Pretty soon won't even have a penny, please help.

Pinkgirl_2

My debt is out of control. I have more going out than coming in and use credit cards just to live and I have just found out I am pregnant!

I am due in July next year, and although I will work as long as I can, after that I will have to quit because there's no way I could afford childcare and I have no friends/family to help at all.

Here is the debt I have:

£7900 on credit card
£1400 on credit card
£260 overdraft
£1200 overdraft of which 200 is charges
£1600 overdraft of which 200 is charges
£2400 overdraft of which 400 is charges
£300 credit card
£2850 overdraft
£1500 overdraft (repaid and respent monthly)
£400 overdraft
£3000 credit card
£10,000 loan (about 8k and 4 years remaining)
£4,000 loan (4 years remaining)
£1,000 loan
£1,000 loan
£1,000 loan
£800 to my dad
£1800 to my sister (this can wait)

that is between me and DH.

DH brings home £1450 a month, I get £800 a month but only paid for the hours I work so if DD is sick, I lose money.

We own our house but cannot sell it as it is in negative equity. We cannot rent it out as the local rent is the same as, or less than, our mortgage payments. We own 1 car worth around £500 which we absolutely need as I travel to work/nursery daily and London weekly (we live in Bham)

I have cut back our spending big time, so this is all we ever spend:

£620 - mortgage
£195 - big loan repayment
£120 - 4k loan repayment
£90 - repayments for 3x £1000 loan
£80 - nursery (dd's funding doesn't quite cover my working hours)
£250 - food
£50 - diesel
£54 - car insurance
£33 - water
£144 - council tax (repayment plan)
£130 - gas/elec (just switched, saved, locked in)
£7 - pet insurance
£22 - home insurance
£192 - credit card repayment
£160 - credit card repayment
£100 - credit card repayment
£25 - home phone/internet
£30 - hair cuts for me, dd, dh (every 6-8 weeks)

total = £2302

income = £2250 wages, £45 per week tax credits, £20 per week child benefit

total = £2510

Things like car tax are paid for the next 12 months. MOT and car maintenance done for free at dh's work. Home insurance paid up til Feb. Mobile phones are free, supplied by work.

By this calculation we should have £200 left over but this never happens, something always gets in the way - extra diesel, child needs shoes, expensive food shop one week, higher than expected bill, I could go on...

I have written to Natwest (home of 2 credit cards and 3 overdrafts) and asked them to agree to a DMP of £500 per month, as well as refunding the bank charges (financial hardship) and freezing interest/charges. They haven't replied yet.

What scares me is that in 8 months or less, I am going to have to stop working. Which means that whilst we will get slightly more benefits, we will end up losing out on over £700 per month of my wages. Childcare for the baby would be more than my monthly wages.

I am literally living off credit cards and I am frightened. This month I need to make my minimum repayment on credit card (£190) which I cannot afford, so the only way to pay it would be to get cash off another card and pay it into the bank!

Every month we run out of money and end up paying for things like groceries, diesel, phone bill and nursery on the credit card. Then I make my repayments and end up respending it, so they never get paid!

The only positive is that we had £1000 of payday loans to 2 lenders, which are now fully repaid and I will never ever touch payday loans again!!!

matttye

Have you considered an IVA?

Your level of debt is going to be nigh on impossible to pay off on your partner's income alone.

Tigsteroonie

Pinkgirl wrote: »

We own 1 car worth around £500 which we absolutely need as I travel to work/nursery daily and London weekly (we live in Bham)

London trips weekly?

Will you still need the car when you are not working after baby is born? And you'll be home, so will there still be any need for nursery & travel to/from? It might only be worth £500 but you'll also save on fuel, insurance, maintenance.

Shelbi

Hi pinkgirl... Welcome to Mse... I don't have the answer to your challenge but I wanted to say hi & for you to know your not alone, these boards are full of great money saving ideas and fellow mse'ers who are here for you &have some fab ideas...I'm sure someone will be able to come up with some suggestions that will help. I find sneaky ways to save pennies thread handy on ways to cut back, I know it's hard but please try not to worry to much (health is essential...& congratulations on pending new arrival)...you've made a step in the right direction...hang in there sweetheart....Shelbi x

determined_new_ms

Contact Step Change or Paypal and talk this through with them. In all honesty I think the only thing you can do is enter into a DMP or IVA. Stop spending all your money on debts. hey can just have what you can afford after your living expenses

congratulations on the pregnancy by the way!

Take the step and stop living under this stress

Good luck

sunshineangel

Few ideas, you may already do these -

could you cut down ur groceries by a little use up items you have in and meal plan? keep a spending diary to see where the 200 does go. only essential journeys in car to keep fuel costs down?

Can you cut dh's hair? and space out yours and dd hair cuts for a little while? just while you are trying to get yourself straight and stop living off cards.

can you sell dd's outgrown clothes to help buy things she needs eg shoes.. you could use local selling pages on fb as no fees and no posting..maybe go through and sell everything you dont need/ doesnt fit and use to help with debts or essentials as needed.

Good luck and congrats on pending arrival x

AdmiralAsda

determined_new_ms wrote: »

Contact Step Change or Paypal and talk this through with them.

Do you mean Payplan?
But yes, an IVA - speak to someone as soon as you can. The sooner you speak to someone the easier it'll be for you.

When_the_going_gets_tough

It is possible bankruptcy may be an option as the house is in negative equity but OP you need detailed advice from one of the debt charities - National Debtline is another one to consider. Please talk to someone who can give you detailed and informed advice.

sleepygirl126

speak to stepchange or someone like that....either an iva or a debt management plan is going to be your best way

Puzzcat

If you go onto Stepchange website there is a debt remedy tool you can use which will advise the best course of action and you don't have to speak to anyone unless you want to.
Good luck with your journey.
Love Puzz. Xx

chevalier

here is the SOA calculator so you can add in the APRs etc on the debts.
http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

You are currently 39560 in debt and that is obviously not sustainable on both of your wages let alone one. So a DMP seems the way to go.

If you go onto the Stepchange website you can input your figures and they will tell you on the internet what is the best way forward.

good luck
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