Bankruptcy advice needed for young family.

thewayitis_2

Looks like you could get your head back above water with some careful attention to your outgoings.

16 quid for dog insurance? Try Sainsburys or Tesco pet insurance to get this down (I'm assuming you have just one dog of course - if you have 2 then 16 quid is about right).

Bin sky, or cut it right back to the bare minimum package.

I'm assuming your broadband is the unlimited option 3 one? Move this down to option 1 which gives 5gb download a month for about a tenner. They will charge you a fee for the subsidised homehub and the phone bundled with the unlimited package, but overall the savings will be fairly substantial.

There are other places you can cut back - look on the debt free wannabes board. You're a long way from BR.

Oldernotwiser

You could also post this on the DFW board as they are very good at suggesting ways of cutting back. Could your wife do a couple of evenings work while you're around to look after the children? I'm sure that you could avoid bankruptcy with some effort.

Conor_3

You're really not in the position of bankruptcy as you can meet your debts with your income.

There's at least £149 a month in non essentials - Sky, mobile phone, dog ins, broadband, 18866.

If you're forking out £150 a month in petrol to go to work, you need to change your car as it's only averaging just over 26 MPG which is horrendous. I have a 22 year old 2L Ford Capri that does 10MPG more than that.

As your debt is actually only a sixth of your monthly income and there are fripperies you can cancel which'd give you plenty to repay the loans/ccs with, I doubt you'll find anyone who will recommend bankruptcy.

gettingitsorted

POST REPORTED :spam:

savagevixen

dappanumber1 wrote: »

Hi,

I
I'm a 24 year old dad of two, and live with my wife in a housing association house. we are very happy here, and in no arrears.

I work 35 hours a week, getting £1000 a month.

my wife doesn't work as she looks after our 2 daughters aged 4 and 1.

We get child benefit of £120ish every four weeks and tax credits of £80 a week.

I owe nationwide £11500 on a loan over 7 years which is £170.83 a month.

I owe mbna £2500 credit card, which i make £40 minimum payment on.

I owe hsbc £1000 interest free on cc, which i pay minimum £30 payment on.

I also have an overdraft of £500 with cahoot, which i just pay the interest on every month, about £5.

I know that this is not a huge amount of debt, but i have the payments down to minimum and its still £245 a month, which is a quarter of my wages, and the debt is not going down much at all.

Here is an income/expenditure list for my monthly out goings...

Wages £1000
Tax credits £346
Child benefit £120

Total=1466 month incoming

Rent 400
c/tax 101
Gas 50(due to arrears)
electric 50 (as above)
Water rates 35 month (am in some arrears so paying over 12 months)
tv license 12.50
contents ins 11
dog ins 16
sky 53 but intend to cut this down
car ins 33
loan 170
2 credit cards 70
overdraft interest 5
petrol 150 (i work 20 miles away so lot of milage)
shopping £200 (have to scrimp just to get enough for month)
nappys/baby stuff £30 (thats not including clothes, buy cheap asda outfits etc)
mobile £40
Bt phone broadband £30
18866 £10

which is £1466




Thats not including car tax, mot repairs new tyres etc,

The other option is train which is £26 week, plus bus to and from station which will be 12.50 week for ticket, not really worth it!

so i kind of break even,

but then i have no money for anything, clothes, baby and childrens clothes, birthdays and holidays, nice meal a month etc etc.

so of course the credit card comes out,

not ridiculously, i'm not daft with it, but couple of hundred a month here and there adds up.

i'm wondering whether to carry on pretending its ok, or go bankrupt and clear all debts and have a fresh slate, i am still paying all of them of and my credit record is all green (on the internet experian thing.)
Is it better to hold out for a bit, but by then my debts would have got worse and i would have to go bankrupt anyway.

do i go ahead with the inevitable?

i cant really cut back on things (except sky) to save me a significant amount and i cant do overtime at my place (even then the more you earn the less tax credits you get!)

I'm stuck to be honest, and would appreciate all your help (as long as its nice) .

I dont want to be in debt and i know its stupid etc, but its not like i spend fortunes on anything for myself. its just accumulated over time and those with kids will understand all the things they constantly need like nappies, milk, clothes, food which sometimes go on the credit cards.

Its getting me down and i'm getting on at people, including my wife.

Is it worth all the hassle of splitting up (not that we'd ever want that too happen) but obviously it puts a strain on you when you've got no cash and feel responsible for providing it.

this is meant to be the time of your life with young kids but all i do is worry about money!

thanks in advance, adam.

