Is Bankruptcy right for me?

MattMattMattUK

WBMK said:

MattMattMattUK said:

You say you and your partner's finances are separate, but you list a very low income for them, do they work? You list no benefit but if you have two children, based on your income would would get child benefit at a minimum. Some of your costs look quite high, they would also be horrifically high if you are only paying half of them and your partner is paying the other half.

WBMK said:

My income varies quite a lot depending on how many hours I work, so I've calculated my income as my guaranteed hours, would they accept this value as my income or would I need to prove it with payslips, etc? I don't want to commit to a bigger payment based on my recent income and then not have the same amount of overtime going forward.

They would want to look at averages and they would want payslips and bank statements, not just your say so, bankruptcy is a legal process. They would also question large cash withdrawals as hiding money etc.

To clarify, when I say our finances are separate, I mean we don't have any joint accounts, everything is in my name as I'm the sole earner hence the low income for them, the £173 I've listed is child benefit as that is in their name.

Does your partner have the capacity to work, if not are they entitled to any benefits, disability/PIP? If they are then unfortunately this is really a situation where they need to be looking at getting a job.

WBMK said:

fatbelly said:

Yes you're right . I thought I had hit the reason why you didn't want a DRO.

The limit is 50k. You are at 42k

Entertainment, holiday and emergency fund.

It's an individual application so your partner's income is only relevant in calculating their share of joint expenses.

The majority of the entertainment amount is actually fees for dance school for my children that's under contract for 12 months, there wasn't another field that I felt this came under on the SOA, would this be an allowed expense? I don't have any subscriptions, etc.

A bankruptcy would terminate those contracts, you would be able to end them and save the money.

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

Looking at your household income and expenses, you're only just covering the things you've budgeted for - no emergency fund to repair or replace a car that fails/breaks down for example, or headroom if the gas bill goes up.

Setting aside whether a DRO or bankruptcy is better, does your partner have any ability to work to raise your household income overall?

I've calculated the income based on my guaranteed hours of 45/week, however I often work upwards of around 60 so it's usually higher, but these overtime hours are not guaranteed. I also have to take mandatory unpaid leave every now and again to reduce my average working time under the working time regulations as I drive a HGV.

What is your average over the last year? That is the figure you should be using, at least for your initial purposes. If you went bankrupt then they would want to look at a year's figures.

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

Looking at your household income and expenses, you're only just covering the things you've budgeted for - no emergency fund to repair or replace a car that fails/breaks down for example, or headroom if the gas bill goes up.

Setting aside whether a DRO or bankruptcy is better, does your partner have any ability to work to raise your household income overall?

Also, if we was to increase our overall household income, my understanding is I most definitely wouldn't be eligible for DRO and my bankruptcy payment agreement would surely increase by the additional income, is this correct?

I agree with Emmia, you should not be looking at eligibility and specifically trying to qualify for a DRO or bankruptcy, you should be looking at what is the best outcome when taking a holistic view. If your partner got a job that netted £2k a month then that would make a lot of things easier, an IVA or DMP would then be on the table and you have more options, not less.

MattMattMattUK

WBMK said:

Monthly Expense Details

Water rates............................. 54.31
Go onto a water meter, this will probably come down to around £40

Mobile phone............................ 28.16
A SIM only plan with basic data that would cover you would cost £5 a month.

TV Licence.............................. 15
Get rid of this and stop watching live TV. 

Internet Services....................... 39
You should be able to get a budget package for around £25

Groceries etc. ......................... 600
Depending on the age of your children there might not be a huge saving here, but with a non-working partner who does not appear to have any disabilities (from the lack of disability benefits) then you should be able to cook nearly everything from scratch and save around £100-150 pm

Clothing................................ 80
If this is for everyone then it is probably a little now.
Petrol/diesel........................... 300
This seems very high, unless you are driving something huge that would indicate you are driving over 2,000 miles a month, when you drive full time for a living that seems very high. 

Road tax................................ 55.99
This also seems very high, a normal family car is currently in the £190-195 range, yours are an average of more than £300.

Car Insurance........................... 184.78
This also seems very high for two cars, average for 25-55 is around £510 per year in 2025, you are paying more than twice the average.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50
This seems very round, are you accounting for tyres, wipers etc. and is this based on actual, or just a guess?

