New to this...

EvilMoney

Hi, I'm new to this forum and not quite sure what to do.

I am 22 year old mother of 2. I own my own home with my partner and I am in serious debt.

I can't tell him because I am so ashamed and really want to clear it as soon as I can.

I have just taken 6mths unpaid leave from my job aswell. However, I do work every now and then doing AS Parties and I am a qualified Beauty Technician.

Has anyone got any advice or tips as to how I can make myself debt free??

My debts are:

Overdraft - 1200 - limit of 900 but keep getting charged - in process of reclaiming charges of over 700.

Barclaycard Credit Card - 250.00 - 15.9% - 300 limit

Halifax Credit Card - 947.00 - 15.9% - 900 limit (went over on my shopping bill)

Abbey MBNA Credit Card - 500 - unsure of % - 500 limit

no loans, store cards or mail order accounts.

INCOME - Was 700 a month - now 0!
Benefits - 200.00 - CTC & CHB

Parties - anywhere from 40+ - prob do a party once a week.

I have only just qualified as a beauty technician so just getting started.

I pay my partner 550 towards the mortgage and bills - which I still have to find PLUS

50.00 Car Insurance
7.95 Life Insurance

AND PUT MONEY ASIDE FOR TAX & MOT.

Please please help me!! I am worrying myself sick because of it all.

climbgirl

Well, without any income coming in it's going to be pretty hard to cover things like the mortgage and food before you start to pay these debts...

why did you take 6 months unpaid leave from your job? I don't mean to pry, but there's no way you can continue to service your debts if you don't have income to fund them or your daily living expenses.

I think you need to think about telling your partner as well, perhaps he can help you sort this and support you.

You can try calling CCCS and Payplan for some help but again, with no income they won't be able to set you up with a debt management plan or anything like that. You need money coming in if you want to tackle these debts.

Is there any chance you can go back to work?

rayday2

Obviously your partner is aware of your 6 months unpaid leave so why do you still have to contribute? I would say your contribution is raising the children.

First thing you need to do is get the over the limits back under the limit! Second thing is stop using them, after that you can start hammering them down, check out ebay etc

I am pretty sure others will come along with more money making tips.

Storm

OK, the first obvious question - why are you still having to pay £550 a month towards the mortgage & bills when you're not earning - I'm presuming that this was an agreed career break between the two of you?

As you've had 6 months out of work I *think* you might now be eligible for job seekers allowance - so it might be worth checking that out with the Job Centre

EvilMoney

We decided I would take the 6months off because of childcare issues.
It would cost me more in childcare than what I earned.

I still have to contribute because he can't afford the bills on his own - so i have to still find the money I was affectively earning from somewhere! God knows where!

Starting to think it was a big mistake buying our house as the mortgage is just crippling!

climbgirl

rayday2 wrote: »

First thing you need to do is get the over the limits back under the limit! Second thing is stop using them, after that you can start hammering them down, check out ebay etc

To do that, you need income. You either need to consider going back to work or start getting money coming in somehow - use the skills as a beauty practitioner (although setting up on your own is going to take time and involve start-up costs), sell on ebay (although it's going to take more than a few dvds here and there to generate enough to service these debts).

You need some money coming in from somewhere and you need it soon.

I don't mean to be blunt but you cannot service these debts or the mortgage you're still paying without money coming in from somewhere.

poppy10_2

I agree with the other posters - giving up your job to look after the kids full-time is your contribution to the household, you shouldn't still have to pay the mortgage and bills.

climbgirl

EvilMoney wrote: »

I still have to contribute because he can't afford the bills on his own - so i have to still find the money I was affectively earning from somewhere! God knows where!

Did the pair of you sit down and crunch the numbers when you decided to take a career break? I'm sorry, but how are you expected to pay towards the mortgage when you don't have a job?! That's just the stuff of fantasy! You can't pay bills if you have no income - it's that simple.

EvilMoney wrote: »

Starting to think it was a big mistake buying our house as the mortgage is just crippling!

What is the situation with the mortgage, is there any equity in the house? I ask this because I can see the situation getting a whole lot worse very quickly. Right now, you personally only have a relatively small debt. But if you only one income as a family and you have a mortgage that can't be paid from that one income....well, the numbers just don't add up.

Have you missed any payments on the mortgage, will you be able to meet next month's payment?

poppy10_2

How much is the mortgage? And how much is your house worth?

climbgirl

poppy10 wrote: »

How much is the mortgage? And how much is your house worth?

Yes, is there any equity in the house? If you can't afford to pay the mortgage on just his income and you going back to work isn't financially viable because of childcare costs, there are bigger problems here than your credit card bills.