Going bankrupt on weds 4thp-help!

Toomuchdebt

Have a few questions

What do I put for reason for debt on credit cards?There wasn't any specific reason-it was all food/travel/furniture etc

I can't remember the dates when I took any of the cards out-can I just put rough dates?

Does £450 a month sound about right for 1 adult and 4 children and various pets for food etc?

Also there seems to be nowhere on the online form to put that Nationwide is a basic account?

ClaireLR

Hi TMD

I had the same problem with credit cards and put house repairs/improvements and day to day expenses

Credit cards, if you really can't remember then put a year, they will be able to get this info from your creditors. Ive had to have a guess with 2 of my cards as Ive had them for so long

£450 a month - what does this cover?? If it's just housekeeping as in food/cleaning toiletries then it's possibly not enough, I put £200 for me and then listed £15 pet insurance and £20 food/litter for 2 cats (although Im not going BR till Fri so not sure if this will be allowed TBH).

Not sure on the last one - I filled my forms out by hand. Is there not somewhere for any other information? If so put it there.

Hope this helps and let us know how you get on!

owetoomuch

Post an SOA and many of the experts on here will help, you need to have money for a lot of things, clothing, dentist, eye care, prescriptions, school dinners and so on. CCCS have a brilliant sheet that you fill in and it lists all the things you might possibly need money for. Do not leave yourself short on your forms because you will get into debt again if you cannot afford to live.

Toomuchdebt

The thing is I only have benefits to live on so all my outgoings add up to the amount of benefits I get.

owetoomuch

That should not be a problem, but you need to show ALL you will need in case your financial position should change. Some of the experts are on line at the moment and they should help you soon, I am not an expert, still going through the process myself, although declared BR and had OR interview I am still learning.

Toomuchdebt

Ok this is what I've got right now

Mortgage payments or rent on your home £750
Housekeeping (including food and cleaning) £475
Gas, electricity, other heating £100
Water £65
Telephone charges £35
Travelling to and from work and other essential journeys £100
Clothing £50
Maintenance payments and fines £0
Council tax £0
Other essential payments (e.g. life/household insurance, car tax & repairs) £58
tv licence £21
mobile phone £25
car insurance £27
internet £10

I actually have a gym membership but it's added to the food.My water is horribly high and the gas and electric I used my last bill for.

My income is:
CTC & Income support £800
Housing Benefit £539
Child Benefit £217
Maintenance £50
Money from lodger £160 (which is why my Housing Benefit is only £539 and not the full amount.)

owetoomuch

Money for prescription charges, dental, eye care, emergencies, clothing, haircuts and so on...... I am sure some people will add more items you need to put money aside for. Sorry brain is dead at the moment.

Toomuchdebt

prescription etc is all free cos of income support
haircuts-don't have any
emergencies-pray for none-lol

Richard_S

Toomuchdebt wrote: »

Ok this is what I've got right now

Mortgage payments or rent on your home £750
Housekeeping (including food and cleaning) £475 That doesn't seem much for five of you; put £550 and see what the O.R says.
Gas, electricity, other heating £100 Again £1,200 a year seems low, four children are incredibly heavy on heating and baths/showers; £150 / month
Water £65
Telephone charges £35
Travelling to and from work and other essential journeys £100
Clothing £50
Maintenance payments and fines £0
Council tax £0
Other essential payments (e.g. life/household insurance, car tax & repairs) £58 Repairs and renewals on a car older than 3-5years are definitely going to cost at least £100 / month and £150 is probably closer. That has to cover tyres, exhaust, battery, servicing; clutch, gear box and other expensive jobs need to be budgeted for too.
tv licence £21
mobile phone £25
car insurance £27
internet £10

Household maintenance? Even for rented accomodation there are going to be some expenses that need to be accounted for; broken windows, etc etc; must be at least £50 / month.

I actually have a gym membership but it's added to the food.My water is horribly high and the gas and electric I used my last bill for.

My income is:
CTC & Income support £800
Housing Benefit £539
Child Benefit £217
Maintenance £50
Money from lodger £160 (which is why my Housing Benefit is only £539 and not the full amount.)

Tmd,

Don't be concerned about your expenditure exceeding your income. If you're queried about this then explain that you appreciate the budget needs some work doing on it and you're frantically trying to save money where you can. The O.R may well disallow something so you need to have built some "slack" onto your budget somewhere else.

Ooh, what about holidays, christmas and birthdays? Another £80-£100 per month for the three; however you decide to apportion them.

Regards

Richard

owetoomuch

TMD please take heed of Richards advice he is really good on here and has yet to let me down.

Richard_S

Toomuchdebt wrote: »

prescription etc is all free cos of income support
haircuts-don't have any
emergencies-pray for none-lol

Tmd,

There is a natural human tendency to under budget; the Channel Tunnel; the Dome; Wembley Stadium, and these are experts that prepared forecasts for these fiascos (er, I mean projects).

If you think it might happen then budget for it; you don't have to prove that it's happened before; it's a provision for a possible future expense. A provision for a holiday is acceptable; you might not take it in which case you've got some extra cash, but you can bet that something else will come along that you need it for.

Richard