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100
£1,200 a year would appear high based on current circumstances.

Haircuts................................ 0
No haircuts?

Entertainment........................... 186.47
High based on current circumstances

Holiday................................. 150
Need to drop this for a year or two

Emergency fund.......................... 100
Sensible

Total monthly expenses.................. 2827.46

Revised figure - £2,038
Saving £789 pm

The savings might be small, but they do add up, to nearly nine and a half thousand pounds a year, that makes a huge difference and gives you a lot more headroom.

With regard to the debts, how have they been accumulated? Has the money been accounted for within your spending? One off purchase, a short rush over the last few years, built up over a decade? Once you start the process that route to money is going to be cut off so you need to know where that spending went as well, and how to account for it going forward if any of it went on essentials.

WBMK

Emmia said:

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

Looking at your household income and expenses, you're only just covering the things you've budgeted for - no emergency fund to repair or replace a car that fails/breaks down for example, or headroom if the gas bill goes up.

Setting aside whether a DRO or bankruptcy is better, does your partner have any ability to work to raise your household income overall?

Also, if we was to increase our overall household income, my understanding is I most definitely wouldn't be eligible for DRO and my bankruptcy payment agreement would surely increase by the additional income, is this correct?

Surely in life the aim is to have enough money to not need a DRO or Bankruptcy, or to fall into debt. 

The point I was trying to make is that your income only just covering your basic expenses is probably what has led to the various debts on credit cards etc. so as a household i e., you and your partner once you've either gone bankrupt (which will prevent you reaching for credit to tide you over for a fair while) or have gone through the DRO, you probably still don't have enough money coming in. 

As a single wage earner in a job that requires a certain level of health and fitness, that's also a bit risky if you developed a health issue preventing you working as an HGV driver.

Edit: because of your forced unpaid leave to bring your working hours to the legal requirements,  you're effectively not actually earning overtime payments - if you include overtime, what's your average monthly income over the last 12 months?

Completely understand your point and my goal is to earn as much as possible in life, however at the moment I believe this will only lead to paying out more money for a longer period to settle all the debt. I've been in debt for around 12 years, started as an unaffordable phone contract that I stopped paying and small payday loans due to a low income and has escalated ever since to become what it is now. I've payed probably more in interest than what I currently owe due to never being able to pay it down, the level of debt/payments has always kept inline with my income due to refinancing etc. At this point I just feel I need a reset, I'm working 60ish hours a week and never see the benefits, I've never had a workplace pension as I've always opted to have the extra income instead and I don't have any savings. Although yes taking the unpaid leave does slightly reduce my overall hours, it doesn't happen often as I do have periods of time at work that don't count towards working time meaning I can effectively work longer hours and stay under the average working time threshold. My monthly average for the previous tax year was around £3240/month, again however this isn't guaranteed, this is a result of working as many hours as they would allow me to so that I could make payments. For reference, the total minimum monthly payments towards all the debt is around £1600 and was due to increase later this year as 2 of the credit cards are on 0% interest. My partner did have an income until a few months ago when the role was made reduntant, the job was completely flexible and so they could work whatever hours they wanted to, however their main priority is childcare and so can only work within school hours which is difficult to find.

At the moment, these are what I believe my possible options to be.

Self managed DMP
Been advised previously to base my income on my guaranteed hours for this, and so this would have me paying for the next 10 or so years (from estimated calculations of course)

Bankruptcy
Assuming this is based off of actual earnings, pay £680 to apply then commit to working 60 hours every week to pay £600-700 a month for the next 3 years totalling £21600-25200 (again from quick estimated calculations).
(EDIT: Assuming that if my partner did get another job, as their earnings would be contributing to the household expenses, my payment would effectively increase by the same/similar amount rendering their income pointless, or do I have this wrong?)

DRO
Again assuming this is based off of actual earnings, I would have too much surplus to be eligible.

WBMK

MattMattMattUK said:

WBMK said:

MattMattMattUK said:

You say you and your partner's finances are separate, but you list a very low income for them, do they work? You list no benefit but if you have two children, based on your income would would get child benefit at a minimum. Some of your costs look quite high, they would also be horrifically high if you are only paying half of them and your partner is paying the other half.

