6k in debt and just no hope

catkins

Hi, I never normally look at this thread at all but your post caught my eye.


I am pleased that you seem to be sorting yourself out and things are looking up.


It hasn't really been mentioned (once I think) but I would have thought you could get your food/cleaning/toiletries bill down. think £200 is quite a lot.


It helps of course if you are fairly keen on cooking but I would suggest you look at the Old Style Board (where I am more likely to be found). There are lots of ideas for planning menus, actual recipes, shopping ideas, tips on cutting costs on cleaning materials, toiletries etc.

DanFish

Thanks catkins, yes i've addressed that amount in my budget now that did include clothing aswell but was still rather high, I have worked out by planning meals and cooking i can reduce this to 100 a month if i shop in the right places, i have put 20 a month for clothing, (2 year old sun goes through clothes like i dont know what)

I've also used a 10 of the reduction for an emergency fund as i never previously budgeted for that i have around 200 a month to pay creditors now plus theres some overtime going at work and hopefully it will be available for a while.

rockm87

try and join local selling sites on facebook. can be great for kids clothes, as theyre usually only in them 5 minutes before they grow out of them, and you can get some bulk load bargains!

sickasachip13

Well done DanFish :beer:
It's great to see that the forum continues to support and encourage. I found this place a wealth of help and support when I washed up here some years ago - a slightly broken and dispairing mess - and I come by every now and then for a bit of mutual support.

It's one of the true successes of this forum, imo, that as people become better equipped with information and start feeling stronger, that they are able to share this with others. It becomes a force for the good.

I'd defo recommend the local selling pages (there tends to be loads on facebook nowadays) and, also, jumble sales and charity shops for kids clothes especially - as you say, they grow so quickly, and you know the kids couldn't give a toss where it's come from :T

All the best. SAAC

catkins

DanFish wrote: »

Thanks catkins, yes i've addressed that amount in my budget now that did include clothing aswell but was still rather high, I have worked out by planning meals and cooking i can reduce this to 100 a month if i shop in the right places, i have put 20 a month for clothing, (2 year old sun goes through clothes like i dont know what)

I've also used a 10 of the reduction for an emergency fund as i never previously budgeted for that i have around 200 a month to pay creditors now plus theres some overtime going at work and hopefully it will be available for a while.

Yes, I would have thought you should be able to manage on £100 a month for food if you shop wisely. Me and OH spend about that but we are both vegetarian. We could cut down on that though as I think we eat quite well and also buy quite a lot of drink (not all alcoholic!).


You can certainly buy veg at good prices (even if you are a meat eater veg can be used to bulk out meals and fill you and your son up). Markets are a good place if you have one near you (especially if you go when they are close to closing). Also look at the Aldi and Lidl weekly deals and Farmfoods do very cheap frozen veg

DanFish

Did my weekly shop on friday at Aldi, came to £22. I've been spending around £40 a week at Sainsbury's.
I must say i'm surprised at the quality as well.
Starting comping today hopefully i can bag myself a free holiday or something for my boy.
Woke up with a smile on my face which hasn't happened for a long time.
Waiting for a reply from some of my creditors i did a few F+F last week for a few of my smaller debts went in really low at around 25% probably get rejected but if you dont ask you dont get
PMA, Positive Mental Attitude. none of these creditors are going to drag me down anymore.

looking_forward_not_back

Hi Danfish
I too am fairly new here but have been reading on here constantly for days I love it and slowly becoming addicted. ( a good addiction though)

I have read through peoples Debt free diaries and even started my own Its a great motivator.
I too cut back on shopping. My son said we have gone from Mcvities to Mcskinties. lol

I have done a snowball and found it helps to see it all in black and white. I am looking forward to the totals coming down.

I have found that people on here are non judgemental and will offer some good advice and support. Stick around and it wont seem as bad as you think.
Some people have bigger mountains to climb including me. But with the support and guidance on here we can all do this
Good luck

DanFish

Hi all,
Just wondering if you think it is ethical to tell lies on a financial statement to a creditor in order to get a massive reduction in a full and final settlement figure.

The debt is £200 and i offered an F+F of £60. I have received an email today saying that they would require £140 to settle it early however they say that they could reconsider my offer dependant on a financial statement. I would rather pay it off in one go as a partially settled as my credit rating cant get any worse anyway these debts will have fallen off my credit file well before i even consider getting a mortgage.

Just wondering what people think.

Willowpop

DanFish wrote: »

Did my weekly shop on friday at Aldi, came to £22. I've been spending around £40 a week at Sainsbury's.
I must say i'm surprised at the quality as well.

I changed a lot of my shop from sainsburys to lidl and save a lot of money like you did at Aldi. Quality is just as good, if not better. I still use sainsburys for some things, but the bulk is done at Lidl now. We haven't suffered as a result.

DanFish

Willowpop wrote: »

I changed a lot of my shop from sainsburys to lidl and save a lot of money like you did at Aldi. Quality is just as good, if not better. I still use sainsburys for some things, but the bulk is done at Lidl now. We haven't suffered as a result.

I'm really happy with my shop. 17p for a bottle of lemonade and its a hell of a lot better than ASDA or Sainsbury's version.
Microwave rice is half the price of other supermarkets and is exactly the same, plus the meat is fantastic.
Wish i'd have done this a lot sooner.