Short term, cash flow issue!

fannyadams

AP you posted on the DFW board and some of the suggestions that have been made you have dismissed quite offhand.
I'll risk getting my head bitten off for this post because all the DFW bods on here have been there done that and got the t-shirt, sold the t-shirt and a load of other stuff they weren't using and lived on almost fresh air for years to deal with their debts.
If they post on your thread(s) and it's harsh for you to read it then perhaps you're not ready for the reality of dealing with YOUR debt right now.
You clearly cannot afford to keep living like this but you do not seem to have grasped that there are going to be some seriously lean times ahead if you're going to dig yourself out of this.
Run some numbers through this calculator to see if you're missing out on any benefits.
Oh and contact your MP about your CTC overpayment, there was a spate of CTC office getting it wrong and a few people got their overpayments written off.
Finally - and this is where I am going to get it in the neck - would it be possible to approach the CSA to get them to pressure your children's father to pay maintenance if he isn't helping out financially already?

I just noticed that you have Childminder written twice - is that two separate childminders?
are ALL the debts at 0% APR or do you not know what the APRs are (I mean obviously friend's debt is gonna be 0% but VERY is 0% and Moorcroft and Lowell are they 0% APR too)?

AngelPie78

fannyadams wrote: »

AP you posted on the DFW board and some of the suggestions that have been made you have dismissed quite offhand.
I'll risk getting my head bitten off for this post because all the DFW bods on here have been there done that and got the t-shirt, sold the t-shirt and a load of other stuff they weren't using and lived on almost fresh air for years to deal with their debts.
If they post on your thread(s) and it's harsh for you to read it then perhaps you're not ready for the reality of dealing with YOUR debt right now.
You clearly cannot afford to keep living like this but you do not seem to have grasped that there are going to be some seriously lean times ahead if you're going to dig yourself out of this.
Run some numbers throughto see if you're missing out on any benefits.
Oh and contact your MP about your CTC overpayment, there was a spate of CTC office getting it wrong and a few people got their overpayments written off.
Finally - and this is where I am going to get it in the neck - would it be possible to approach the CSA to get them to pressure your children's father to pay maintenance if he isn't helping out financially already?

I just noticed that you have Childminder written twice - is that two separate childminders?
are ALL the debts at 0% APR or do you not know what the APRs are (I mean obviously friend's debt is gonna be 0% but VERY is 0% and Moorcroft and Lowell are they 0% APR too)?

Hiya,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my thread. I am absolutely willing to make any changes that I need to. I am more than willing to cut out anything I need to, and the reference to the plonk was the ultimate and ideal situation. I wasn't saying that I wanted to do that now. Like I have said, everyone just takes everything out of context. I did not say that I go and buy plonk every week! Where does it say that??

I am fine with living at home, not going out or having any "treats", hence the insistence of keeping the internet at home - as I said in a previous post.

I am fine with changing my mobile and selling/dropping my holiday. I have said this everytime since it has been suggested. I have agreed to many of the suggestions made. I don't understand why different people are making the same assumptions, time and time again and then I get attacked when I start to get frustrated at repeating myself.

When have I ever said that I won't make the changes I need to. I think I clearly stated in an earlier post on this thread that the only things I won't drop are my dogs and the kids' birthdays. Everything else I will consider. So again, why did you mention the plonk and the holiday?

I know I'm living beyond my means - why on earth did you think I came on here in the first place?!

I can't go to the CSA - my daughter's dad pays her £100 a month as her "money" and I have joint custody of my son's. The dads pay nothing towards helping the kids and they were both extremely happy to see me homeless with their kids last year. Nice men, eh?

Again [repeating myself] I am absolutely happy to consider and start paying off my debts in the medium/long term, but I don't see the point in doing that now when I can't pay my rent, fuel, water or buy food for the next three months. I assumed that that was the mature and sensible approach to the situation I have got myself in.

Yes, all debt companies/charities/organisations I have spoken to have said that I should declare myself bankrupt. If I do this, I risk making my ex have to sell his house [and my sons' other home] and this is not something I would do lightly. I also don't have a spare £500 to do this.

I have nothing to sell apart from old clothes which was suggested earlier and I agreed was a good idea - I am not "hostile" or "dismiss" all suggestions "off-hand". I have my car, which I will sell - as was suggested earlier.

I can't take on any other commitments, I just do not have the time. I am trying to complete a degree, home-school my daughter, look after the boys and have other responsibilities. I got a job last year, after talking to Tax Credits and the Housing Benefit office. I had to work 16 hours minimum to make is worth my while. I earned an extra £150 a week but didn't see my kids for days on end as I was working/studying/cleaning/cooking every second of the day. I could not cope. I had a breakdown recently [due to my divorce and other issues] and am not always in the best state of mind.

I tried cutting my hours, but was then worse off so that was pointless, but I tried.