WBMK said:

My income varies quite a lot depending on how many hours I work, so I've calculated my income as my guaranteed hours, would they accept this value as my income or would I need to prove it with payslips, etc? I don't want to commit to a bigger payment based on my recent income and then not have the same amount of overtime going forward.

They would want to look at averages and they would want payslips and bank statements, not just your say so, bankruptcy is a legal process. They would also question large cash withdrawals as hiding money etc.

To clarify, when I say our finances are separate, I mean we don't have any joint accounts, everything is in my name as I'm the sole earner hence the low income for them, the £173 I've listed is child benefit as that is in their name.

Does your partner have the capacity to work, if not are they entitled to any benefits, disability/PIP? If they are then unfortunately this is really a situation where they need to be looking at getting a job.

WBMK said:

fatbelly said:

Yes you're right . I thought I had hit the reason why you didn't want a DRO.

The limit is 50k. You are at 42k

Entertainment, holiday and emergency fund.

It's an individual application so your partner's income is only relevant in calculating their share of joint expenses.

The majority of the entertainment amount is actually fees for dance school for my children that's under contract for 12 months, there wasn't another field that I felt this came under on the SOA, would this be an allowed expense? I don't have any subscriptions, etc.

A bankruptcy would terminate those contracts, you would be able to end them and save the money.

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

Looking at your household income and expenses, you're only just covering the things you've budgeted for - no emergency fund to repair or replace a car that fails/breaks down for example, or headroom if the gas bill goes up.

Setting aside whether a DRO or bankruptcy is better, does your partner have any ability to work to raise your household income overall?

I've calculated the income based on my guaranteed hours of 45/week, however I often work upwards of around 60 so it's usually higher, but these overtime hours are not guaranteed. I also have to take mandatory unpaid leave every now and again to reduce my average working time under the working time regulations as I drive a HGV.

What is your average over the last year? That is the figure you should be using, at least for your initial purposes. If you went bankrupt then they would want to look at a year's figures.

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

Looking at your household income and expenses, you're only just covering the things you've budgeted for - no emergency fund to repair or replace a car that fails/breaks down for example, or headroom if the gas bill goes up.

Setting aside whether a DRO or bankruptcy is better, does your partner have any ability to work to raise your household income overall?

Also, if we was to increase our overall household income, my understanding is I most definitely wouldn't be eligible for DRO and my bankruptcy payment agreement would surely increase by the additional income, is this correct?

I agree with Emmia, you should not be looking at eligibility and specifically trying to qualify for a DRO or bankruptcy, you should be looking at what is the best outcome when taking a holistic view. If your partner got a job that netted £2k a month then that would make a lot of things easier, an IVA or DMP would then be on the table and you have more options, not less.

Yes my partner does have the capacity to work, however only within school hours so realistically would only net ~£1000/month, however, increasing overall household income is only going to increase the monthly payment by the same/similar amount or do I have this wrong? Seems they would ultimately be working for nothing to me.

My average for the previous tax year was around £3240/month.

No offence, I really do appreciate the help and advice, however your comments read like you don't have children. I don't want to terminate the contract with the dance school, dancing has done wonders for my kids mental health and confidence over the past 1-2 years and they now compete regularly, last thing I want to do is take that away from them. Also, not sure that it would actually terminate the contract, dance school is actually treated the same way as a regular school (fines for missing x amount of sessions from local council, earning ACAS points, etc)

I'll reply to your revised SOA with some comments.

WBMK

MattMattMattUK said:

WBMK said:

Monthly Expense Details

Water rates............................. 54.31
Go onto a water meter, this will probably come down to around £40
Already on a water meter

Mobile phone............................ 28.16
A SIM only plan with basic data that would cover you would cost £5 a month.
Cost is for both sim only plans, I average around 40gb of data/month, partner averages around 8gb/month, cheapest deal that was available at the time and is still under contract

TV Licence.............................. 15
Get rid of this and stop watching live TV. 
Kids watch live TV, we occassionally was live too

Internet Services....................... 39
You should be able to get a budget package for around £25
Still under contract for 22 months

Groceries etc. ......................... 600
Depending on the age of your children there might not be a huge saving here, but with a non-working partner who does not appear to have any disabilities (from the lack of disability benefits) then you should be able to cook nearly everything from scratch and save around £100-150 pm
This cost includes all food/drink, toiletries, nappies, hygeine products, tobacco products, etc. It's actually likely slightly more than this and not much wiggle room, I've tried to cut our spending down a few times over the past few years but we always end up running out of stuff and spending the difference anyway.

