What would you do? 11 June 2022 at 3:52PM in Debt-free wannabe 36 replies 2.4K views

PM22

Hi,

I live in a flat with my son, 18, and I have 12k debt with stepchange and am only making token payments. 
I have bipolar disorder and work 38 hours a week.

I am trying to decide whether to 

A) Sell up and move into rented
Work on Saturdays and risk a bipolar relapse, but get to stay in my flat

No point doing soa as stepchange have already done this and concluded I have barely enough for a token payment plan.
I have 150k equity but am struggling to afford to stay here and cannot downsize. I considered moving up north but can't be sure I'd get a job

Sick with worry 

Grumpelstiltskin

I thought you had decided to stay put?

Big life decision - Page 11 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

PM22

I have but should I sell my flat and move into rented locally so I'm not living hand to mouth or should I work more hours and risk my mental health to stay put? That is my next dilemma 

fatbelly

You say there's no point doing an soa but we could make a more informed response if we could see one.


Token payments are not a long-term plan, as I'm sure stepchange have said. But sometimes it's about finding the least-worst strategy and so token payments on non-priority debts may be the only option, but I couldn't really say that without seeing a soa.

PM22

i did put one up on my previous post and there were no major standout savings to be made
thanks for replying 
I understand token payments are only for a short time 

Grumpelstiltskin

Copied from previous thread.

• Household Information
  
  Number of adults in household........... 2
  Number of children in household......... 
  Number of cars owned.................... 1 ( My son is 18, studies full time and pays for his own car including insurance , haircuts, clothes, transport, college costs, social life as he is studying for A levels and working at McDonald's. I literally pay his food, utilities and that's it)
  
  
  Monthly Income Details
  Monthly income after tax................ 1807
  Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
  Benefits................................ 91.65
  Other income............................ 0
  
  Total monthly income.................... 1898.65
  
  
  Monthly Expense Details[/b]
  Mortgage................................ 650
  Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
  Rent.................................... 0
  Management charge (leasehold property).. 35
  Council tax............................. 111
  Electricity............................. 89
  Gas..................................... 79
  Oil..................................... 0
  Water rates............................. 36
  Telephone (land line)................... 0
  Mobile phone............................ 80 - cannot be changed according to O2...recent shiny new Bipolar high driven purchase...includes monthly usage which also cannot be changed. I tried...believe me 
  TV Licence.............................. 13.08
  Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
  Internet Services....................... 33
  Groceries etc. ......................... 350.....I know but the cat won't eat Aldi food so adds 
  Clothing................................ 10
  Petrol/diesel........................... 255.... I commute to work 
  Road tax................................ 3
  Car Insurance........................... 40.... includes breakdown I hope 
  Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25.... very old car 
  Car parking............................. 0
  Other travel............................ 0
  Childcare/nursery....................... 0
  Other child related expenses............ 0
  Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
  Pet insurance/vet bills................. 15.....only recently taken out 
  Buildings insurance..................... 0....I don't know if the council made me pay this earlier this year.....ex LA flat,
  cheapest flat in Crawley when bought 
  Contents insurance...................... 5
  Life assurance ......................... 0
  Other insurance......................... 0
  Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
  Haircuts................................ 10
  Entertainment........................... 0
  Holiday................................. 0
  Emergency fund.......................... 10.... I get so depressed about this so I buy loads of dental hygiene products...at least I'll die with my teeth 
  Total monthly expenses.................. 1849.08
  
  
  
  
  Assets
  
  Cash.................................... 235,000
  House value (Gross)..................... 0
  Shares and bonds........................ 0
  Car(s).................................. 0
  Other assets............................ 0
  Total Assets............................ 233000
  
  
  
  
  Secured & HP Debts[/b]
  Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
  Mortgage...................... 85000....(650)......very low as ex husband is rich and owns multiple properties....assured it cannot be lower... he earns more than the PM so I trust him
  Total secured & HP debts...... 85000.....-.........-   
  
  
  
  [b]Unsecured Debts[/b]
  Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
  NatWest Overdraft .............250.......0.........I think 29.99
  118 Money Loan unsecu..........4700......0.........I think 39.99
  Zopa ..........................200.......0.........I don't know 
  Capital One ...................750.......0.........I think 39%
  
