pay off OD

zaynab

ok so i was on maternity leave and husband doesnt have job so endedup taking halifax od of 3000 topay rent bills etc.m back at work now and after paying off all bills and grocry travelling i am only left with 150-190 formonthlygrocery including baby pampers and milk. so now m wondering how to pay off this OD cuz i don have a penny saved. already hand to mouth with monthly spending plz advice what to do.ive read about balance transfer on MSE via credit card. so m not sure il get a card after my OD on credit file.
helpppppppppppppppppppppp!! working mom in distresssss

matttye

Taking out further credit is not always the best way. If you shifted the debt to a 0% card with an introductory rate, would you be able to pay it off within the introductory term (often a year)? It seems like you'd only save £30 a month as I think Halifax charges £1 per day for an arranged overdraft, is that right?

If you paid £30 off this credit card each month you'd clear £360 of it after a year. Then they'd start charging interest, so you'd be back to square one.

Could you post a statement of affairs from here:

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

People may be able to advise some places where you could cut back on expenses.

zaynab

below is SOA

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned....................
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1827
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1827
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 850
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 128
Electricity............................. 55
Gas..................................... 15
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 43
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 70
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 167
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 50
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
personal loan payment................... 240
Total monthly expenses.................. 1780

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,827
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,780
Available for debt repayments........... 47
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 47
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 0
[/tt]

Tixy

Hi

Your statement of affairs does not include any benefit income - are you getting what you are entitled to? presumably you are getting child benefit at least?

Is that all of your outgoings? you haven't included anything for clothes - is that realistic with a small child? you also haven't budgeted anything for presents/haircuts /entertainment etc - again that probably isn't realistic long term.

How much do you owe on the personal loan? and how long left do you have to pay those repayments? is the personal loan with the same bank you have the overdraft with?

Is your husband currently looking for work? and do you think realistically he is likely to find something soon? or is he now planning on being a stay at home dad? could he look for part time work in the evenings or when you are not at work to help with the finances?

In the meantime can you look to see if you can reduce any outgoings. Your electricity looks high, are you paying off any arrears? have you looked to see if you are on the best tariff with the cheapest supplier?
Can you reduce your mobile bills at all / switch to a cheaper tariff?

Is the other travel cost the cheapest option for you to get to work? do you get a monthly travel card or season ticket or whatever is cheapest?

zaynab

i am not entitled to child benefit till i get indefinite stay in UK. currently on tier 1 visa. i am working in abank myself and personal loan taken from there balance is 6500 now. od taken from halifax in dec/jan to bills as i was on maternity leave.
husband is lookin for work but no luck he is applying left right and centre but its good in a way cuz he looks after our daughter so no daycare cost (cant afford anyway).
i don buy clothes only something rarely if on sale and that only for work. for my daughter i got loads of clothes from my sis in law so using that which will last till 10 months. even i do buy something its only rarely and from primark.
we dont go for any entertainment only walk to high street or local parks.
i am planning to call british gas to speak about electrivity and how we can bring it to lower cuz right now its on electricity standard tariff and direct debit from my account ( in debit 294)
mobile bill is on 2 yr contract and paying for both me and my husband.( 3 ntwork)
i live in sutton so to avoid monthly travelc ard of £200 i take bus to morden (zone 4) then tube to moorgate which costs me £167. the commute takes hr an a half which onyl gives me 1 hr and half with my dauther in evening ((

Tixy

Does your job require you to have a clean credit file?

If your finances are not likely to improve then you could possibly consider asking your bank if they would be prepared to refinance the existing loan and the overdraft over a longer period but keeping the repayments to under £300 a month.
Its not a great option but it would buy you some time to improve your finances / for husband to find work or until you get leave to stay in the UK and are then entitled to child benefit.

zaynab

no my bank is under scrutiny by regulator and not a high street bank its small swiss bank. they have stopped renewing loans or giving od to staff..... i think i shld just stop eating n live on air

Tixy

Consider talking to a debt advice charity.

They may recommend you offer token payments towards clearing the overdraft and ask the bank to consider freezing interest & charges.

If you are going to do that, or if halifax threaten to recall the overdraft you will need to open a new bank account with another unconnected bank to use as a current account.