Clothing................................ 80
If this is for everyone then it is probably a little now.
Agreed it probably is a little low, not sure how much we actually spend as we only buy when its necessary due to not have spare money for it
Petrol/diesel........................... 300
This seems very high, unless you are driving something huge that would indicate you are driving over 2,000 miles a month, when you drive full time for a living that seems very high. 
I use around £50/week for commuting to work (around 300 miles), partner uses around £20-25, travel to and from school, parents house, etc and we use it at the weekend.

Road tax................................ 55.99
This also seems very high, a normal family car is currently in the £190-195 range, yours are an average of more than £300.
One is ~£33/month, the other is ~£22/month

Car Insurance........................... 184.78
This also seems very high for two cars, average for 25-55 is around £510 per year in 2025, you are paying more than twice the average.
Mine is relatively low at £39/month, however my partner is a new driver and is ~£132/month, also includes breakdown cover at around £13/month
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50
This seems very round, are you accounting for tyres, wipers etc. and is this based on actual, or just a guess?
Only accounted for regular servicing and MOT's, other servicable items (tyre's, wipers, etc.) have all recently been replaced so should be good for a few years

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100
£1,200 a year would appear high based on current circumstances.
2 kids = 2 birthdays, 2 christmas. Me and my partner don't buy for each other and haven't for years. However we also have 6 nieces & nephews, 3 parents to buy for so this is actually pretty low compared to what we actually spend 

Haircuts................................ 0
No haircuts?
I do my own, my partner does the kids

Entertainment........................... 186.47
High based on current circumstances
Agreed, however this is subscriptions/hobbies, majority is dance school for the kids

Holiday................................. 150
Need to drop this for a year or two
Agreed

Emergency fund.......................... 100
Sensible

Total monthly expenses.................. 2827.46

Revised figure - £2,038
Saving £789 pm

The savings might be small, but they do add up, to nearly nine and a half thousand pounds a year, that makes a huge difference and gives you a lot more headroom.

With regard to the debts, how have they been accumulated? Has the money been accounted for within your spending? One off purchase, a short rush over the last few years, built up over a decade? Once you start the process that route to money is going to be cut off so you need to know where that spending went as well, and how to account for it going forward if any of it went on essentials.

Debts have been accumulated over the past 12 years, started when I was young & dumb and on a low income, never managed to get away from it. It's been a series of refinancing and top up loans, borrowing money to pay other creditors, and sometimes because something broke and needed replacing and not having any savings.

Emmia

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

Looking at your household income and expenses, you're only just covering the things you've budgeted for - no emergency fund to repair or replace a car that fails/breaks down for example, or headroom if the gas bill goes up.

Setting aside whether a DRO or bankruptcy is better, does your partner have any ability to work to raise your household income overall?

Also, if we was to increase our overall household income, my understanding is I most definitely wouldn't be eligible for DRO and my bankruptcy payment agreement would surely increase by the additional income, is this correct?

Surely in life the aim is to have enough money to not need a DRO or Bankruptcy, or to fall into debt. 

The point I was trying to make is that your income only just covering your basic expenses is probably what has led to the various debts on credit cards etc. so as a household i e., you and your partner once you've either gone bankrupt (which will prevent you reaching for credit to tide you over for a fair while) or have gone through the DRO, you probably still don't have enough money coming in. 

As a single wage earner in a job that requires a certain level of health and fitness, that's also a bit risky if you developed a health issue preventing you working as an HGV driver.

Edit: because of your forced unpaid leave to bring your working hours to the legal requirements,  you're effectively not actually earning overtime payments - if you include overtime, what's your average monthly income over the last 12 months?

