DMP advice for newbie. Please help

moogle87

helensbiggestfan said:

There's a fair bit of wriggle room there.........food, sky, spending money could all be reduced as a temporary measure.  Also Water bill seems high, are you on a water meter.  How much live tv do you watch.  

Reduce food to £300 ."...............................£200
scrap Sky ...................................................  £86 
reduce spending money to £50 each.         £100
scrap TV licence ........................................... £15 

That's £400 of what should be relatively painless savings. Remember it's not permanent.  You can reassess later.  

Definitely keep the £4500 emergency fund.  

I would probably keep Prime for now, especially if you use Amazon.  

You have a lot of insurance.   Keep the life insurance but maybe you can cut back a bit elsewhere. How old is the boiler.  Are you paying extra on car insurance by paying monthly.  

Is the maintenance fund compulsory.  

Can you shop around for a better deal on your mobiles or are you locked in.  

Prescriptions and supplements seem high.  Do you pay as you go for prescriptions, can you get an annual plan.  Can you buy supplements in bulk.  

Sorry can't advise re stepchange etc.  When I was in debt I managed the debt myself.  I felt more in control that way and had more flexibility but it's understandable that you might be feeling overwhelmed and prefer to leave it to a third party debt management plan.  

Can you talk to the credit card companies and ask them to freeze the interest or does it have to go to default first.  I managed to do that but it was a while ago so dont know if that's an option these days.  

Always prioritise the big 3, mortgage, council tax and utilities.  They are the most important. Plus in your case your medications.  

Default on your mortgage and you risk losing your home, default on council tax and you risk a prison sentence, default on the utilities and you risk services being cut off.  Go without meds and you risk your health.  

After that The next level of priorities is usually food, transport and at least one phone, home insurance (buildings at the bare minimum because its usually a condition of the mortgage),  life insurance (make sure you have enough to cover your outstanding mortgage plus a decent lump sum).  Then pet insurance.  

After that it's a case of seeing what's left and taking it from there.  

Don't panic, one step at a time.  

Sky includes our broadband & I need a decent speed as I work from home.
We're also locked in to our TV offer.
Boiler is 13 years old.
Supplements bill is high because that includes my medicinal cannabis which I need & can't be cut back on, sadly. However, this is why I am going to apply for PIP because I have to spend A LOT that the NHS doesn't cover & it's something which I need.

moogle87

RAS said:

Phone contract, one each?

Sky mobile is our phone contracts & then our data plans are Lebara.

moogle87

helensbiggestfan said:

There's a fair bit of wriggle room there.........food, sky, spending money could all be reduced as a temporary measure.  Also Water bill seems high, are you on a water meter.  How much live tv do you watch.  

Reduce food to £300 ."...............................£200
scrap Sky ...................................................  £86 
reduce spending money to £50 each.         £100
scrap TV licence ........................................... £15 

That's £400 of what should be relatively painless savings. Remember it's not permanent.  You can reassess later.  

Definitely keep the £4500 emergency fund.  

I would probably keep Prime for now, especially if you use Amazon.  

You have a lot of insurance.   Keep the life insurance but maybe you can cut back a bit elsewhere. How old is the boiler.  Are you paying extra on car insurance by paying monthly.  

Is the maintenance fund compulsory.  

Can you shop around for a better deal on your mobiles or are you locked in.  

Prescriptions and supplements seem high.  Do you pay as you go for prescriptions, can you get an annual plan.  Can you buy supplements in bulk.  

Sorry can't advise re stepchange etc.  When I was in debt I managed the debt myself.  I felt more in control that way and had more flexibility but it's understandable that you might be feeling overwhelmed and prefer to leave it to a third party debt management plan.  

Can you talk to the credit card companies and ask them to freeze the interest or does it have to go to default first.  I managed to do that but it was a while ago so dont know if that's an option these days.  

