Budgeting Service?

Chrisblue1962

Hominu wrote: »

There are companies that will pay your bills for you and you pay them a single payment every month. They charge for the privilege of course and can still make your overdrawn if your bills come to more than what you are earning.

They also can't take control of your bank accounts or shout at you if you use your bank card to go on a spending spree.

I've read most of this thread and the final paragraph of the above post sums up the situation not only for you but for everyone who has finances to manage.

When it comes down to brass tacks, there are lots of websites with advice and lots of organisations which offer practical help - CAB, Stepchange, Christians Against Poverty, National Debtline to name a few BUT at the end of the day YOU, as an adult with children, have to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience to live in today's world using money - nobody else can do this for you.

You keep citing that you don't want your children to suffer because your past mistakes but I get the impression you want to pay for things for yourself and them which you simply cannot afford at the moment - expensive broadband, mobile phone contracts and football lessons to name a few.

By not sitting down and comig up with a workable budget and by trying to delegate this task to some outside "body", if such a body exists, you are running away from the situation, you are doing the very thing you wish to avoid.

Apologies if this comes across as what you don't want to hear but tough choices have to be made by you and you alone and they need to be done sooner not later - many people posting on MSE have had to do the same I'm afraid.

A couple of female colleagues at work have a saying "Life is tough but life is still good". These are the cards many of us have been dealt and we have to play with them.

I really do wish you Good Luck but please take control of the situation rather than letting the situation control you.

Pepperoni

Wow. Angelpie, I agree with the others that you have had some really good advice but unfortunately you don't seem to have had a light-bulb moment yet ... which is perhaps why you are finding reasons not to implement quite a lot of the helpful advice. I wish you all the best and hope that you manage to overcome your 'budgeting' and debt problems.

I do think that you need to stop just thinking of the short term and think longer term. What good is solving how you will tackle this months mess if you're just going to come into the same situation again next month? Surely its better for your own health and worry that you come up with solutions from here onwards?

AngelPie78

Following on from my previous posts the situation is now as follows:-

- Have set up my new budgeting account - at a cost of £1 per week.
- set all my income to come into this account
- set up all essential DDs to come out of this account. The service automatically removes the money for the DDs from my income on a weekly basis. My housing benefit goes straight into a separate Rent account and gets topped up from my weekly income and gets paid on the right day each month. All that I have left is cash I can spend on fuel/food and anything else...

This is all very new as it's taken a few weeks to get sorted, so we haven't actually got in place yet, but it should start in the next week or so. I've spoken to the Tax Credits/Housing Benefit office and my weekly income has gone up by £25 per week as a result.

- I've contacted various debt agencies [again] and have written to all my debtors, explaining my situation [again] and am waiting to hear back from them.

- Had a windfall so paid the debt money I owed and paid for the kids birthday treats. My mum gave me half the money for the holiday and my daughter is going to pay half the remaining sum, so only around £200 to pay in the next nine weeks.

- I've had two ideas to make regular money, without spending a lot, and am working on implementing them.

Things were looking up then I was given an End of Tenancy notice yesterday as my landlord is selling the house.

I have two months to find somewhere else to live and am back in the same situation I was a year ago...

So for all of those who say I don't take any advice, I hope you can see that I did and you were wrong.

[Deleted User]

send me all the account details etc and any cards related with said accounts i will take care of it all for you, you need never worry again.
alternative's
a. you could sell a child
b. sell a kidney
c. you can work c out for yourself

Pepperoni

I don't understand why you are paying someone to do something that you could do yourself? Most people pay money into X account which is only used for Direct Debits.... Why do you need to lose £52 a year for someone to do this for you? That £52 could go on a debt, which you're paying interest on, so could potentially be worth a lot more than £52 to you too.

DCFC79

Pepperoni wrote: »

I don't understand why you are paying someone to do something that you could do yourself? Most people pay money into X account which is only used for Direct Debits.... Why do you need to lose £52 a year for someone to do this for you? That £52 could go on a debt, which you're paying interest on, so could potentially be worth a lot more than £52 to you too.

Exactly my thoughts, have account A for dd's, with a SO for x amount transferred from main account and anything left once dd's are taken is for food shopping etc.

getmore4less

Did you bring your rent arrears up to date? then get notice

You don't have to leave in two month

check with the house renting board.

AngelPie78

I LOVE the fact that you have SO many encouraging and supportive words for me - I am SO glad I come onto this board for "help" pmsl...

Yeah I brought the arrears up to date and it's not because of that they are selling up anyway.

Thanks for the suggestion, have just started a thread - hopefully in the right place! x

DCFC79

OP Im glad you have made a start albeit not a route I would have gone down but thats your choice.

Pepperoni

Errrm. I'm not sure why I would want to support or encourage someone to 'waste' £52+ a year. I'm sure once you have your finances underwraps you will also look back and realise it was a waste of money. If its working for you and going to get you back on the straight and narrow then fair play, each to their own.