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Totally new
Abbey_D
Posts: 8 Forumite
Morning guys!
I just wanted to say I am totally new to all of this and I have been lurking on the forums for quite some time just never really had the courage to post really!
It wasn't really until my house became overcrowded and I knew I needed to move house but I can't as I cannot get a privately rented house because I will fail the credit checks that I realized I HAVE to do something about the debt that I owe.
I am guilty of throwing away debt letters as soon as they come through my door and ignoring everything, so for the last few months I have been keeping them, I have done 3 different credit reports and gathered all my debts together and I am ready to do something about this!
So, I guess my main questions would be what is the best way to do this? I would rather not go through a DMP or anything like that and would prefer to do it myself, would the best way be to pick one debt and pay that off, and then move onto another? Would this actually boost my credit score?
I am just so lost at the moment, and feel like I'm not ever going to be debt-free!
Sorry for ranting, but I feel much better for getting it off my chest already!
Thank you.
I just wanted to say I am totally new to all of this and I have been lurking on the forums for quite some time just never really had the courage to post really!
It wasn't really until my house became overcrowded and I knew I needed to move house but I can't as I cannot get a privately rented house because I will fail the credit checks that I realized I HAVE to do something about the debt that I owe.
I am guilty of throwing away debt letters as soon as they come through my door and ignoring everything, so for the last few months I have been keeping them, I have done 3 different credit reports and gathered all my debts together and I am ready to do something about this!
So, I guess my main questions would be what is the best way to do this? I would rather not go through a DMP or anything like that and would prefer to do it myself, would the best way be to pick one debt and pay that off, and then move onto another? Would this actually boost my credit score?
I am just so lost at the moment, and feel like I'm not ever going to be debt-free!
Sorry for ranting, but I feel much better for getting it off my chest already!
Thank you.
2
Comments
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Hi and welcome.
We can`t really advise you until we know more about your situation, what debts you have, how much you owe in total, are they priority debts such as council tax etc, or non priority such as credit cards/loans ?
Best to fill in a statement of affairs, from that we can advise properly -
SOA Calculator (stoozing.com)
I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free wannabe, Credit file and ratings, and Bankruptcy and living with it boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.For free non-judgemental debt advice, contact either Stepchange, National Debtline, or CitizensAdviceBureaux.Link to SOA Calculator- https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php The "provit letter" is here-https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter1 -
As sourcrates says - the best way of tackling it will depend on your exact circumstances. Are you able to afford the minimum payments on all your debts and deciding how to to use the extra repayment, or do you need to pay less than the minimum?
But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,Had the whole of their cash in his care.
Lewis Carroll1 -
Thank you both, I will look at the SOA calculator now.0
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Unfortunately I would not even know what the minimum payments are on any of the debts but i am guessing in my current situation I would not be able to afford them all.theoretica said:As sourcrates says - the best way of tackling it will depend on your exact circumstances. Are you able to afford the minimum payments on all your debts and deciding how to to use the extra repayment, or do you need to pay less than the minimum?0 -
If these are old defaulted debts that you have long stopped paying - just put the minimum payment to zero.