  Ocean Finance .................200.......0.........I think 39.99%
  Aqua ..........................1300......0.........I think 39.99%
  118 Credit Card ...............1300......0.........I think 39%
  Total unsecured debts..........8700......0.........
  1. I can't seem to work more than 40 hours as it sends me into mania 
  2. I owe someone £500
  3. I owe someone else £1550
  4. I owe payday loans maybe 1500
  5. I am contracted to do a course with ILM payments are 201.25 per month and I have deferred my place as I am currently suicidal with Bipolar episode 
  6. ILM charged me an extra £60 to defer and said I cannot get out of paying the fees until December 2022 - no matter what, absolutely nothing they can do even if I quit the course I have to pay for it
  Monthly Budget Summary - This is not a true reflection - see above 
  Total monthly income.................... 1,898.65
  Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,849.08
  Available for debt repayments........... 49.57..... StepChange calculated £13.00 for token repayments 
  Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0[b]
  Amount left after debt repayments....... 49.57[/b]
  
  
  [b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]
  Total assets (things you own)........... 233,000
  Total HP & Secured debt................. -85,000
  Total Unsecured debt.................... -8,700[b]
  Net Assets.............................. 139,300[/b]
  
  
  [i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com. 
  
  
  
  
  
  

enthusiasticsaver

PM22 said:

Hi,

I live in a flat with my son, 18, and I have 12k debt with stepchange and am only making token payments. 
I have bipolar disorder and work 38 hours a week.

I am trying to decide whether to 

A) Sell up and move into rented
Work on Saturdays and risk a bipolar relapse, but get to stay in my flat

No point doing soa as stepchange have already done this and concluded I have barely enough for a token payment plan.
I have 150k equity but am struggling to afford to stay here and cannot downsize. I considered moving up north but can't be sure I'd get a job

Sick with worry 

I can’t see how moving into rented will help you unless the rent is much lower than £650 which is your mortgage? The equity is no use to you unless you move to a cheaper area but that comes with its own difficulties. Just ignore the debt. You can’t afford to repay it so eventually it will be written off unless your circumstances change. 

Maskface

Can't you just release a bit of equity to pay the debt off? £12k is nothing in the greater scheme of things when you've got £150k equity to play with. With that much equity you might get a better mortgage interest rate if you renew it. Ignoring the debt is a bad move as you risk a ccj and then creditors can apply for an attachment to earnings. You'll also struggle even more to get a mortgage.

TheAble

£350 on groceries because your cat won't eat Aldi food?

I also can't see why moving to rented would solve your problems. If you can't work more then you need to reduce your expenses (a worthwhile exercise btw whether you can work more or not.)

rach_k

What is the plan with your son?  If he's doing A-levels now, maybe uni or a career/job in the next year or so?

If you can get by as you are until then, that might give you some options e.g. he might move out for uni, meaning you could move somewhere smaller (perhaps you'll still want a room for him to sleep in during hols etc but that could be a dining room or tiny box room), or he might stay home but be able to contribute towards the bills a bit.

My sisters and I all paid £200/month board to our mum while we were at uni - as well as paying for the stuff your son is currently paying for.  It felt like a very good deal as it was so much cheaper than living out.  That was... ahem, a few years ago so you could see if he could afford more than that.  I know people don't like to ask their children for money but if you're an adult expecting your parent to keep a larger home than they need so you can live there, it's not unreasonable to pay a little towards that.

PM22

Thank you all for your replies

My son is moving to another college and will stay with me and his dad so he will wor/study/earn and probably pay 
£100 towards his food/bills as he won't be here that often.

I can't downsize to a 1 bed or studio as there is 70k outstanding on the mortgage and that won'tleave enough to re-house

How can they make a CCJ for an attachment of earnings if there's no earnings left over? That would mean I then can't pay my priority bills.

I can't work more. I work 38 hours with major anxiety and bipolar disorder. I need alot of rest to stay well. It always ends in a massive relapse and time off work sickness. I really don't want to get ill again.

The cat now eats from Aldi so I no longer step foot in Sainsbury's and I only go to Aldi once a week.

I can't release equity as it's actually my ex husbands mortgage that I pay as I struggle with financial things due to my bipolar taht he is aware of. It will be repaid in 13 years in full and I could then pay the debts?