£32000 in debt and rising. My story of woe....

RAS

Subflow

Is you missus getting any materity pay as opposed to state payments? Could she or even both of you be eligible for tax repayments whilst you were out of the UK, or whilst she is on mat leave?

Verbatim

Hi,

Just wanted to say how impressive the way you're tackling all this is. It looks to me as if you'll be feeling in control soon.

Keep posting for encouragement and ideas. We'll be cheering you on.

ANDENA

why dont you try Council Tax they might find you qualify for a reduction or you tell them you are having problems in paying they will help you out.water also will do the same we have all had bad times like you but it helps to get it in the open and talk.good luck with it all.

catchooky

Hi there just wanted to say why not try slicethepie.com(check the thread up your income for details). Some of the people there have made loads in a short space of time - your OH could do this when she is doing the daily clicks etc. Anything you could ebay or car boot (even just for spare cash for baby stuff???)
I also wanted to say that you're lucky that you have both of you for when the times get tough - my OH earns his wage and I earn mine, my wages go towards paying off debt racked up for the both of us, and his go towards beer.
All the best for the DFW struggle and the new MSEr when he/she arrives. I will be watching your thread with interest
Cat x

RAS

Chev's survey sites

PS As there are a couple of people on here with questions, here is my little list of sites, that I have had payments from. Please note there are NO referral links in it as that is not allowed.
chev

www.lightspeedpanel.com - this is a survey site, where you get points that turn into vouchers (you choose). May not help with the cash flow, but the vouchers could be saved towards birthday/xmas or given as presents.

www.ciao.co.uk - survey site that gives money. A bit fits and starts i.e. no surveys for a couple of weeks, then three or four the same day.

www.yougov.com - again paid surveys. However takes a while to get to the minimum payout level

www.mytns.com - again this is a survey site, but it pays you in points that convert into Nectar points at Sainsbury’s.

www.pigsback.co.uk - this is a points site, i.e. they give you points for buying things via their site. BUT you also get points for signing up for news letters (some of which are even interesting!), and also for clicking on adverts with pink borders. I have spent NOTHING with them but got £40 vouchers through (been registered since January). There is also a thread in the freebies section, of www.moneysavingexpert.com that gives you all the daily answers to the competitions so you can have a better chance of winning on them. I won £20 of points recently on the daily quizzes so a nice boost to the Christmas fund.

www.mutualpoints.com - another points for clicks site. You can also buy things via their site and get points too. For a long time, I just clicked the links in the emails they send you, and that gets you 5 points. At 3000 points you get £20 I think. You can do searches via their site and that gets you points too.

www.quidco.com - this is a cash back site, so very good, for checking if any potential new insurers (i.e. if you have checked your contents insurance say and found a new provider), are offering cash back. E.g. Lloyds was offering £120 cash back on new policies at one point (the offers do change). You can also get small amounts of cash again for doing searches via their site. You can earn 52p a day by doing this. Every little helps.

www.greasypalm.co.uk - another cash back site, where you can do searches and get small amounts of money. But it all adds up. I think you can get about 50p a day on there for nothing. Minimum payout is £20 I think, but you can sign up to survey sites via there, and get extra money that way for nothing.

www.topcashback.co.uk - another site where you can do daily clicks to get money for nowt.

www.britishrewards.co.uk - same as topcashback, daily clicks to do searches for pennies a time.

izzybusy23

£200 a month goes to an AA loan, and they were particularly rude when I called and confessed I was struggling. They got very uppity, said it was me who signed the contract, and if I didn't pay I'd go into arrears and then 'further measures' would be taken to retrieve the money.

Hi there

Welcome to the forum.. and many congratulations on your first baby. Your baby is far more important than money, a price can never be put on your child's head.

Just thought I would mention that my DH had a loan through the AA. He got made redundant and couldn't afford to pay them and they indeed got shirty with him and referred the debt to their in-house DCA, Blair, Oliver, Scott who, according to my DH, is far nicer to deal with than the AA so not is all lost there and don't worry about them forwarding your debt to BOS. You will probably find it easier to negotiate with them and get interest frozen on the debt.

xx

setmefree2

"many congratulations on your first baby. Your baby is far more important than money, a price can never be put on your child's head." Amen to that.:D

If it's any comfort to you, I think most people find it really hard when they have their first baby...less money, more expenses...but we get through it and I for one wouldn't have missed it no matter how poor I was. Don't get me wrong - it's no fun being in debt but you are truly a blessed man. Good luck...

Bogof_Babe

Couldn't you stop doing the work savings scheme for a while, to free up a bit more spare cash?

viktory

Tons of good advice - my two pennorth is what about AQA? Link here. I recently read that they are recruiting.

solventguy

subflow wrote: »

Fantastic feedback in such a short space of time.

Income = £2000 (my takehome pay)


Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage = £1100

Hi Subflow -

Welcome to the forum.

For me the thing that jumps out from you SOA is your mortgage - it's 55% of your income. This is a whopping percentage. I don't mean to be harsh, but you can't afford this. Your mortgage and debt repayments are taking almost all of your income, so you are going to continue to go deeper into the red every month. Are all options on the table in dealing with your debt? If so, I would at least look into the possibility of selling the house and renting someplace cheaper. Could you sell up and move in with your parents or in-laws? I know this might not be the most attractive option, but, realistically, where are you going to be in a year if you don't do something radical?

I wish you the best.