Always prioritise the big 3, mortgage, council tax and utilities.  They are the most important. Plus in your case your medications.  

Default on your mortgage and you risk losing your home, default on council tax and you risk a prison sentence, default on the utilities and you risk services being cut off.  Go without meds and you risk your health.  

After that The next level of priorities is usually food, transport and at least one phone, home insurance (buildings at the bare minimum because its usually a condition of the mortgage),  life insurance (make sure you have enough to cover your outstanding mortgage plus a decent lump sum).  Then pet insurance.  

After that it's a case of seeing what's left and taking it from there.  

Don't panic, one step at a time.  

We made an overpayment on our mortgage of £20k a few years ago (lesson learned from that is to keep some by in savings!), so it's unlikely that we will default on that as we'd need to miss over 40 payments to be behind & we are up to date on all of our bills anyway. 

moogle87

Water bill is so high because they didn't charge us properly (the whole area has been affected not just us) so they've put our bills right up for a few months to cover the shortfall. Before this it was £37 a month.

[Deleted User]

So what about the large groceries bill? At the moment you have just batted back at the suggestions made by posters offering ideas to help you cut costs. If you are not prepared to cut back to reduce costs and pay off debt the only other alternative is to increase income. 

Grumpelstiltskin

OK So you think you will claim PIP.

Problem with this is  a) It is complicated to claim and difficult to be awarded.

b) even if you do manage to jump through the hoops it takes many months to be paid, OK you would get arrears paid but if you think nothing will actually be in your hands for 1 year it doesn't solve your immediate problems.

Go across to the Benefits board on here and ask their advice about PIP.

I think you are fixed in your way of life and can't see any other way but you will have to rethink.

RAS

moogle87 said:

helensbiggestfan said:

There's a fair bit of wriggle room there.........food, sky, spending money could all be reduced as a temporary measure.  Also Water bill seems high, are you on a water meter.  How much live tv do you watch.  

Reduce food to £300 ."...............................£200
scrap Sky ...................................................  £86 
reduce spending money to £50 each.         £100
scrap TV licence ........................................... £15 

That's £400 of what should be relatively painless savings. Remember it's not permanent.  You can reassess later.  

Always prioritise the big 3, mortgage, council tax and utilities.

We made an overpayment on our mortgage of £20k a few years ago (lesson learned from that is to keep some by in savings!), so it's unlikely that we will default on that as we'd need to miss over 40 payments to be behind & we are up to date on all of our bills anyway. 

Do check your assumptions about the mortgage overpayments. The provider may not give any grace to non-payment now even if you overpaid previously.

helensbiggestfan

moogle87 said:

Water bill is so high because they didn't charge us properly (the whole area has been affected not just us) so they've put our bills right up for a few months to cover the shortfall. Before this it was £37 a month.

Thanks for clarifying,  That sounds more like it. 

helensbiggestfan

moogle87 said:

helensbiggestfan said:

There's a fair bit of wriggle room there.........food, sky, spending money could all be reduced as a temporary measure.  Also Water bill seems high, are you on a water meter.  How much live tv do you watch.  

Reduce food to £300 ."...............................£200
scrap Sky ...................................................  £86 
reduce spending money to £50 each.         £100
scrap TV licence ........................................... £15 

That's £400 of what should be relatively painless savings. Remember it's not permanent.  You can reassess later.  

Definitely keep the £4500 emergency fund.  

I would probably keep Prime for now, especially if you use Amazon.  

You have a lot of insurance.   Keep the life insurance but maybe you can cut back a bit elsewhere. How old is the boiler.  Are you paying extra on car insurance by paying monthly.  

Is the maintenance fund compulsory.  

Can you shop around for a better deal on your mobiles or are you locked in.  

Prescriptions and supplements seem high.  Do you pay as you go for prescriptions, can you get an annual plan.  Can you buy supplements in bulk.  

