Help.....Dont know what to do!

Madrocks

Hi, this is my first post so forgive me if i waffle a little. Basically my dh and i have got ourselves into debt and im looking for advice, im not sleeping at night and dh and i are arguing and im scared the bad atmosphere is obvious to our 2 year old dd and with Xmas coming, mot due and no money...argh Help!! Im trying to decide whether or not to get a secured loan its the only option as far as i can see in order to reduce our monthly outgoings. Over the last 6 months we have recognised we have a problem and cut our spending by nearly 3/4, cheaper house insurance etc but its not enough. Its not got to the stage yet were i have missed any payments on anything but im having to use the credit card to buy food etc its like im robbing Peter to Paul By the all the outgoings are paid there is only £20.00 a week to live off and thats if it is a 4 week mth, has anyone gone down the secured loan route and found it worked for them? Any advise would be appreciated!

Incoming

child benefit 65

dh wage 1229

my wage 1081

total 2375

outgoing

dd child trust 10.00

home ins 26.74

mortgage 781.11

dentist 28.93

childcare 155.00

elec 19.00

gas 35.00

tv rental 23.15

northen rock load 124.93

tesco loan 171.63

car ins 40.73

pet insurance 12.00

mortgage life ins 12.30

joint life ins 6.97

income protection 11.60

Sky(9mths left) 55.00

Petrol 140.00

pension 33.47

tv license 11.37

Asda shopping 200.00

water rates 30.31

internet/mobile 53.00

council tax 99.00

Credit Card 190.00

savings 20.00

Overdraft £4000.00

Loans

Capital One 3125.00 95.00 p/m 15.9%

Egg Card 3000.00 95 p/m 16.9%

Northern Rock 10888 124.93 p/m 6.90% 9yrs

Tesco 15000 171.63 p/m 6.6% 10Yrs

immoral_angeluk

DO you get any tax credits?

blackangeluk

Just a quickie - do you get your childcare through registered childcare providers? If so have you got the busybee childcare vouchers, you pay them direct from your salary and so you save paying tax.... website is here http://www.busybeesvouchers.com/

mookybargirl

Welcome, and you're in the right place for help. Facing up the problem is the first step and you're not on your own now. The guys here are wonderful at giving help and advice. I might have added up incorrectly but I make your outgoings £2291.24 which is below your income - are there things missing here if you're not seeing >£75 left at the end of every month?

Madrocks wrote: »

child benefit 65

dh wage 1229

my wage 1081

total 2375

outgoing

dd child trust 10.00

home ins 26.74

mortgage 781.11

dentist 28.93 - is this a monthly bill? Can you cancel the payment it's a for a plan or is it paying off for treatment already received

childcare 155.00

elec 19.00

gas 35.00

tv rental 23.15 - you could try Freecycle for a TV so you hand this one back to the rental company

northen rock load 124.93

tesco loan 171.63

car ins 40.73

pet insurance 12.00 - I don't have pets so not sure if this is a necessity - could you shop around for a better deal if needs to stay

mortgage life ins 12.30

joint life ins 6.97

income protection 11.60

Sky(9mths left) 55.00 - Could you reduce the package if you can't cancel? Is Broadband in this - can you move to Sky's free broadband?

Petrol 140.00 - Can this be reduced in any way?

pension 33.47

tv license 11.37

Asda shopping 200.00 - The Old Syle Board would help get this down if there's only the 2 of you and the little one

water rates 30.31 - Seems high for water. My bill is only £20 and I'm always running the taps at the sink

internet/mobile 53.00 - ah - as above, could you move to Sky's free broadband and/or cancel reduce the mobile package

council tax 99.00

Credit Card 190.00

savings 20.00 - if you're finding yourself with not enough money - it would be wise not saving what you don't have to save

Overdraft £4000.00

Loans

Capital One 3125.00 95.00 p/m 15.9%

Egg Card 3000.00 95 p/m 16.9%

Northern Rock 10888 124.93 p/m 6.90% 9yrs

Tesco 15000 171.63 p/m 6.6% 10Yrs

supersavershal

Id cut out the savings too and it seems harsh but Id also stop the £10 to dd trust fund.Once your debts are paid you can always start again with a higher amount to catch up.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I would cut down Sky and cancel as soon as they let you. Also your petrol is high, can this be reduced at all?

