Trying to clear my debts (Very Long as I have explained things)

Hi all, I need some advice as to what to do. My financial situation is about to change a lot. I'm going to be loosing about £450 a month income when my teen goes off to university in a few weeks (child support payments, child benefit, child tax credits all going) but I have over £10k of debt to repay.

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia last year and only recently discovered I should really be applying for PIP. I will be getting on with that claim, but I know it is notoriously difficult to claim especially for someone whose ability fluctuates like mine does from "no problems" to "so exhausted/in pain I can't even get out of bed", or involves mentally struggling (some days I struggle to make a cup of coffee, or add up two numbers, or speak a sentence without making a mistake and some days even reading is problematic*) so I am not even going to think about possibly having that as income right now.

I'm also a self-employed rep for a world famous 'make-up' brand who "ding dongs" as they call I really can't up my earning from that much more as its already exhausting me both mentally and physically. My teen often has to step in and double check things for me as I'm starting to make silly mistakes which end up costing me money. I earn about £1000-£1200 a year from it, but I have to plough some of that money back into supplies so I might in fact only make maybe £900-1000 when all is said and done. I have a lot of loyal customers, but the turn around of tenants in my area means I can get a £50 order one week from a new customer and the next week when I come to deliver it the person has moved and I won't have any contact details for them other than their address despite asking for a number or email. I then have to send the products back (if I can't sell them to someone else, or cover the cost myself if I know I can sell it in the future) and I loose out on the approximately £12 earnings from that order. Doesn't sound much, but it soon adds up.

I try to do "side hustles", but doing surveys etc exhausts me mentally and I can only do maybe one or two if I'm lucky and don't get screened out before having to sleep for a while. We have some things we've decluttered that we're going to sell, and my teen is going to get on with that a few things at a time starting next week (they're away with their boyfriend at the minute). I daren't even consider matched betting as I make too many mistakes day to day so I don't want to risk it.

My debt situation as it currently stands (on this months statements - I've made this months payments today so all actual figures are slightly lower):

Natwest - £3,231.63 - 0% interest - Original spending credit card I've had since 2002. I've made arrangements with them a few months ago to pay £101 a month until my financial situation changes when the situation will be reviewed again. They have stopped all interest so any payments go directly towards the balance owed and in theory this debt would be clear around the start of 2021 if I was able to keep the repayments up at this rate. I can no longer use this account, so it's in effect closed. (This was so easy to do with one simple phone call and they were very understanding!)

Argos - £817.48 - 4 BNPL plans at 0%, all have to be repaid by 9/10/19 or I'll get charged interest. I HAVE in theory budgeted to clear this by then (I have £340 going towards it this month while I have the money which will clear one plan completely and about halve the one which will cost the most in interest if I don't clear it in time. This is how I'm prioritising paying them off). I have no plans to use this at all again unless I need to replace something major like the washing machine or a bed or something. If my teen wants to use it to buy furniture or electronics then they will be responsible for paying it back through me.

Overdraft with Natwest (limit which I bob around constantly each month) - £2,500 - about 19% interest - Costing me £6 a month in overdraft charges, and approximately £30-35 a month in interest. Every time I think I'm getting somewhere, an unexpected expense crops up (like me needing new trainers due to current ones being worn through or something). I would really prefer to just pay this off rather than move to another bank, then reduce my limit to £500.

Halifax - £3088.85 - 24.70% interest - I contacted them the same day as Natwest, and agreed to pay £90 a month back as they were asking for over £160 a month due to perpetual debt. As far as I could tell from the phone call, it was the same arrangement as Natwest. They have closed the account (I asked them to as I was sick of getting "balance transfer offer" letters), and they stopped the interest payments. However they've started charging me interest again and this months statement has interest of £56.06 on it, with a minimum payment of £86.95 which means I'm going to be in perpetual debt with them again. This card was just for balance transfers on 0% offers which have all ended now. I have no idea how what happened here is any different to what I did with Natwest but I have gotten a very different result despite using the same figures!

Evans - £2745.32 - 34.080% 8 interest - The only card I have been using to cover clothing purchases, last Christmas, and a couple of grocery deliveries when I've been too ill to get to the shops and not had the funds in my bank account to pay with that since I got it in 2017. This months statement said "Contractual minimum payment £102.55 but a recommended extra payment of £85.20 (Making a payment of £187.75) requested". My teen has paid me back some money they owed me so I managed to pay £170 off this month, rather than the usual £100. My limit is £3600, and I've just locked my account so I won't get any more increases, plus I've set up an alert for it to text me when I get close to 85% (£3050) of my credit limit (Haven't put it at 80% as that's £2880 and I already know I'm close to that:p.). I plan to decrease this % limit every 3 months as I pay the debt off. I don't want to close this account in case of an emergency (like my dog needs emergency medical treatment or I have to pay for something major that my emergency fund which is currently £325 made up entirely out of money my teen owed me is unable to cover) and its the one I'd like to pay off as fast as possible.

