Is it hopeless?

RAS

johnsof75 said:

 Backstory: my dad had a stroke when I was a teenager, as an only child of divorced parents I cared for him (washed, dress, fed him) - my choice not a victim. He caught Covid and after a year long battle died. At  the time I asked my employer if I could work flexibly, they said no. I had a breakdown and ended up in hospital. My fault - I should have been more resilient. 

Err, no. You had a sh!! situation over many years and it finally got to you. Cut yourself some slack, please.

You were a pretty amazing teenager and young adult. The fact that you are now back in work demonstrates your resilience. The housing situation is difficult but as you say changing that in the short term may be difficult. 

We tend to take a slightly different approach here. 

If you are going to do a DMP you need an emergency fund. We've seen enough panic stricken people here who started a DMP immediately with one of the free providers or a company to know the repeated stress caused by small emergencies.

We also know that if you wait until the defaults are registered, your credit record will improve after 6-7 years when the defaults are removed from your credit record, even if you've not relayed anything. And AP markers damage your credit record for longer.

With shared ownership and full repairing liability, you need a better emergency fund than most, and to include a decent maintenance budget beyond normal fees.

There is some hassle in the delayed approach but with a little planning you can reduce that.

Rob5342

It's not hopeless at all. Loads of us here have got imto debt for all sorts of different reasons, it can seem very overwhelming at first but there is always a solution and once you get started on one things will start to feel a lot better. There will be compromises to be made and a lot of hard work, but you will get on top of it may well be back giving advice to others.

As mentioned, statement of affairs would be useful so people can see the whole picture and advise accordingly. 

jifmoose

Sightly off-topic but I just want to say how much I appreciate the non-judgmental tone and wisdom of this forum and its amazing posters. I have a family member who has a problem with consumer debt that is starting to make her life really difficult: she too thinks it is hopeless, it never is. I shall be pointing them this way.

OP from the sounds of things you have shown remarkable resilience. You have been valiant, in my opinion. Compared to that these problems are always solvable: it's just money, and the brilliant people here who really know their stuff will guide you through it.

sourcrates

Please do not quote posts that may be removed by the forum team.

If you see a post that breaks the rules don`t quote it, just report it by hitting the report button.

many thanks.

HampshireH

sourcrates said:

Please do not quote posts that may be removed by the forum team.

If you see a post that breaks the rules don`t quote it, just report it by hitting the report button.

many thanks.

Have edited my post. Didn't realise the quoted post would get removed but glad it has 

kimwp

HampshireH said:

sourcrates said:

Please do not quote posts that may be removed by the forum team.

If you see a post that breaks the rules don`t quote it, just report it by hitting the report button.

many thanks.

Have edited my post. Didn't realise the quoted post would get removed but glad it has 

It was good that you made it clear that there's no place for judgement like that on this forum.

johnsof75

Thank you for all your help. I have completed the SOA on the lemon fool link https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php Unfortunately for some reason it won't let me format the results for the MSE discussion board. I just wondered if there was another SOA link that people use. I have inputted the data and pressed calculate but can't get any further. Will keep trying and looking for another link. Sorry for being so hopeless.

kimwp

johnsof75 said:

Thank you for all your help. I have completed the SOA on the lemon fool link https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php Unfortunately for some reason it won't let me format the results for the MSE discussion board. I just wondered if there was another SOA link that people use. I have inputted the data and pressed calculate but can't get any further. Will keep trying and looking for another link. Sorry for being so hopeless.

I just tried it. Did you select calculate before selecting the mse button?

johnsof75

Ah think I have done it . Apologies.  It's all very scary written down.

Other information: My flat is shared ownership (50%) and the value seems to be fluctuating a lot and they dont really seem to be selling (several on the market for years). So the figures of value are a bit of a guess-estimate/not really reliable. I have a package with Sky that covers TV, internet (over a year left). No gas, water and building insurance as they are included in the management charge. Two phones - one for work. 

I have a remedy hearing scheduled for end September. The Judge has recommended they offer to settle. I had hoped it would cover the debt but legal advice now is that it won't. Could be around 15-20k. 

Grateful for any thoughts as to what you would do. Thank you so much - I am extremely grateful for your time and advice. 

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information

Number of adults in household........... 1

Number of children in household......... 0

Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details

Monthly income after tax................ 4395

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

Benefits................................ 0

Other income............................ 0

Total monthly income.................... 4395

Monthly Expense Details

Mortgage................................ 900

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

Rent.................................... 800

Management charge (leasehold property).. 425

Council tax............................. 250

Electricity............................. 110

Gas..................................... 0

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

Water rates............................. 0

Telephone (land line)................... 0

Mobile phone............................ 30

TV Licence.............................. 15

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 57

Internet Services....................... 0

Groceries etc. ......................... 300

Clothing................................ 50

Petrol/diesel........................... 0

Road tax................................ 0

Car Insurance........................... 0

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0

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

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

Childcare/nursery....................... 0

Other child related expenses............ 0

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0

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

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

Contents insurance...................... 22.8

Life assurance ......................... 55

Other insurance......................... 21

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

Haircuts................................ 50

Entertainment........................... 0

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

Emergency fund.......................... 0

Total monthly expenses.................. 3135.8

Assets

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

House value (Gross)..................... 190000

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

Car(s).................................. 0

Other assets............................ 0

Total Assets............................ 190000

Secured & HP Debts[/b]

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

Mortgage...................... 170000...(900)

Total secured & HP debts...... 170000

Unsecured Debts

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

Virgin Money...................12729.....341

Capital One ...................3322......179

Virgin Money ..................10209.....314

halifax overdraft .............3300......0

lloyds ........................10400.....223

Halifax Credit Card ...........12000.....500

Tesco Bank ....................9444......300

Total unsecured debts..........61404.....1857

Monthly Budget Summary

Total monthly income.................... 4,395

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,135.8

Available for debt repayments........... 1,259.2

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,857

Amount short for making debt repayments. -597.8

[b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]

Total assets (things you own)........... 190,000

Total HP & Secured debt................. -170,000

Total Unsecured debt.................... -61,404

Net Assets.............................. -41,404

[i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.LemonFool.co.uk.

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

Grumpelstiltskin

OK Council Tax, do you claim the single person discount?

Food why so high?

Haircuts can they be cheaper, longer between cuts?

Clothes can you manage with everything except underwear etc. for a while?

Other insurance, what is that for?