay off and then ending up borrowing again as ive not left myself enough to cover unforseen costs - i'm terrifed and determined not to do this again.

Thanks and your views will be greatly appreciated. Schmalf xx

Find_The_Real

Hello Schmalf and welcome to the board.

I have a set amount each month set aside for emergencies and car service/repairs plus a small amount for entertainment/gifts so they do allow a budget for this. Obviously you need enough to live on and there is no point chucking everything at your debts if you are going to struggle every month to pay for things.

I would recommend giving SC a ring direct and speaking to an adviser as they can give advice on your figures and see if it is realistic. A DMP amount is not set in stone so you are able to change it if you so wish.

I would also check out the board for other money saving tips and look at other people's SOA's to see what they are spending costs on.

If you do decide to go down the DMP route though before you do anything I would open up a new basic bank account away from any creditors that are linked to your debts and move SO's and DD's before you contact them, especially any salary/benefits that are paid in.

Good luck with it all.

schmalf

Hi Find the Real - thanks for your reply. I am already looking into the bank account (seems like Co-op is the preferred) and plan to sort this before anything else.

Sorry for being thick but what's a SOA (is it a statement of accounts?) Where do people post these?

I am used to being seriously frugal every month to cover all my debts - but i would like to set the amount so I am not running out every month like i do now. I think the main issue for me is that whilst I have not missed any payments as yet, the debt just never reduces with the whacking great interest amounts and i just have to keep borrowing more to pay this and that... i just want to sort it and see a day in the future when I can get this millstone from round my neck.

Find_The_Real

The co-op is good for a basic account, I would give them a ring today as they need to send the paperwork out in order for you to apply so relying on the post can up the application time a bit.

Sorry a statement of affairs is an SOA, a lot of people add it to a thread they start so it may be worth posting a new thread in DFW if you want people to take a look at yours. However people tend to comment on needs and not wants so they can give advice on where to cut down plus they best way to pay off higher interest. They can also give money saving tips as well and how to get the best deals.

You can find this at http://www.stoozing.com/msoc/soacalc.php as it formats to MSE.

Check back over a few of the more older posts (type SOA into the forum search) and it should give you an idea.