newbie facing up to debts

porkpie1981

Hi there! Im new on here! Just finished watching that debt programs reprossion reprossion reprossion (sorry bout spelling). Well since the age of 18 i have always spent loads but always cleared it. I now am a student aged 27 with a 22 month old and im 5 weeks pregnant. I know many would say why plan to get pregnant when in so much debt but thats the only thing that is keeping me slighly happy at the mo. Im staying to finish this year and then taking a year out and then going back to finish my degree.

At the moment i dont miss bills but im really panicking as i was so good with swapping them back ans forward from 0% to another 0 % . They thing is know i cant get any more credit(which i know now is a good thing). I actually am just thinking how did this all happen and how could i be soo stupid.

Before I came on here i was thinking I didnt want to do anything that would affect my future credit rating asi want their to be light at the end of the tunnel eg buy a house say in 5 years. I have read a few posts and its seems i shouldnt worry about this.

What can i do i want to pay it back and could if it wasnt for the interest.

Heres a rought idea of my debt

Egg loan: 5 grand, paying £100 a month
Halifax visa: 5 grand (interest pretty high)
Paypal visa 5 grand on 0% for about 7 months
Barcly card £1500 on 0%
Virgin £1500 (interest not to bad)

I will be getting 1 more payment of my student loan in april of £3500 and then after i leave i can only claim tax credits and some benefist so im really panicking.

I was planning in paying £3000 of the halifax card and using the other 500 to pay bills eg electric, oil, etc for a few months. I know u may how can u live but i get £60 a week tax credits and child benefit to do me till the summer.

Should i do that? What can i do if im only getting benefits for the year until i get back to uni? OMG im so scared. Can my interest be frozen

P,s I forgot to add that i have mybe say £1000 ebay clothes to sell eg i got ralph lauren baby clothes imported from the us and im trying to sell them now to get as much as i can paid off


Please help

newmum1

Well done for posting if you do a SOA which will lsit all your income and outgoings im sure we will all try to help you reduce your outgoings. although you sya the interest 'isnt bad' think of it this way if u have to pay interest its bad, thats how i think anyway and it makes me want to pay off my debts quicker. im sure we will all be able to help u

neverdespairgirl

Hi PP - you are in the right place!

Can I suggest you post a statement of affairs? That's basically a list of all your income and outgoings per month.

Does your children's father contribute?

porkpie1981

he doesnt work as he is a carrer for his mum. He does give me 30-40 a week

Electric 10 per week in meter (have £100 in it at the mo)
Oil about 20 -30 a week (filled tank not lomg ago)
Food : I can get away with £25-£30 a week if im carefull
Bt: £15 a month
Sky and broadband £ 55 i think
Loan: 100 per month
Car insureance: paid for a year recently
Car tax: free as mum disabled
tiolets etc: bulk bough so plenty
Buses to uni : £10 per week
Mobile phones for me and other half: 70, 6 months left on contract
Difference in rent £87 for me to pay

I get £60 between ctc and cb a week and say £40 from the oh. I doesnt have any money left for himself as he smokes. I will get one more student loan instalent in april of £3500

As u can see when i get money I do buy in advance as im scared of running out. Really im just worried as the above will change at the end of may as i wont be at uni and will just get benefits. I dont even know how to plan then as i dont know how much i will get.

porkpie1981

ahhh but how can i plan when its all going to change.

neverdespairgirl

porkpie1981 wrote: »

he doesnt work as he is a carrer for his mum. He does give me 30-40 a week

Does his mother live with you? (Or do you live with her?) Does she get incapacity benefit, does he get carer's allowance? Could he not work part-time, even a few hours a week?[/quote]

I've added some comments, and made everything weekly:

Income (weekly)

£60 - child benefit & ctc
£40 - OH's contribution

total - £100

Outgoings (weekly)

