Help needed please, I am about to go Bankrupt :(

bluebird1975
bluebird1975 Posts: 2 Newbie
in Bankruptcy & living with it
Hi All, hoping you can help me.....I am about to go BR after many years of robbing Peter to pay Paul and sticking my head in the sand hoping it will go away. The stress of it all is making me poorly and I really need to hit it head on. I have had to reduce my hours from full time to part time at work due to stress. I owe approximately £25,000 in unsecured debt and I have no assets apart from a car worth about £1000.

Please can you have a look at the following figures and let me know what you think (there is just me in the house, although my son comes to stay with me a couple of nights a week and he is a student at university in receipt of student finance):

Income is approximately £1730 per month

Outgoings
Rent £625.00
Council Tax £98.00
Petrol £160.00 approx (needed to get to and from work and for my job)
Parking Permit at work £50.00 a month
Car Insurance £120.00 a month (I had an accident last year)
Car Tax £21.87
Gas/Elec £77.00
Water £41.30
Phone £25.00
Internet £21.00 (needed for work purposes)
Shopping £250.00 (inc toiletries and cleaning products)
Clothing £30.00
Prescriptions £20.00
Dentist £12.00
Pet insurance and food £25.00
Car maintenance (inc MOT) £30.00
Emergency/Sundries/Hols £30.00
Haircuts £10.00
Contents insurance £15.00
TV Lic £12.85
Lunches at work £30.00
Gym £10.00


Any advice/guidance would be appreciated, I really cannot afford to pay anything to my BR.

Comments

  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 20,487 Forumite
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    Those figures all look ok to me
  • TheGardener
    TheGardener Posts: 3,303 Forumite
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    edited 29 June 2018 at 8:35AM
    In order to give you the best guidance a full SOA would work best
    There is one here that can be formatted to post on this board
    http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

    You travel costs are a bit eye watering - does work not refund some of the petrol costs?
    Get an NHS prepayment card for prescriptions for £10 pm
  • luvchocolate
    luvchocolate Posts: 3,254 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Home Insurance Hacker!
    Hi if you need your car for work and not just getting and from do you claim mileage? If so this is classed as expenses and cannot be claimed by the O.R, I got mileage paid from work and it covered most of my car costs.
  • antrobus
    antrobus Posts: 17,386 Forumite
    Prescriptions £20.00

    You can get an annual prescription prepayment certificate for £104.
  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 20,487 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Cashback Cashier
    Any suggestions for cost-cutting are welcomed but do themafter submitting the application, OP

    I don't find you fuel cost excessive. That's about £37 per week - less than a tankful for most cars and will probably get you about 250 miles. In fact, you should check your records to see if you're actually spending more!
  • sourcrates
    sourcrates Posts: 28,876 Ambassador
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Photogenic
    antrobus wrote: »
    Prescriptions £20.00

    You can get an annual prescription prepayment certificate for £104.


    Yes, a lot of people do not realise this, works out at just over £10 a month, paid over a 10 month period, no limit to the amount of items you need either.


    Info and to buy one, here :


    https://www.gov.uk/get-a-ppc
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free wannabe, Credit file and ratings, and Bankruptcy and living with it boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.For free non-judgemental debt advice, contact either Stepchange, National Debtline, or CitizensAdviceBureaux.Link to SOA Calculator- https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php The "provit letter" is here-https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter
  • bluebird1975
    bluebird1975 Posts: 2 Newbie
    Thanks all for suggestions and your help, its much appreciated
  • Breamfod
    Breamfod Posts: 28 Forumite
    hi my son is also at university but returns home during holidays. my support worker rang the insolvency service and they said to put him down as a dependant and the or would discuss with me .
  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 20,487 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Cashback Cashier
    Breamfod wrote: »
    hi my son is also at university but returns home during holidays. my support worker rang the insolvency service and they said to put him down as a dependant and the or would discuss with me .

    That's a good point. Helps to justify a higher spend on food & utilities. The op should still get 25% single adult discount on the council tax though, and I'm guessing at £98, does.
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