Hi Adam,
You post made me feel really sad. It is where we were 7 years ago. We tried so hard, but with one thing and another, and consolidation loans, we never caught up and ended up Bankrupt at 31 with 5 small kids and £27000 of debt. With a young family and continuous outgoings, it is so hard. (Not saying it is not hard for others but with little ones the demand increases) I personally feel BR may be an option for you. People have been very quick to point out you frivolities, but not that your grocery/food/clothes/necessities are ridiculously low for 4 of you. No wonder life is so tough. Without the huge outgoings on cc's/loans etc you would have more money to feed and clothe your kids with, and run a car. You credit is probably already shot, by arrears, and wiping the slate clean maybe an excellent oppurtunity to start afresh and live comfortably within your means.
I am so glad we followed CCCS advice and took the bankruptcy route. It took there help to realise that we had grossly got our priorities wrong. The loans and banks were paid, but not the council tax and bills.
A couple are entitled to around £300 per month food etc, and each kid £100-£150 per month. This would change your statement of affairs considerably. Yes you can reduce some outgoings, but you are really going without as a family.
I think Bankruptcy may be advised by debt agencies, and I certainly don't think you should discount it at this stage, that said, it is a very serious matter that has permanant implications, so make sure you are fully informed.
Vix

tight_jock

Excellent post Foxy.:T

Op must get advice from the usual places.

Georgie_Porgy

gettingitsorted wrote: »

POST REPORTED :spam:

I don't understand. Perhaps I'm being thick here but are you saying this poster has made this up or has something been deleted that I can't now see?

fermi

Georgie_Porgy wrote: »

I don't understand. Perhaps I'm being thick here but are you saying this poster has made this up or has something been deleted that I can't now see?

The red bit is correct.:)

Abuse have deleted the offending post within this particular thread. The thread itself is not spam, but a response to it certainly was.

It's confusing because abuse didn't delete the warning by gettingitsorted as well (as they normally do), so it looks odd.

dappanumber1

savagevixen wrote: »

Hi Adam,
You post made me feel really sad. It is where we were 7 years ago. We tried so hard, but with one thing and another, and consolidation loans, we never caught up and ended up Bankrupt at 31 with 5 small kids and £27000 of debt. With a young family and continuous outgoings, it is so hard. (Not saying it is not hard for others but with little ones the demand increases) I personally feel BR may be an option for you. People have been very quick to point out you frivolities, but not that your grocery/food/clothes/necessities are ridiculously low for 4 of you. No wonder life is so tough. Without the huge outgoings on cc's/loans etc you would have more money to feed and clothe your kids with, and run a car. You credit is probably already shot, by arrears, and wiping the slate clean maybe an excellent oppurtunity to start afresh and live comfortably within your means.
I am so glad we followed CCCS advice and took the bankruptcy route. It took there help to realise that we had grossly got our priorities wrong. The loans and banks were paid, but not the council tax and bills.
A couple are entitled to around £300 per month food etc, and each kid £100-£150 per month. This would change your statement of affairs considerably. Yes you can reduce some outgoings, but you are really going without as a family.
I think Bankruptcy may be advised by debt agencies, and I certainly don't think you should discount it at this stage, that said, it is a very serious matter that has permanant implications, so make sure you are fully informed.
Vix

thanks for that vixen, its good to know that it isnt just me who thinks this is the best option.

i know some outgoings are high, ie sky, but like you said we underspend considerably on shopping, clothing etc.

its a constant struggle, to be honest. i am still thinking this is the best option, and will more than likely go for it.

obviously i will be going to cab for more help, its just at this initial stage i wanted to hear your opinions on it!

i got a pm off who i assume is the spammer, and let me tell you mate i am not interested in paying your company money as well, so forget it. money grabbing *****

i can see peoples point about dog insurance, sky etc, but in all fairness over the course of the month what will it save me? not much on the scale of things!




also, the car i have usage of is my wives, its an r reg megane with 100k on the clock. worth about £800 ??? would the OR want it even tho its my wifes?

what about using credit cards up until bankruptcy? obviously not taking the mick, but where do i stand with say paying off arrears with it or petrol or shopping? might be a stupid question but i dont wanna get in trouble over it.

also forgot to say but owe money to family, around £500, which i pay back at £20 month. dont know if that makes any difference to anything, but you never know.

i've got so many questions to be honest so i might post back soon with more!

thanks for all your help!
adam.

meme_3

Rent 400
c/tax 101
Gas 50(due to arrears)
electric 50 (as above)
Water rates 35 month (am in some arrears so paying over 12 months)
tv license 12.50
contents ins 11
dog ins 16 is this really necessary?
sky 53 but intend to cut this down get rid - the basic channels are free
car ins 33
loan 170
2 credit cards 70
overdraft interest 5
petrol 150 (i work 20 miles away so lot of milage) this is very high - I work 10 miles away, my petrol only £40/month
shopping £200 (have to scrimp just to get enough for month)
nappys/baby stuff £30 (thats not including clothes, buy cheap asda outfits etc)
mobile £40
Bt phone broadband £30 thought you got free calls with this
18866 £10 where are you calling - not cheap now for UK landline calls

meme_3

dappanumber1 wrote: »

also, the car i have usage of is my wives, its an r reg megane with 100k on the clock. worth about £800 ???

Is this the car that costs £33 per month to insure.
That's outrageous!
Surely you could get cheaper.