I want to stop drowning

debtaghh

I can't do a dmp as will affect our credit and there is a major shortage of houses. We are hoping to be able to reduce our minimums by being extra frugal from now until we have to move so if we do end up paying more rent we won't feel it.

enthusiasticsaver

I don't think a DMP will help anyway as a major part of the debt is family debt which will not be accounted for. That will mean that savings will have to be made elsewhere in the budget to rake up the family payments if your parents wont wait. Sorry they cant delay it ?

Good luck with the continuing to be frugal. Glad you had a nice break anyway for your sanity. Look forward to seeing that NUBA gone in June hopefully and good luck with the house search. At least you have until June or July to sort it. My advice - declutter and ebay as much as possible. Will raise money and less stuff to move.

debtaghh

My parents aren't very helpful when it's comes to things like waiting.

The day we were given our notice I started decluttering and listed five items and have sold two already. Once the kids are back to school , I will be listing more as will need to raise the funds.

enthusiasticsaver

Good start. Have you got any baby stuff - that always sells well? Unless you planning on more kids

I had a discussion with TOPM the other day on parental loans. We have gifted a lot to our DDs as we can afford it and I know it is a struggle when you are young and have kids. I would not want them to have the stress of paying it back. My mum did this too with us. To be fair though the gifts were always used with us either to do home improvements, holidays and overpaying the mortgage. The nice to do things but we could have done without them. Now I understand not all parents can afford to gift and your amount outstanding is huge so I guess that is accrued over many years. It seems to me though that the pressure of parental debt is as bad as commercial borrowing although granted it is usually at 0%. It must weigh heavy on your relationships with them too though. How would they react if you told them you literally cannot afford to pay them if the rent is much higher than your existing rent and you have no choice but to go on to a DMP. Do they rely on your repayments? I know it is not nice to think about defaulting on a family debt but at some point it may have to be considered.

debtaghh

To be honest we have sold what we don't use already but think
the high chair can go.

My parents are very stressful and would make my life s living hell if I didn't pay them had they not agreed it. They are not loaded but have no debt and lots of savings but they worry about when they get older.

enthusiasticsaver

I am sorry that they are not more understanding but I guess if the arrangement was for you to repay them you can't blame them too much. Hopefully by July the minimums will have gone down sufficiently for you to pay the extra rent. Or you may be working by then.

debtaghh

Morning,

I've made most my minimum payments and have got the Nuba just under £1k. I have £2500 in savings so am wondering if I should just clear the Nuba and then focus on saving for the move rather than trying to do both. Plus if we get credit searched in a month or so we would have less credit available as we can close the Nuba down?

enthusiasticsaver

That is a difficult one to answer. My guess is that you may need a substantial deposit for your next property and as rents are high in your area that is more likely to be thousands rather than hundreds. For that reason I would continue bringing the cards down as much as possible focusing on one at a time but I don't think I would make a large dent in your savings to do it. With the amount of debt you have getting rid of one card will have little impact on any credit search. I don't think letting agents see full credit reports though. Someone told me they don't even see DMPs but asking on the house renting forum may be wise.

This is quite naturally stressing you out and for your mental health I think I would focus on keeping your payments up to date and saving for the move. Once the move is over focus on the debt.

debtaghh

Thanks. The problem is the Nuba has to go by June anyway. It has a 6k credit limit so I thought it would be good to get rid of that.

enthusiasticsaver

debtaghh wrote: »

Thanks. The problem is the Nuba has to go by June anyway. It has a 6k credit limit so I thought it would be good to get rid of that.

The deal expires by then does it?

You will be left with £1500 then in your savings account. How much are you saving each month and can you save enough by June for the move without incurring more debt?

I think the critical thing is not to increase the debt due to the move. Letting agents don't look at available credit in the way that lenders do. I think you have to focus on what is most important which is keeping a roof over your head and not incurring CCJs or defaults which letting agents do see. Some also do affordability checks in much the same way that mortgage lenders do so this is where you may become unstuck due to the debt but clearing one card at £1000 may not help with that. Have you spoken to any letting agents about what they need? Bank statements, payslips etc?