yet another sleepless night :o(

skintmam

hi everybody, been a member of this site for a while and avidly read the DFW forum as all your stories have helped me to confront my own money problems (thank you!) - as I have been in denial for years.

I'll tell you a bit about my background and where i am at the moment (sorry to bore you!) I am 36, married a cpl of years ago and have 2 kids - 9 yr old from a previous relaitionship and a 4 month old. I have always had debts since the day I got accepted for my 1st CC at 18 and basically it has spiralled since then. my husband had his own debts when we met (he got landed with a load of debt when he split up with his 1st wife) he had gone to payplan and he is (very) slowly paying back what he owes. up until last year I had a very well paid job and was earning around £1700 a month, but for the sake of my family (and my sanity) decided to pack it in a get something part time and closer to home, saved on petrol/childcare & got rid of the car & bought a banger so we weren't that much worse off a month. I have had loads of LBM's over the years, which has mainly resulted in me taking out a loan or remortgaging to consolidate my debts and then maxing out my CC's again which has basically got me where I (we) are today. My DH is fully on board with me, thank god!

I had my 'real' LBM in september last year when I started maternity leave, my boss (a pig of a man) decided to pay me a cpl of days late while he sorted stuff out with his accountant and we basically fell apart - mortgage bounced, no money for petrol/food etc and we've basically struggled on since then - we have completely overhauled our outgoings (got rid of sky/reduced our mobiles/cancelled dvd's/reduced food bills/got rid of 2nd car etc) but our outgoings are still more than our incomings. I have managed to make up the defecit (about £200 a month) :eek: by selling on ebay and doing ironing.

we had resigned ourselves into thinking we would be stuck in debt for years and years and then last month I found the snowball calculator which shows that we could (realistically) be out of debt in 47 months! we couldn't believe it and we have been on a mission ever since! suddenly the unachiveable has become achievable. just typing that bit brings a smile to my face. yet half an hour ago I was in the depths of despair, DH got up for work and needed to get petrol on the way in - checked my bank and the money that I transferred from paypal hasn't gone in yet so I raided my son's sponsership money to put a fiver in the car, see I'm crying again now

I'll post my SOA and all my debt details later on but I just wanted to get all this down somewhere as I really don't think I can get through it by myself. I'm also desperately trying to get a new job so I don't have to go back to work for my horrible boss.

sorry if I've bored you but hopefully some of you (i'm banking on it!) will help me through my debt free journey

pippo

Hi Skint,
Don't despair, as you say you are going to achieve what you thought was impossible!
Times like that though really do set you back.
It always gets me that banks, paypal etc can take money out immediately, but take a while to pay back - particularly when you are counting on it.

Sounds like you need a liitle rainy day pot - for emergencies only.

As I said, don't be down, you are doing well.
Have a look at the £10 a day threads and see if there are any more ideas to help you raise your income.
Good luck,
Pip

skintmam

Thanks Pippo, will have a look at that thread now..

here's my SOA - any advice gratefully received!

Incomings:
Husband Pay £1250 - varies every month but this is the average
my maternity pay - £550
child benefit - £125
tax credit - £100
maintenance - £200
rent of other property - £420

total £2645

outgoings
mortgage 1 : £535
mortgage 2 - £538 have remortgaged a few times so rent does not now cover the mortgage
Gas £39
Electric £24
Water £42 includes £10 to cover old outstanding balance
TV lice £11.70
cat ins £3.80
car ins £26
home phone £25 usually less
broadband £9.99
kids savings £10
house ins £8.40
council tax £104
mobiles £24.99 tied into contract until july, then switching to PAYG
food £150 includes baby formula/nappies etc
diesel £100 sometimes less depending on DH shifts
AS FOR HAIRCUTS/GOING OUT/ TREATS /BIRTHDAYS ETC - WE DON'T SPEND A THING!
TOTAL £1651.88

DEBTS
MINT CC..... £2550.. apr 27.9% ... £58
argos CC.....£1250.. apr 27.9%... £40
ikea CC...... £375.. 12.9%......£20
ASda CC...£500... 15%.....£20
Loan 1 .... £21k... £421 60 mths left
car... £6400...0%... £179... 36 months left
Westcott... £111... £45
payplan £4800...0%...£65
loan 2 ... £1453..15.6% ...£55
loan 3...£10323 ...£168...7 yrs left
settee £40...1 payment left!


total debt £48,802
monthly debt payments £1111

total outgoings £2762.88
defecit of £117.88

I usually make about £200 a month from e bay and ironing but haven't included this as it's not guarenteed.

as you can see we are just managing to keep our heads above water, but every day is a struggle. up until last month the asda & mint card were both above their limit, but with a bit of determination and hard work have managed to get them both back on track to avoid the monthly charges. I am also £100 in arrears with my council tax, but I'm aiming to clear that in the next 2 weeks. everything will then be up to date and within limit which I think mentally will be easier for me to deal with.

Any advice/observations gratefully received!

thanks

SamanthaA

Cant help financially, but I can offer support.
You know that you have begun with 1 of the best places for support & help going.

As for raiding you childs money, anyone with kids, who isn`t loaded has done it. Dont feel so bad, you will pay it back, you have not stolen - you have borrowed.
You will pay it back.

mrs_lady

I totally agree with SamanthaA. I have borrowed from children before and it soon gets paid back, don't beat yourself up over it. I'm not in a great position to offer any monetary wisdom but others will. You've done the best thing by coming on here for advice/support. Without the help I received on here I don't know how I would have coped during the last fortnight.

Wishing you well.

gallygirl

skintmam wrote: »

Thanks Pippo, will have a look at that thread now..

here's my SOA - any advice gratefully received!

