Feeling slightly better

System

January2015 wrote: »

I totally agree. I think the OP needs to look at calculating a realistic budget. I do think that once they have a realistic budget there is a possibility they could consider a DRO.

Although they thought they had a couple of hundred a month for debt payments, once they sort out a true budget that is soon going to eat up that money and I suspect they will struggle to have £50 a month left for debts.

Of course, it does depend on what assets they own though.

My husband pays for the up keep of his car and I didn’t include birthdays ect as I didn’t want to put this to my creditors incase they say it’s not necessary. Some months I might earn £1-200 more so I usually use these months to pay for stuff we need or save for birthdays. Same for my husband if he can get some shifts he usually uses the money to buy clothes the girls need or a day out ect. So we do have some leeway and haven’t put anything on credit for over 6 months now so feel we are moving in the right direction, I just need a bit of breathing space. Thanks for your ideas though

fatbelly

January2015 wrote: »

I totally agree. I think the OP needs to look at calculating a realistic budget. I do think that once they have a realistic budget there is a possibility they could consider a DRO.

I agree. The possible problem is that there is likely to be an increase in income within 12 months. If the surplus goes over £50 there's a danger of losing the DRO and back to square one.

Karonher

When you say your husband pays half of the groceries does that mean £400 altogether?

National_Debtline

Hello again,


I think that there is room to increase some of the figures on your budget, as it does look quite restrictive, however, I also worry it is not entirely accurate. You mentioned that your partner has his own debts - what are these? I think you would benefit from doing a joint budget plan, you may not necessarily send this to your debts, but it is important to make sure that you have enough money for the essentials (and that does include clothes, gifts, emergencies etc). At the moment I worry that your budget is not divided fairly between you and your husband and this is giving you a false economy on what you can afford.


If he is a student and gets any kind of loan, maintenance, grant (that does not go directly to the course) then that is an income. I appreciate this income is unlikely to be paid every month (normally it is every 3 months), so divide what he gets by 3 and make sure you allocate it accordingly. Then list all of the expenses. The money remaining is the money available for all of the debts. If he also has credit debts then there is no reason why you can't tackle them all together, there is no reason why his credit debts should take priority over yours.


By doing this, you be able to see your options more clearly. I believe you will have two clear options available. One is to do token payments for now and increase the payments in around 12-18 months (as you have said). Or, I suspect, you may actually be eligible for a DRO, especially if things are not due to improve for 12 - 15months. This is something to consider but you may need to act quickly if you want to go down this path as DRO's take time to set up. I would suggest ringing one of the free debt charities and let them go through the budget with you in more detail. Best of luck,


Laura
@natdebtline