it doesn't make good reading

newlywed

If you are considering a DMP (Debt management plan) I would check out CCCS website www.cccs.co.uk. They are a debt charity that do not charge.

They will work with you to sort out your budget for things you need, eg food clothing, rent, dentist, haircuts etc and then any money LEFT from this will be distributed evenly among your creditors. It does mean you have change your thinking and budget for all future expenses as you can no longer use credit.

I could see no way out of my debts without their help. Now I have a 5 year plan and it will all be paid off.

The hardest part for me was admitting I needed someone else's help to sort out my debt - so well done for taking that first step

RAS

Smudge is right about the items above and you need to go to www.entitledto.com to check out your situation before and after the baby is born.

You need to input four different scenarios

Now, once OH is on mat leave, once the bay is born and she is still on mat leave and what happens when/if she returns to work before the baby is age 1.

Finally, is the mortgage interest only or interest and repayment?

Crown

Hi and welcome to the board!

Looking at your SOA it looks like you have missed quite a few things out like Car Maintence/MOt ect, Newspapers, Entertainment ect. It would be a good idea to start a spending diary of where the money actually goes.

This doesnt have to be anything fancy as I still just use a printed calander of my computer and fill it in each day. This way you can start to spot spending habits and can cut down on things that you dont use much like standing orders for websites, magazine subscriptions ect.

One of the big things that leapt out from your SOA is your Sky package. You cant afford this at the moment so depending on how drastically you want to sort this out I would either cut it down to the basic package or even pay the one of fee to move across to Skys FreeSat package kinda like Freeview but with much more channels. Does the Sky package also include your internet and phone fees?

I would suggest that you contact the CCCS who are debt advice charity come highly recommended on this site. They have managed to sort out a repayment plan on my debts what were close to £50k when I started out.

http://www.cccs.co.uk

In your post you said "But i have long passed the point of being able to sort my problems out"... This is completley wrong. you need to draw a line in the sand and face your debt head on. It isnt going away but its never to late to sort it out.

Also just a quetion regarding your mortgage. I assume that you are on a repayment mortgage at the moment looking at your monthly outgoings. Could you switch to interest only why you sort your debt out? This shouldnt be taking lightly asnd I am not suggesting consolidating but it could free up some much needed cashflow each month.

You need to stop using credit to live on as its just digging yourself in deeper. after speaking to the CCCS you could be a Debt Management Plan were you pay a set amount each month to your creditors with all interest frozen.

I am now on a DMP werre I pay around £70 a month of my debt and thats it. The letters have stopped and I now can sleep again at nights without worry. Dont let anyone tell you you cannot sort it out but you must take the first step. You are well one the way as you have already posted here.

Please let us know how you get on as we are in the same position and offer mutual support. I wish you the best of luck with it

bernie_inn

Thanks all for the advice and support. I am considering a DMP as i've already been on the CCCS website they advised either a DMP or bankruptcy. I would prefer to do a DMP i think, is there a chance i could lose the house on this? the mortgage payments are: a repayment mortgage Approx: £90000 and a first plus loan for £60000 which has ended up becoming the second main reason for the large debts trying to keep up with the interest rate hikes. the main reason being of course that i am an idiot whose total ah it doesn't matter attitude has finally come back to bite me on the !!!. I earn good money and have a good job I don't understand how i've been so stupid.

sarah0404

(Edited to add: sorry, took me so long to finish typing this that everyone else replied with the same advice!)
Hi! My baby is also due in October. Not long to go now! :eek: I have not bought a thing and am totally unprepared! Anyway... I'm sorry to hear about your debt problems. Like you I have also been making payments to all my debts, but I find I don't have enough money left over to buy food or pay for petrol. I've been borrowing from family, but there is no way I can ever afford to pay them back. I contacted CCCS last week. I would suggest that you try and contact them too. They are a charity that help people in debt. They said there was no way that I could afford to service all my debts and live, so they suggested I enter into a Trust Deed. (Its the Scottish form of an IVA - sort of like bankrupsy) They have given me a new budget to live on and the surplus is going to the Trust Deed to pay back the debts. They might suggest something similar for you, or they can negotiate with your creditors and help you set up a debt management plan, where you will only be paying what you can afford. They might even be able to freeze interest etc. Do look at their website. My debt plan was all done online - I didn't even have to talk to anyone one. www.cccs.co.uk

I don't think anything in your SOA looks that high - except maybe the Sky tv, but it looks like you might be missing some things. Do you have a mobile phone? Internet connection? Do you have home insurance? You need to also budget some money for clothes. I don't buy clothes very often at all, but it's not realistic to think that you will never need to buy new clothes. CCCS gave me an allowence of £60 a month for clothing for my family of 5. You also need to put money by for car tax, MOT and for car maintenence - in case you need to replace a tyre or whatever. You need to budget some money for emergencies, and things like haircuts, dental treatment, prescriptions, opticians costs etc. If you put all your outgoings on the CCCS website it will give you a new budget with these things added in.