Completely understand your point and my goal is to earn as much as possible in life, however at the moment I believe this will only lead to paying out more money for a longer period to settle all the debt. I've been in debt for around 12 years, started as an unaffordable phone contract that I stopped paying and small payday loans due to a low income and has escalated ever since to become what it is now. I've payed probably more in interest than what I currently owe due to never being able to pay it down, the level of debt/payments has always kept inline with my income due to refinancing etc. At this point I just feel I need a reset, I'm working 60ish hours a week and never see the benefits, I've never had a workplace pension as I've always opted to have the extra income instead and I don't have any savings. Although yes taking the unpaid leave does slightly reduce my overall hours, it doesn't happen often as I do have periods of time at work that don't count towards working time meaning I can effectively work longer hours and stay under the average working time threshold. My monthly average for the previous tax year was around £3240/month, again however this isn't guaranteed, this is a result of working as many hours as they would allow me to so that I could make payments. For reference, the total minimum monthly payments towards all the debt is around £1600 and was due to increase later this year as 2 of the credit cards are on 0% interest. My partner did have an income until a few months ago when the role was made reduntant, the job was completely flexible and so they could work whatever hours they wanted to, however their main priority is childcare and so can only work within school hours which is difficult to find.

At the moment, these are what I believe my possible options to be.

Self managed DMP
Been advised previously to base my income on my guaranteed hours for this, and so this would have me paying for the next 10 or so years (from estimated calculations of course)

Bankruptcy
Assuming this is based off of actual earnings, pay £680 to apply then commit to working 60 hours every week to pay £600-700 a month for the next 3 years totalling £21600-25200 (again from quick estimated calculations).
(EDIT: Assuming that if my partner did get another job, as their earnings would be contributing to the household expenses, my payment would effectively increase by the same/similar amount rendering their income pointless, or do I have this wrong?)

DRO
Again assuming this is based off of actual earnings, I would have too much surplus to be eligible.

My reading of your post is you're looking for an "easy way out" of paying your debts.

Unfortunately, I don't think a DRO, IVA, bankruptcy or whatever you do, is going to be easy, it seems you fundamentally need to rethink your attitude to money, otherwise the same issues are going to return.

No pension is also concerning, and the fact you rent - how are you going to pay the rent in retirement without a pension (other than the state pension, which I hope you're building up)

There's lots of guidance in this site, things like no spend challenges, budgeting, cutting grocery bills... It's terribly boring, and you and your kids are going to have to do without for a bit, which is going to be hard.

sourcrates

In bankruptcy, you only pay towards your debt, if you have sufficient disposable income to do so, the amount left after all your budgetary requirements are met, normally anything over £20 per month disposable income would attract a three year IPA (income payment arrangement).

You don`t have to pay any more than what your actual disposable income is, so if its £30 a month, then you just pay £30 for 3 years, no point working extra hours just to give it away, and you are still discharged after 12 months.

The OR may decide to question any spend that may appear to be "excessive", but as long as you can justify it, it should be allowed.

The bankruptcy application is very simple, and to become bankrupt is very easy these days, you pay your fee, and the deal is done, usually within 48 hours, the hard part is not returning to your old ways of using credit to fund aspirational lifestyles, learning to live within a defined budget requires a "must do" approach from you.

You most defiantly do not want to be doing this twice in your lifetime.

WBMK

Emmia said:

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

Looking at your household income and expenses, you're only just covering the things you've budgeted for - no emergency fund to repair or replace a car that fails/breaks down for example, or headroom if the gas bill goes up.

Setting aside whether a DRO or bankruptcy is better, does your partner have any ability to work to raise your household income overall?

Also, if we was to increase our overall household income, my understanding is I most definitely wouldn't be eligible for DRO and my bankruptcy payment agreement would surely increase by the additional income, is this correct?

Surely in life the aim is to have enough money to not need a DRO or Bankruptcy, or to fall into debt. 

The point I was trying to make is that your income only just covering your basic expenses is probably what has led to the various debts on credit cards etc. so as a household i e., you and your partner once you've either gone bankrupt (which will prevent you reaching for credit to tide you over for a fair while) or have gone through the DRO, you probably still don't have enough money coming in. 

As a single wage earner in a job that requires a certain level of health and fitness, that's also a bit risky if you developed a health issue preventing you working as an HGV driver.

