24k credit card debt - help, sanity check

Kim_13

BlackPeony said:

Rob5342 said:

Starling, Monzo and Chase are perfectly safe as they are FSCS protected so if anything happened to them you'd get your money back. Starling and Monzo have much better apps the other banks too and they are always my top recommendation for anyone. 

Did you stop your payments as mentioned before to get defaults? Once defaulted the debts are likely to be sold so they won't be anything to do with the original bank any more. 

Also your boyfriend will find out about everything, the only question is when. It's better to juat tell him and deal with it now so you can get on with everything else. 

Wow, really, that’s so great to hear then! I only heard / read quite negative or on the fence reviews about them, I’m actually relieved reading this and I will definitely look into maybe a Chase and a Monzo account then. 

I did stop my payments for 2 months only but then I ‘chickened out’ and restarted my DMP as the calling/ letters and messages was all so stressful.. I am now defaulted on 5 accounts which is not bad in such a short period of time, NewDay seems to be holding on the longest for some reason. 

One good thing that happened in the interim is that I placed all cards on the table with my boyfriend and he is now aware of everything. He was a lot more understanding than I thought and never once threatened us to leave the house, only asked me to manage this responsibly and to avoid having any financial associations with him as he doesn’t want any issues moving forward, which I completely get. 

Chase pays 1% cashback on most debit card transactions - treat money while repaying your debts, possibly? It’s also just an ID check to get it, whereas you might fail a credit check with those that require them for a current account and be declined.

I have an account with them and like that I can message them in the app if I have an issue. Many who are struggling would struggle to pick up the phone. You can also contact them by phone if you prefer.

NatWest/Royal Bank of Scotland/Ulster Bank are the same group (RBS being out on its own savings safety protection wise due to it being operated under a different banking licence; whether they can set off between brands under different licences I’m not sure.)

HSBC/First Direct

Lloyds/Halifax/Bank of Scotland (Lloyds on a different banking licence from the others.)

Santander/Cahoot

Nationwide Building Society/Virgin Money are in the pipeline, as are Coventry Building Society/Co-Op

Metro have branches while not being a big bank

TSB are on their own.

BlackPeony

Andyjflet said:

How are you getting on with your SOA, an accurate one always feels like you are then really getting stuck into this, I mean pounds and pence not just rounding numbers?

I'm just working on a new one as you guys gave me the confidence to take more charge of my issues and I'm planning on managing my own DMP in a few months. 
The communication with StepChange is not as good as it used to be, it's like they gave up on me after I set everything up and the DMP DDs are going out regularly from my account, all my other queries and issues were passed back onto me saying I have to discuss with my creditors directly or to ask for a formal budget review through them and we can look at alternative solutions. 
I now realise, looking back at my initial SOA, that I never included any money for savings being in full panic mode when I started, right now for example I have massive dental issues to sort out and I was recommended to set up a dental plan, my car insurance went up quite a bit too, cambelt needs changing this year ... there's a few adjustments I desperately need to do to my budget. I was also in hospital for 2 weeks this month, luckily I'm entitled to sick pay otherwise I'd have been in trouble again. 
I also reached out to RCN (with me being a Nurse) and they strongly encouraged me to stay on a consistent DMP preferably through a debt charity or any trustworthy 3rd party to avoid any legal action and CCJs. 

Rob5342

I found that Stepchange caused more problems than they solved. If you manage it yourself then you can concentrate on making things work for you instead of having to worry about keeping Stepchange happy. There is no need to provide income and expenditure details to anyone, you just work things out to suit you and tell them what they'll be getting. If it needs to change for any reason then you simply adjust what you pay them.

I've been with Monzo for three years and can't fault them. 

BlackPeony

[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]

Household Information[/b]

Number of adults in household........... 2

Number of children in household......... 1

Number of cars owned.................... 1[b]

Monthly Income Details[/b]

Monthly income after tax................ 2000

Partners monthly income after tax....... 0

Benefits................................ 105

Other income............................ 0[b]

Total monthly income.................... 2105[/b][b]

Monthly Expense Details[/b]

Mortgage................................ 0

Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0

Rent.................................... 500

Management charge (leasehold property).. 0

Council tax............................. 85

Electricity............................. 50

Gas..................................... 80

Oil..................................... 0

Water rates............................. 25

Telephone (land line)................... 10

Mobile phone............................ 60

TV Licence.............................. 10

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 10

Internet Services....................... 30

Groceries etc. ......................... 400

Clothing................................ 100

Petrol/diesel........................... 100

Road tax................................ 20

Car Insurance........................... 80

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50

Car parking............................. 0

Other travel............................ 0

Childcare/nursery....................... 200

Other child related expenses............ 50

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 50

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0

Buildings insurance..................... 0

Contents insurance...................... 0

Life assurance ......................... 30

Other insurance......................... 0

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50

Haircuts................................ 0

Entertainment........................... 30

Holiday................................. 0

Emergency fund.......................... 50[b]

Total monthly expenses.................. 2070[/b]

[b]

Assets[/b]

Cash.................................... 0

House value (Gross)..................... 0

Shares and bonds........................ 0

Car(s).................................. 6000

Other assets............................ 0[b]

Total Assets............................ 6000[/b]

[b]

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts[/b]

[b]Unsecured Debts[/b]

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Pulse Card (NewDay)............6659......0.........0

Aqua Card (NewDay).............4666......0.........0

Tesco Bank.....................3082......0.........0

M&S Bank ......................966.......0.........0

Argos Recoveries...............1340......0.........0

Next Credit Account............1341......0.........0

Paypal Credit..................1394......0.........0

Sainsbury's Bank Card..........2100......0.........0

HSBC Card .....................1936......0.........0[b]

Total unsecured debts..........23484.....0.........-  [/b]

[b]

Monthly Budget Summary[/b]

Total monthly income.................... 2,105

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,070

Available for debt repayments........... 35

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0[b]

Amount left after debt repayments....... 35[/b]

[b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]

Total assets (things you own)........... 6,000

Total HP & Secured debt................. -0

Total Unsecured debt.................... -23,484[b]

Net Assets.............................. -17,484[/b]

[i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com. 

Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]

BlackPeony

The above is the most accurate and up-to-date version of my income and expenses, I cross-checked this with my boyfriend and I am shocked at how high the cost of living is, no wonder I've been digging myself deeper and deeper into debt.
I am planning on doing some overtime next month once I fully recover health-wise, I'm afraid Stepchange will want me to pay that little extra into my debts whereas it's like to add it to my savings account if possible. I might need to cut ties with them sooner. 
Anyway, this is the version that I will put forward to my creditors once I start self-managing my DMP, do you think they will say something about me putting some money aside for savings and having medical /dental plans included? Would that be frowned upon if I eventually end up in court? 
Thank you... 

Grumpelstiltskin

So you are saying the SOA is showing half of the household expenses, ie, the rent is £1000 monthly in total.
One small point TV licence is £14 monthly so your share should be £7.

Groceries surely not £800 in total?

I don't think your SOA is accurate.

BlackPeony

Grumpelstiltskin said:

So you are saying the SOA is showing half of the household expenses, ie, the rent is £1000 monthly in total.
One small point TV licence is £14 monthly so your share should be £7.

Groceries surely not £800 in total?

I don't think your SOA is accurate.

Yes, household bills we all share 50 / 50 even though my daughter is with us as well, so I contribute a bit more into the groceries and also pay school meals for my daughter, I did my best to look at my statements and that's what I really spend a month on groceries (which includes toiletries for myself and my daughter of course). 
Agreed about the TV license, thank you for the correction, I just knew it was somewhere around there. 
Where do you think it's inaccurate, please? Trying to double-check everything is okay. 

Grumpelstiltskin

Groceries 2 adults and 1 child really should be doable at £500 a month so you shouldn't be contributing £400.

All figures seem to be rounded so you need to check out exact figures.

Another query why £50 monthly for medical expenses?

BlackPeony

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Groceries 2 adults and 1 child really should be doable at £500 a month so you shouldn't be contributing £400.

All figures seem to be rounded so you need to check out exact figures.

Another query why £50 monthly for medical expenses?

I agree it looks a lot, but really this is all without any takeaways as well, I've massively cut down on any eating out or ordering. I'll get a meal deal or Greggs while at work as I work 12h shifts, I pay £60/month for my daughter's school meals and really every toiletry we buy at the supermarket so faily cheap, we don't buy any expensive over the top creams make-up etc. despite us both being women. 
I did round the figures indeed but so did I round my income as it varies monthly based on whether I work weekends or not, my income can be £1820 one month and £2000 the next simply due to the way my roster is allocated. I'm hoping my creditors would not ask me to account for every small change monthly, it might be plus minus £20 what I would be able to pay each month and then I'd have to even that out somehow, average over some time period, wouldn't it? 
£50 for medical expenses is as follows: 2 x prescriptions for myself per month, dental plan for myself and my daughter. 

Kim_13

BlackPeony said:

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Groceries 2 adults and 1 child really should be doable at £500 a month so you shouldn't be contributing £400.

All figures seem to be rounded so you need to check out exact figures.

Another query why £50 monthly for medical expenses?

I agree it looks a lot, but really this is all without any takeaways as well, I've massively cut down on any eating out or ordering. I'll get a meal deal or Greggs while at work as I work 12h shifts, I pay £60/month for my daughter's school meals and really every toiletry we buy at the supermarket so faily cheap, we don't buy any expensive over the top creams make-up etc. despite us both being women. 
I did round the figures indeed but so did I round my income as it varies monthly based on whether I work weekends or not, my income can be £1820 one month and £2000 the next simply due to the way my roster is allocated. I'm hoping my creditors would not ask me to account for every small change monthly, it might be plus minus £20 what I would be able to pay each month and then I'd have to even that out somehow, average over some time period, wouldn't it? 
£50 for medical expenses is as follows: 2 x prescriptions for myself per month, dental plan for myself and my daughter. 

If you have 2 prescriptions per month you should have a Prescription Prepayment Certificate. It's £114.50 for a year. Direct Debit is offered, so you don't have to pay it all upfront. 24 prescriptions a year cost £237.60.

Obviously if you are budgeting for 2 prescriptions month in case as you don't regularly need them that is a different matter, as some/most of that money would ultimately be saved (there is also a 3 month certificate if that would work out cheaper for medications that you won't remain on long term.) 

I can understand having a dental plan given the difficulty/impossibility in getting an NHS dentist in some areas, but whether you could be getting a better deal I can't say.

Do you have a B&M/Home Bargains/Savers? Considerable toiletry savings available vs buying at a supermarket.