High interest mortgage

MattMattMattUK

MarieQG said:

electric - £475 per month
water - £75 per month
Groceries - £800 per month
Sky - 100 per month
tv license - £156 per annum
Total: £1,465 pm

Unless you are paying back arrears on your energy and water bills they seem very high and should be able to save quite easily, you should be able to more than halve both. 
You should be able to get them down to 
Electricity: £150-200 pm
Water: £30 pm
Groceries: £400 pm
Sky: £0 pm (cancel it)
TV License: £0 pm (cancel it)
Total: £580 Saving £885 straight away. 

There are bound to be other bits you can cut back on as well so you can make a real impact quickly, this will give you both financial space and also mental space. 

MattMattMattUK

MarieQG said:

I do have a Rolex and some bags I would sell tomorrow if I knew where to do this. I tried to sell my watch and they wanted to send it off for health checks and couldn’t guarantee me much. 

Take your time selling the Rolex, do not sell to one of the quick buy companies. You will almost certainly get more than you paid for it, depending on the model and condition you could get 2-3 times what you paid for it. 

MarieQG said:

When I look online I see places that sell bags but you have to post them and wait for it to sell. I’m dubious about this.

There are companies that do this legitimately, they will want the bag in advance to verify it is authentic, to check it's condition etc. Again, depending on the bag you can get a good amount back for them, sometimes more than you paid, just make sure you find a legitimate company and they will charge you a percentage. 

MarieQG said:

your right, this has been such a life changing event for me. I will never ever take any finance or anything other than my mortgage again. The stress has taken so much away from us as a family.
i mentally can’t handle missing a mortgage payment. It scares me so much. 

Debt can be a horrible thing and it can feel overwhelming but talking about it is the first part of solving the program. 

sourcrates

This is just my own opinion, but a statutory demand for 11k shouldn`t lead to bankruptcy, its like taking a sledgehammer to a walnut, a reasonable judge would insist on a payment plan been agreed rather than the nuclear option.

It would cost the school almost 2k in fees to make you bankrupt.

Statutory demands are used by such institutions as a "shock" tactic, but are rarely followed through with.

EssexHebridean

@MattMattMattUK the OP is running two properties and a caravan for that electricity cost, so not as extortionate as it at first appears. 

EssexHebridean

The TV license could be canceled if you change your TV watching habits to suit the lack of license. 

Groceries - yes, for a family of 5 £800 does still count as high, you may not be able to quite halve it these days for that many folk, but I bet you can get it down to £500 ish relatively easily. 

How are you feeling about things this morning - did you manage to get some sleep? Do you have a plan of action for today to start tackling things one at a time? 

MattMattMattUK

MarieQG said:

Hi Matt, thank you for this. 

The electric was because of a backlog from when we first moved in so I’m stuck with that. About 6k arrears.

EssexHebridean said:

@MattMattMattUK the OP is running two properties and a caravan for that electricity cost, so not as extortionate as it at first appears. 

Sorry, I had missed that. 

MarieQG said:

Can I really cancel tv license if I watch tv?

Not if you watch TV, but equally paying £100 a month on TV at the moment seems excessive, I would get rid of Sky and just watch terrestrial, or get rid of both and use free streaming options (with ads). Possibly take on streaming service at a time, which as you are not watching live TV does not need a license.

MarieQG said:

and get the water down that low?

Yes, £75pm is very high, are you on rates or a meter? If on rates then ask for a meter to be installed, using that amount on a water meter would be difficult, it would be a huge volume of water. 

MarieQG said:

and I was suprised that £800 was a lot to feed a family of 5 but after listening to everyone I am definitely going to aim to half it. Everyone said my food bill was too high. X

If you drop brands entirely that saves a huge amount. Lowering meat consumption, especially red meat and fresh fish saves a huge amount as well, getting rid of any form of ready meal etc.. Meal planning so nothing goes to waste, cooking lower cost meals, sometimes batch cooking so that you always have a bunch of each microwavable options in the freezer should you need them etc. can change a huge amount. Alcohol can also be a significant saving if that is in your budget. It doe somewhat depend on the age of the children, things like nappies can add up quickly. The Old School Moneysaving section on here is great for low cost meal ideas, there are also hundreds of low cost recopies on BBC Good Food which is great for ideas to have delicious meals for a lower cost. It really is amazing how much you can save from food costs and it can also be a great way to try lots of different meals that you would not otherwise cook. I will admit it is easier if you enjoy cooking, or at least do not hate it.

Grumpelstiltskin

The Rolex, have you anything like this close to you?


The Saturday Auctions 25th January 2025... (25 Jan 25)

Or a proper jeweller who sells secondhand watches?

Saves putting it in the post which could have problems.

ManyWays

£800 isnt massive for a family of 5 but you may be able to get it down a bit. £400 is unlikely if that amount includes toiletries and cleaning stuff, not just food. 

Who is your mortgage lender? How large is the mortgage? How much is the house worth? Selling the house is almost always the last resort, but these are key bits of your financial jigsaw to know. 

EssexHebridean

Marie - as a completely separate post to everything else...

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 

sourcrates

A judge will not grant a bankruptcy for 11k if a payment agreement can be reached instead, especially as you have kids.

They almost always take the common sense approach to these situations.

Orders for sale are now so rare, official records are no longer kept.

If you have a Rolex, that`s pretty much the debt covered surely?? and you have designer bags as well, I think talk of selling the house is a tad premature.