Has there been a 6-year gap on any of them?0 -
Welcome to the forum, and well done for looking to tackle your situation - the good news is that by acknowledging the situation and accepting that there is a problem you have already taken the hardest step! As already said, get that SOA filled in - remember that it needs to be open, honest and reflect the way things are right now, an SOA that tells us how you would like things to look helps nobody! post it into this thread and the wise heads here can take a look and start making suggestions for you. who knows, things may not even be as bad as you think!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her1 -
I have done the SOA but I dont have that amount spare a month so I have no idea where it goes to be honest with you![font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]Household Information[/b]Number of adults in household........... 2Number of children in household......... 8Number of cars owned.................... 0[b]Monthly Income Details[/b]Monthly income after tax................ 900Partners monthly income after tax....... 0Benefits................................ 3405Other income............................ 0[b]Total monthly income.................... 4305[/b][b]Monthly Expense Details[/b]Mortgage................................ 0Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0Rent.................................... 200Management charge (leasehold property).. 0Council tax............................. 0Electricity............................. 150Gas..................................... 120Oil..................................... 0Water rates............................. 45Telephone (land line)................... 10Mobile phone............................ 130TV Licence.............................. 20Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50Internet Services....................... 50Groceries etc. ......................... 900Clothing................................ 350Petrol/diesel........................... 0Road tax................................ 0Car Insurance........................... 0Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0Car parking............................. 0Other travel............................ 70Childcare/nursery....................... 0Other child related expenses............ 0Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0Pet insurance/vet bills................. 200Buildings insurance..................... 0Contents insurance...................... 0Life assurance ......................... 25Other insurance......................... 0Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0Haircuts................................ 70Entertainment........................... 0Holiday................................. 0Emergency fund.......................... 0[b]Total monthly expenses.................. 2390[/b][b]Assets[/b]Cash.................................... 0House value (Gross)..................... 0Shares and bonds........................ 0Car(s).................................. 0Other assets............................ 0[b]Total Assets............................ 0[/b][b]No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts[/b][b]Unsecured Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR1st credit finance.............350.......0.........0Arrow global...................285.......0.........0Cabot..........................553.......0.........0virgin media...................117.......0.........0octopus........................930.......0.........0o2.............................477.......0.........0ncc............................317.......0.........0natwest........................584.......0.........0natwest........................476.......0.........0lowell.........................436.......0.........0lowell.........................238.......0.........0lowell.........................418.......0.........0lowell.........................371.......0.........0lowell.........................561.......0.........0lowell.........................678.......0.........0lowell.........................1201......0.........0leeds council..................2222......0.........0easy2pay.......................1050......0.........0close bros.....................411.......0.........0cash plus......................54........0.........0cabot..........................385.......0.........0[b]Total unsecured debts..........12114.....0.........- [/b][b]Monthly Budget Summary[/b]Total monthly income.................... 4,305Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,390Available for debt repayments........... 1,915Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0[b]Amount left after debt repayments....... 1,915[/b][b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]Total assets (things you own)........... 0Total HP & Secured debt................. -0Total Unsecured debt.................... -12,114[b]Net Assets.............................. -12,114[/b][i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.LemonFool.co.uk.Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]0
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Sorry, should I also mention the above debts I have got from paperwork for an IVA that I cancelled. A lot of these are not on my credit report, so not sure what I need to do?0
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Abbey_D said:I have done the SOA but I dont have that amount spare a month so I have no idea where it goes to be honest with you![font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]Household Information[/b]Number of adults in household........... 2Number of children in household......... 8Number of cars owned.................... 0[b]Monthly Income Details[/b]Monthly income after tax................ 900Partners monthly income after tax....... 0 Can this be changed? even some form of part time work?Benefits................................ 3405Other income............................ 0[b]Total monthly income.................... 4305[/b][b]Monthly Expense Details[/b]Mortgage................................ 0Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0Rent.................................... 200 This is extremely low?Management charge (leasehold property).. 0Council tax............................. 0 why no Council Tax?Electricity............................. 150 Looking at your gas bill, it appears your heating is by gas, so why is your electric bill so high? Have you checked you are on the best deal for these?Gas..................................... 120Oil..................................... 0Water rates............................. 45Telephone (land line)................... 10Mobile phone............................ 130 This is high - how close are you to the end of contracts? Look to switch to SIM only deals once contracts are up.TV Licence.............................. 