Looks like an IVA each, really nervous about how to proceed

Naf

So I guess my next question is how best to approach the issue of it all having to change in about a year's time?

So in my wife's case, do I point out that in about a yearit';ll reduce, and then reduce again 6 months later? Or do we just set it up as it is now, and then look to a DRO when it frops below £20k?

And in my case, the fact I'm going to have to make up some of the shortfall when she stops working?

And in both cases the fact that we have imminent payments (car insurance) that we need to cover, and then months of acquiring new (second hand mostly, hopefully of course - but new to us) baby stuff, and of course increase in costs after the actuall birth?

mwarby

You’ll need an SoA anyway, if you fit or use a firm for your DMP. This is to show your paying as much as you can afford and your serious about repaying. 

When circumstances change do another either for the firm or to send off yourself

if you go diy and you get interest frozen make sure you pay everyone in proportion (someone you owe 10k yo should get 10x someone you owe 1k too). 

Humdinger1

Naf

As a fellow church-goer, can I suggest that tithing should be a % of available funds, after the essentials like a roof over your head, savings for an emergency fund,  food, clothing for you and the children etc are taken out? Add to that the fact that your wife will soon be on unpaid maternity leave, and some new number crunching is indicated.   Are you pressurised into giving 10% of gross pay?  Do you have to explain your situation to anything like a council of elders, because if so - without wanting to appear aggressive or lacking in sympathy- I think joining another church maybe something worth considering.   Most don't operate on this basis; certainly no formal structured debt solution will accept this as allowable.  Have subscribed and am cheering you on  Humdinger 

Naf

mwarby said:

You’ll need an SoA anyway, if you fit or use a firm for your DMP. This is to show your paying as much as you can afford and your serious about repaying. 

When circumstances change do another either for the firm or to send off yourself

if you go diy and you get interest frozen make sure you pay everyone in proportion (someone you owe 10k yo should get 10x someone you owe 1k too). 

So don't bother to mention the expected future change now, just work with what we currently have. What about anticipated baby related expenses like clothing, pushchair, car seat etc.? Would I be well to make an estimate and put that as another item in the SOA?

Humdinger1 said:

Naf

As a fellow church-goer, can I suggest that tithing should be a % of available funds, after the essentials like a roof over your head, savings for an emergency fund,  food, clothing for you and the children etc are taken out? Add to that the fact that your wife will soon be on unpaid maternity leave, and some new number crunching is indicated.   Are you pressurised into giving 10% of gross pay?  Do you have to explain your situation to anything like a council of elders, because if so - without wanting to appear aggressive or lacking in sympathy- I think joining another church maybe something worth considering.   Most don't operate on this basis; certainly no formal structured debt solution will accept this as allowable.  Have subscribed and am cheering you on  Humdinger 

While there is some debate about gross/net; we are clear that tithing is on earnings and not surplus. We will simply discuss the situation with our leaders and they'll be understanding.

I must say I find the suggestion to just find another church odd, though. If you're not in a church because you believe it to be true, then I fail to see the point.

Naf

Also, should I send all creditors the full breakdown as above, and make offers based on the totals; or should I do separate ones for each of us to send to our individual creditors?

mwarby

You should IMHO make sure the creditors know about all your debts, and know that you are treating them fairly. You can add something explaining future changes if you want, but I'd keep it simple, as you never know how much time will be spent reading it. also IMHO your not making an offer as in bartering, your saying this is all I can afford to repay you and this is why

As I mentioned before, you might want to use payplan to handle this for you. That way you don't have to worry about these details, the creditors know you've taken proper debt advice, and they maybe better placed to help secure the freezing of interest

Humdinger1

Naf said:

mwarby said:

You’ll need an SoA anyway, if you fit or use a firm for your DMP. This is to show your paying as much as you can afford and your serious about repaying. 

When circumstances change do another either for the firm or to send off yourself

if you go diy and you get interest frozen make sure you pay everyone in proportion (someone you owe 10k yo should get 10x someone you owe 1k too). 

So don't bother to mention the expected future change now, just work with what we currently have. What about anticipated baby related expenses like clothing, pushchair, car seat etc.? Would I be well to make an estimate and put that as another item in the SOA?

