Help - we feel like we've done everything we can, and we're still piling on the debt!

moz86

Blimey! I know everyones already said it, but I want to smack it out of the park, £100 on groceries!? There, I think everyone else has explained this!

Also I'll be intrigued to hear what this portrait loan is.

Whats in your storage box? Anything you can sell? Therefore elimintating this cost and generating some extra cash towards debts. Just a thought!

Stick with it.

loveandlight

Do you use money off coupons? That will make dramatic savings on your food bill and in turn free up some of the cash you normally spend on food. If you are interested in knowing more please feel free to pm me.

r.mac_2

that's good news blushing rose. Hopefully that small start will spur both you and your husband on.

can I suggest that the backpayment goes straight to paying-off some of the highest costing debt?

so, what's next on your list?

BlushingRose

More news.
The lady from the council tax has just ring and confirmed that she's changing it to 12 monthly, starting in April, which means we have a couple of months off too!

BlushingRose

awaytogoyet wrote: »

OMG, this is so true. Also, fc123'S post about a completely new way of thinking!
I remember almost 2 years ago, when I had my LBM. I had lost my very well paid s/e work 2 years earlier following an accident & really struggled to comprehend what use earning £5 an hour or saving the odd 50p here & there would be to me - the debt seemed insurmountable & only a lottery win or inheritance from an unknown very rich relative could save me!!!
The thing is every day that you don't earn £5 an hour, or save 50p by buying cheaper, or not at all - you are just adding to the debt, rather than eating away at it. I reckon I'm now almost half way to getting there - if I'd discovered this Board earlier, I'd probably be home & dry now!
I think once you've had the LBM, you need to break the debt down into 'bite sized chunks' - daily, weekly, monthly & subsequently yearly challenges. Once you do that, the mountain doesn't seem so steep & the value of all the little earnings & savings becomes much more apparent.
Like you, I registered with a couple of Agencies for temping or permanent work. To be honest - they weren't much better than useless! Unless you're 18 to 20 & they can fit you into a 'pigeon-hole' in terms of work experience - I think they really can't be bothered! I began to realise I'd be sitting around waiting for work for ever more. The decent(ish) wage I'd had one week was almost wiped out by not working for the next 3. So, I did anything & everything, from cleaning, to working in a shop, a pub, to dog walking, gardening............. - I could write a book! (now there's another idea!!!). In the eves, I click like crazy, ebay, Mystery Shop, batch cook, go to the supermarket to get the reduced bargains, plan meals, list the Boots & Tesco glitches for attack, make hampers for presents etc. etc. Most importantly, I read this site for inspiration, motivation & yet more great ideas from the wonderful people here.
Like Tamara, every time I feel like spending, I calculate how many hours I will need to work to earn that money - needless to say it's usually a great turn-off.
Do you know, though - I love my life now! I now know what's important in life, know who my friends are (& there aren't actually very many!), am no longer so judgemental, or obsessed with things that don't really matter - I feel blessed. It's turned a nightmare into an enriching, challenging & often fun experience. I often think if I won the lottery or got that inheritance now, I'd never go back to my old ways again!
And, I really don't say this lightly - there are still days I'm scared I may not get there, feel very sick & panic, what if...... - but I have a read here & usually get over it.

You will get there too Blushing Rose - but don't hold back & wait - just go for it now. Get work tomorrow - do anything - if it's really dreadful you can move onto the next thing - but pyschologically you'll feel you are doing something about it & practically 'every little' makes 'a lot'! Get that storage box & redistribute the contents - you will be able to fit it in somehow. Get the tax credits underway & anything else that's owing to you. Cut the food bill; get the books on Amazon; anything els on Ebay; Mystery Shop etc. etc. etc.
Best of all stay on this Forum for motivation and inspiration.

Lots of luck to you - you will be fine x

Thanks for for this very positive post!
As might be obvious from my posts, I still feel a little overwhelmed and am not sure where to start and one of the reasons for this is that it *does* all seem so huge and unsolvable.
I admit I've been turning my nose up at p/t work - 37 hours or bust! Now I'll be applying for those jobs too, as you say, anything is better than nothing.
To be hoenst, i want a job that i get self fulfilment from, like my OH does, and the fact that i don;t have the choice does get to me a little - but as you say, the fact that i;d be bringing some money in once more, and perhaps taking charge of one of the CC repayments would make me feel more like I'm helping. I'm taking the advice and passing it on atm...and it doesn't feel like I'm helping cos it's not paying anything off (although today's news has made me feel good - although he rang, *I* suggested it to him!)

