I Need Advice!!

Penguin_2

HI

I am 32 years old and I would rather not say where I live but it is a very expensive place to live and I virtually know nobody here (and I have lived here all my life) who isn't my parents age who can afford to earn their own home, and that is only because they bought their houses 30 years ago! I rent.

I am an office manager, it is a good job and I like it a lot so don't really want to leave, it as it is very hard to find decent jobs around here as there is very very low unemployment, so when a decent job does come up - probably 200 people apply.

ceegee

If all your friends are in the same boat re housing, are there any with whom you could flatshare/houseshare, all tied up with a legally drawn up and enforceable contract, of course.

Regarding a sensible token payment towards the loan....it doesn't have to be huge....don't forget it is a token payment, pending the CCCS drawing up a sensible plan for you. Whatever you do, don't leave yourself short of money for food etc.

Penguin....would you care to list your financial incomings and outgoings on here? Lots of people would be happy to give them a going over to see where you could cut back.

Just one final thought for now.........do you know whether or not your friends and aquaintances are in the same financial boat as yourself? :money:

Penguin_2

Hi Ceegee - thanks for getting back.

We all rent, I live in a shared house with a friend and we split the bills equally apart from our own of course!!! I will be moving in with my boyfriend in November which will make the bills about £150 cheaper as he lives slightly out of town and he will bring me in and out to work each day.

My outgoings - monthly:

Rent £395
Council Tax £52
Water £10
Gas & Electric £20
Home phone £15
Mobile £30
Prescriptions £15 (although on a pre-paid certificate as MUCH cheaper)
Loan £282
Credit Card £140
Food £100 (diabetic, so have to eat properly - no skimping there)

This comes to over my salary. Hence the problem in paying the debts back. I want to pay them back and it is my responsibility to do so, believe me I realise this I just don't know how to!

Several of my friends are in the same boat unfortunately.

Any advice?

Mrs_Thrift

Hiya Penguin,

I'm not an expert by any means, and I'm sure some of the other guys on hre can give you great advice on the loan and credit card, but as for your other outgoings:

Home phone and mobile seem pretty high - have you looked at the Telephone Board and Martin's Telephone Articles on here to reduce these as much as possible? For example, are you using call 18866 on the home phone?

Also, I don't know if you're able to change your gas and electricity providers, as you rent, but it would be worth asking your landlord, and looking at Martin's Gas & Electricity Article.

I know being diabetic places restrictions on what you do and don't eat, but eating "properly" shouldn't have to cost £100 for one person, IMHO. Have you looked at the Old Style Board? The Welcome post gives a good idea of what it's about and how it might be able to help you reduce your food costs. Mr Thrift and I have reduced our food and groceries outgoings from £220+ a month to £85 a month, and we are eating better and more healthily than ever!

HTH

Penguin_2

Thanks for your advice re: phone and bills - will look into that for sure.

With regards to eating properly - £100 would be an expensive month admittedly but as I need to eat specific foods and not others and unfortunately there are no cheapish supermarkets here. I buy all my veg at the market as its the cheapest and the best but apart from that I do not have many other options. I have been shopping and cooking for myself as a diabetic for 15 years and unfortunately I cannot really find a much cheaper option than I am doing at the moment.

When I move in with my boyfriend obviously It will make things cheaper but until then I can't really see a realistic way of cutting this back by much. Also the £100 allocated to food encompasses all my toiletries and cleaning stuff for the house.

Nicky_3

Actually, £100 per month for food for one person is not alot. The BBA guidelines say around £160 for one person. And that is not including toiletries either.

Dont get too bogged down with too much advice. Wait until you speak to the folk at CCCS, they will go through your I&E, and if there is anything to be said, they will say it then, as in what you might be able to do to release more funds, if anything.

Your I&E looks fine, like i said before, you doing what you can, so dont loose anymore sleep over it, just hang in there for a bit longer until you get to speak to CCCS.