Add 65k debt to mortgage, dmp, or something else?

Kittymumof4

Thanks both. 

I'm so glad to have you all to offer support. 

The mortgage have said they can't change the direct debit for June now, they will still take it from my old bank account. Same with a few smaller ones. Most of them we've managed to change to our new account for June payments but just a few have said its too late to change for June. 

So if I don't transfer money into my old account, I'm guessing the bank will decline the payment (as we're almost over the overdraft) then our mortgage lender and the other bills will see it as a missed payment? 

@debtfreewannabe321 thank you so much. I am very stressed at the moment, sleep is a real struggle and is making it harder to manage everything because I'm so tired. 

I'll have a look at the challenges and diaries. I've managed to cut down on some things already such as subscriptions that we don't need. Thank you for the suggestions, luckily I love charity shops! I already buy most of our clothes from them and we always buy second hand if we can as we have always worked to reduce waste. I think our main issue has been not making time to look at finances and not budgeting. With the madness of our lives we just tried to carry on paying the debt, not realising that we were actually making things worse. 

I really appreciate your words, it feels so scary and uncertain at the moment so it's reassuring to hear from people who have been through similar. 

fatbelly

Can you pay the mortgage direct?

You don't want payment going to the nonpriority debts by them calling on a direct debit but the mortgage is a priority.

Other bills that you should prioritise are car insurance and road tax, if paid monthly, and tv licence if you have one

If you miss a months payment to council tax, elec, water, gas that is not the end of the world. But you will need to catch up.

kimwp

Ah ok. So I think if there is still an outstanding amount (such as a mortgage) then even if you make an early payment, then the normal direct debit amount will be taken. 

You can choose to put money into your old account ahead of the direct debit or wait for the payment to possibly not go through on the day and call the company up to make a manual payment. If still paid on the day (or I don't know, but presume a day or two later), it won't register as a missed payment. Either way, keep a close eye on your account when the direct debits are due and you'll be fine.

debtfreewannabe321

It really is scary I remember it all too well. My ex husband (was my DH at the time) also went off on tour with the army several times leaving it all to me. So I understand ❣️. 
One other thing I did through the times when our budget was righting itself was to stop over buying on Xmas and birthdays. I told the kids they could have four presents for xmas. Something to wear, something to read, something they need and something they want. And gave price limit - my DD asked for a horse 🤦🏻‍♀️ so had to put that disclaimer in 😆. Also did a stocking.  For birthday's we did one or two presents and that was it. It cut my spends down dramatically. I still stick to the four presents rule and the kids are so used it it's okay 🙈. 
Not sure if this would work for you...but it's always good to hear what other people are doing I think and take what tips will work for you along the way ☺️

MSE_ForumTeam5

We've combined several threads into this one for clarity

Kittymumof4

Hi everyone, a few more questions if you don't mind. 

With PAYG SIM, do I have to top it up to receive incoming calls and texts? Or do I buy one for £1 and it will receive but I can't call or text from it? 

Secondly, will credit card accounts always default? Or will some creditors want to deal with the debt themselves? 

Lastly, what happens if creditors don't agree to the monthly payment amounts we offer? Having checked our SOA again, somehow I managed to work our our income as £100 more than it is, meaning that we can only afford £300-£350 a month to pay off debt. I'm worried that because we owe several creditors, they won't agree to the low payment to each that we afford. 

Grumpelstiltskin

OK PAYG SIM I don't know anything about them.

Defaults, they all should default occasionally one won't, cross that bridge if you come to it.

Agreeing to your payment, you don't submit a SOA to them you just tell them what you are going to pay them, then they have 2 choices accept it or get paid nothing. You have to remember you are in charge not your creditors.

kimwp

Kittymumof4 said:

Hi everyone, a few more questions if you don't mind. 

With PAYG SIM, do I have to top it up to receive incoming calls and texts? Or do I buy one for £1 and it will receive but I can't call or text from it? 

Secondly, will credit card accounts always default? Or will some creditors want to deal with the debt themselves? 

Lastly, what happens if creditors don't agree to the monthly payment amounts we offer? Having checked our SOA again, somehow I managed to work our our income as £100 more than it is, meaning that we can only afford £300-£350 a month to pay off debt. I'm worried that because we owe several creditors, they won't agree to the low payment to each that we afford. 

Hi kitty, I don't think you need a payg sim, I'm never seen it recommend by the long-timers on this board or anyone who has reported back on their debt journey apart from one person. If you don't want to receive calls, you can tell your creditors to only contact you in writing. It doesn't stop you calling them.

Even if the creditors want to deal with the debt themselves, they will still default you. Posters have reported some companies taking ages to default, but remember that until they default you, they can't take any legal action, so it actually means you are protected (though remember, this is super super unlikely after they default, particularly if you start making payments at that point). I know it will be worrying to think of the interest piling up, but you will likely pay back less than you originally owed with full and final offers when it does default and you have been paying them smaller offers for a while. 

It's not really a matter of them agreeing - they can't ask for more than you can afford. There have been posts where some creditors haven't agreed, but it won't go beyond them saying "no" and you just paying what you can afford - it's not worth it for them to go to court to get the same amount that you are offering them. There are people that pay literally £1 to each of their debts because they can't afford any more and plenty of people who pay nothing at all to debts much higher than yours and nothing bad has happened to them.

I am also a natural worrier. Someone said to me "why worry about it until it happens?" Of course, my response is "because I can be prepared!" In your situation, you have the information you need to manage 99.999% of scenarios and you also will have plenty of time to ask questions on here if anything unexpected happens. Continue to ask any questions you need to, but try not to worry about every possible scenario that might possibly crop up. We'll help it if it happens.

Rob5342

I don't see any need for a payg sim, you can block numbers, use call screening and delete texts etc. I get answerphone messages from PRA sometimes but deleting them is no more onerous than deleting the spam i get. 

If creditors don't like the amount you are paying they will normally just sell the debt on. Debts are sold for around 10% of their value, so you only need to pay 10% of the loans value for them to break even and anything after that is just profit for whoever bought it. The worst thst can happen is they go for a ccj but that will just result in your being ordered to pay what you can afford which you would be doing anyway. It's no problem to you if that happens and would be a waste of time for them so its unlikely they would anyway. 

Kittymumof4

Thank you so much everyone. I'm in  panic mode at the moment as this will be the first time we're not paying the credit card bills. I know that this needs to happen but it feels alien as we've been so focused on making sure they're paid for so long. 

I won't bother with the PAYG then, I'll just block calls instead. 

Our old bank account has gone into the un-arranged overdraft now by about £80. Should I try to pay some money into this from this month's emergency fund or should I leave it now? If we're not back in the arranged overdraft by lunchtime they will charge.