Need help.

Mumv1206

Hi im not sure if this is the right place to come for this. I'm a mum of 6, Married and we have £7000 of debt. We have worked out if we carry on paying out what we are at the minute (£600 pm) we could be debt free in just over a year. The thing I need help with is, how do you all manage to live everyday whilst paying out so much? I'm currently out of work and due a baby soon so can't get back to work just yet. We only have my husbands wage coming in so things are very tight. We never buy anything we don't need like we used to. Me and hubby don't even have a bed as it broke and we are sleeping on a mattress on the floor. But with paying out all that money a month we are struggling to buy new clothes and shoes even though the kids are growing out of theirs, we also struggle with food shopping. I do spend about £70 a week on food shop since swapping to Aldi. We have got our bills down to the minimum we can with 8 of us. By the middle of the month we are left with nothing. Each payment we have come in goes straight out again. I just sometimes think would we be better off to pay less out and live better day to day and take a couple of years to pay it off or just keep going and by this time next year we will have an extra £600 freed up.
I have tried all the survey sites but don't seem to get anywhere with them. I don't shop online so cash back sites are no good. We have just had a clear out and are doing a carboot Sunday. Sold books and DVDs to make extra cash. I feel like I'm making the kids suffer because of our debt we got into so we could move house. We don't go out anywhere except for the park and walks. We don't drive so only have what's in our little town. We are Not going on a holiday this year so that we can get rid of all this debt hanging over us. I just don't know what else we can do to help us get through the next year. Plus the added extra expenses of birthdays, xmas and a new baby in this year too. Any ideas to what we can do would be great. TIA.

Karonher

Sorry that I dont have any experience of a DMP - are you on one or just paying back on your own - but I am sure that for things such as the bed you would get a payment break or if not a break it would be a reduction.

Have you missed any payments as if you have your credit record will not be good and it may be worth contacting the people you are paying and arranging lower payments at least for a while.
.
It may take a little longer to pay back but you would have a more comfortable time while you are doing it.

Mumv1206

Thanks. I don't know what dmp is. We just pay back each bill separately. We have set up monthly payments for each of them of what we could afford at the time. But we obviously didn't take into account me losing my job ��. We have 2 credit cards and 1store cards and 1 catalogue. I see them debts as important as paying the bills each month so we have never missed any payments. I just want to pay off as quick as possible so we can get back to a comfortable living. But after a few months of doing it the struggle is really showing. X

sourcrates

Hi,


Its not clear from your post if you are just repaying the minimum payments to your debts every month, or are in some kind of debt management plan, but either way, you should never prioritise unsecured credit repayments above your essential living expenses.


Mortgage/rent, council tax, food, utilities etc come first, everything else comes last.


Budget for your essentials a bit better, then whats left can go to your creditors.

dcouponzzzz

No wonder the bed broke after making so many children! Congrats on making the changes though, and my opinion is that the sooner you can pay it off the better. Try and pull a favor from a friend to put the bed back together if poss, and if you're able to survive the way you are now then 1 year is a small price to pay.

mumtoomany

Are you claiming tax credits? If so should they have gone up since you left/lost your job? Are you paying your council tax over ten months? If so you can change it to twelve, giving you a few more pounds a month. Mum2many.

Kitten868

There is no one size fits all with attacking debt. It's totally down to you.
I would look at snowballing. In your case attacking the smallest debt first so you have fewer creditors. But just as good or better to tackle highest interest charging debt. These things will help pay it quicker.
How much do you need to tweak things by? £100? £200? You need to work out what you need.
No holiday and living tight for a year isn't as bad as it sounds and I think is a realistic compromise for a new house xxx

enjoyyourshoes

Some basic ideas:-

Freeze sandwiches for the weeks lunches (no waste)
Cook from scratch & freeze for the week
Use Aldis selection cheap veg/fruit (make fruit crumble etc)
Make own biscuits/cakes

Have shopping list in kitchen and only buy off the list
Shop with a meal plan and a shopping list (don't be tempted to buy on spec)

Certain things may be cheaper at different store so compare prices

Use charity shops for kids clothes
Ask school if they do secondhand uniforms for sale

Bulk washing powder is often cheaper (we use farmers Co-op for stuff like that there may be one near you?)

Not sure of bed as we have same problem and I have the task to repair it !

Create a pictorial or metaphor on the wall to repent the debt and have some method to score out/measure how you are reducing it monthly.

Plan for when you have paid off the debt what you can usefully do with the £ you were using to be debt free (Regular savings etc)

Keep the dialogue between the two of you to maintain the focus and motivation.

Could you work nights as this often is good if you have childcare needs? (merely an option, may not be appropriate)?

MERFE

Could you do a statement of affairs? Maybe there are areas that can be cut back on.

Find out the minimums payments and how much you are paying each creditor every month.

Debt free in one year is an attractive goal but you need room in your budget for kids shoes, clothing, school trips etc otherwise it is going to be impossible. If it takes 18 months but you have breathing space you'll be more likely to stick with it.

ReadingTim

It's a pretty simple formula:

• Spend less
• Earn more
• Make sure what goes out is less than what comes in

Sounds like your spending is pretty low, so concentrate on increasing your household income - a better job, a 2nd part time job etc. Take on additional responsibilities at work, get qualifications (or additional qualifications), go back to school/college/evening classes etc.

But you also have to live within your means. You're not entitled to a holiday: if you can't afford it, you can't have it. The same goes for kids, the 6 of yours probably being the main reason things are as tight as they are. I would suggest that the one you're carrying at the moment should be the last one, unless your finances improve, and that you take proper steps to ensure this is the case.

Sorry if this is blunt, but simple mathematics doesn't have any room for sentimentalism.

andyfromotley

Hi,

Ok as sourcrates asked - Are you paying the minimum on your debts or are you overpaying?

If you are overpaying then it probably wouldnt harm to ease back a bit say £150 pm and just take 2-3 months extra to pay the debt off.

If you are paying the minimum amounts on your debt then you have two choices really. 1. Grin and bear it, it does sound as if you are keeping your head above water even if it is a pretty hard graft. 2. Seek some debt relief advice. Stepchange and National debtline are both great places to start, But this course will trash your credit history if that is important to you.

Finally the bed!!! put a post on FB explaining that you are skint, heavily pregnant and after a bed frame - i am almost certain that someone will have one in a loft/cellar that they would give or loan you.