I want to stop drowning

debtaghh

Maybe one property a month.

That's interesting about the council tax bands , thanks.

Yes we are looking for a three bed.

Spendy_Spenderson

debtaghh wrote: »

Not including debt our basics would be like this:

Rent £1300
CT £250
G & e £115
Water £50
Fuel £200
Internet, phone £35
Mobiles £65
Food £350
Nursery £110
Car insurance (2 cars) £70
Gen spending £100 ( to include hair cuts amd any entertainment)

Total £2645

Dh basic £2500
My new salary approx £440
Child benefit £197

Total £3137

We also pay over £900 on minimums per month so if you include that our outgoings will be £3545. This doesn't include the £350 savings as mentioned above. Even without this we have a shortfall of £408. My dh does get some overtime and I do normally earn some money from my business but none of it is guaranteed.

Forgetting about any potential extra income (which is not guaranteed and cannot be relied on) you have a shortfall of £408 each and every month. Considering this is a shortfall in order to meet minimum commitments (rent, bills, debt) then this is significant. If you then include the amount you think you realistically need each month in order to save for an emergency fund, Christmas, annual car costs etc which is another £350 then that equals a shortfall of £758 each month.


I mentioned a few weeks back that I suspected there was a significant difference between your income and outgoings and well done on now doing a more realistic SOA, but it does demonstrate that this is a precarious situation and in my opinion it is not sustainable. I honestly think you need to strongly consider a DMP / IVA and talk to Stepchange or another debt charity asap. Once you are in a new house with a 2 year tenancy, this would be the time to consider it. I know you would be concerned about what happened when it came to rent again in the future but I think you need to be more concerned with the here and now. In the future you may be able to extend your tenancy (no checks needed) but right now you cannot afford your bare essentials each month and therefore need to take urgent action to rectify this.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, I really don't mean it to be but sometimes looking at the bare figures helps to illuminate the situation and spur action. Whether you choose to hold out for a slightly cheaper property for another couple of months will still not solve the fact you will be in a deficit each month of your essential outgoings, so either way I believe this needs to be considered as a course of action whichever property you end up in.


One question, the property that you were / are considering with the higher council tax - have they agreed to a 2 year tenancy??

Spendy_Spenderson

The reason I ask about whether they've agreed to a 2 year tenancy is because this is a great benefit and provides you security for the foreseeable future, enabling you to do a DMP without fearing any checks needing to be done in the near future. If you hold out for another property there is no guarantee that they will agree to a 2 year term so something to bear in mind.

debtaghh

It was a two year tenancy but it also wasn't because we could be served two months notice from 10 months.

We spoke to step change and the problem is we have debt under my parents name as well as we owe them money , that on its own comes to £300 per month.

enthusiasticsaver

debtaghh wrote: »

It was a two year tenancy but it also wasn't because we could be served two months notice from 10 months.

We spoke to step change and the problem is we have debt under my parents name as well as we owe them money , that on its own comes to £300 per month.

Is the debt actually owed to your parents or is it debt they have taken out for you and you are covering the repayments? How much of the credit card debt is in yours or your husbands name? This will make a difference because the only debt which can actually be included in a DMP is debt in yours or your husbands name. So the family debt can't be included and neither can debt in your parents name.

Is the £300 monthly repayment set by your parents or is that the amount of the card repayments?

You have quite a lot of interest free deals expiring in June and July don't you? Are you going to try and keep those on 0% deals?

debtaghh

7k is on their credit cards and the rest we owe them. They set the payments apart from the minimums of the 7k.

I sorted my credit cards so the next lots of 0% end in Jan

debtaghh

We have decided to turn down the house. I'm a bit gutted as it was a nice house in a nice area but I know financially it's the right thing to do. Hopefully another will come up soon if not we will stay with the family member until August.

enthusiasticsaver

I think that is sensible under the circumstances.

MrsSave

You are in such a difficult situation, but well done for being sensible on this one.

debtaghh

Hi,

I must be doing something seriously wrong as I've spent £553.76 on food!! I just don't know where I'm going wrong as we don't really eat meat and I try and cook from scratch. I just can't seem to reduce it. I seem to spend a lot on toilet paper ( we go through 18 rolls and I buy it from Aldi), nappies, sanitary towels etc. I buy toiletries from savers, home bargains but have spent this month on toiletries / cleaning products approx £100! ( I did stock up on my cleansing cream which is from boots). I have two in nappies but buy own brand. Please help!