Stressed by debt, but have a plan. Please help me with ideas or advise.

MasterG83

Also, take a look at Dave Ramsey and his 7 baby steps....I think this could be a way out for you. Listen to his podcasts and look at his you tube programme. Its easy to understand and it works ! 
You have a large pile of crap.....but you also have a large shovel in terms of your income. 

eLdn123

Andyjflet said:

Also, take a look at Dave Ramsey and his 7 baby steps....I think this could be a way out for you. Listen to his podcasts and look at his you tube programme. Its easy to understand and it works ! 
You have a large pile of crap.....but you also have a large shovel in terms of your income. 

Thanks for your reply Andy !

That's where I got the idea of tackling them one by one and putting as much as I can towards them. Wasn't sure about what would happen and if it would be a good idea to approach them like this, as UK may differ from US, and Ramsey's methods are aimed towards the US.

Bookgal88

eLdn123 It's good that you've had your lightbulb moment on this and you're ready to tackle it. 
 My intention here isn't to scare you - it's just to help you make the best decisions and be prepared.  
Firstly, I agree with an earlier poster who said you need to prioritise your four walls first. Your landlord isn't under any obligation to just accept that you can't pay your rent on time - it makes your financial problem his / her financial problem.
I also suspect that non-payment / late payment of your rent would be a breach of your tenancy agreement, in which case your landlord would likely be able to ask you to leave the property with very little notice. He / she may also be able to levy a late payment charge, and charge for interest they lose between the date the payment is due and the date it is received. Obviously, neither of these scenarios are ideal and it will likely mean that your housemate will also be asked to vacate the property, which could put strain on your friendship. The last thing you need is to be made homeless right now so I really advise that you prioritise getting your rent money together on time. Do you have any savings at all (I ask because sometimes people post about their debts and then reveal that they do actually have some savings but don't want to use them for whatever reason)? If you do, use those savings to make your rent payment. 
I think you might also benefit from making yourself a spreadsheet (if you haven't already) to get your figures really clear. 

eLdn123

vickya said:

eLdn123 It's good that you've had your lightbulb moment on this and you're ready to tackle it. 
 My intention here isn't to scare you - it's just to help you make the best decisions and be prepared.  
Firstly, I agree with an earlier poster who said you need to prioritise your four walls first. Your landlord isn't under any obligation to just accept that you can't pay your rent on time - it makes your financial problem his / her financial problem.
I also suspect that non-payment / late payment of your rent would be a breach of your tenancy agreement, in which case your landlord would likely be able to ask you to leave the property with very little notice. He / she may also be able to levy a late payment charge, and charge for interest they lose between the date the payment is due and the date it is received. Obviously, neither of these scenarios are ideal and it will likely mean that your housemate will also be asked to vacate the property, which could put strain on your friendship. The last thing you need is to be made homeless right now so I really advise that you prioritise getting your rent money together on time. Do you have any savings at all (I ask because sometimes people post about their debts and then reveal that they do actually have some savings but don't want to use them for whatever reason)? If you do, use those savings to make your rent payment. 
I think you might also benefit from making yourself a spreadsheet (if you haven't already) to get your figures really clear. 

I really appreciate your advice and thank you for your message.

I do understand that the landlord is in under no obligation to accept any late payments, although I hope he will ( hope dies last ). I unfortunately have no savings. If I would hve had the savings would have been used for the rent payment as it is my main priority, as advised by the board members as well.

EssexHebridean

Well done on getting help and support for your gambling problem first and foremost, and also for asking for help here regarding the debts. 

I'm going to echo what others have said about priorities - and also suggest that you look at a bit of a compromise. 
Priorities are the roof over your head first of all - so in your case, rent - that of course also has another aspect in that there is someone else reliant on that being paid also - your flatmate. Then Council tax, heat, light and food/water. Account for all of those things first of all - then see what you have left. If the landlord will accept you paying the rent 2 weeks late (I'd suggest putting a firm plan in place as to when that will get back to being paid on time, and put that in writing to the landlord or their agents). I think you also need to factor the cost of getting to your place of work into your sums here. 