20 How does this work out? It's an odd amount to be paying for TV licence - usually it would be £13.xxSatellite/Cable TV...................... 50Internet Services....................... 50 This is high - shop around to check for better deals.Groceries etc. ......................... 900 I appreciate the number of mouths invoved here but I still think you could bring this down.Clothing................................ 350 This is also a figure that should be able to reduce. Right now adults need to manage with what they have/buy essentials only (so socks and pants, literally) - younger children use hand me downs as far as possible, also second hand options are brilliant for small kids as they don't care that stuff isn't new. Older kids need to understand that their clothes have "George" or "Florence and Fred" as a label, not "Nike" or "Reebok".Petrol/diesel........................... 0Road tax................................ 0Car Insurance........................... 0Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0Car parking............................. 0Other travel............................ 70Childcare/nursery....................... 0Other child related expenses............ 0Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 You need to budget a figure here and actually set it aside each month.Pet insurance/vet bills................. 200Buildings insurance..................... 0Contents insurance...................... 0 Why nothing here? You need this - it's a priority to get sorted.Life assurance ......................... 25Other insurance......................... 0Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 You never buy presents for anyone? Not even the children? that seems unlikely. Again - you need to budget, and save that money so it's there when needed.Haircuts................................ 70Entertainment........................... 0 Another "unlikely" zero spend. There will be the occasional coffee out, trip to maccyD's, comic picked up in the supermarket or similar, I'm sure.Holiday................................. 0 No holidays at all, not even the odd weekend away visiting family or similar? How about school trips for the kids that have to be paid for?Emergency fund.......................... 0 This needs a budgeted - and saved - figure too. An emergency fund is what stops you turning to credit when the fridge breaks, or someone comes home having trashed their school shoes and needs another pair "right now"!![b]Total monthly expenses.................. 2390[/b][b]Assets[/b]Cash.................................... 0House value (Gross)..................... 0Shares and bonds........................ 0Car(s).................................. 0Other assets............................ 0[b]Total Assets............................ 0[/b][b]No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts[/b][b]Unsecured Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR1st credit finance.............350.......0.........0Arrow global...................285.......0.........0Cabot..........................553.......0.........0virgin media...................117.......0.........0octopus........................930.......0.........0o2.............................477.......0.........0ncc............................317.......0.........0natwest........................584.......0.........0natwest........................476.......0.........0lowell.........................436.......0.........0lowell.........................238.......0.........0lowell.........................418.......0.........0lowell.........................371.......0.........0lowell.........................561.......0.........0lowell.........................678.......0.........0lowell.........................1201......0.........0leeds council..................2222......0.........0easy2pay.......................1050......0.........0close bros.....................411.......0.........0cash plus......................54........0.........0cabot..........................385.......0.........0[b]Total unsecured debts..........12114.....0.........- [/b] On the debts you need a much clearer picture. Are you genuinely paying nothing on any of them? Are any at 0%? Start by going through those letters you're not throwing away any more - some of those will give you up to date balances, interest rates etc. Once you have those you can start to form a proper plan of attack.[b]Monthly Budget Summary[/b]Total monthly income.................... 4,305Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,390Available for debt repayments........... 1,915Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0[b]Amount left after debt repayments....... 1,915[/b][b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]Total assets (things you own)........... 0Total HP & Secured debt................. -0Total Unsecured debt.................... -12,114[b]Net Assets.............................. -12,114[/b][i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.LemonFool.co.uk.Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]
That figure available that you don't have each month is a LOT of money to just be effectively "losing". In real terms you are talking about a sum in excess of TWENTY TWO THOUSAND POUNDS a year that you currently have no idea where it is going. Now look at that in relation to that total debt figure - can you see how (relatively speaking) easy this situation is to sort out? Makes you think, doesn't it. Of course you *don't* actually have that sum left floating around because you're not budgeting for everything you spend at the moment - and presumably some of that is also going towards debt payments.
First step I'd suggest is a spending diary - keep receipts for EVERYTHING you spend, and note it down. Stop and think before spending too - do you really need the thig? Do you need it right now? Might there be a better deal elsewhere, or even do you already own something that can be used instead?🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her3 -