We're going to make it a game on food shopping day (Friday) and see how cheaply we can actually buy stuff. If it turns out to be horrid, then we'll upgrade a little, but I'm guessing it'll be fine (we already buy asda smart price on some items, but we're thinking of going to aldi or lidle instead)

BlushingRose

moz86 wrote: »

Blimey! I know everyones already said it, but I want to smack it out of the park, £100 on groceries!? There, I think everyone else has explained this!

Yep, ok, ok, we get it *lol*

Also I'll be intrigued to hear what this portrait loan is.

I thought I'd explained that already

We were in the storage box only a few weeks ago and no, nowt we can sell...

Zazen999

Hi.
Storage Box...

I also moved in with my partner and we combined 2 households. Anything we didn't need we sold or freecycled. If it has been stored for over a year then do you really need it - can't you ebay it??? Just before that, I sold a load of books on ebay and it paid for a holiday...it all adds up.

Menu planning - Totally recommend this. Without thinking about food our bills were about £60 per week for 2 adults and one child [for 1/3 of the time - with her mother the rest of the time]; and with menu planning this comes down to £40 per fortnight and about £20 for the week inbetween - which works out at half what we used to spend. We also bulk buy and never ever buy ready meals - we always cook from scratch. During the summer when we have masses of veg in the garden we can cut that in half again.

So; if you look at the options:
approach the school for a reduction in fees
look at what you are entitled to tax credits etc
streamline the payments if you can over more months
really get those cupboards down to basics and start batch cooking and planning all food consumption
scour the OS board for any further savings around the house [ie making your own bread]
keep up the applications for some additional work - don't just stop at 2 agencies you've got to keep looking.
sell some stuff if you can on ebay, and ditch the storage box [memories aren't going to pay the bills, unfortunately]

If you do some or all of the above, and I am sure some other ideas will come along - then may be not today but in a month or two you will see the difference.

You can get out of the debt!!! But sometimes sacrifices have to be made: for me the worst time [about 9 years ago] was having to make £20 last a month for all food - for about 6-7 months. Not an enjoyable time but I did it!!! And I know I could do it again.

southernscouser

Well done BR.

Now get on to the tax credits people if you haven't already.

You honestly do get back what you put in like anything else in life. If you wait for things to happen they won't. Look at your child benefit. You and your OH actively seeked whether you were entitled to more. They wouldn't have contacted you!

I know you're feeling overwhelmed but that's down to a couple of things. One of which is probably not being in charge. Now's the time to start making your money work for you.

Sorry if this sounds harsh but, if you really want to get out of this defecit then the storage has to go. You can't afford it. I know you say you have no room for the stuff but how long will it be until you do? Are you prepared to leave it in storage for 10's of years? Have a clearout at home. Ebay, boot sales, Amazon anything you don't need. Clear the loft out do the same with that. How much stuff do you actually have in storage? What is the size of the room you rent? Can you buy a shed and put it in there. It will end up being cost effective.

I don't want you to get upset by this. We aren't here to do that. We're here to help you and it's more than coincidence that we are all saying the same thing!

But you've made a great start. You're actively working on your food bill and are chasing up whats owed to you so give yourself a pat on the back and prepare yourself for the next step (the storage ).

ALIBOBSY

I would defo apply for tax credits, as far as I remember the max income to get it is over 50k! I think the basic amount for one child and on that level of income is around £10 per week. You won't qualify for the income related bit, but should get the child tax credit basic award as above. But your oh needs to claim asap as they won't backdate as far as the child benefit.
ali x

BlushingRose

Zazen999 wrote: »

Hi.
Storage Box...

I also moved in with my partner and we combined 2 households. Anything we didn't need we sold or freecycled. If it has been stored for over a year then do you really need it - can't you ebay it???

It's not furniture or anything helpful like that, I'm afraid. I got rid of all that sort of thing before I moved down - back in the good old days when we weren't struggling for money.
I DO have a tv sitting upstairs, but it's not something anyone would want to pay money for, I shouldn't think.

Menu planning - Totally recommend this. Without thinking about food our bills were about £60 per week for 2 adults and one child [for 1/3 of the time - with her mother the rest of the time]; and with menu planning this comes down to £40 per fortnight and about £20 for the week inbetween - which works out at half what we used to spend.

We do menu plan, always have since I moved in. We buy things that we need for those meals, although, as I said earlier we're going to make a list this week of what we need and then go to Aldi and similar and try and get things as cheaply as possible. I'll post up how much we spent.

We also bulk buy and never ever buy ready meals - we always cook from scratch.

Where do you go to bulk buy?
No, we never buy ready meals either.

During the summer when we have masses of veg in the garden we can cut that in half again.

This would be a good plan for us in the future, although neither of us are green fingered!

keep up the applications for some additional work - don't just stop at 2 agencies you've got to keep looking.

Yep, am doing

We're trying to make this fun, but it's hard for me to keep the OH's spirits up when I sometimes feel so down about it myself.