Debt help… DMP?

ArtyJ931

everyone is so kind and reassuring. I can’t say how helpful that is.

sourcrates

The issue these days is that living on credit is seen as the norm, and our salaries are just there to settle our credit bills, the banks love to push this position, as its what keeps them in business.

What we should be doing is using our salaries to live on, instead of using borrowed money from the banks.

But they flash all these little incentives at us, collect a million points for a free sponge, or spend 2 hundred thousand and well give you 1% cashback, etc etc, and we buy into this rubbish, hook line and sinker.

You see people on these boards who earn 4k a month, yet are trying to service 100k of debt, and various car loans etc, its crazy how we live these days, crazy.

SpireCaptain

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937368#Comment_81937368

Case in point. Barely scraping 2k take-home and yet haven't missed payment (yet!) on £65k + debts because they hook you in with existing customer 0% deals. They're still sending me eligibility for £7.5k loans. I haven't opened a new credit card since 2019 yet still had 0% deals ...

GreenFrogMum

this is the problem I’ve had - I’m part time, in a low income job (because my children are only 10 and need me to work term time - especially my autistic daughter). I am in debt by significantly more than my regular income. I do get help from UC and maintenance from my children’s dad and my daughter’s DLA. But still… I make all the payments and then spend the month using the cards again. All that actually gets paid is the interest 🙈 it’s still scary knowing that I missed my first payment today 😂 but I’m trying to get over it and focus on digging myself out of this mess.

One thing that occurred to me today. One of my debts is a PayPal credit card. If I have money in my PayPal account (rarely, and I always transfer it out quickly), can they take that to pay the credit card? I can’t imagine never using PayPal to send and receive money 🙈

LzzyIsGod

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81937368#Comment_81937368

If I could like a post a million times, sticky it at the top of the DF wannabe board and imprint it in my children's minds to shape their futures it would be this one.

I fell for the game (half knowingly, half gullibly) hook line and sinker too but the good news is that there are ways out and loads of helpful support here. Good luck OP.

burgervanman

Same here, 54k debt, 2.5k a month wage, years of 'this debt to pay off that debt'. Thanks to the help of this forum I'm 100% focused, Self managed DMP plan in progress and even though I intend to pay all back, I'll have more money to save monthly than I've ever been able to. (I'm 43). Yes credit rating is shot for 6 yr but luckily except maybe a 2nd hand car down the line Im not really bothered. I'm not a fan of this guy's token payment advice, BUT this short video of his really brought home to me how debt isn't as bad as it sounds and helped me change my view of it https://youtu.be/2bh0jlIJt08?si=Mq_6_vQ1HY1Z18h6

Rob5342

@burgervanman Remember you don't have to repay the full balance, once they have been sold on you can settle them for a reduced amount.

burgervanman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81938327#Comment_81938327

Sorry, yes you are completely correct. I intend paying a proportion of what my actual DMP would be and saving the rest for exactly what you are saying.

GreenFrogMum

well… life sure does find ways to poop on you from a great height, doesn’t it?

I have now missed two payments on most of my debts. Obviously no defaults or anything yet, but lots of “please contact us to pay” emails and voicemails, which I’m ignoring.

Today, my landlord texted to tell me that she has to sell the house. She’s very apologetic. She’s going through a messy divorce and doesn’t have a choice. She’s said she won’t serve notice (4 months) until she actually has a buyer, to give me as much time as she can. But now I’m worrying that I’ve just destroyed my credit file right before I’m going to have to ask letting agents to rent to me! How much is this mess likely to affect my ability to rent somewhere? I’m on a low income anyway. When my ex partner moved out, my ex husband (my kids’ dad) went guarantor for me so that I could take the tenancy on in my own name. He’s said he will do that again. Will that be enough to make up for the fact that my own credit check will be a disaster?

The mess that I’m in is all non-priority debts. I’ve never missed a payment on rent, council tax, utilities or anything connected to the house. Will that work in my favour? I think my landlord would be willing to write a personal reference confirming that I’ve been a good tenant and have always paid on time, too.

I’m just really scared that I’m not going to be able to find somewhere decent for my children to live because I decided to stop paying my credit cards to get them to default before doing a DMP 😥

Grumpelstiltskin

Now you are not paying your unsecured debts I hope you have started an emergency fund, in these sort of circumstances cash is king, if you could manage to save enough to pay some rent up front that would be helpful.