Going under quickly! Where to start?

Muppet81

Well done for taking this step.
I also recommend a spending diary - keep one for a month and list ALL expediture ..... be really honest. It is a scary but enlightening thing to do.
You can no longer be in denial. It is probably the most useful thing I have done in a long time.
Good luck and welcome

duchy

I notice you have phone, Sky and internet all under different accounts.
Try calling both Sky and Virgin for quotes with and without the TV/Premier sports options so you can compare-bundling it all together may save you. Don't forget to tell both of them you are a dis-satisfied customer not a brand new one as often they will then give you a better rate to lure you away/keep you.

MrsTinks

Well you could certainly go the CCCS route - they're a nice bunch! But I think at the stage you're at righ tnow you might just be able to pull yourself out yourself Your income is more (even if only just) than your outgoings - and I think with some help and support you guys can do this.
OK so you spent too much money on a wedding as well as having debt before hand. But now you're dealing with it! Well done you!
Tonight you need to sit down, get the %aprs etc - if your credit rating is up to it then start applying for a couple of 0%apr credit cards or low life of balance apr cards. Only apply for a couple and if you get turned down then don't keep applying.
If you find it's all too much then you might want to look at entering into a DMP or IVA but right now I think you can get out of this as it stands
Definitely start a spending diary and write down everything you spend.
Or try setting a realistic budget and dividing this into weekly jars. So if your budget is £100 for the month get 5 jars and divide £20 into each jar. 1 jar per week and 1 jar marked "treats" - this is anything NOT vital or neccesary - like buscuits, hair spray, bottle of fizz and so on.

I find this very helpful when I am trying to stick to a budget.

MrsTinks

Selling the cars and buying cheaper ones... what kind of value are the cars you have at present? and the insurance... I never got asked for a deposit? Try a few other places - you can't loose by asking and then if you find something cheaper Horay!

weezypoos

Thank you so much for all the useful info. I'm trawling at the minute and finding so many helpful things.

I do feel much better now we've "owned up" to the debt. I'm trying to prioritise what needs sorting first.

Thanks for the info Duchy on the sky thing. I'll look into it this afternoon!

weezypoos

tine wrote: »

Selling the cars and buying cheaper ones... what kind of value are the cars you have at present? and the insurance... I never got asked for a deposit? Try a few other places - you can't loose by asking and then if you find something cheaper Horay!

Neither are fancy cars. I have a focus but its a 1.8 and not very economical and hubby's is a 1.8 escort. Most insurance companies ask for an initial payment by card up front and then the DD's start. It would mean making a final payment to my current insurer as well as the first one to the new guys.

Storm

To be honest, with car insurance the apr they charge you to split it into monthly payments is normally more than you'd pay on a credit card!

What are your credit ratings like? Would you be able to apply for 0% or low LOB cards to transfer some of the debt to (esp Next - this is something like 27% apr :eek:)

weezypoos

Credit rating is not great. No CCJ's but I do have a default which proves difficult for things like c/c's.

weezypoos

Forgot to add....

Our huge problem at the moment is HSBC. From my account the total bills going out are £832 which would leave me £400 from my wages. However, as I am overdrawn £2000, HSBC will not let me get any money out. (Fair enough). I have not touched my wages in June, July & August so in theory, I have paid off £1200 BUT I'm being charged £150 and £30 in interest so I've only paid half that off my overdraft. If they'd only stop the charges, I would be back within my overdraft by now.

lynzpower

welcome weezypoos :wave:

you mgiht be surprised you know about the state of your credit rating. My accounts were bouncing all over the shop whenI came here everything was always paid late if at all and i still managed to get cheaper cards.

Do look into it, get hold of you and your hubbys credit rating.

Do you have a set day of going food shopping? I tend to go on saturdays. In any case, instead of the usual routine of going in and picking up stuff, sit down, turn out your freezer, fridge, cupbarods and your dressing table etc and truly look in the cupbaords, and work out what you can make out of what youve got in and stretch it out and try not to spend any more than the absolute essentials.

its an interesting thing learning to STOP spernding, and this trick works really well whne you are starting out on moneysaving. If you have a random tin of something you dont know what to do with, dont bin it come ask us on old style