Sorry can't advise re stepchange etc.  When I was in debt I managed the debt myself.  I felt more in control that way and had more flexibility but it's understandable that you might be feeling overwhelmed and prefer to leave it to a third party debt management plan.  

Can you talk to the credit card companies and ask them to freeze the interest or does it have to go to default first.  I managed to do that but it was a while ago so dont know if that's an option these days.  

Always prioritise the big 3, mortgage, council tax and utilities.  They are the most important. Plus in your case your medications.  

Default on your mortgage and you risk losing your home, default on council tax and you risk a prison sentence, default on the utilities and you risk services being cut off.  Go without meds and you risk your health.  

After that The next level of priorities is usually food, transport and at least one phone, home insurance (buildings at the bare minimum because its usually a condition of the mortgage),  life insurance (make sure you have enough to cover your outstanding mortgage plus a decent lump sum).  Then pet insurance.  

After that it's a case of seeing what's left and taking it from there.  

Don't panic, one step at a time.  

Sky includes our broadband & I need a decent speed as I work from home.
We're also locked in to our TV offer.
Boiler is 13 years old.
Supplements bill is high because that includes my medicinal cannabis which I need & can't be cut back on, sadly. However, this is why I am going to apply for PIP because I have to spend A LOT that the NHS doesn't cover & it's something which I need.

Thanks for  the update.  Given the extra detail you have furnished I would say you're doing the best you can.  Don't drop the boiler cover. 

My husband got sick and you're right, the NHS doesn't cover everything.  I found out the hard way.  Medicinal cannabis is a classic example of a therapy that isn't currently covered. If taking it enables you to work and function then yes it needs to be a priority.  

With regard to the food bill.  Does your illness affect your ability to cook. Are you having to rely  on food deliveries or pre-prepared food. If you can cook then you should be able to reduce your spending.   The Old Style board has a lot of good advice on how to reduce grocery budgets.  

I worked as a debt counsellor and in mortgage arrears. (Many years ago so I'm not fully up to date). However, I too would advise not  to make assumptions re your mortgage but to check with your lender.

In the "old days" when mortgage depts came under the control of local branch managers there was often more flexibility. Managers knew the borrower and could use their discretion, based on the borrowers payment history. Now everything is centralised it's rather more faceless and it's often a case of "computer says no", which is why you should never just default without speaking to the lender first.  They may not take your overpayment into account but they might be able to offer a mortgage holiday. 

As regards PIP.  Yes it can take an eternity.  When my husband got sick it was called Disability Allowance. It took 18 months for the claim to be settled.  Several appeals and finally had to face a tribunal.  

Hope you fare better.  

helensbiggestfan

moogle87 said:

[Deleted User] said:

Pet insurance seems incredibly high to me. Sky and Prime could go saving nearly a £100 a month. Groceries are very high. Possible savings of up to £200 a month there. How many cats do you have that cost £150 a month? You say you have a disability but £200 a month on supplements seems excessive. Perhaps more information on those would help  us understand the cost. 

So possibly £300 a month savings identified. Apologies if I am missing reasons why some costs could not be cut. 

What is Lebara?

Yes, pet insurance is high but it's a plan that covers all costs (I know it is rare & I have checked, it covers absolutely everything including their boosters/worming/flea treatment, all emergency/dental etc.) We have a cat who has diabetes, so this plan is actually saving us money with her & our other cat was costing £56 a month on insurance but we would still need to pay for his worming/boosters etc + 20% of any treatment, so we decided to go with this as it means we have stability & won't get any unexpected bills. Having just recently paid for £1500 on dental (includes 2 emergency visits) which our insurance wouldn't cover, we decided this was best as it gives us stability & peace of mind. & like I said, we're even saving with 1 cat.

Being under insured can be very expensive.  My sons kitty was knocked down by a car., his pelvis was broken.  Surgery cost £4500. My son had only paid for £2k worth of cover. 

 Guess which soft hearted person paid the balance.  😂🤣.