LBM - Finally. Scared to death

carol1963_2

Hiya All, I know some of you good people will recognise me - especially with my numerous questions, questions and more questions.

Anyway finally I've had my LBM and contacted Step Change (who have been more than wonderful with me).

I'm so ashamed of myself for allowing us to get in such a mess. I owe £39,749 (scary) and it will take me about 6 years 6 months to sort - the majority is pay day loans and even though lots of people have said 'leave them, never touch them with a barge pole etc., etc., I didn't really have much choice (please don't judge me I have given myself enough grief as it is) and I know that I should have NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, EVER touched them but not a lot I can do now and if it's any help to anyone else please take my advice and many other PLEASE DON'T TOUCH them.

Anyway I digres, I've got all my forms completed and ready to go back to Step Change but I'm scared to send them back (sounds crap doesn't it) because I dont think I have £516.00 surplus to pay creditors I don't even have £5.60 at the mo, can someone please tell me I'm doing the right thing (I know I am but I still need some re-assurance). We have no money until I get paid at the end of the month. My car has no tax on it either.

I've already cancelled my CPA's direct debits, sent letters, cancelled direct debits.

My main concern is the Poll Tax, the council want £382.00 by 16/9/13 or they will start down the route of court summons or something and they will start to add additional amounts.

I don't want lots of sympathy just lots and lots of practical help and please do not judge me too harshly, I know like lots of other good peeps on here have just buried my head and thought it would all just go away, obviously it doesn't and it comes back to haunt you and bite you on the bum - HARD!!!!!!

As I have said I'm so ashamed and because we are in such a mess no-one knows about our mess I have not been able to speak to anyone about this so we are on our own.

I would be very grateful for some help please.

As most of the signature thingys on here I am ALSO PROUD (NOW) TO BE DEALING WITH MY DEBTS but very, very scared.

Thank You. Carol xx

jubilee14

welcome Carol1963 i can totally relate to the making the plunge decision. I hadnt missed payments ( and lots on here are the same) but i hadnt made any roads in and minimum payments were going nowwhere. But when everything was paid by mid month i had nearly nothing at all left.
I will be honest i am hardly swimming in riches just now and last couple of months have been tight and the emergency fund has gone on car repairs. But you can ask for reductions when in your DMP as its not formal. It helps you budget and after one year in its ok. Down side is when SC calculate they assume interest is frozen and thats not always the case hence my 7 years is still eeking out ( with 6 and a bit to go) i may get more money and reduce my time but then again i may lose my job and struggle. What i do know is my situation is not being made worse by ME every month by spending and not paying off cc's.

So well done and these wonderful people on here are a brilliant support.

carol1963_2

Thanks Jubilee14. I need all the help, support and guidance on what to do next from all.

Carol x

wegle

If you don't believe you actually have the surplus it may be beneficial to start keeping a spending diary. Log every penny you spend and you will start to see where it is going, it will also help you to set realistic budgets for things like groceries etc, rather than just plucking a figure out of the air.

You should feel incredibly proud for taking this step, and I know it's scary but you will have great support on here. You could use this thread as your debt free diary, a place to get support, tips and also to keep you focused.

Wishing you all the luck in the world!

FalseEconomist

Good luck and well done- I'm sure Step change will help take care of you - they're so used to this they wouldn't leave anyone short for the month. An though of course you must pay the council tax- I'm sure your council will support you in a repayment programme. And in terms of being critical- users of a forum called debt-free-wannabe don't have much room to judge other's financial behaviour- I know I certainly don't- my glass house wouldn't stand up to it!!! All the best for your journey

happy_bunny_2

Don't worry about surplus.

Pay priorities, utilities, council tax, food etc. the rest might have to deal with £1 per month until priorities are sorted.

Once stepchange have your details they will sort it.

I would contact council and inform them you are using step change and see ht they say.

carol1963_2

Thank you all for your support. Have finally pressed the send button with all the information for Step Change, lets see what happens now.

Any tips, advice and support is now needed please.

Carol xx

timetogrowup89

carol1963 wrote: »

Thank you all for your support. Have finally pressed the send button with all the information for Step Change, lets see what happens now.

Any tips, advice and support is now needed please.

Carol xx

Well done, thats the scary bit done!!

Please, phone your council and explain the situation to them. I had to do this and they were really helpful. They can spread your payments over a longer time, but if it goes to the stage of court or arresting earnings then they cant stop that.

Find the strenght to deal with this asap.

xx

Scritti

carol1963 wrote: »

Thank you all for your support. Have finally pressed the send button with all the information for Step Change, lets see what happens now.

Any tips, advice and support is now needed please.

Carol xx

Hi Carol.

Well done for this!! Don't worry about people having a go - nobody here will do that. It's always inspirational when someone here takes the first steps towards being debt free. This site and the people here inspired me to do it and, although I now have less spends, I'm a LOT happier knowing I'm on the right path.

Always come back to the site whenever you feel low or need help, the guys who post are AMAZING and there's always someone who can give you reassurance and point you in the right direction.

RAS

Carol

When you get your pay, sort out the Council Tax immediately and then the car tax (assuming you need a car). These are priority debts and you should not be paying consumer credit debts until they are cleared.

You then need to make sure that your monthly expenditure includes the relevant amount and that you transfer that to a bdgetting account so that when the next car tax bill/ TV licence/Insurance bill/repair bill comes through you have the money in the budgetting account.

How much do they all cost per year? Divide by 12 and move that into the budgeting account each month. Make sure all the costs are on your expenditure account as well.

wegle

Well done Carol!! That's a great step forward. You'll get loads of support on here throughout your journey so never think you are alone.

From now on you're on the path to financial freedom!!