Help with sorting out my debts!

itsnever2lateisit?

Food of £400 is a bit high for a familly of 4, the quails eggs have to go;)
Seriously have a look at the old style board for great tips on getting this down, things like a menu plan for the week, and make up the shopping list to suit and stick to it, no ready made meals, they cost a fortune. Unfortunately your creditors are not going to accept any offer that allows you to keep your TV at £77 a month, especially as that is on top of you £200 a month 'pocket money' its a luxury that you simply cannot afford at the moment. Telephone is also very high, check out VOIP providers you could easily cut this to £15 without reducing the number of calls you make. If you are in a cable TV area you wouldnt need a phone at all
Also shop around for untilities and insurance, use a cashback site like quidco
Check the APR's of your debts and key the data into a snowball calculator at whatsthecost, it motivated me when I saw in black and white how much quicker I could pay off my debts if I tackled them in the correct order

floss2

Skytrax2 wrote: »

My Wage after Tax = 1,980
Wife Wage after Tax = 1,250
Total = 3,230

Outgoings
Council Tax = 250
Fuel = 200 (2 cars work must have)
Having a Life = 200 What is this spent on if you don't go out? start a spending diary ASAP
Mortgage = 800
Internet = 15*
Car Insurance = 80 (2 cars) Seems high - shop around when due
Sky TV = 62 (full package plus multi-room)*
Setanta = 15*
BT = 60 A month?! Can this be combined with the other *ed items?
Gas = 50
Gas Homecare Plan = 30 am sure Martin has an article about cheaper schemes
Electricity = 40
Car Finance = 290
TV License = 12
Loan = 207
Shopping = 400 thuis can be cut - menu plan! Look at Old Style board for help
Kids = 100 (playgroup, toddlers, ballet, skating fees)
Home Contents = 30
Life Assurance = 55
Total = 2,896

Leaves = 334

Egg = 10,000 outstanding
Debenhams = 2,270 outstanding
Lloyds TSB = 8,200 outstanding (includes 1,000 bank overdraft)
Halifax = 1,700 outstanding
Studio = 510 outstanding
Vertbaudet = 410 outstanding
Next = 800 outstanding NEED APR'S FOR ALL OF THESE PLS
Argos = 700 outstanding
Total = 24,590 outstanding

My wife feels she was bullied by Egg and is now paying them 160 per month in repayment over 10 years, is this correct or can this be renegotiated?
With the money that is left over from our wages, l want to service the debts with this, is it enough?? l have tried to negotiate with a couple of creditors with no joy, they seem to want me to go through a third party.Please Please help me, I understand you may think it is a little cheeky to say l wont change much of our monthly expenditure, maybe l just have to do this, just need some direction in getting of those debts.I feel we are turning a corner now as there is finally no credit available as our rating has gone so we are on our own which in my eyes will be a blessing in disguise in the long run.Appreciate anybody who could offer me some guidance, thanks very much for your time!Best Regards Dps. l dont want to get a Trust Deed cos l would be worried what they take off me in the value of my house.

Ok - what about car repairs & servicing / MOT / road tax?
Start a spending diary ASAP, make a list of you freezer/fridge/cupboard contents & use that before buying anything else, then menu plan & shop on internet so no "extras".

HTH

Floss x

mookybargirl

Skytrax2 wrote: »

Thanks folks, sorry am not very computer literate!

See, already you've found helpful people, now for the some advice....

Outgoings
Council Tax = 250
Fuel = 200 (2 cars work must have)
Having a Life = 200 – what’s this for? You should itemise so you know where you’re money is actually going. This can be a real eye-opener
Mortgage = 800
Internet = 15
Car Insurance = 80 (2 cars)
Sky TV = 62 (full package plus multi-room) – can you reduce or cancel and move to Freeview
Setanta = 15 – cancel these extra channels
BT = 60 – could you add a talk package to reduce this, as this is high when you’re Broadband is separate
Gas = 50
Gas Homecare Plan = 30
Electricity = 40
Car Finance = 290
TV License = 12
Loan = 207
Shopping = 400 – The Old Style board can help with shopping advice and recipes to reduce your shopping spend
Kids = 100 (playgroup, toddlers, ballet, skating fees) – is there anything here that could be reduced?
Home Contents = 30
Life Assurance = 55
Total = 2,896

There’s also no MOT, car repairs, hair cuts, dentists, clothes shopping (with growing children) etc in here so you need to think of these and add an estimate for each month.

I’d also suggest you add APR’s for the debts and then people can suggest in which order you should tackle them.

Skytrax2

Hiya,Really appreciate all your help with this, now l need some help with sorting the mess of these debts out, aPR on debts as follows:Egg - not sure on this APR its actually 160 for 74 months = 11,840 off 10,000 debt.Argos - 29.8%Next - 26.49%TSB - cant see where it says APR but says monthly its 2.210%Halifax - 26.75%Debenhams - 27.7%Studio - Cant find thisVertbaudet - Cant find this

hopeless_case_2

what are the repayments you are being very vague about what you are askedd to pay.

Skytrax2

Hi,Sorry currently we pay Egg 160 on a repayment plan, TSB 148 on a monthly basis which doesnt even cover interest, Next is 75, Halifax is 35, Debenhams havent paid them in a couple of months, same with Studio, Vertbaudet, Argos.So currently its 418 but that is not paying everything and we are struggling.

floss2

BTW, do you get any tax credits? What about child benefit? Nursery fees / child care?

You both need to be on board, and to agree to cut out the takeaways / clothes / DVD's / CD's etc until you can really afford it, this could save you £200/m ("having a life" money - you can't afford anything like this amount at the moment)

You could probably cut at least £100-£150 off your food bill by careful shopping & menu planing, and do your children NEED all these activities or are you in a "keep up with the friends / neighbours" type situation?

Can you reduce your fuel costs? Sounds like you may have a high-performance vehicle, with £200 fuel + £80 insurance for 2 cars + £290 finance.... can one or even both of your cars be changed to something more economic? Do you really need both cars? (as a guide, me & DF run 2 cars - 2.0 DTi, 1.3 petrol, average mileage approx 8,600m/month, fuel costs approx £150, insurance £55 with only 1 x full no claims)

Skytrax2

Can anyone tell me who CCCS are and how they might help me, keep being infirmed by creditors that l need to go through them??Please advise?!

floss2

http://www.cccs.co.uk/
0800 138 1111

Homework

In Scotland your best bet is a Money Adviser at the council. They will work out your circumstances and advise you. They are recognised by the Scottish Govenment and know the differences that apply in Scottish Law.

www.MoneyScotland.gov.uk

They can arrange for you to go on a debt management plan which is protected and is called Debt Arrangement Scheme. Once on that you have enough time to pay things back and you are autotmatically protected from bankruptcy. If someone wants to take you to court for debt they have to check if you are on the Debt Arrangement Scheme and if you are the court will automatically throw it out. If you are not suitable for this they can give you advice on your next steps forward.

Payplan or CCCS or CAB will be able to help too as you have money left over and you can budget and pay something towards the debt. If you don't want to go to a Money Adviser or want a second opinion.

http://www.cccs.co.uk/

www.payplan.co.uk

PS Money Advice through the council is government and not money making for the organisation.