Diary of a 30-something idiot

foxandflowers

ALSO I've just noticed the SOA has a glaring mistake that I was too fried to notice. Asset Collection debt is £12,002, not £120,002!!!!! 

edited and updated. 

SueP19

OK trouble with SOAs they give you a heap of questions

Your benefits aren't very high for salary an no of kids? Not a benefit expert but have you checked this

No mortgage or rent, is this asset collections ? 

Not mentioning sky because others will nail you on this but I get you, rural living can be a b*tch, same goes for Internet people don't realise town Internet is very cheap, rural rural is twice the price (no competition)

Storage unit will make you profitable before debts so clearing is a great idea

After that you need to zero all debt repayments except council tax and water. Most of the other debts can be moved to a token payment until you are sorted.

Good luck xx

foxandflowers

SueP19 said:

OK trouble with SOAs they give you a heap of questions

Your benefits aren't very high for salary an no of kids? Not a benefit expert but have you checked this

No mortgage or rent, is this asset collections ? 

Not mentioning sky because others will nail you on this but I get you, rural living can be a b*tch, same goes for Internet people don't realise town Internet is very cheap, rural rural is twice the price (no competition)

Storage unit will make you profitable before debts so clearing is a great idea

After that you need to zero all debt repayments except council tax and water. Most of the other debts can be moved to a token payment until you are sorted.

Good luck xx

Hi Sue, 

I don't think we are entitled to benefits because I own my house outright... my parents passed away and I was able to use my inheritance to pay for the house. I've also wasted a lot of it, but at least I don't have rent/mortgage to pay. Which is why I cannot figure out why my outgoings continue to be so extortionate. 
I know the Sky is a terrible thing to do, but it was more of a needs must, and like you say with being so rural, there are limited providers too, which absolutely doesn't help. Part of the reason I want to move is I'm hoping it will bring the bills down, because there will be more competition. 
I'm hoping we can find something to sell in the unit. But I have an awful feeling it is just camping things, furniture that doesn't fit in our smaller home but isn't worth much at all, and... I don't even know what else. Just thinking about it makes me miserable, it is such a waste of money, and all the things in there likely are a huge waste of money too. I have to get out of the hole somehow, and that seems the most feasible place to start. 

enthusiasticsaver

How do you and your partner organise finances?  It looks like they are separate but you pay council tax,utilities and food.  Is the house mortgage free and who owns it? What is your partners financial situation? 

As that soa stands there is insufficient  income to cover expenses let alone debt repayments so I think you have no option but to default and cut back as much as possible.  Clearing the storage unit and maybe selling the stuff may help clear some of the debt. You need to keep as much back in savings for emergencies  as possible as you will not  have access to credit. You can do a self managed DMP if stepchange won't take you.  

foxandflowers

enthusiasticsaver said:

How do you and your partner organise finances?  It looks like they are separate but you pay council tax,utilities and food.  Is the house mortgage free and who owns it? What is your partners financial situation? 

As that soa stands there is insufficient  income to cover expenses let alone debt repayments so I think you have no option but to default and cut back as much as possible.  Clearing the storage unit and maybe selling the stuff may help clear some of the debt. You need to keep as much back in savings for emergencies  as possible as you will not  have access to credit. You can do a self managed DMP if stepchange won't take you.  

Hi, 

I pay for everything. My husband is currently a stay-at-home parent, but is looking for work. He has no formal education and spotted work history, and as I mentioned, we live rurally, so this is a lot harder than it should be. The house is mortgage free, and in my name only. 

I'm hoping between the storage unit and car (if it ever gets fixed, this has been an ongoing saga since end of November) I should be able to clear the lower hanging fruit debts. So the electrician, the waste management company, and the £200 credit card can be wiped. 

I have no savings at all. In fact my bank is -£14 overdrawn at the moment. The van needs a service, and I'm already behind on all my bills, so I am DREADING my first paycheck, because I just know it's all going to be swallowed and once again there will be too much month at the end of my money. 

foxandflowers

Not that I can add a signature yet, but my debt total is 

£37,465

And I have absolutely nothing to show for it. 

CL21

It will be okay! The first step is the hardest and waking up to the debt is so difficult but you’ve done it. As you say, ring stepchange first. They can give advice to you in the short term. 

There’s no partner income? Are they not working at the moment? Is this a possibility? Are there any other benefits you might be entitled to? 

I’m sure someone much more experienced than me will be along to comment but for now, just wishing you all the best. It’s not an impossible situation x

Sarahwithlove

If he is a stay at home parent could he spend the day helping put things for sale on fb or ebay, do surveys etc. Also if he is stay at home why are you paying for after school care? 
I would start with the storage and try and sell or give things away if you aren't going to be able to use it. Fb is always good for that, getting 5 or 10 even makes it all add up. 
I would also suggest sorting through paperwork and establishing what's on your dmp with stepchange and what you are paying interest on etc. 
You can always do self managed DMP for the other debts. 
Well done for acknowledging where you are going wrong and now you can make steps to change. 

foxandflowers

Sarahwithlove said:

If he is a stay at home parent could he spend the day helping put things for sale on fb or ebay, do surveys etc. Also if he is stay at home why are you paying for after school care? 
I would start with the storage and try and sell or give things away if you aren't going to be able to use it. Fb is always good for that, getting 5 or 10 even makes it all add up. 
I would also suggest sorting through paperwork and establishing what's on your dmp with stepchange and what you are paying interest on etc. 
You can always do self managed DMP for the other debts. 
Well done for acknowledging where you are going wrong and now you can make steps to change. 

Hi Sarah, 

He absolutely could help with listing things online, I will mention this to him tonight. I'm paying for after school care because it's my daughter that is with us full time, and honestly, I would rather she was at after school club getting social time with her peers, than at home in front of a screen. I realise this is probably going to make me sound feckless and lazy, but she absolutely LOVES going, and spending time with her friends. And I feel a lot of guilt over working full time and not being around much, so I want to be able to give her things that are good for her and that she enjoys. Plus she is also ADHD, and I think sometimes my husband finds it easier to just give her screens if he's watching her, otherwise she can be quite hard to keep up with. I'm trying really hard to reduce screen time in general, it's like a drug for children and I'm so burned out when I get home that I'm not much better with my phone. So yeah, a bit of a ramble, but I'm just trying to be as honest as possible. 

I think it might be worth putting what I can on the DMP. I don't think my financial muscles are capable of juggling multiple payments to different creditors, as is evidenced by the above amounts of debt. I would love to be really organised and on top of things, but I've been drowning for so long that I don't know how any more. 

foxandflowers

CL21 said:

It will be okay! The first step is the hardest and waking up to the debt is so difficult but you’ve done it. As you say, ring stepchange first. They can give advice to you in the short term. 

There’s no partner income? Are they not working at the moment? Is this a possibility? Are there any other benefits you might be entitled to? 

I’m sure someone much more experienced than me will be along to comment but for now, just wishing you all the best. It’s not an impossible situation x

No partner income, he is looking, but as I said above, we live rurally and he has limited formal education which is making things harder than they should be. I would also be lost without him being at home if I'm totally honest, as I don't drive and would struggle to get to work/school on time if he wasn't there, as the buses are awful.