Edit: because of your forced unpaid leave to bring your working hours to the legal requirements,  you're effectively not actually earning overtime payments - if you include overtime, what's your average monthly income over the last 12 months?

Completely understand your point and my goal is to earn as much as possible in life, however at the moment I believe this will only lead to paying out more money for a longer period to settle all the debt. I've been in debt for around 12 years, started as an unaffordable phone contract that I stopped paying and small payday loans due to a low income and has escalated ever since to become what it is now. I've payed probably more in interest than what I currently owe due to never being able to pay it down, the level of debt/payments has always kept inline with my income due to refinancing etc. At this point I just feel I need a reset, I'm working 60ish hours a week and never see the benefits, I've never had a workplace pension as I've always opted to have the extra income instead and I don't have any savings. Although yes taking the unpaid leave does slightly reduce my overall hours, it doesn't happen often as I do have periods of time at work that don't count towards working time meaning I can effectively work longer hours and stay under the average working time threshold. My monthly average for the previous tax year was around £3240/month, again however this isn't guaranteed, this is a result of working as many hours as they would allow me to so that I could make payments. For reference, the total minimum monthly payments towards all the debt is around £1600 and was due to increase later this year as 2 of the credit cards are on 0% interest. My partner did have an income until a few months ago when the role was made reduntant, the job was completely flexible and so they could work whatever hours they wanted to, however their main priority is childcare and so can only work within school hours which is difficult to find.

At the moment, these are what I believe my possible options to be.

Self managed DMP
Been advised previously to base my income on my guaranteed hours for this, and so this would have me paying for the next 10 or so years (from estimated calculations of course)

Bankruptcy
Assuming this is based off of actual earnings, pay £680 to apply then commit to working 60 hours every week to pay £600-700 a month for the next 3 years totalling £21600-25200 (again from quick estimated calculations).
(EDIT: Assuming that if my partner did get another job, as their earnings would be contributing to the household expenses, my payment would effectively increase by the same/similar amount rendering their income pointless, or do I have this wrong?)

DRO
Again assuming this is based off of actual earnings, I would have too much surplus to be eligible.

My reading of your post is you're looking for an "easy way out" of paying your debts.

Unfortunately, I don't think a DRO, IVA, bankruptcy or whatever you do, is going to be easy, it seems you fundamentally need to rethink your attitude to money, otherwise the same issues are going to return.

No pension is also concerning, and the fact you rent - how are you going to pay the rent in retirement without a pension (other than the state pension, which I hope you're building up)

There's lots of guidance in this site, things like no spend challenges, budgeting, cutting grocery bills... It's terribly boring, and you and your kids are going to have to do without for a bit, which is going to be hard.

I'm not looking for an easy way out, I fully understand that's it my problem and it's my problem to deal with, I fully committed to starting a DMP when I stopped paying a few months ago and initially dismissed BR and other options altogether as I wanted more control over the solution, however I've recently been looking into what may be an easier/faster route to settling it all.

I know it isn't going to be easy, I just need a little more wiggle room financially than what we've had, I wouldn't say my attitude to money is bad, I've always scrimped and saved were I can, we don't live a luxurious lifestyle, we don't have expensive cars, we don't drink, we don't go out to eat, we don't have hobbies, we don't pay for streaming services, I haven't even bought myself clothes or shoes for probably 12 months.

In regards to a pension, I know I need to start one, however it just doesn't seem possible at the moment, I understand I have a lot of catching up to do though.

ManyWays

I don't see a lot wrong with your SOA that cant be fixed by some shuffling. Your water bill is what it is, with 2 children it may not drop at all on a meter. The groceries can be higher and the clothes, ignore the people telling you they can be reduced. Move some things into chldrens costs. Sign up for a pension with your employer now if this is an option. 

Lets see a revised version

You should be looking for the best way forward for you and your family and decide your debts options based on that.

MattMattMattUK

WBMK said:

MattMattMattUK said:

WBMK said:

MattMattMattUK said:

You say you and your partner's finances are separate, but you list a very low income for them, do they work? You list no benefit but if you have two children, based on your income would would get child benefit at a minimum. Some of your costs look quite high, they would also be horrifically high if you are only paying half of them and your partner is paying the other half.

