Its all going pete tong....

bigbinlid

New member so please be gentel...

It was all going well, wife, 2 kids, both decent jobs.

Then we got dropped in it. top and bottom is the childcare we had for free, got pregnant again and could not look after out little one. (they took turns 2 days a week looking after each others little one) both the same age and it was "agreed" that neither would try for another one for a few years.

This resulted in an unexpected extra bill of £250 a month for 2 days childcare for the 2 year old, and £80 a month for the 8 year old. during school term, and this goes up in the holidays.

Ontop of that my shifts have changed and now I do not get oncall allowence, which was about £300 a month. So we are about £700 a month down now.

Which is bad, to the extent, I am about £200 short every month for the bills.

We have about £19,000 on CCs, along with a car payment of £180 a month.

The CC have just built up over time and have now become silly... One is due to the family tax credit over paying us and the wife wanting just to clear it..

The CC payments are £70,(3k) £70 (3k) (0%), £140 (6k), £130 (6k) and (1k)£40

For the last few months, I have sold stuff on ebay and sold my shares to pay the bills or used my overdraft, which is now nearly full at £1100.

But I am at the point now were I just can not sell anymore to keep paying the bills.

The CC are what is crippling us, and it is at the point I am looking at a secured loan for 20k at a silly APR just so we can live. But I am sure that is not the best thing to do.

To make matters worse the fixed term on the morgage is up on the 1st Sept with the NR. They are not taking new deals on, so I have to pay the SVR which is £220 over when I currently, pay, I HOPE I can go intrest only as I do not think I will be able to get another deal with another compnay due to the debt and my wifes reduced working hours (the original deak was 3 years fixed, whent he wife was full time)

Anybody help before I start to default payments ????

rayday2

You are quite correct a secured loan is not the way to go you don't want to risk your home.

Have you thought about contacting a debt charity for some advice which you can do online if you prefer, I recommend CCCS, Payplan or National Debtline.

If you are sure you cannot cut back any further then the way to go is probably to lower payments to your creditors but the companies named above will be able to help you with that.

Your new childcare is it professional childcare that you can claim a bit back through tax credits? If not have you looked into that? Try www.entitledto.co.uk to see if you are getting all the help you can.

LEWKI

Hi Big. Did not want to read and run..

You are definately at the right place. Lots of very clever people here who will help...you are definately not alone. Sorry to hear that things are not great just now but it WILL improve! Good luck

Dithering_Dad

Don't worry, this is the DFW board, everyone is gentle here

If your childcare has gone up and your income has gone down, have you looked at your tax credits? I'm not sure if these can be adjusted mid year if circumstances change, but it might be worth a look. You could also see if you're entitled to any benefits you're currently not receiving.

Check your tax credits and benefits on here: www.entitledto.com

If your shifts have been reduced at work, is there any way to change your work pattern so that you are home one day per week - this would reduce your child care costs. Bit of a long-shot I know, but perhaps worth looking into.

Other than this, I'd do what the above posters have said and contact a debt charity to see if they can help you.

Good Luck.

EDIT: oops, other contributors are faster at typing then me and have already given you the same advice! Still, it never hurts to repeat it.

bigbinlid

The childcare is "tax free" as its claimed back via busybee vouchers.

I think I will have a look at those companies, thanks.

I have cut back and fixed everyting I can, mobile phone is on emplyee discount with Tmobile so 50% line rental. BT on cheapest package, as mobile is used for all calls. broadband is with sky, so its inc in the rental etc.