Horrified. Minimum payments for life or DMP

kimwp

Callister0405 said:

Yes it’s always a new car on PCP, I will look into getting it sold and finance  settled and hopefully I can find something else that will still be reliable. 

I have no idea why I have never thought of contents insurance, seems silly now.  I will get some quotes this evening.

yeah a mortgage would be way down the line and I’m still not sure it is something we would do or not, part of me has the “should really own a home by this age” idea. Other part of me things I am in a secure lifelong tenancy in which everything is fixed when needed so why would I commit to ownership. Would only
be as a benefit for the children really once we drop one day. 

So I shouldn’t worry about defaults … once they do default and I commence DMP do the calls and letters slow down? I dread that part.

My grandpa bought his council house and regretted it - everyone else had their roofs done for free while he had to pay for it. I imagine they will be insulating all the council houses at some point. I have my own house and it's definitely a balance of the financial benefit Vs having to keep on top of all the maintenance and repairs - if I knew I was financially set, I'd go for rented (with a good landlord) anyday. For your children, a sum of money earlier than later is probably more helpful. We were lucky to be gifted enough for house deposits in our early twenties - along with being set on good career paths, so any money we get from inheritance is a bonus but not something we are relying on as we are already set up and financially independent.

I've no personal experience with the letters, but if you can reframe them to remind yourself that they don't really mean anything, it will help your peace of mind.

sammyjammy

Start planning your DMP to settle the nerves a bit, google nedcab, its a citizens advice in North East Derbyshire that offers fantastic support and templates for self managed DMPs, if you start planning that then when you've defaulted everything you can send them your statement of affairs (set up as what you want it to show!) with one of their template letters and everything will settle down.

I'm off the opinion that it would be good to use some of the money you will be saving in the interim to pay off a couple of the smaller payments, that way you'll have less defaults.  You could also pay a higher amount on any smaller ones left to pay them off quicker, the less debts you have the easier it will be to manage.

Racky_Roo

Just to add that WBAC do tend to reduce the price they show on screen when you do the assessment as they don't ask for damage upfront. Worth trying CarWow who ask for all that upfront and so their price is accurate if you're honest.

Callister0405

sammyjammy said:

Start planning your DMP to settle the nerves a bit, google nedcab, its a citizens advice in North East Derbyshire that offers fantastic support and templates for self managed DMPs, if you start planning that then when you've defaulted everything you can send them your statement of affairs (set up as what you want it to show!) with one of their template letters and everything will settle down.

I'm off the opinion that it would be good to use some of the money you will be saving in the interim to pay off a couple of the smaller payments, that way you'll have less defaults.  You could also pay a higher amount on any smaller ones left to pay them off quicker, the less debts you have the easier it will be to manage.

Thank you. I had wondered is it better to save a good fund to use if needed, or if it’s better to pay some of the smaller debts whilst waiting for default. 

Rob5342

Callister0405 said:

sammyjammy said:

Start planning your DMP to settle the nerves a bit, google nedcab, its a citizens advice in North East Derbyshire that offers fantastic support and templates for self managed DMPs, if you start planning that then when you've defaulted everything you can send them your statement of affairs (set up as what you want it to show!) with one of their template letters and everything will settle down.

I'm off the opinion that it would be good to use some of the money you will be saving in the interim to pay off a couple of the smaller payments, that way you'll have less defaults.  You could also pay a higher amount on any smaller ones left to pay them off quicker, the less debts you have the easier it will be to manage.

Thank you. I had wondered is it better to save a good fund to use if needed, or if it’s better to pay some of the smaller debts whilst waiting for default. 

Personally I'd put it all into savings to start with so you have a good fallback should you lose you job or have an unexpected bill. Also once they have defaulted they will probably be passed to a debt collector, who would probably be prepared to accept a reduced settlement amount after a few years.

[Deleted User]

Callister0405 said:

It feels bizzare thinking of not making repayments for a period of time. Should I go ahead with usual payments for this month then start contacting card company’s etc following this? 

Do people tend to pick a date of when they will just stop paying or do you stop and pay some
of the smaller debts off while waiting for the larger ones to default? Or is the general idea to save as much as poss before it all starts in DMP? 

I am having a read through others posts to get an idea but thought I could ask here as so many seem to have a lot of knowledge 

We/they do - because most of us have been where you are and have come out the other end wiser for it.

Clearing debt is such hard work and seems never ending but the huge feeling of pride and satisfaction at the end is immense - and the knowledge you acquire along the way makes you determined never to get yourself in the situation again.

It might sound easy for us to give advice but it's really coming from the experiences we've all shared.

Callister0405

Thank you. Yes it is great to know others have come out the other side and whilst it’s a long slog it’ll hopefully pass quickly! Time flies. 

CreditCardJunkie

I've just read through your whole diary so far and you've lots of great advice from other users.

I just wanted to add some info about my experience with right to buy (I also live in NI). You don't need a deposit, the bank will take your discount as a deposit. If you've been in the house a long time the discount may be quite a lot (although there is a cap, check on NIHE website). When we bought our property our boiler was extremely old and NIHE wouldn't replace. The boiler ended up going in the middle of winter when we had a 5 month old baby and I was on statutory maternity pay. We paid 2.5k for a new boiler (financed by credit card). Our boiler was completed on the Friday and on the Monday morning all the council properties around me were getting theirs replaced for free. They've since had new guttering, front doors, fencing and bathrooms. Honestly I would consider staying as a tenant if it's a house you want to live in forever. We were in our 20s when we bought the property and will move on hopefully in the next few years. For us it was a stepping stone onto the property ladder.