Starting over...

cobragirl

Hi all!
I was feeling ok-ish about everything until......... the water bills came in!!!
Now I've got to re-jig my card payments to pay £200 off of those! I'm taking the installment option as I really can't pay it off. And with no interest I don't see it as a problem.

My council tax has come in and it's only gone up by £3 so that's not too bad. I'm going to have a really good look at all my outgoings again on Monday so will post a new SOA .

Oh, and I sold my mobile phone handset for £100 - it only cost me £20 as an upgrade!!!! Result! Thanks to Martin for the "selling your mobile phone" link!:p

xx

cobragirl

It never rains but it pours...

£155 electricity bill
£85 on overdue essential bits on my bike
Tax for my bike (was £47 last year, don't know what it is this year)
on top of the two water bills mentioned above. Only the second month and I'm going way too far into my overdraft and my payment plans are up the spout. I'm going backwards.
I could cry! :mad: Nearly £500 to find. Looks like it's time to sign up to more mystery shopping sites.

cobragirl

I've had 4 days of spending nothing...but I also haven't been out of the house and I'm going loopy. I have sorted my garden though and plan to plant some potatoes today in my newly dug and composted patch.
I've signed up to another mystery shopping site but nothing has come in and I'm starting to panic about my bills which are due NOW and I can't actually pay them all without going back into my HSBC overdraft which I was making real progress with.

Does anyone have any (legal!!!) quick fix ideas? I've run out.

x

cobragirl

Had another thought. Please let me know what you think......

I'm a teacher so have a reasonably good pension scheme. However, given my current financial crisis would it be better for me to withdraw from the scheme for a while and put the £130 a month towards my bills?

I'd really value some advice on this as I can see good reasons for both but it's tempting just to have the money now when I really need it rather than later. (When I'll also really need it!!)

Thanks in advance
x

donner_kebab

Heya Cobragirl!
I am in a similar situation pension wise...I work in Education, not as a teacher but for the IT Department and we all have the same pension which from what I have been told, is a really good one. I pay about the same as you into it each month and thought that with my amount of debt (funnily enough about the same as yours!), perhaps I should stop and then use it towards my debts, but I suppose that the amount going into the pension is before tax and NI is taken off so we would not see the full £130 back. Plus our employers pay some in too and we are gonna need some £££ when we are older...it is such a hard decision isn't it! Grrrrrr! xxx

cobragirl

Yep, it's a toughie. That's exactly what's going through my poor brain at the moment. Long term or short term? I think for it to be worthwhile I would have to opt out for at least a year, but as you said that's a big chunk of pension, emp contributions etc.
I need a cup of tea!

cobragirl

12th Feb ................................15th March...............................10th May
Student loan 3786.56 ..................3700......................................3530
Barclaycard 1277.24 ..................1100......................................1094
A+L card 224.35 .........................130.......................................117
MBNA card 5868.09 .................5860......................................5832
HSBC card 3902.00 ...................3858......................................3776
Virgin card 129.87 .................... GONE!!!!!...................................0
Halifax card 4278.12................... 4242......................................4114
HSBC overdraft 850.00 ................650......................................700
total 20,316.23 ........................1 9,540 (and pence)................19,163 (and pence)

Oh, what a bad time I've had recently. I've been too embarrassed to post but had to write it down or I'll go mad.
My energy switch has gone wrong and I'm back where I started because of people who don't know their job.
I crashed my bike after hitting diesel on a roundabout (Sort your tank caps out, certain diesel drivers!!!!!) and I'm now immobile while I wait for the bits to arrive and repairs to be done. (How much will that cost??GGGRRR!!!)
My HSBC interest rate has increased, I still can't defer my student loan as I haven't got enough wage slips yet.
I've only paid off £377!!!!!
At least it's sunny outside. Reading a book in the garden doesn't cost anything.

Any messages of hope would be appreciated!!!

lindauk

I don't really have any advice about the debts I'm afraid. I just wanted to say keep your chin up and things will get better eventually. Keep smiling and posting here and I'm sure someone will be along who has something far more interesting to say than me

Also I think sitting in the garden sounds like a fab idea i might even have lunch out there!! :j

poppyg_2

cobragirl wrote: »

Yep, it's a toughie. That's exactly what's going through my poor brain at the moment. Long term or short term? I think for it to be worthwhile I would have to opt out for at least a year, but as you said that's a big chunk of pension, emp contributions etc.
I need a cup of tea!

I'm in similar pension scheme also pay just over £100 in and I have decided to come out of mine, have decided I need to use the money for debt or I'll never get out of it, not much point being dead poor now with the hope I'll be better off when I'm much older, tough decision but I didn't feel in the end I had much choice so my contributions will stop from next month

cobragirl

I think it's time I faced up to things. I haven't posted for such a long time because everything's going wrong. I'm still trying so hard. I'm not spending, I've sold all my crap, doing 20min surveys for 10 flippin pence, turning all the electric bits and bobs off, switched suppliers, quidco'd credit card applications etc AND IT'S NOT WORKING!!!
I can't see any way out in much less than 10 years. I'll be 40. I always used to read other people's posts and wonder how they could say things were that bad, as long as you're earning just stick with it and it'll work out in the end.
Now I understand. With all the will in the world it's just not happening. I'm stuck, and it's getting worse. Right now I feel like I've been kicked in the guts. REALLY HARD!

Perhaps a beer will help!!!!!...........