I think you have to be totally honest with the friends you owe money to - they have been incredibly trusting to give you the loans in the first place and as you have said you can understand their concerns re being repaid. Set out your stall in front of them - explain that not paying your rent will potentially leave you homeless, which in turn will  make it close to impossible to continue with your employment - a catch 22 if ever there was one. Set out a formal arrangement to repay but using money you actually do have - NOT borrowing from rent payments etc - yes it might take a bit longer but I would hope that degree of honesty will count for something. Then make those payments on time, EVERY time.  You HAVE to show that you can be trusted here - and unfortunately in your case that trust has to be earned.  I agree with others who have said to not worry about paying the card/loan debts currently - let those go - you can look at entering a DMP down the line to get those sorted but first you need to get your immediate situation straightened out.  

eLdn123

EssexHebridean said:

Well done on getting help and support for your gambling problem first and foremost, and also for asking for help here regarding the debts. 

I'm going to echo what others have said about priorities - and also suggest that you look at a bit of a compromise. 
Priorities are the roof over your head first of all - so in your case, rent - that of course also has another aspect in that there is someone else reliant on that being paid also - your flatmate. Then Council tax, heat, light and food/water. Account for all of those things first of all - then see what you have left. If the landlord will accept you paying the rent 2 weeks late (I'd suggest putting a firm plan in place as to when that will get back to being paid on time, and put that in writing to the landlord or their agents). I think you also need to factor the cost of getting to your place of work into your sums here. 

I think you have to be totally honest with the friends you owe money to - they have been incredibly trusting to give you the loans in the first place and as you have said you can understand their concerns re being repaid. Set out your stall in front of them - explain that not paying your rent will potentially leave you homeless, which in turn will  make it close to impossible to continue with your employment - a catch 22 if ever there was one. Set out a formal arrangement to repay but using money you actually do have - NOT borrowing from rent payments etc - yes it might take a bit longer but I would hope that degree of honesty will count for something. Then make those payments on time, EVERY time.  You HAVE to show that you can be trusted here - and unfortunately in your case that trust has to be earned.  I agree with others who have said to not worry about paying the card/loan debts currently - let those go - you can look at entering a DMP down the line to get those sorted but first you need to get your immediate situation straightened out.  

DMP, that is something I need to read about. Thank you for your reply and suggestion !

bloomfelt

eLdn123 said:

I also regret getting 1000 from Loans 2 go. Having to pay back around 4000 in 18 months for a 1000 loan, that 200% interest per year, is there anything I can do about this ? The interest is outrageous and I know I signed up to that, but I was an id..t and regret it immensely and would understand to pay back 2000, or even 2500, with high interest, but the interest with them is extremely high.

I apologize for the long post but please help me with some advice and feedback as this community is extremely experienced with such issues and I believe you here have seen it all in the past.

Echoing everyone else well done for recognising you have a problem and taking steps to rectify it.  Not sure if you have seen this already but may be of some help toward the Loans 2 go loan
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/free-payday-loans-refunds/

enthusiasticsaver

Just to say a DMP will not normally allow friends and family loans so given you intend to prioritise these I don't think that will work unless you go self managed. 

[Deleted User]

vickya said:

eLdn123 It's good that you've had your lightbulb moment on this and you're ready to tackle it. 
 My intention here isn't to scare you - it's just to help you make the best decisions and be prepared.  
Firstly, I agree with an earlier poster who said you need to prioritise your four walls first. Your landlord isn't under any obligation to just accept that you can't pay your rent on time - it makes your financial problem his / her financial problem.
I also suspect that non-payment / late payment of your rent would be a breach of your tenancy agreement, in which case your landlord would likely be able to ask you to leave the property with very little notice. He / she may also be able to levy a late payment charge, and charge for interest they lose between the date the payment is due and the date it is received. Obviously, neither of these scenarios are ideal and it will likely mean that your housemate will also be asked to vacate the property, which could put strain on your friendship. The last thing you need is to be made homeless right now so I really advise that you prioritise getting your rent money together on time. Do you have any savings at all (I ask because sometimes people post about their debts and then reveal that they do actually have some savings but don't want to use them for whatever reason)? If you do, use those savings to make your rent payment. 
I think you might also benefit from making yourself a spreadsheet (if you haven't already) to get your figures really clear. 

Whilst well meaning your advice surrounding the tenancy isn't correct. The landlord cannot end they tenancy as that can only be done by the tenant or a court. The landlord could issue notice for the arrears and/or a section 21 notice and then go to court to try and get a possession order but it is not "very little notice"  and the landlord would still have to wait for a court date. 

There's a sticky at the top of the House Buying, Selling and Renting board about tenancies in England and Wales. It explains how and when a tenancy can be ended. 

None of this means I would recommend repaying other debts ahead of rent though as it's a priority bill. 

John_

Are you certain that defaults will not affect your job in banking? My firm would rule you out if you’d not honored any debts in full and on time in recent years.