Absolutely terrified and in a jam

amorge

I have a box room spare which isn't ideal. Theoretically I have my daughters room in September for 11 months while she's abroad, I could have a look for a Monday-Friday female lodger. Thanks

rockm87

If you have a box room, you can rent it out as storage space.

amorge

rockm87 wrote: »

If you have a box room, you can rent it out as storage space.

Oh I had never thought of that, thank you!' I'll definitely look into it

chris1973

I think it's all the small things; phone/laptop chargers, music systems etc.

Those things won't produce a huge bill, unless you are running a branch of Argos. Either way, encourage your kids to top up their phones, and gadgets via a car cigar lighter charger, whenever they are in or using the car (you may as well get some return from that huge insurance premium). It won't make a massive difference to your bill, but every little helps etc.

Personally, i'd only insure the eldest of the two young drivers, but stipulate that this is only on the basis that the driver lucky enough to be insured also takes a turn at running the other around, if they won't agree to that, then act fairly....and take them both off. You can't afford those premiums - so you need to do what's best, not what sits well with your (now grown up) children..

Back to the energy bill, do you have any of those horrible little recessed halogen down lights, still with halogen bulbs?, these guzzle power especially when there are multiples of them in bedrooms, kitchens etc. Consider replacing these with LED types, which consume around a tenth of the power of their halogen counterparts, which may use as much as 35w or 50w each, and if you have 7 - 10 of them a room, that can add up to three to five times what an old fashioned 100w light bulb used to use.

Replace all light bulbs with low energy types, (if you haven't done so already), and if you do have the halogen down lighters in bedrooms or lounge, then seriously consider using table or desk lamps with low energy bulbs instead.

amorge

chris1973 wrote: »

Those things won't produce a huge bill, unless you are running a branch of Argos. Either way, encourage your kids to top up their phones, and gadgets via a car cigar lighter charger, whenever they are in or using the car (you may as well get some return from that huge insurance premium). It won't make a massive difference to your bill, but every little helps etc.

Personally, i'd only insure the eldest of the two young drivers, purely on the basis that the driver lucky enough to be insured also takes a turn at running the other around, if they won't agree to that, then act fairly....and take them both off. You can't afford those premiums - so you need to do what's best, not what sits well with your (now grown up) children..

Back to the energy bill, do you have any of those horrible little recessed halogen down lights, still with halogen bulbs?, these guzzle power especially when there are multiples of them in bedrooms, kitchens etc. Consider replacing these with LED types, which consume around a tenth of the power of their halogen counterparts, which may use as much as 35w or 50w each, and if you have 7 - 10 of them a room, that can add up to three to five times what an old fashioned 100w light bulb used to use.

Replace all light bulbs with low energy types, (if you haven't done so already), and if you do have the halogen down lighters in bedrooms or lounge, then seriously consider using table or desk lamps with low energy bulbs instead.

Thanks Chris, I'll check bulbs tomorrow, I know all my GU10? Bulbs were replaced with energy ones last year.

Re car insurance; eldest is going abroad at the end of the summer and I've been advised by admiral that the premium should go down by approx £15 per month. Doesn't sound much to me but I'm working on the basis it all adds up

jaylee3

Good luck Amorge. Can't add anything more, but renting out the box room for storage is a great idea. Maybe even your garage? This could fetch several hundred pounds a month.

Err on the side of caution though, as if your income increases by say 2.5 grand a year (through renting out rooms/garage) your tax credits would be reduced quite a bit (because you'd have to declare any additional income.)

I hope it all works out for you. Don't feel stupid or bad. Nobody sets out to get 20K in debt!!! Nobody sits there are says (or thinks) 'Hey, I know what I will do for sh-ts and giggles, I will spend the next few years racking up shed loads of debts and getting myself into a right pickle! THAT will be fun being in debt!' :rotfl:

It just seems to happen. It creeps up on people. It's often a mix of general living, house repairs and maintenance, car repairs and the like; and being frivolous and buying stuff they don't need really. Before you know it, you're in a 5 figure sum of debt which quickly doubles, as you rob Peter to pay Paul.

Then the opportunity to take out a big loan to pay off smaller ones comes along, then you have THAT one, and soon accrue others as you need a new car, the kids cost more, and X, Y, and Z happens, and then WHACK; multiple 10s of 1000s of debt.

Some people would say 20K isn't a lot compared to the debt some people have, but it is a lot when you're struggling from month to month.

That electric is a lot though!

I hope National Debtline can help you.

All the best. :j

redux

chris1973 wrote: »

Those things won't produce a huge bill, unless you are running a branch of Argos. Either way, encourage your kids to top up their phones, and gadgets via a car cigar lighter charger, whenever they are in or using the car (you may as well get some return from that huge insurance premium). It won't make a massive difference to your bill, but every little helps etc.

Charging a mobile phone costs under £1 a year.

A while ago I reckoned about 10 pence if the charger is only plugged in while the phone charges, 20 pence if it's left on charge overnight, and 30 pence if the charger is plugged in all the time even with no phone.

Double these numbers for smartphones. Maybe £1 a year for a tablet that's fully recharged every day.

In other words not worth worrying about.

And running electrical devices in the car isn't free. I don't know if anyone's ever worked it out, but I wouldn't be amazed if it came out slightly higher.

redux

amorge wrote: »

Thanks Chris, I'll check bulbs tomorrow, I know all my GU10? Bulbs were replaced with energy ones last year.

Are they small fluorescent tube ones, or just the 35W halogens?

It's still possible to save on the latter, with GU10 LEDs on eBay for about £2 each. They should pay for themselves in about 500 or 600 hours, which could be under a year in some rooms.

Pricivius

Apologies if it's been mentioned, but I can't see child maintenance on your SOA? Is there an ex-OH who should be contributing? Just a thought as every little helps...

katsu

So at the moment is your debt increasing every month? Your SOA shows that your outgoings and debt repayments exceed your income so what is happening in reality?

Just wondering how that will work out over the remaining trust years and also if your SOA is quite right.