WBMK said:

My income varies quite a lot depending on how many hours I work, so I've calculated my income as my guaranteed hours, would they accept this value as my income or would I need to prove it with payslips, etc? I don't want to commit to a bigger payment based on my recent income and then not have the same amount of overtime going forward.

They would want to look at averages and they would want payslips and bank statements, not just your say so, bankruptcy is a legal process. They would also question large cash withdrawals as hiding money etc.

To clarify, when I say our finances are separate, I mean we don't have any joint accounts, everything is in my name as I'm the sole earner hence the low income for them, the £173 I've listed is child benefit as that is in their name.

Does your partner have the capacity to work, if not are they entitled to any benefits, disability/PIP? If they are then unfortunately this is really a situation where they need to be looking at getting a job.

WBMK said:

fatbelly said:

Yes you're right . I thought I had hit the reason why you didn't want a DRO.

The limit is 50k. You are at 42k

Entertainment, holiday and emergency fund.

It's an individual application so your partner's income is only relevant in calculating their share of joint expenses.

The majority of the entertainment amount is actually fees for dance school for my children that's under contract for 12 months, there wasn't another field that I felt this came under on the SOA, would this be an allowed expense? I don't have any subscriptions, etc.

A bankruptcy would terminate those contracts, you would be able to end them and save the money.

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

Looking at your household income and expenses, you're only just covering the things you've budgeted for - no emergency fund to repair or replace a car that fails/breaks down for example, or headroom if the gas bill goes up.

Setting aside whether a DRO or bankruptcy is better, does your partner have any ability to work to raise your household income overall?

I've calculated the income based on my guaranteed hours of 45/week, however I often work upwards of around 60 so it's usually higher, but these overtime hours are not guaranteed. I also have to take mandatory unpaid leave every now and again to reduce my average working time under the working time regulations as I drive a HGV.

What is your average over the last year? That is the figure you should be using, at least for your initial purposes. If you went bankrupt then they would want to look at a year's figures.

WBMK said:

Emmia said:

Looking at your household income and expenses, you're only just covering the things you've budgeted for - no emergency fund to repair or replace a car that fails/breaks down for example, or headroom if the gas bill goes up.

Setting aside whether a DRO or bankruptcy is better, does your partner have any ability to work to raise your household income overall?

Also, if we was to increase our overall household income, my understanding is I most definitely wouldn't be eligible for DRO and my bankruptcy payment agreement would surely increase by the additional income, is this correct?

I agree with Emmia, you should not be looking at eligibility and specifically trying to qualify for a DRO or bankruptcy, you should be looking at what is the best outcome when taking a holistic view. If your partner got a job that netted £2k a month then that would make a lot of things easier, an IVA or DMP would then be on the table and you have more options, not less.

Yes my partner does have the capacity to work, however only within school hours so realistically would only net ~£1000/month, however, increasing overall household income is only going to increase the monthly payment by the same/similar amount or do I have this wrong? Seems they would ultimately be working for nothing to me.

It depends on specifics, but in general your partner netting your household an extra £1,000 a month would make things better during almost all kinds of debt arrangement, DRO, IVA, DMP or bankruptcy, others can advise of the specifics but it is absolutely going to put you in a better position. I would also say that even choosing to ignore that, working to pay debts off quicker is not working for nothing.

WBMK said:

My average for the previous tax year was around £3240/month.

That is the figure they would likely want to use and that would be used for bankruptcy, but they would allow for variable income, it is £510 a month higher than your previous stated income which again adds even more headroom and increases your options.

WBMK said:

No offence, I really do appreciate the help and advice, however your comments read like you don't have children. I don't want to terminate the contract with the dance school, dancing has done wonders for my kids mental health and confidence over the past 1-2 years and they now compete regularly, last thing I want to do is take that away from them. Also, not sure that it would actually terminate the contract, dance school is actually treated the same way as a regular school (fines for missing x amount of sessions from local council, earning ACAS points, etc)

I am not offended, I do not have children, but that is irrelevant. What is allowable would be decided by the official receiver, but those contracts would almost certainly not be allowed and would be terminated as part of the bankruptcy process. The are entirely optional activities, bankruptcy terminates service contracts such as these. If you choose to become bankrupt it will not be your choice to continue those activities and they will be unlikely to be allowed to be paid for.

