stuck in a rut

magicalbeef

hello people, ive been reading here for a few weeks and finally plucked up the courage to post. although i have no major debts, i have a few concerns. i currently owe rbs £1200 from a student account that i forgot about when i went travelling. i also owe around £1000 council tax. ive had my final reminder for the council tax, and the rbs has been passed to wescott debt recovery centre. i earn around 800 per month, but have around 500 worth of outgoings. i have applied for a loan and was turned down. i stupidly signed for a yes loan, and sent 50 to them, and now although they offer me loans, they are not what i need as i only want to borrow a small amount over a short period. my credit rating is pants, i dont have ccjs but have had many bills go to dca's before ive paid them off. any advice would be helpful. i know it is my own fault for being terrible with money, but once i have these cleared i will be out of the rut and will have a clean slate so to speak. i am not going to need any sort of credit or morgage in the next 5 years i just ned to clear this. so..any ideas? thanks in advance

lynzpower

Hi mate,

the first thing Id sayt is that with 800oincome you should be getting some contributions maybe from working tax credits if you are old enough. My OH makes about this ( 13k) and was told he would get about 28 pw from tax credits. additioally, entitled to housing benefit & CTB top ups.

Why not post up ytour SOA *read southern scousers sticky) and lets see if we can help you slice back.

If you have 800 income but only 500 outgoings, where does the other 300 go?

magicalbeef

the 500 is split between 20 elec and 20 gas, 30 for tv phone and internet, 30 food, and 400 rent. the rest is spent on fuel, and mainly rubbish that i can live without really, ights out, soacilising, and going out with the missus. im 22 so could i qualify for tax credits? i dont have any dependants and live alone.

lynzpower

you wont qualify for tax credits, as you are too young Im afraid although do check with th einland revenue but I fear its 25 when you get them ( terrible system that is!)

The other rubbish you can live witohut, I suggest you do, for now at least.

I dont want to alarm you but council tax debt is the only debt you can still be imprisoned for, it IS a priority. BIG TIME.

I suggest you do a proper budget, and stick to it. even if you gave yourself 100 quid for the rubbish you dont need per month ( 25 a week, not bad going at all, I certainly have less than that) then that frees up 200 per month to pay to the council.

What do you have to sell.? the quicker you make this money either from earning more, or spending less, the sooner you are out of the woods.

lynzpower

do you really only spend 30 a month on food?

magicalbeef

yeh i basically eat at my sisters 5 nights a week :)i can manage the council tax but i return to uni in spetember to do my masters, should i make this and the next payment, rthen would i be able to show a certificate to make me inelligible for council tax and just pay the arrears at a lesser rate?

hypno06

It would also be worth keeping some sort of a spending diary, whether the old fashioned pen and paper sort or a spreadsheet based one, so you log every penny that comes in and goes out. Might seem a bit tedious but it will show you exactly what you spend your money on and what can be cut back without too much heartbreak.

RAS

magicalbeef wrote: »

:)i can manage the council tax but i return to uni in spetember to do my masters, should i make this and the next payment, rthen would i be able to show a certificate to make me inelligible for council tax and just pay the arrears at a lesser rate?

Once you get back to Uni you can get your exemption cert for the last 6 months of the year. You will have to pay off the other 6 months.

Doubt if they will reduce the payment until uyou get the cery however. But make sure you explain when you contact them.