30k debt and stuck

Dreambig_2

Fantastic news on the new job! Amazing news hopefully will help you stress a little less.

katsu

Hello treadlightly. Thanks very much for coming back with an update - it really is nice for people who give you advice to know what helps, and for those who are coming along later in a situation like yours it can give great hope and inspiration so please keep updating as you go through - you'll have lots to share with those who come after you I have no doubt.

On practical advice:

HMRC do agree payment plans I belive so I suggest your husband talks to them. For the future I assume his payments on account should cover most of his tax liability? If he assumed 40% tax and put that aside from his business when the income comes in (after deducting expenses) then hopefully if you kept that in a separate account for HMRC you would have few difficulties? Maybve open a Marcus as they pay 1.5% interest and keep the HMRC money separate in that so it does not get mixed up into spending?

Look at snowballing your debts and you will find it quickly makes a difference.

katsu

treadlightly wrote: »

Household means like furnishings/DIY materials/fixing appliances see if you can get deals ordering online via TCB or quidco or go to stores like B&M Bargains
Medical -OH has a pre pay certificate, that has been high as there were some prescription glasses to buy this year In the future maybe start putting £5 a month aside in a savings account towards new glasses? £5 a month would give you around £140 in 2 years' time when it is probably next time for new glasses
income protection is mine and is veterinary specific, ive questioned continuing it for a long time but my FA always frowns when I suggested stopping it, i think it might be time now tho I would ask them why exactly they recommend it/what specific benefits you get from it and think about whether the £400 a year is worth it. Maybe call them this week and ask?
TV licence 6 month advance payment ends in June when it drops to £12.56
water isn't metered... Maybe look into what you use and whether a meter would be cheaper? Your water company website or water bill should have useful information on that

we have vowed not to eat out or do day trips at all except on Clubcard vouchers Look also at signing up for a cashback website like Top Cashback - do you use one already? If your husband's business uses things you can buy from a supplier listed there then it could really add up, but even general household spending works well with TCB.
There is a referral board on MSE if you have not used TCB before where you can get someone's code I think
ive just applied for the Santander 123Lite Think also about whether you have any spare accounts you can use for switching - eg if you switch to Nationwide (again you can find a referral code on the referral board if you do not have any friends who bank with Nationwide - so that you get the extra cashback deals which you can pay off a debt and you can get good interest on the money you are saving for things like Christmas and next year's bills. EG when your TV license drops down from the £25 to about £12. Nationwide pay 5% interest on up to £2.5K so it is worth doing

Well done on everything you are doing. I have recently found out (via MSE friends) about an app you can put on your phone called Shoppix - there's an MSE referrals thread for that too :rotfl: Basically you take a photo of receipts when you go shopping and earn paypal credit or amazon vouchers. Might help cover more of your (already modest) christmas spending or help with days out money and is honestly pretty painless. I reckon it will be easy to earn £50 a year from less than a minute at the end of a shop to photograph my receipts.

DCFC79

Have you considered doing surveys, its not something Ive looked into but others on here do it, you can earn money or I think some might offer an option to get an Amazon Voucher.

katsu

Lastly, when you are able to balance your budget, if you are no longer spending on your credit cards, you can set your minimum payments to be a fixed amount instead of them taking the monthly minimum. If you set the payment up to be say the current month's minimum plus £5 (or whatever) then you can get the debt to reduce by another £60 a year plus the extra few pounds top-up from where the "old" minimum payment would have been reducing.

Some people here seem to have found that helpful.

Lots of luck - you'll be surprised how quickly it all comes together and starts building momentum.