How people are you feeding on £200 a month? If it is 3 people then this could be cut down.

Are there any options to increase your income? Part time job, evening work, sell stuff on ebay?

We don't normally recommend a secured loan as it can endanger your home if you can't afford the repayments, and it will probably take longer to pay it off, which will cost you more overall.

nicola1982_2

Madrocks wrote: »

Incoming

child benefit 65

dh wage 1229

my wage 1081

total 2375

outgoing

dd child trust 10.00 - why not ask family and friends to put into the CTF for Xmas and Birthdays and then just buy a couple of small toys? DD is only 2 and therefore it won't matter how much she gets and whether the stuff is branded etc.

home ins 26.74 - Shop around for better deals frequently

mortgage 781.11 - Again shop around for better deals if possible

dentist 28.93 - I'm assuming dental insurance? Can you not find an NHS dentist and cancel this?

childcare 155.00 - Weekly? or monthly? If it's monthly why is it so cheap??

elec 19.00 - Keep shopping around for the best deals

gas 35.00 - As above

tv rental 23.15 - knock this one head and get one from freecycle or someone you know who's getting rid. You can always save up a few months for a better one.

northen rock load 124.93

tesco loan 171.63

car ins 40.73 - Shop around for better deals

pet insurance 12.00 - I'm not the best person to comment as I cannot understand keeping pets unless you have tons of spare cash, but I'm not an animal person so I won't advise!

mortgage life ins 12.30 - look for better deals

joint life ins 6.97 - do you need this if you have the mortgage life ins?

income protection 11.60 - GET RID - income protection is 9 times out of 10 a complete waste of money.

Sky(9mths left) 55.00 - You must have every channel to be spending this much - at least get rid of sports and movies

Petrol 140.00 - are you checking petrolprices.com for the cheapest suppliers

pension 33.47 - is this coming out before/after tax? Check - you should be getting it taken out before tax if it is employer provided

tv license 11.37

Asda shopping 200.00 - for 2 adults and one toddler this is alot. Check out OS boards for meal planning tips and cutting down bills

water rates 30.31

internet/mobile 53.00 - shop around for better deals here

council tax 99.00

Credit Card 190.00

savings 20.00 - pay of CCs with this money

Overdraft £4000.00

Loans

Capital One 3125.00 95.00 p/m 15.9%

Egg Card 3000.00 95 p/m 16.9%

Northern Rock 10888 124.93 p/m 6.90% 9yrs

Tesco 15000 171.63 p/m 6.6% 10Yrs

OK see my comments above - you've plenty of room to cut down and don't worry too much about Xmas - your DD is only 2, she will have no idea of the cost so don't feel you need to spend loads on her presents.

immoral_angeluk

completely agree with the 'income' protection. Same deal as payment protection insurance. Waste of money so get rid!

rayday2

Before you think about secured loans I would take advice from one of the debt charities I wish I had.

Our secured loan started at 8% interest and in two years has gone up to 10.5% I am sure you can work out that Bank Of England rates have not done this! I have never met anyone who a secured loan had worked out for and things it was a great idea so please think seriously about contacting CCCS, Payplan, National Debt Helpline or your local CAB.

Madrocks

Hi all thx for the advise, i really dont want to go down the secured loan path so im going to try and hold on for a little while. Im going to cancel the income protection & savings. Ive managed to cut the monthly shop down from £360 to £200 but theres still a way to go. We run two cars, i spend £15 p/w and dh spends £20 p/w. We dicussed getting rid of one car but its not feesbile with the location and times we work. Im in the process of selling anything thats not tied down on ebay, hoping to make £100 for xmas. Im going to contact cccs now and see what they say, its such a relief to be able to talk to someone and knowing there are others out there. As ive not missed nay payments yet do you think it would be worth contacting the loan/credit cards to discuss my situation or do you think it would be of no use?

duchy

I think it costs nothing to ask so I'd call the card companies. Or have you considered tranfering balances onto a low/zero card to try and prune the accruing interest ?
Understand how two cars may be needed-when do the insurances run out ? Can you find a better deal or same deal with a cashback from someone like Quidco ? House insurance too. Whilst on Quidco-pop into the utilities section and see if you can bring your gas and electric costs down too.
You may not be able to get out of Sky but you might be able to talk them into putting you onto a lower priced package-also tell them you've had a better offer from Virgin and you're considering it.