Where to start?

retromother

Oh and we cut our own hair. Not for everyone, but hubby and ds1 I use clippers, ds2 has beautiful long blonde curls so I just trim his fringe and I have long hair I trim myself. Unless you are super confident and have long hair and backup hairdresser friends I would say this is a last resort!

National_Debtline

It's OK to set aside money for things like smoking, hair cuts, days out, emergencies and suchlike - these figures do need to be reasonable. If you take a look at the Dealing with your debts guide I posted up it gives you a rough idea of the figures. If children are under 14 years of age, the amount that they would be allowed would be lower than those over 14. I don't think your overall housekeeping figure is massively over - and I'm sure that with a bit of creative thinking you'll be able to reduce your figures reasonably easily. Some of the others have aleady posted up some excellent suggestions.

At a guess, approximately how much debt might there be in total?

tulip28

Have you check your noddle?x

crispycreme_2

Whats a noddle?

Have updated my SOA to include the debt I am certain of.

crispycreme_2

Just to say that my phone bill is £20 includes internet and calls that we make add it up to roughly what is on my SOA.

retromother

Ok, so it looks like it's all government debt right? Have they suggested a repayment plan? Is any being deducted from your benefits at the moment?

tulip28

Noddle is a free credit check online. sign up and check it out it will tell you what your credit score is and what accounts you have outstanding.

If you don't have any credit cards, overdrafts, store cards, debts with family/friends then you just need to cut down on your spending.

Do you have a car or do you rely on public transport to get about...not sure if you mentioned this in your SOA.

To enable us to help you better - you need to start by finding out exactly what you owe to who.

retromother

Haha I thought you meant brain! I've learned something new here too!

crispycreme_2

Ok I shifted through my letters and even though it was very confusing as there is multiple agencys contatcing me for the same debts at different times this year, my latest one are:

Lucas Credit Services: £389
Red : £579.41
Lowell: £407.48

crispycreme_2

We dont have a car, only recently (Friday) lost it in an accident. This is a problem as my DP used it to Garden twice a week an hour away.

The gardening money bought in an extra £200 per week. I have not included this in my budget as no guarantee that he can get to this work now.