extra money, little help please SOA ADDED

biglad

Well as it says in my sig i am not betting anymore and am amazed i have money in my account at this stage of the month and i have bought xmas presents, making me realise how much i used to waste on gambling

well the thing is after xmas i should have around £100 extra a month at least to pay towards my debts. am currently paying £319.50 to payplan and that has increased from £187 in june this year. i dont want to keep increasing my payments as i feel if i increase now and cant increase for another 12-24 months then some creditors might get funny as i have increased twice in a year and then not for ages. I have another bank account that is VERY basic and cant use in shops, online etc and my girlfriend has that card, (she is helping me battle my gambling addiction)

now the question is do i put the money in another account and pay off a lump sum when it builds up, or just increase payplan payment. the only reason is that my gf is looking to go and train as a teacher so i might not be able to maintain the extra payment and dont really want to drop payment as i feel im doing well. woman at payplan said its fine to just save it and pay lumps

has anyone any experience of this

thanks in advance

ps. there is absolutly nothing i can reduce in SOA, even just got a £155 rebate from electric as were ultra careful, nothing stays on standby or unnecessarliy on. that has gone to a new digi camera and a meal out for me and gf as a treat as its money we didnt know we had and camera just broke

angelavdavis

Well congratulations on your achievements so far - and good luck going forward.

Are you a high tax payer? If you are on payplan, have your creditors frozen the interest? If the answer to both questions is yes, it might be worth paying the extra into an ISA (tax-free) and then, if you don't need it later, you can pay it off your debts in a lump sum (offer a final settlement figure at about 70% of the amount owed for example).

However, if you are paying interest, it is worth looking to pay off more of your debt as it is bound to be higher than you would likely get with savings.

I don't know if you have ever posted the SOA up on here for advice - might be worth doing as I think you should start reducing your outgoings now for when your joint incomes are likely to reduce so you aren't suddenly shocked by the drop income.

biglad

Thanks for the reply

iam not a real high tax payer, am a care worker for people with LD so pay is rubbish lol. I am pretty sure all interest has been stopped, myh egg card was the biggest debt and that is defintiely stopped as i can view the account. also rang barclaycard and they said no interest is being added and all the others are with DCA who i am told as a rule dont charge interest

If i offer full and final will this not look worse on my credit file than if i paid it all off, admitidly my credit is appalling but once im debt free we want to get a house

my soa is below

Incomings (900) this is basic without overtime which i cannot guarentee
Rent - 215
Council tax - 40
Tv License - 5.5
Net/Phone - £15 This is for line rental, unlimited calls and net, will be getting tiscali tv when its available but this is the same price
gas & elec - £32.50
gym - £17.5 i know i cycle everywhere but need this for strength training as i have a medical condition with my joints and nerves so need the strength and this is my only form of enjoyment
House insurance - £5.5
Shopping - £65
Mobile - £10
Presents/birthdays etc - £50
Payplan payment - £319.50
Bike part - £30 Need a new bike but doing a new build and buying new part each month

Total - £805.5

This leaves a shortfall of around £100. the scary thing is i do overtime regualr and it looks like all this money was going on gambling, im ashamed if im perfectly honest. By the time we need to drop i will not be buying bike parts still i hope.

the gas an electric may seem high but its by direct debit and we just got a nice £155 rebate

how ashamed am i that i used to bet so much, looking at this i can put an extra £80 to paypal and STILL put £70 aside when i do overtime lol

oops_a_daisy

if you were to put an extra £80 per month to Payplan, how would it effect your DFDate ? just a thought but it might bring it into 2011 instead of 2012 which might give you a boost to see your DFDate coming forward quicker.

xoopsx

chevalier

Personally I would put the extra money away. The reason being that it will help you with your debts. Why? Because then you will be building up a 'oh help the bike has a puncture/boiler has packed up etc' emergency fund. Then if there is a big spend you won't be tempted to put it on a credit card.

Well done on the not gambling. I know from a relative how addictive it is
chev

biglad

well thing is i CANT get a credit card and will never want another one lol

renting is good for us as if anything in the house goes wrong the landlady does it. its scary knowing how much i spent on gambling, trying to convince myself i was winning, when only a small % win regular

i think i may split it and up the paypal payment and then any wages i get over £900 i will put aside. quite good cos can get £25 just for sleeping at work, but dont like doing too many as like my own bed so do 4 a month lol.

happyhappygal

biglad wrote: »

am currently paying £319.50 to payplan and that has increased from £187 in june this year.

Hi Big

Are you in a DMP or IVA? X

biglad

im in a dmp so i can change my payments whenever really. dont want companies to get funny though bout me paying less etc

angelavdavis

biglad wrote: »

If i offer full and final will this not look worse on my credit file than if i paid it all off, admitidly my credit is appalling but once im debt free we want to get a house

No, not if you make full and final settlement - its when it is only partially satisfied that this is noted on the credit record - you have to ensure that your payment is accepted as a full and final settlement (it has to include these words) before you part with a penny.

I stress this because some creditors have tried to pull the wool over customers eyes by only noting partial settlement, even in response to a full and final offer. If they don't respond with a "full and final settlement figure" in their letter, you just continue making payments as before and offer to another creditor.