Debt is making me ill...........

Beautiful-Moose

I can't tell my friend about my money situation. They are very judgmental about money and wouldn't understand so I think it is just best to not tell them or get them involved.
Originally posted by Beautiful-Moose
”If true, then these people are not "friends" in the commonly understood definition. Why would you want such shallow people in your life?

My friends could never begin to understand my money problems as they are all well off, don't have debts, live at home so don't have rent and bills to pay for or they are in very well paid jobs so don't have money struggles. It is not their fault or their problem that I am in debt so what is the point in even telling them? Them knowing or not knowing about my money problems will not make any difference to their life or mine so I don't feel the need to tell them.

Entertainment shouldn't be as high as £125. Entertainment is a luxury item. You've got each other for company and conversation.

Your food looks suspiciously low too. £50/month? I can believe that for one person living on beans on toast, but two?

The SOA is based just on my outgoings so as a house we spend between £80-£100 a month so I just used the highest amount that we would ever pay and halved it for this form. Also I don't think I spend £125 each month but just put the highest total that I have spent in a month. I know I will have a night out once a month, I need to for my sanity. I can't just be with my boyfriend 24/7 in the flat. We both need to have time apart. When I do go out I don't spend much may I add. I always try to go to a restaurant where I can use a voucher or it is cheap to eat out. I always take cash so I know my limit for the night.

My question is - what is my best way forward? Can I file for Bankruptcy? Do I do a DMP? Do I keep going as I am now?

Jon_B_2

sourcrates wrote: »

Nothing to stop you going bankrupt, as you rent, so are not a homeowner, as long as it wouldn't effect your job, it's a sencible option for a fresh start.

Go to the stepchange website, they have a debt remedy tool which if you input your details, will spit out a debt solution for you.

Give that a go first, see what it recommends.

Basically every thread on here now you recommended bankruptcy - like it is some inconsequential fact of life. If everyone treated their debt with such little disregard - what would be the point of banks lending money???

This isn't a debt situation that is out of control - there look to be other solutions.

tallyhoh

Why the car? costs an awful amount & you only use £40 in petrol. You'll lose it if you go bankrupt.

comeandgo

I can't understand why it seems you wouldn't mind your friends knowing you were bankrupt but not telling them you could not afford to join them on a night out?

QueenBeruthiel

I don't understand the car situation.

You can't use it much if you only spend £40 pm on petrol. Can you get rid of it (not sure what the legal position is) and revert to public transport, cycling, etc?

You admit to costs of £700 pa on insurance alone (outrageous!), and shrug off questions about car tax and MOT costs, although these must cost at least another couple of hundred.

It costs a lot to run, without even mentioning the debt you took on to buy it (why on earth???).

As others have stated, if you go bankrupt you will lose it anyway.

Beautiful-Moose

I have a car as I need to get around on the weekends/week nights. I live in an area where public transport isn't great so I do need a car. Plus my parents and my partners parents are both quite old and not in the best health so we do a lot of little tasks for them like food shopping etc and they live the other side of London to us so I need the car in order to travel to them. My previous car was 15 years old and on its last legs. I got a promotion at work so the loan payments cover the extra salary I am getting in my new role. I think maybe this has made me realise that I do need to ask my partner for more in terms of contributions towards the car. Although he doesn't drive it he is a full time passenger in it and so the car should be his joint responsibility too. Also our insurance costs should be going down as we have managed to secure an underground parking space in a secure car park on our complex so that should help in a small way.

I can't understand why it seems you wouldn't mind your friends knowing you were bankrupt but not telling them you could not afford to join them on a night out?

My friends wouldn't know. Whatever I do with my finances is none of their business. It's is only for me and my partner to know about and deal with.

Willowpop

Beautiful-Moose wrote: »

Also our insurance costs should be going down as we have managed to secure an underground parking space in a secure car park on our complex so that should help in a small way.

.

Give your insurance a call and check this before you budget it in, my car went from being parked on the street to a gated, secure carpark (not underground though) and it made no difference at all.:o

enthusiasticsaver

I do not recommend bankruptcy. This has a massive impact and takes years to be wiped off your record so if you are ever going to want a mortgage this is not a good way to go. A DMP is for if you cannot make minimum payments and on your SOA you are covering payments so this is probably not the way to go either. Unfortunately there is no quick fix to getting out of debt. You took a long time accumulating the debt and it will take years to repay it.


Firstly as others have said it makes no sense to have £2.5k in savings when you have this much debt. Take the highest charging debt and pay at least £1k-£1.5k off that. Get the Barclaycard on to the lowest interest you can by doing a balance transfer to a cheaper card (preferably 0%). Focus on paying the Barclaycard and Nat West Loan off and let your boyfriend deal with his own debt in the future. Surely the FD loan is not 0%?


Is your rent really £900 per month for a one bed flat? (£450 each?) Where do you live - London?

QueenBeruthiel

Obviously you need/want to help your parents and in laws, however you might want to rethink how you go about this, e.g. by utilising online shopping delivered to their doors, pharmacies which deliver their medication, etc.

Look for a better deal on car insurance.

Renegotiate your mobile contract. Go down to a Sim only deal asap (mine is £7.50 pm).

Use your savings to pay off the £2k debt: that will be one down.

sourcrates

Jon_B wrote: »

Basically every thread on here now you recommended bankruptcy - like it is some inconsequential fact of life. If everyone treated their debt with such little disregard - what would be the point of banks lending money???

This isn't a debt situation that is out of control - there look to be other solutions.

Not at all.

Read again the title of the thread "Debt is making me ill".

This suggests to me the OP is really struggling to find the right option to deal with her problem, as her health is at stake, then perhaps a quick solution would be more preferable than years spent paying off debt, just my opinion.

If you had read her initial post correctly, she asked :

"I have seen on these forums people talk about declaring themselves Bankrupt and starting again, or going on a DMP. I need some advice as to what the hell I do next! I need to sort myself out."

My response was to the OP`s initial question, it was not a recommendation, but it would be a sensible option for her given her circumstances and the benefit to her health, not worrying about her debt would bring.

My recommendation was to go to the stepchange debt remedy tool, and see what that advised.
Please read posts more carefully in future before posting unnecessary comments that detract from the thread.