Incomings:
Husband Pay £1250 - varies every month but this is the average
my maternity pay - £550
child benefit - £125
tax credit - £100
maintenance - £200
rent of other property - £420

total £2645

outgoings
mortgage 1 : £535
mortgage 2 - £538 have remortgaged a few times so rent does not now cover the mortgage Is this on another property? What is value of it & size of mortgage. Is selling it an option?
Gas £39
Electric £24
Water £42 includes £10 to cover old outstanding balance
TV lice £11.70
cat ins £3.80 kill the cat , just kidding
car ins £26 renew through quidco, but this is good deal
home phone £25 usually less
broadband £9.99
kids savings £10 stop this!!!!! It's costing you £10 a month plus the highest rate of interest you're paying. I worked out elsewhere that £8 a month over 3 years actually cost around £800 at 18% interest :eek: . So, you're looking at over 1k! :eek: Make a note of how much you 'owe' the savings then 'pay it back' when you are debt free.
house ins £8.40 renew through quidco, however this is very cheap - you are iinsured for contents aren't you?
council tax £104
mobiles £24.99 tied into contract until july, then switching to PAYG
food £150 includes baby formula/nappies etc
diesel £100 sometimes less depending on DH shifts
AS FOR HAIRCUTS/GOING OUT/ TREATS /BIRTHDAYS ETC - WE DON'T SPEND A THING!
TOTAL £1651.88

DEBTS
MINT CC..... £2550.. apr 27.9% ... £58
argos CC.....£1250.. apr 27.9%... £40
ikea CC...... £375.. 12.9%......£20
ASda CC...£500... 15%.....£20
Loan 1 .... £21k... £421 60 mths left
car... £6400...0%... £179... 36 months left
Westcott... £111... £45
payplan £4800...0%...£65
loan 2 ... £1453..15.6% ...£55
loan 3...£10323 ...£168...7 yrs left
settee £40...1 payment left!


total debt £48,802
monthly debt payments £1111

total outgoings £2762.88
defecit of £117.88

I usually make about £200 a month from e bay and ironing but haven't included this as it's not guarenteed.

as you can see we are just managing to keep our heads above water, but every day is a struggle. up until last month the asda & mint card were both above their limit, but with a bit of determination and hard work have managed to get them both back on track to avoid the monthly charges. I am also £100 in arrears with my council tax, but I'm aiming to clear that in the next 2 weeks. everything will then be up to date and within limit which I think mentally will be easier for me to deal with.

Any advice/observations gratefully received!

thanks

Only a few comments as you have cut out a lot :T . OK, sign up for all the paid surveys, you won't get much but an occasional £10 voucher will give you a treat once in a while.

Sign up for mystery shopping - you can do with baby. OK, won't get a lot but every little helps.

Good luck x

pania

skintmam wrote: »

Thanks Pippo, will have a look at that thread now..

here's my SOA - any advice gratefully received!

Incomings:
Husband Pay £1250 - varies every month but this is the average
my maternity pay - £550
child benefit - £125
tax credit - £100
maintenance - £200
rent of other property - £420

total £2645

outgoings
mortgage 1 : £535
mortgage 2 - £538 have remortgaged a few times so rent does not now cover the mortgage


DEBTS
MINT CC..... £2550.. apr 27.9% ... £58
argos CC.....£1250.. apr 27.9%... £40
ikea CC...... £375.. 12.9%......£20
ASda CC...£500... 15%.....£20
Loan 1 .... £21k... £421 60 mths left
car... £6400...0%... £179... 36 months left
Westcott... £111... £45
payplan £4800...0%...£65
loan 2 ... £1453..15.6% ...£55
loan 3...£10323 ...£168...7 yrs left
settee £40...1 payment left!


total debt £48,802
monthly debt payments £1111

total outgoings £2762.88
defecit of £117.88

Hello...

You are doing fab so far hon welldone you. It can be a long hard trek sometimes but you can and will get there!! it sounds asthough you have very much adopted the DFW lifestyle so far good for you.

Re the credit cards above, you have addressed the issue of limits on 2 of the cards, but are there surplus balances on any of the lower interest cards that you could transfer argos or any of the mint onto?

Look on the freebies board at the baby clubs, boots have a particularly good one. i signed up to pampers for my sisters and they are always sending me out vouchers off nappies, again not much but all a little extra in your back pocket.

Good luck and stick with us. xxx

skintmam

thanks ali, the other house was mine before I met hubby and not big enough for all of us but was unable to sell, decided to rent it out and at that time was making about £100 a month off it but after remortgaging yet again its now costing more than the rent - I have increased the rent a bit but still not enough. I've thought about selling it, but it couldn't sell before and think it will be harder to sell now due to the credit crunch. also think my tenant would look elsewhere and we're not in a position to cover the mortgage without his rent. catch 22 really ( have even contacted one of those companies that buy houses quickly for cash, but they wouldn't give me enough to cover the mortgage. I jsut keep thinking that if I can get through these next 47 months (4 years sounds too long!) then I will be able to sell it and make a bit of money (there's about £25k worth of equity in it).

Mrs Lady - just been reading your thread.. haven't got to the latest page yet but good luck with everything )

skintmam

couple of questions.... how do I update my signature? it's probably staring me in the face, but do you think I can find it!

mystery shopping - do any companies deal with 'telephone' work rather than having to physically go into a shop? would be much easier for me than going out!

pania

hi skintmam, i'm guessing the mortgage on both properties is interest only? if the rental property isn't then how about asking your lender if you can switch it for a wee while, this would again mean that you are earning a profit from the property? leaving you more to clear your debts off then revert to repayment after?

pania

up top is a button "user CP" click on there, on left "edit signature"

et voila....