Debt depression

karenandrei

EssexHebridean wrote: »

The surveys are something that your husband could do during the times he has less work via the agency though? You get quicker with them the more you do, too. Might be worth bearing in mid for those odd moments when you find yourself sitting down in front of the TV with time to kill - even an extra £5 Costa coffee voucher is a little luxury that the two of you can share that couldn't otherwise be afforded, no?

My husband’s a blind as a bat and can’t afford new glasses! I will give it another try however - as you say, anything’s better than nothing.

kazwookie

karenandrei wrote: »

My husband’s a blind as a bat and can’t afford new glasses! I will give it another try however - as you say, anything’s better than nothing.

If your husband cannot see with his current glasses how is he going to manage when he starts his new temp job?

Has your husband applied to local shops / supermarkets etc? if not I suggest you get his CV checked and get it handed around.

Can either of you claim any benefits? have you both checked?


Do you have anything you can sell. (FB / ebay etc)

Ben75

... managing the DMP yourself?

Only deal with them in writing, they can't reasonably refuse this. Set a budget and repayments you are comfortable with. Even though this might seem it will take you longer to repay your debts, research full and final settlements there is plenty of info and advice about them on this forum.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

Ben75

Oh yes, and look into getting YNAB (or something similar if anything better has come along recently) its been a game changer for me

karenandrei

sourcrates wrote: »

Hi,


How old are all these accounts you have, how much debt is yours, and how much is your husbands ?


Have you ever send CCA requests to see if the creditors all hold legal paperwork to enforce the debts ?


Any reason why insolvency or bankrupcy has not been mentioned ?


You sound very down in the dumps about all this, and seem to be accepting of your situation without question, well i dont subscribe to that train of thought, there are plenty of things you can do to improve your situation, even something small like an increase to your budget, stepchange can only recomend, they cannot make demands of you, if your budget does not stretch, then increase it, tell them your struggling on the budget you have, increase it to a level thats good for you, then tell them the new figure, no ifs, no buts, its your DMP not theirs.


You need to take back a bit of control here otherwise this is going to pray on your mind worse than the debt did.

Hi

I would say about 45% of the debts are my husbands. None of the debts are that old really, I think all accrued within the last six years. We got into one of those situations where we took out further credit to pay off other credit.

No, we’ve never sent any CCA requests - would it be too late now we’re signed up to a DMP?

There were other options put to us, but a DMP seemed the best option and StepChange agreed.

I agree that I have accepted our situation - I thought it would make me feel better getting into a DMP but I’m not sure it has. I will look at the budget again because I do think it was slightly unrealistic.

Thank you for your advice

karenandrei

kazwookie wrote: »

If your husband cannot see with his current glasses how is he going to manage when he starts his new temp job?

Has your husband applied to local shops / supermarkets etc? if not I suggest you get his CV checked and get it handed around.

Can either of you claim any benefits? have you both checked?


Do you have anything you can sell. (FB / ebay etc)

I think I may have been exaggerating slightly about my husband’s eyesight! It’s just that we don’t have a laptop anymore, only a tablet so he struggles to read on it. He has tried the local supermarkets etc but he cannot get anything. He is 63 and employers seem reluctant to take him on.

I did another benefits check yesterday but unfortunately we are not eligible for anything. We haven’t got anything of value.

karenandrei

Ben75 wrote: »

... managing the DMP yourself?

Only deal with them in writing, they can't reasonably refuse this. Set a budget and repayments you are comfortable with. Even though this might seem it will take you longer to repay your debts, research full and final settlements there is plenty of info and advice about them on this forum.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

Wouldn’t it be too late? We did think of pulling out but payments have been agreed with all our creditors and I’m not sure if our creditors would accept lower payments?

karenandrei

Ben75 wrote: »

Oh yes, and look into getting YNAB (or something similar if anything better has come along recently) its been a game changer for me

Excuse my ignorance but what is a YNAB?

MovingForwards

Please don't take this the wrong way but with your husband's age and him having about 45% of the debt why not look at a DRO, especially as he isn't in permanent work, it would then give you a breather to work out what is the best way forward with yours.

Specsavers do glasses for £25, they are also better than nothing.

Ben75

A DMP is an informal arrangement, so you are not locked into your current agreement. In my experience, creditors are happy as long as you are paying them something as it gives them confidence they will get their money back and if you let them know you find the current arrangement unaffordable they would probably prefer to take a bit less knowing its going to be sustainable.

YNAB is a piece of budgeting software called You Need a Budget. I have been using it for several years now, but you do have to pay for it. I am unaware whether there are better alternatives available - perhaps others can advise if they are. If you don't already do this, It would mean you are budgeting each month's money in advance and are aware of where its all going so you can make sure you make the most of it.