New here - please help :-(

RAS

ACEY

Liz may sound a bit harsh, but on here there are people living on really tiny amounts so they can pay off their debts. And that includes all sorts of household stuff. Certainly, many would think £100 for an adult and two kids more than adequate. Not that they would be having fun.

Now frankly, this debt is a dumped on debt so I can see why you feel a bit agrieved, but again there are a lot of folks whose ex-partners have done a runner.

What you do not have is the sort of access to some of the discount deals that other posters can get access as they have more choice when shopping. So you may not be able to cut quite so much.

However, since you are in a rural situation, can you access the odd rabbit or pigeon, forage for blackberries for pies and jam or grow some food of your own. In the past, I have done the berries, hips and haws for preserves, I will look at lime flowers this weekend, i've had sea trout from the fisherfolk, pheasant and rabbit from the hunters, sloes for sloe gin and wild saladings from the hedges.

But if the choice is between cutting £20-30 a month off your household expenses and MCs getting nasty, which is going to be better? Particularly since your benefit situation should improve soon.

Go look at some of the sites and forums that are recommended above and see what you can do to stretch your income. And there is a freebies board here

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?s=&daysprune=-1&f=37

Also, you need to talk to one of the debt charities, CCCS, Payplan or CAB and ask them to help you negiotiate with MCS.

Frith

Sorry, more answers!

There is no bus to school - in fact, no public transport for several miles!

My older son (at primary school) has the free fruit and free milk but I make him his lunch because I am a bit obsessed with good food/5 fruit and veg a day etc and I enjoy making it for him.

The mortgage.... Most of that is interest. BUT.... to cover my legal fees, I had to remortgage so 10,000 is interest and repayment. 43,000 is interest only.

(Yep, my house only cost 43,000, 8 years ago!)

Liz

Frith

RAS - redcurrant jelly is currently setting in the fridge and 2 demi johns of wine are on the go.

A lot of our veggies plus eggs come from my parents, who live on a small holding.

Liz

Frith

P.S Since my ex left (Jan 2005) I have paid off:

council tax - 750 debt
mortgage - 2 were owing
house insurance - 2 owing
car insurance - 2 owing
electricity - nearly 1000, managed to get them to take prepayment meter out too
Bank of Scotland loan - 1,600
overdraft - 2,200


and me and sons lived on £20 per week for nearly 2 years. So I do know how to manage, but frankly have had enough!

Liz

P.S Ex also hired a van and emptied the house while we were in the women's refuge so I had to buy 3 more set of clothes (2nd hand, don't worry), furniture etc in the first year.

lynzpower

Are you getting any maintainence from your Ex hubby?

It does sound quite frankly your income is too low. There isnt a HUGE amount to cut back on.

RAS

Hi again

What sort of fire do you have?

RAS

ACEY wrote: »

He's at his mother's !!!!

In the world's longest divorce, he gave up his share of the house on condition that I took on all the debts......

Now I will dispute that. It took my parents ten long year's of intercine warfare to get divorced.

RAS

Soory ACEY but I do not think I understand how much this loan is for/value?

RAS

ACEY wrote: »

P.S Since my ex left (Jan 2005) I have paid off:

council tax - 750 debt
mortgage - 2 were owing
house insurance - 2 owing
car insurance - 2 owing
electricity - nearly 1000, managed to get them to take prepayment meter out too
Bank of Scotland loan - 1,600
overdraft - 2,200


and me and sons lived on £20 per week for nearly 2 years.

Well done. I can see how you are feeling a bit fed up however.

Maybe the plan should be to see one of the debt agencies, do an SOA with them and get small payments set up to MCs short term. Longer term (if you can get any work when both the kids are at school) save up and aim for a full and final settlement for a figure below the full value of the loan.

Frith

The fire?? Downstairs we have a Morso wood burning stove. (Could do with a bigger one, its the one thing Freecycle hasn't been able to provide!)

Upstairs, its another cast iron stove in the bigger bedroom but its so thin it only burns the tiniest logs and is such a fiddle that I don't light it very often.

So I burn 2-3 tonnes of logs per winter as its really our only source of heat, at £40 per tonne.

I don't think I can offer you any more information about the loan. It was a bank loan of about £4,000 that escalated and was taken into debt collection when it was c £8,000. They added thousands and thousands of charges on until the debt was £16,000.

Until the ex left, I had been paying MCS 100-150 pounds per month. Over 6 years I had cleared £8,000 (so MCS haven't done too badly out of me!)


So there is £9,900 left which I don't really have any way of paying (not to make a significant difference).


And yes, I am fed up with the whole thing! I had 18 months of REALLY struggling financially then 6 months of clearing up loose end. But this year I've really lost enthusiasm for being frugal but know I need to start again.....

Liz