DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part Three)

Tigert

Hi Rugby,

Basically it's what you have left over after essentials . Forget about your creditors and add up the minimum you need to live on. Rent/Mortgage, Food, Travel, Gas/Electric/Phone. Once you have this figure hopefully there will be a surplus. Thats what your creditors get.

So long as there is a surplus, I think you should be ok - If there isn't, then I'm not sure what to advise.

smilealot

Hi again reformedspendaholic - I didn't send my I&E with the token payments, I just mentioned my Payplan case number and advised that they would be in touch. Unfortunately, my computer crashed a wee while ago so I can't send you a copy of the letter I wrote. I'm sure I posted it on this thread last year, but it's probably part two or three by now! Btw - wine is definitely included in my food spends... I've just started my school Easter holidays so it's an essential not a luxury :beer:

rugby6ft8 - I wanted to welcome you personally to this thread. I had a shiver down my spine when I read your post, as I it was exactly how I was feeling before I started my DMP. I'm sure we can all identify with you in different ways, but I was in an identical situation. I built up some debt when I was at uni, but knew I had a well-paid graduate career waiting for me, so didn't worry too much. Then I started the job and got caught up in the high-flying world of working in finance, socialising with very successful people and constantly thought - it's fine, I'm in a good job, I work hard, so kept piling it on the credit card. I then took out a huge loan with Cahoot to reconsolidate but instead of cutting up the cards, I used them to capacity again. Then to make matters worse, I decided to quit my career because it wasn't for me, took over a year out of earning to go back to uni and become a maths teacher and now earn much less than I used to. However, my advice is that it gets soooooooo much easier when you are in control and deciding to start a DMP is your way of taking charge. It's really hard to stop the spending, I still do it (e.g. I got my £3000 teaching golden hello before Christmas and it's disappeared through my old habits and relocating, because I had the money, I found ways to spend it), but by not having access to credit, you are forced to stop the spending. Okay, I miss being able to buy whatever I want when I want, or socialising all the time in lovely bars and restaurants, but the stress just wasn't worth it. I have now been living within my means for almost a year and a half (apart from the Christmas time blip!) and it feels amazing. It's a long-haul solution, but it can be done. I was really down when they gave me a debt free date of 14 years in the future, but I've already cut that down by 4 years and intend to keep reducing it each year - you can do the same. Sorry if I seem like I'm rambling, but I hope hearing someone else's story helps you realise that the situation you're in isn't abnormal. Writing this has also been strangely therapeutic for me, so thanks! Good luck and let us know if we can do anything to help.

smilealot

rugby6ft8

Thanks Tigert. That makes things clearer. Ignoring the debt then leaves about £900. So that will be spread amongst the creditors then?

smilealot

rugby6ft8 - Here is the expenditure list that Payplan work to. Work out how much you spend on each item, add it together to get your essential expenditure and take it away from your income. This is the figure Payplan will ask you to split between your creditors each month. I would suggest you inflate some of your figures slightly, especially for the first year so you can cover yourself for slip-ups and build up a reserve for rainy days. I know it's probably strictly against the rules, but we all do it and it avoids disaster if you need house or car repairs etc. There is a suggested maximum for somethings ehich they will advise you of (e.g. I think clothes is £20 a month). The idea is that you set aside the different pots of money, or at least save them in an account so you have the money if and when you need it. I'm still working on this part though

Rent/mortgage
Council tax
Buildings insurance
Union fees
Hire purchase (e.g. Car)
TV Licence
Telephone
Mobile phone
Road tax/MOT
Car insurance
Petrol/diesel
Car maintenance
Breakdown cover
Food
Clothing/footwear
Dentist/prescriptions/glasses
Hairdressing

Tigert

rugby6ft8 wrote: »

Thanks Tigert. That makes things clearer. Ignoring the debt then leaves about £900. So that will be spread amongst the creditors then?

Yes - That's a similar amount to what I have, though I think I have a lot more debt than you . That's a good amount so I'm sure a DMP is a good option for you.

Payplan will take you through everything and work it all out for you.

itsnowtime

Firstly good luck Rugby6ft8..

One of my creditors is HSBC whom I had 4 different accounts with. Having logged online tonight my Credit Card has disappeared - so.. it looks like this has been passed on to the DCA - might mean interest being stopped - fingers crossed..

However.. I was also informed that once one account gets transferred, the others tend to follow suite fairly quickly - has anyone any ideas how long this may take?

Thanks all

smilealot

I think it can vary between creditors. Fingers crossed it will happen soon though

WhoopieDoodle

Evening everyone. Well, I ate most of the egg and have drunk a snowball (alcoholic not real snow!), so pardon me if this post doesn't make sense.

Rugby, hello. Smilealot's advice has been spot on! Payplan do not budget for digital tv and some other bits and pieces, but the way around this is to use the full budget for food, but not spend this much on groceries and use the surplus for digital tv etc. Does that make sense? (I'll read this in the morning and cringe!)

We have found that now the DMP is in full swing, we are actually able to build up some pots of money for emergencies, Christmas, birthdays, etc. I feel this is imperative as we no longer have the use of credit (and have no intention of using credit again, so it is a good exercise for the future).

Tigert, if you have a minium of £100.00 surplus a month, Payplan will accept you.

When we had the initial letters and phone calls from creditors, all we did was tell them we were entering a DMP and quote the reference with Payplan, and the name of the caseworker. You have to keep repeating yourselves but they get the message eventually.

Anyway, I'm off to sleep off surplus chocolate and snowballs! What a combination.

Night night all

trulymadlydeeply_indebt!

smilealot wrote: »

trulymadlydeeply_in debt - loving the username!! Good luck for the interview. I obviously don't know your facts and figures, but remember it's your choice, so you can go with DMP even if the reccommend BR. Payplan keep advising me to do an IVA, like you, I'm keen to pay it all back, and I've recently chopped 4 years off my repayment time, so it is possible :j

smilealot :rolleyes2

Hi smilealot - I'm just in from work. Glad you like the name. Some days I wish I'd picked a cheery, upbeat one and DEFINITELY a shorter one lol, but I guess when I first posted it reflected how I was feeling.

I did wonder if you could "override" a BR decision so I'm glad you posted that. Someone said in an earlier post that those who do override often live to regret it, but I think I'll pursue my chosen path. It's taken me so long to get to the point of taking such a step, I'm like a new woman already! Can't begin to think how I'll feel in the coming months.

trulymadlydeeply_indebt!

Reformed_Shopaholic wrote: »

Hi there truly madly deeply and welcome! They are a fab bunch on this site and you'll notice i'm a rambler too

Hello RS - may I call you that? - I don't know what it is with me .... honestly, I set off writing and it becomes a novel! Also doesn't help that my blummin username takes up a third of the width ha ha, so my posts always look twice as long! NOTE TO VOYEURS - PICK A RUDDY SMALL NAME!:rotfl:

Hello to all other oldtimers and newbies too.

TMD xx