Advice and help with £28k debts

DaedricPrince

So after realising I have 2 email addresses, I thought I'd be cheeky and sign up for the farmfoods mailing list again and got another 2 vouchers 😃. Also completed a survey from national centre for social research and got a £10 B and M gift card. New sim cards have arrived and rather than £8, the bill for the first 3 months is actually £2!! Have also been vape free for 5 days after 25 years of smoking/vaping, so £15 saved so far (not going to lie, it's definitely been an experience being nicotine free after all those years 😫).

£24 worth of vouchers towards the groceries and saving while being healthier! A good couple of days to start tackling debts and living within my means 😃

DaedricPrince

Hmmm. So Payplan have recommended a DMP based on their assessment. Now i'm a little confused as to what to do for the best. I know things are a little tight but if I can stick to this good start (big if) i could maybe make it work with no impact to my credit file (not that I want anymore credit). On the other hand, they recommend a DMP paying £420 ish a month taking 5 and a half years to clear everything by their estimates. However, they don't seem to suggest waiting for debts to default first

stymied

If you try sticking to the budget for a few months recording everything that you spend to make sure it’s accurate, you’ve really not lost much. It doesn’t stop you doing a DMP in the future if needed. In 10 months your smallest debt is paid off which gives you ~£50 extra per month, and the shifts you mentioned might happen.

If you do go down the DMP route, read the stickies on the board first, and yes the advice here is to let the debts default first so your credit history recovers quicker.

I assume you’re too far out from the stores for this, but is there any free food on Olio near you?

in_need_of_direction

I think you’re off to a great start and can most probably do this. Moving the od to interest free was great. One thing I would suggest is that you actually transfer savings from vouchers, etc. to a predetermined place. When I was clearing my mortgage, I made small transfers for every saving. With regard to your extra club card points, you may want to save and double up vouchers for the occasional meal out with the kids

elsien

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81916517#Comment_81916517

Most of them aren’t worthwhile. Prolific is by far the best paying but they did have a waiting list. I made a couple of grand off them last year because of their AI studies although obviously working full-time I can only do them in the evening or weekends. Although that probably depends on your demographic. You also need to grab their surveys as they come up because they don’t hang around.
The only other two I really now consider semi worthwhile are opinium and y live/populus. YouGov was okay, but they’ve stopped sending me surveys now.

I used to do Ipsos, but I haven’t done any of them for awhile . Don’t touch valued opinions with a bargepole. You spend a ridiculous amount of time and then they screen you out and don’t pay you anything.

DaedricPrince

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81918239#Comment_81918239

Thank you, and yes, I think it's doable without a DMP. Time will tell and that option is still there down the line as @stymied says.

Great idea with the vouchers! That's an extra £24 to the EF 😃

That's what I was meaning about the vouchers for days out etc. I forgot about doubling up.

Still amazed at the turnaround in mood about all this. I feel really positive and excited at taking some proper meaningful steps to sorting everything, which is a 180 from last week. All from asking you lovely people for advice. Thank you all

DaedricPrince

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81917957#Comment_81917957

I've checked and the nearest is 20 miles by car. Not really feasible in terms of cost of diesel, wear and tear and time.

enthusiasticsaver

Personally I would go for a DMP and set an affordable monthly payment. If you are ND and suffer from burnout and mask a lot then you do not need the extra pressure of trying to build up savings for emergencies, pay down debt and continue to work plus have two children. It is a lot. I think I would default on the cards and the overdraft and save for emergencies and learn to live without credit so you cannot be tempted to use them.

ArtyJ931

Hi

I had to come on and comment. I feel this so much. I am ND (diagnosed autism, undiagnosed ADHD) and the adhd tax is real. I wish so hard that I could request something with credit reference agencies so that I always have to wait 7days/ a month and reconfirm what I’m applying for before the application goes ahead. It would have saved me from so many costly mistakes that I am impulsively convinced are a great idea.

It is exhausting managing the consequences of being ND.

i have been declared bankrupt many years ago and worked incredibly hard to rebuild my credit and got a mortgage, retrained and bought a house for my children and I. The credit lines opened up and i was offered a excellent rates and have subsequently been in debt of around 50k in addition to my mortgage for around 7-8 years now with an ill thought out scheme to extend the house and a loan applied for and in my account at 10pm one night within 10 minutes. Not enough money though so then to finish the work I had to borrow at higher rates then sell and buy a different house with higher mortgage. That’s just one of the many impulsive decisions with years worth of consequences that I have made.

Now using new debt for emergencies. Servicing all my debt and bills but no savings, no emergency funds and constant stress. A 16yo car costing more and more to drag through MOTs etc.

I have spreadsheets going back decades that will tell you what was going in and out of my account on any day and it goes forward to 2027. I budget carefully and don’t overspend day to day. It’s always something I think will help and then only once it’s done and dusted I realise I’ve done it again. Bah!

It is such a struggle. Well done you. I wish you success.

DaedricPrince

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81918949#Comment_81918949

Thank you for commenting 😀

Oh my days, the spreadsheets! Everything looks organised and great but it never quite pans out like the plan does it? Like you, I look organised and don't spend big day to day, but that fantastic new idea that requires credit and will definitely help in some way always rolls around.

Our stories sound so similar, which I imagine anyone with adhd could say, and yes, the adhd tax is definitely a real thing. Even remembering renewals and subscriptions that are no longer used!

I wish you the best too, and I hope we can both turn it around and manage a bit better 😊