Humdinger1 said:

Naf

As a fellow church-goer, can I suggest that tithing should be a % of available funds, after the essentials like a roof over your head, savings for an emergency fund,  food, clothing for you and the children etc are taken out? Add to that the fact that your wife will soon be on unpaid maternity leave, and some new number crunching is indicated.   Are you pressurised into giving 10% of gross pay?  Do you have to explain your situation to anything like a council of elders, because if so - without wanting to appear aggressive or lacking in sympathy- I think joining another church maybe something worth considering.   Most don't operate on this basis; certainly no formal structured debt solution will accept this as allowable.  Have subscribed and am cheering you on  Humdinger 

While there is some debate about gross/net; we are clear that tithing is on earnings and not surplus. We will simply discuss the situation with our leaders and they'll be understanding.

I must say I find the suggestion to just find another church odd, though. If you're not in a church because you believe it to be true, then I fail to see the point.

Naf, I won't derail your thread by going into too much detail here; it's your life and you're quite right to live it as you see fit, as long as you have clarity on what that 10% is being spent on and it lines up with your beliefs.  My point I suppose is that there is, as we agree, a wide range of what's considered acceptable practice and this is one big constraint on your ability to get out of this situation.  I don't think that a structured debt solution will necessarily give  you room to do this, though happy to learn otherwise.  Still cheering you on Humdinger

MalMonroe

Have you contacted one of the debt help agencies such as StepChange? They are brilliant and helped me so much when I didn't know which way to turn. I ended up having a DRO - that was 7 years ago so I'm out the other end now. The advice StepChange gave me was second to none and so helpful. They submitted all my paperwork for me and although your situation is different, I still recommend them because they do know their job. They are not judgemental at all. And of course it's a free service. 

Humdinger1

Yep  good shout Mal.  How  about CAP, Naf- Christians against Poverty.  Also non judgemental and hugely experienced. 

Naf

Humdinger1 said:

Naf

As a fellow church-goer, can I suggest that tithing should be a % of available funds, after the essentials like a roof over your head, savings for an emergency fund,  food, clothing for you and the children etc are taken out? Add to that the fact that your wife will soon be on unpaid maternity leave, and some new number crunching is indicated.   Are you pressurised into giving 10% of gross pay?  Do you have to explain your situation to anything like a council of elders, because if so - without wanting to appear aggressive or lacking in sympathy- I think joining another church maybe something worth considering.   Most don't operate on this basis; certainly no formal structured debt solution will accept this as allowable.  Have subscribed and am cheering you on  Humdinger 

While there is some debate about gross/net; we are clear that tithing is on earnings and not surplus. We will simply discuss the situation with our leaders and they'll be understanding.

I must say I find the suggestion to just find another church odd, though. If you're not in a church because you believe it to be true, then I fail to see the point.

Naf, I won't derail your thread by going into too much detail here; it's your life and you're quite right to live it as you see fit, as long as you have clarity on what that 10% is being spent on and it lines up with your beliefs.  My point I suppose is that there is, as we agree, a wide range of what's considered acceptable practice and this is one big constraint on your ability to get out of this situation.  I don't think that a structured debt solution will necessarily give  you room to do this, though happy to learn otherwise.  Still cheering you on Humdinger

Yeah, I'll work it out. I know that my in-laws have an IVA and they still pay; so I would guess that they worked out the SOA without it, then worked out how to reduce their spending to allow them to pay it; I'm not sure.

MalMonroe said:

Have you contacted one of the debt help agencies such as StepChange? They are brilliant and helped me so much when I didn't know which way to turn. I ended up having a DRO - that was 7 years ago so I'm out the other end now. The advice StepChange gave me was second to none and so helpful. They submitted all my paperwork for me and although your situation is different, I still recommend them because they do know their job. They are not judgemental at all. And of course it's a free service. 

Humdinger1 said:

Yep  good shout Mal.  How  about CAP, Naf- Christians against Poverty.  Also non judgemental and hugely experienced. 

I'm considering it, and I know it'll add weight to my case. We have had some advice from someone who does debt advice, and they seem to think that just writing ourselves should be fine.

It's still what happens in about 12 months that worries me most, because with the extra expenses of a baby, and loss of my wife's income, I can't see us being in a position to offer more than £2-300 in total across all the debts, and possibly not even that - I'm fairly concerned that our income might not actually cover our expenditure at all. Even if we can get a DRO for her accounts by then, that's still a drop in the ocean across over 40k. My reading suggests they would expect to see realistic ability to clear things within 10 years...