Good luck!

bernie_inn

The sky package will be reduced i also have broadband through sky so i can knock some off that. If you take out DMP would this affect my mortgage? or is it just on the non secured debt?

bernie_inn

Crown wrote: »

Hi and welcome to the board!

Looking at your SOA it looks like you have missed quite a few things out like Car Maintence/MOt ect, Newspapers, Entertainment ect. It would be a good idea to start a spending diary of where the money actually goes.

This doesnt have to be anything fancy as I still just use a printed calander of my computer and fill it in each day. This way you can start to spot spending habits and can cut down on things that you dont use much like standing orders for websites, magazine subscriptions ect.

One of the big things that leapt out from your SOA is your Sky package. You cant afford this at the moment so depending on how drastically you want to sort this out I would either cut it down to the basic package or even pay the one of fee to move across to Skys FreeSat package kinda like Freeview but with much more channels. Does the Sky package also include your internet and phone fees?

I would suggest that you contact the CCCS who are debt advice charity come highly recommended on this site. They have managed to sort out a repayment plan on my debts what were close to £50k when I started out.

http://www.cccs.co.uk

In your post you said "But i have long passed the point of being able to sort my problems out"... This is completley wrong. you need to draw a line in the sand and face your debt head on. It isnt going away but its never to late to sort it out.

Also just a quetion regarding your mortgage. I assume that you are on a repayment mortgage at the moment looking at your monthly outgoings. Could you switch to interest only why you sort your debt out? This shouldnt be taking lightly asnd I am not suggesting consolidating but it could free up some much needed cashflow each month.

You need to stop using credit to live on as its just digging yourself in deeper. after speaking to the CCCS you could be a Debt Management Plan were you pay a set amount each month to your creditors with all interest frozen.

I am now on a DMP werre I pay around £70 a month of my debt and thats it. The letters have stopped and I now can sleep again at nights without worry. Dont let anyone tell you you cannot sort it out but you must take the first step. You are well one the way as you have already posted here.

Please let us know how you get on as we are in the same position and offer mutual support. I wish you the best of luck with it

Hi crown is that amount what you pay on the debts nearing £50,000 has it affected your home in any way? that is my main concern having a family home for me and my family

trying-very-trying

I have taken out a DMP through CCCS, and no it doesn't affect the mortgage. Your mortgage payment is considered a priority payment. The DMP only pays toward the unsecured debts.If you got to their website, you will find a budget sheet there with guidelines as to what they think is an acceptable budget for all your routine monthly bills.

Crown

The CCCS look at6 all outgoings. the priority debts you need to pay are

Mortage/Rent
Secured Loan/s
Council Tax
Gas/Electric
Water

If you do not pay these then you could find yourself in serious trouble as you could be made homeless or in the case of the tax face court proceedings.

By entering into a DMP you will damage your credit rating as you will have defaulted on the orignal terms of the contract. This will mean that you may find it difficult to obtain credit for up to 6 years until he default falls of your credit file. As long as you make your mortgae payments this shouldnt effect you as you probally will not want any further credit card or loans if you are serious about becoming debt free.

Have you obtained your credit files recently and checked what your credit is like? If you can It may a be a good time to try and get a better rate on your mortgage fixed for 2-3 years and then you will not have a the headache of trying to get it if/when you enter a DMP.

newlywed

On the DMP support thread - some have had a charge put on the house if the DMP hasn't been agreed by the creditor, so if they sell the house then they will have to pay back the debt. But I understand they can't MAKE you sell the house - they just make sure that the money you owe them is secured on your house.

Here is the DMP support thread -
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=454457&page=73
everyone on here is on some type of DMP whether with CCCS, Payplan or self administered DMP - some there have mortgages etc and can help