Thank you so much for this. I honestly have just got myself into such a rut and a state I get all worked up when it is probably easier to solve than I think!EssexHebridean said:Abbey_D said:I have done the SOA but I dont have that amount spare a month so I have no idea where it goes to be honest with you![font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]Household Information[/b]Number of adults in household........... 2Number of children in household......... 8Number of cars owned.................... 0[b]Monthly Income Details[/b]Monthly income after tax................ 900Partners monthly income after tax....... 0 Can this be changed? even some form of part time work?Benefits................................ 3405Other income............................ 0[b]Total monthly income.................... 4305[/b][b]Monthly Expense Details[/b]Mortgage................................ 0Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0Rent.................................... 200 This is extremely low?Management charge (leasehold property).. 0Council tax............................. 0 why no Council Tax?Electricity............................. 150 Looking at your gas bill, it appears your heating is by gas, so why is your electric bill so high? Have you checked you are on the best deal for these?Gas..................................... 120Oil..................................... 0Water rates............................. 45Telephone (land line)................... 10Mobile phone............................ 130 This is high - how close are you to the end of contracts? Look to switch to SIM only deals once contracts are up.TV Licence.............................. 20 How does this work out? It's an odd amount to be paying for TV licence - usually it would be £13.xxSatellite/Cable TV...................... 50Internet Services....................... 50 This is high - shop around to check for better deals.Groceries etc. ......................... 900 I appreciate the number of mouths invoved here but I still think you could bring this down.Clothing................................ 350 This is also a figure that should be able to reduce. Right now adults need to manage with what they have/buy essentials only (so socks and pants, literally) - younger children use hand me downs as far as possible, also second hand options are brilliant for small kids as they don't care that stuff isn't new. Older kids need to understand that their clothes have "George" or "Florence and Fred" as a label, not "Nike" or "Reebok".Petrol/diesel........................... 0Road tax................................ 0Car Insurance........................... 0Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0Car parking............................. 0Other travel............................ 70Childcare/nursery....................... 0Other child related expenses............ 0Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 You need to budget a figure here and actually set it aside each month.Pet insurance/vet bills................. 200Buildings insurance..................... 0Contents insurance...................... 0 Why nothing here? You need this - it's a priority to get sorted.Life assurance ......................... 25Other insurance......................... 0Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 You never buy presents for anyone? Not even the children? that seems unlikely. Again - you need to budget, and save that money so it's there when needed.Haircuts................................ 70Entertainment........................... 0 Another "unlikely" zero spend. There will be the occasional coffee out, trip to maccyD's, comic picked up in the supermarket or similar, I'm sure.Holiday................................. 0 No holidays at all, not even the odd weekend away visiting family or similar? How about school trips for the kids that have to be paid for?Emergency fund.......................... 0 This needs a budgeted - and saved - figure too. An emergency fund is what stops you turning to credit when the fridge breaks, or someone comes home having trashed their school shoes and needs another pair "right now"!![b]Total monthly expenses.................. 2390[/b][b]Assets[/b]Cash.................................... 0House value (Gross)..................... 0Shares and bonds........................ 0Car(s).................................. 0Other assets............................ 0[b]Total Assets............................ 0[/b][b]No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts[/b][b]Unsecured Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR1st credit finance.............350.......0.........0Arrow global...................285.......0.........0Cabot..........................553.......0.........0virgin media...................117.......0.........0octopus........................930.......0.........0o2.............................477.......0.........0ncc............................317.......0.........0natwest........................584.......0.........0natwest........................476.......0.........0lowell.........................436.......0.........0lowell.........................238.......0.........0lowell.........................418.......0.........0lowell.........................371.......0.........0lowell.........................561.......0.........0lowell.........................678.......0.........0lowell.........................1201......0.........0leeds council..................2222......0.........0easy2pay.......................1050......0.........0close bros.....................411.......0.........0cash plus......................54........0.........0cabot..........................385.......0.........0[b]Total unsecured debts..........12114.....0.........- [/b] On the debts you need a much clearer picture. Are you genuinely paying nothing on any of them? Are any at 0%? Start by going through those letters you're not throwing away any more - some of those will give you up to date balances, interest rates etc. Once you have those you can start to form a proper plan of attack.[b]Monthly Budget Summary[/b]Total monthly income.................... 4,305Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,390Available for debt repayments........... 1,915Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0[b]Amount left after debt repayments....... 1,915[/b][b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]Total assets (things you own)........... 0Total HP & Secured debt................. -0Total Unsecured debt.................... -12,114[b]Net Assets.............................. -12,114[/b][i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.LemonFool.co.uk.Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]
That figure available that you don't have each month is a LOT of money to just be effectively "losing". In real terms you are talking about a sum in excess of TWENTY TWO THOUSAND POUNDS a year that you currently have no idea where it is going. Now look at that in relation to that total debt figure - can you see how (relatively speaking) easy this situation is to sort out? Makes you think, doesn't it. Of course you *don't* actually have that sum left floating around because you're not budgeting for everything you spend at the moment - and presumably some of that is also going towards debt payments.
First step I'd suggest is a spending diary - keep receipts for EVERYTHING you spend, and note it down. Stop and think before spending too - do you really need the thig? Do you need it right now? Might there be a better deal elsewhere, or even do you already own something that can be used instead?
Regarding the debts, how do I know who I owe to etc? Do I go by what is showing on my credit report?0
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