Also [repeating myself again] I am not paying all of that for my son's party. Other people have contributed, as the same for my daughter's birthday weekend. I am not paying over £100 by myself [I wouldn't ever do that!] and my daughter's birthday has been planned for months and is pretty much paid for [by me, and other family members].

See why I get frustrated? Most of this has already been covered in the other thread and even this one...

x

AngelPie78

fannyadams wrote: »

Oh and contact your MP about your CTC overpayment, there was a spate of CTC office getting it wrong and a few people got their overpayments written off.

I didn't know that, thanks. I'll add that to my list x

AngelPie78

fannyadams wrote: »

If they post on your thread(s) and it's harsh for you to read it then perhaps you're not ready for the reality of dealing with YOUR debt right now.

See? I don't understand where this is coming from? I have no problem at all in dealing with my debts. I just want some help in budgeting and prioritising at times of hardship, like now. I don't think it's sensible to try to worry about debts when I have rent and utilities to pay. I'm getting frustrated when posters are coming on and telling me that I have issues in my long term debt - yes, I do. I want to deal with the short term first. Then, as you can see from my SOA, I will have enough money to start chipping away at the debt or declare myself bankrupt. If I worry about my debt now and not these bills, then I'll be homeless in three months and so will have much more important things to worry about.

Or have I totally got the wrong end of the stick with these kind of comments?

If so, I apologise.

It's not like I don't know I spend too much and in the wrong place. If I didn't know that, then I wouldn't have come here in the first place.

x

DCFC79

Haven't seen it mentioned but you say you cant go to the CSA, do you mean your daughter would lose the £100 a month as her "money" ?

Anyway, sell the car, what you get for it put it in a basic bank account and use some of it to cover the rent shortfall (obviously depends on what you get for it.)

Instead of repeating yourself state what number post you answered the question in.

AngelPie78

DCFC79 wrote: »

Haven't seen it mentioned but you say you cant go to the CSA, do you mean your daughter would lose the £100 a month as her "money" ?

Anyway, sell the car, what you get for it put it in a basic bank account and use some of it to cover the rent shortfall (obviously depends on what you get for it.)

Instead of repeating yourself state what number post you answered the question in.

Well, as a compromise, her Dad said he would pay her the money that he would be due to pay to the CSA and then to me. He did the calculation and I know it's less than the CSA would take but I am not a complete and utter nasty person and would not leave him in financial problems as he has a young family too. I am happy for her to have the money, she bought herself a new laptop which she pays off monthly, as well as paying her phone bill [i thought my mum pad that, but I was wrong] and she has said tonight that she will pay her bus fare. I've told her to buy her new clothes instead so that's a change. If I went to the CSA, her dad would get the hump and stop paying her straight away, which means I'd have to cover all those costs until the CSA got their act together. Last time we tried the CSA, it took them four months to even write him a letter. So I'd have to cover all those costs for that time, on the assumption that I would eventually get some money off him. She's turning 16 soon so I'm not sure how long he would need to pay anyway. Also, she is going through an extremely hard time at the moment [long and private story] and her Dad and I are talking for the first time in almost ten years. I wouldn't want to put her through more pain and lose that for her for the sake of what might/or might not be more money.

Does that make sense?

I didn't realise I could just say what post I had mentioned something in. Thanks - I'll do that in the future.

I'll sell the car. Doubt I'll get much for it, but it all helps x

MPH80

*edit: removed - just seen the OP's response to me in the other thread - clearly doesn't want the help from me*

LittleMissGiggles123

Ok, so short term…

Sorry if you've already answered these somewhere.

When is your rent due? How much is it?

When do you next get money in? How much?

After rent, what is the next priority debt? You are a student so don't pay council tax so i'm guessing utilities?

How much is this next debt?

Food - what have you got in the cupboards/fridge/freezer at the moment?

x

AngelPie78

MPH80 wrote: »

*edit: removed - just seen the OP's response to me in the other thread - clearly doesn't want the help*

I do want help, I just don't want to be a punch bag for people who feel that they are above me.

Like I said, I want help in the right direction and to the problem I have. Not the one everyone seems to pick up on.

AngelPie78

LittleMissGiggles123 wrote: »

Ok, so short term…

Sorry if you've already answered these somewhere.

When is your rent due? How much is it?

When do you next get money in? How much?

After rent, what is the next priority debt? You are a student so don't pay council tax so i'm guessing utilities?

How much is this next debt?

Food - what have you got in the cupboards/fridge/freezer at the moment?

x

You may actually be my angel

income:
weekly tax credits: £155
fortnightly housing benefit: £300 (next due 17th Feb)
four weekly child benefit: £130 (next due 24th Feb)

expenses:
rent : £925 1st March
fuel: £145 due asap
water: £78 due 17th Mar (I owe for the last 2 months aswell, though someone said earlier that water isn't due this month?)
food: £35 per week will be fine for veg and consumables [plenty in the cupboards/freezer to make meals from scratch]

thanks for your help x