WBMK said:

MattMattMattUK said:

WBMK said:

Monthly Expense Details

Water rates............................. 54.31
Go onto a water meter, this will probably come down to around £40
Already on a water meter

Mobile phone............................ 28.16
A SIM only plan with basic data that would cover you would cost £5 a month.
Cost is for both sim only plans, I average around 40gb of data/month, partner averages around 8gb/month, cheapest deal that was available at the time and is still under contract

TV Licence.............................. 15
Get rid of this and stop watching live TV. 
Kids watch live TV, we occassionally was live too

Internet Services....................... 39
You should be able to get a budget package for around £25
Still under contract for 22 months

Groceries etc. ......................... 600
Depending on the age of your children there might not be a huge saving here, but with a non-working partner who does not appear to have any disabilities (from the lack of disability benefits) then you should be able to cook nearly everything from scratch and save around £100-150 pm
This cost includes all food/drink, toiletries, nappies, hygeine products, tobacco products, etc. It's actually likely slightly more than this and not much wiggle room, I've tried to cut our spending down a few times over the past few years but we always end up running out of stuff and spending the difference anyway.

Clothing................................ 80
If this is for everyone then it is probably a little now.
Agreed it probably is a little low, not sure how much we actually spend as we only buy when its necessary due to not have spare money for it
Petrol/diesel........................... 300
This seems very high, unless you are driving something huge that would indicate you are driving over 2,000 miles a month, when you drive full time for a living that seems very high. 
I use around £50/week for commuting to work (around 300 miles), partner uses around £20-25, travel to and from school, parents house, etc and we use it at the weekend.

Road tax................................ 55.99
This also seems very high, a normal family car is currently in the £190-195 range, yours are an average of more than £300.
One is ~£33/month, the other is ~£22/month

Car Insurance........................... 184.78
This also seems very high for two cars, average for 25-55 is around £510 per year in 2025, you are paying more than twice the average.
Mine is relatively low at £39/month, however my partner is a new driver and is ~£132/month, also includes breakdown cover at around £13/month
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50
This seems very round, are you accounting for tyres, wipers etc. and is this based on actual, or just a guess?
Only accounted for regular servicing and MOT's, other servicable items (tyre's, wipers, etc.) have all recently been replaced so should be good for a few years

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100
£1,200 a year would appear high based on current circumstances.
2 kids = 2 birthdays, 2 christmas. Me and my partner don't buy for each other and haven't for years. However we also have 6 nieces & nephews, 3 parents to buy for so this is actually pretty low compared to what we actually spend 

Haircuts................................ 0
No haircuts?
I do my own, my partner does the kids

Entertainment........................... 186.47
High based on current circumstances
Agreed, however this is subscriptions/hobbies, majority is dance school for the kids

Holiday................................. 150
Need to drop this for a year or two
Agreed

Emergency fund.......................... 100
Sensible

Total monthly expenses.................. 2827.46

Revised figure - £2,038
Saving £789 pm

The savings might be small, but they do add up, to nearly nine and a half thousand pounds a year, that makes a huge difference and gives you a lot more headroom.

With regard to the debts, how have they been accumulated? Has the money been accounted for within your spending? One off purchase, a short rush over the last few years, built up over a decade? Once you start the process that route to money is going to be cut off so you need to know where that spending went as well, and how to account for it going forward if any of it went on essentials.

Debts have been accumulated over the past 12 years, started when I was young & dumb and on a low income, never managed to get away from it. It's been a series of refinancing and top up loans, borrowing money to pay other creditors, and sometimes because something broke and needed replacing and not having any savings.

Ok, so again, others will give you specific advice, but when you start this process you will need an emergency fund because once it all hits the fan you will no longer have access to credit when those things do need replacing. 

On the other side of this and please do not be offended, but your posts read that you are looking for the easy way out of this. It seems you are not prepared for the cutbacks and sacrifices that are going to be required to deal with this debt, you need to cut back expenditure to the bone, your partner needs to get a job, you need to entirely change your relationship with money and especially debt, especially as whatever option you take borrowing will be off the table for several years and going back to borrowing again would be the worst thing you could do. The alternative is to really crash and burn, which is what will happen if you do not tackle this head on.