Am I doing the right thing?

rizla_king

I would suspect your employers would be happier with a DMP as well. You can at least spin it to them that although it's not ideal, by doing that you are being responsible and making a genuine attempt to pay all you owe.

The_Hurricane

£1600 p/a - can you breakdown your current expenditure along with how much you pay out on your two unsecured loans?

Do you have a car of any value that you could sell or anything else for that matter?

Have you looked into taking on a second job or even approached your employers about a pay rise?

LowEbb

I do think the DMP is the route i'd rather head down. Hopefully I will be getting a new job in the not too distant future or at least a change in job circumstances which would mean less petrol costs etc.

Sadly, the family members option isn't viable. Parents have their own mortgage they're paying off and I couldn't contemplate asking them to borrow extra against it even though they do have considerable equity in the property.

Made a large number of cuts to my lifestyle. Never go out, rarely socialise with friends as can't afford to spend money I don't have, given up playing and watching football and shop almost entirely in the value range of supermarkets.

The_Hurricane

LowEbb wrote: »

I do think the DMP is the route i'd rather head down. Hopefully I will be getting a new job in the not too distant future or at least a change in job circumstances which would mean less petrol costs etc.

Sadly, the family members option isn't viable. Parents have their own mortgage they're paying off and I couldn't contemplate asking them to borrow extra against it even though they do have considerable equity in the property.

Made a large number of cuts to my lifestyle. Never go out, rarely socialise with friends as can't afford to spend money I don't have, given up playing and watching football and shop almost entirely in the value range of supermarkets.

Do you live with your parents?

LowEbb

The_Hurricane wrote: »

£1600 p/a - can you breakdown your current expenditure along with how much you pay out on your two unsecured loans?
£16,000 p/a - £1094 take home after tax. NI and Pension contribution.
Only have one unsecured loan which is £205.17 per month - i've never missed or been late with any payments in the 18 months i've had it.
Expenditure

Rent - £350 p/m
Loan payment - £205.17 p/m
Credit Card Agreement - £31 p/m
Overdraft Fees - £20 p/m
Petrol/Parking Costs - £150 p/m
Food - £25-40 per week
Clothing - Minimal...practically nil.
Mobile Phone - £37 p/m (unable to reduce this sadly. I am on the minimal payment plan available)
Car Insurance - £47 p/m should hopefully decrease next year when some of my points 'drop off'.
Toiletries etc: £20 p/m
Car Tax - £145 p/a

I have cancelled my union subscription, I don't have Sky tv or any other 'luxuries'.

Do you have a car of any value that you could sell or anything else for that matter?
I have a car worth circa £1600 which I use daily for work. I'd probably struggle to find a replacement car which represents as good a value. Cost of running etc...
Have you looked into taking on a second job or even approached your employers about a pay rise?
I've been doing bar work twice a week for the past 2 months to free up some extra cash.

The DMP that StepChange have suggested equates to £172 a month which is far more affordable to me.

The_Hurricane

Is moving in with your parents an option?

Mobile phone is too expensive, I only spend £10 per month PAYG with 02 and I have 100 free minutes, 1000 free texts and 500 mb of online access would this suffice you?

How much would getting a bus to and from work cost?

LowEbb

It's not so much the cost of bus travel that is the issue - more the impracticality of it. Live and work in a fairly rural area where the bus timetbales are somewhat odd.

I've attempted to come out of my contract with Orange however the fees attached to doing this are just extortionate and discount it as a viable option.

Living with parents/family is a no-go aswell unfortunately. They don't live local and i'm unable to relocate due to work commitments.

Find_The_Real

A DMP based on the level of debt and the fact you work in the financial services would be the better option in my own opinion.

Does the financial institution you work for have a helpline or department that can give advice on staff debts as I know a few that provide that service. It really would depend on the T&C's of your contract as to what debt options are open to you.

I do know of a number of people who have entered into a DMP whilst working in a financial institution but they have discussed it with either HR or their line manager first so would that also be an option?

It may be an idea to pop over to the DFW board as there is a lot of advice especially about DMP's and how to possibly reduce living costs in order to throw more at the debt.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76

DMP mutual support thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4437925

The_Hurricane

Do you rent and entire house or just a room?

What did you use the loans for?

Apologies for all the questions, but hopefully there is something we can fix.

The_Hurricane

I'm getting a disposable income for you of over £500 subject to you getting £50 per week at your p/t job - surely that will help to pay off some of your debts? I would use this £500 to pay off the credit card agreement which comes in at £37 p/m.