Electric 10 per week in meter (have £100 in it at the mo)
Oil about 20 -30 a week (filled tank not lomg ago) - ouch, £20-£30 a week? Can this be cut a bit?
Food : I can get away with £25-£30 a week if im carefull
Bt: - 3.75 (from £15 a month)
Sky and broadband - £13.75 (£ 55 i think)
Mobile phones for me and other half: 70, 6 months left on contract - £17.50 per week - you are spending 35% of your monthly income on phones and TV, which you simply can't afford. There may be 6 months left on the contract, but you should be able to change tarriff, and cut to the minimum. Bin sky, get freeview. Get a phone package that doesn't cost so much.
Loan: - £25 (100 per month) - what type of loan - could you pay some off when you get your next student loan?
Car insureance: paid for a year recently - how much was it? This should be set up as a weekly cost, rather than a scare when it comes along.
Car tax: free as mum disabled
tiolets etc: bulk bough so plenty - rough cost per week - £5?
Buses to uni : £10 per week - you won't need this once the baby's born, though?

Difference in rent £87 for me to pay - assuming this is per month, £21 per week

total outgoing so far - £161 per week

And not included so far - petrol, car maintenance, MOT, TV licence, clothes, haircuts, baby costs etc.

porkpie1981 wrote: »

As u can see when i get money I do buy in advance as im scared of running out. Really im just worried as the above will change at the end of may as i wont be at uni and will just get benefits. I dont even know how to plan then as i dont know how much i will get.

You can check what you will get when the baby's born by having a look at https://www.entitledto.co.uk and seeing roughly what you will get, if you put in the baby's birth as this week, for example.

porkpie1981

Thanks for the help

I have had a sky box put upstairs so they say that im in a 12 month contract for that(the xtra room box) . What should i o about that?

I am going to cut back to a smaller phobe package in the next few days as i dont even use the full benefits of it.

He is getting careers allowance and is is on dla, she doesnt live with us

porkpie1981

Forgot to say that the loan is an egg loan and i think its about 7%(would need to check). I was thinking to pay £3000 of the cc instead of the loan or is oit better for the loan

porkpie1981

Every time i try to get to see what im entitled to they just say that i have to waot till uni to apply. I get 3 uni installment

Sep 2007 that was to do me till jan 08
Jan 08 (i just got was to do me to april 08)
My next one is april and i want to pay £3000 of sumthing. I just dont know if that is to do me till over the summer or can i claim benefit over the summer. Im scared of paying off the £3000 and then not being entitled to benefits

porkpie1981

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Does his mother live with you? (Or do you live with her?) Does she get incapacity benefit, does he get carer's allowance? Could he not work part-time, even a few hours a week?

I've added some comments, and made everything weekly:

Income (weekly)

£60 - child benefit & ctc
£40 - OH's contribution

total - £100

Outgoings (weekly)

Electric 10 per week in meter (have £100 in it at the mo)
Oil about 20 -30 a week (filled tank not lomg ago) - ouch, £20-£30 a week? Can this be cut a bit?
Food : I can get away with £25-£30 a week if im carefull
Bt: - 3.75 (from £15 a month)
Sky and broadband - £13.75 (£ 55 i think)
Mobile phones for me and other half: 70, 6 months left on contract - £17.50 per week - you are spending 35% of your monthly income on phones and TV, which you simply can't afford. There may be 6 months left on the contract, but you should be able to change tarriff, and cut to the minimum. Bin sky, get freeview. Get a phone package that doesn't cost so much.
Loan: - £25 (100 per month) - what type of loan - could you pay some off when you get your next student loan?
Car insureance: paid for a year recently - how much was it? This should be set up as a weekly cost, rather than a scare when it comes along.
Car tax: free as mum disabled
tiolets etc: bulk bough so plenty - rough cost per week - £5?
Buses to uni : £10 per week - you won't need this once the baby's born, though?

Difference in rent £87 for me to pay - assuming this is per month, £21 per week

total outgoing so far - £161 per week

And not included so far - petrol, car maintenance, MOT, TV licence, clothes, haircuts, baby costs etc.



You can check what you will get when the baby's born by having a look at www.entitledto.co.uk and seeing roughly what you will get, if you put in the baby's birth as this week, for example.[/quote]


That website wont calculate it for northern ireland