Total debt (if overdraft was maxed which it nearly is as I'm waiting for this months big deposits): £12,383.27

My current state of affairs means that in August I can afford to make the payments to these debts, however come September, I won't be able to. We have no insurance, the only savings I have is what my teen has paid me back this month and I figured it was more important to start an emergency fund/budget savings for Christmas/clothing etc than to pay off a lump sum on a debt (although I used some towards the Evans card as that's where the full amount should have been going). My teen is going to be paying keep each week (£40 a time rather than £70+ it would be for student accommodation) which will cover the grocery budget of £160 a month, they will also be taking on their mobile bill which will save me £15 a month. They will be responsible for their own expenses for purchasing clothing, gifts, and any transport costs etc out of their own income, but I will only have £179.68 (according to my estimated calculations) to pay towards my debt plus whatever little I manage to make through work, which is nowhere near enough.

As far as I know this will be my state of affairs from September first:

Income
Housing benefit - (£419.56 every 4 weeks = 5454.28 yearly) - MONTHLY £419.56 (Will budget as only 12 payment a year)
Working Tax Credit - (£122.53 weekly estimated =£6371.56 yearly) - MONTHLY £490.12 (just 4 payments a month)
Wages : (£40-60 every 3 weeks on average after costs = £720-1120 a year) - MONTHLY £60-93
Keep from Teen: (£40 weekly = £2080 yearly, less weeks when they don't pay but increase their contributions to the running of the household instead) - MONTHLY £160.

Total Income per month (lowest amount - extras will go to wards funding an emergency & sinking funds for Christmas, clothing etc so I don't have to add to my debt when those expenses crop up): £1129.68

Outgoing (Monthly):
- Rent: £460
- TV licence: £12.38
- BT landline: £20.50 (I need it for internet connection)
- Water: £40 (not on a meter but we use a lot of water for baths/showers and cleaning the yard after our dog and landlady would prefer we didn't switch anyway)
- Eon (Gas & electric): £104 (They've just put it up to this)**
- Sky internet: £19.51 (need it for work, but I am shopping around to find a better deal which doesn't involve a big initial outlay, or jump a ridiculous amount when an offer ends)
- Mobile : £11 (lowest I can pay for 1GB of data monthly which covers the average amount I used each month last year as I spend a lot of time sitting around in waiting rooms - plus also means if I need to I have enough data to still work if my internet goes down and I have a deadline to meet. I use it for personal stuff mostly, but also work.)
- Council Tax - £13 (Usually £8 but they've recalculated it and given me this month off - Band A property, I get 25% discount for sole occupancy as teen is a student, plus council tax support. Without that I'm looking at £50 a month)
- Netflix - £5.99 (Our only luxury. I don't drink, smoke, or go out or buy magazines/DVDs. I even borrow books from the library.)
- Groceries - £160-200 on average per month (this is for food, cleaning supplies, dog supplies and any miscellaneous expenses like a new tin opener or the very rare treat)
- Transport costs - £5-64 a month (depending on health for bus fares. Its £2.40 per journey on the bus, £4.10 for a day pass and £16 a week for a weekly pass - it just depends on appointments and work/errands how much I spend (I'm applying for a free disabled pass as I might be entitled to one according to a friend who works for the local travel company). I do try to walk when I can even if it'll take me an hour to get somewhere if I'm having a good day, if not I try to get as much done in one day as possible then spend the next day sleeping)

TOTAL MONTHLY OUTGOINGS: £691.38 - 802.38

Outgoings (Yearly)
- National Insurance Class 2(?) contributions to ensure I get a full state pension: £150 approximately (I try to put this away from the money I earn and have heard rumours it could increase to £600 a year)
- Micr0s0ft subscription : £60 (I put this away from the money I earn)
- Domain registration: £12 (£60-ish every 5 years - Used for work and personal stuff)
Total yearly outgoing cost per month: £18.50

So before debt:

Income: £1129.68
Total outgoings monthly: £709.88-820.88

I should be fine to be able to squirrel some money away for sinking funds. However my problem is:

Current Debt Repayments
Natwest - £101 (agreed amount. To be reassessed under new circumstances. No interest)
Halifax - £90 (just over minimum payments and agreed amount when they weren't charging me interest. - 24.7% interest)
Evans - £100+ (trying to pay it off - 34.080% interest - and keep for absolute emergencies I can't cash flow. It will be going in a block of ice in the freezer and deleted from every website it may be registered on!)
Argos - £150 (when that's paid off I'm going to need this money to cover the fluctuating expenses, so effectively it'll go towards paying off my overdraft)
Overdraft - £40 (19% interest + £6 charges - approx maximum it costs)

Current Debt Monthly cost: £481

After debts taken into account:
Income: £1129.68
Total outgoings monthly: £1190.88-1301.88

So you can see that my problem is my debts and I don't know what to do over the repayments. I have no choice with the overdraft as it's taken automatically which is why I want to get it cleared ASAP. Halifax now charging me interest has just thrown me. I thought I was on the same agreement as Natwest and therefore also paid off in early 2021 but obviously it mustn't have been.

* This post has taken me the best part of 3 hours to type out as I've had to keep taking breaks and walking away as I couldn't focus. I knew this had to be done so I've just kept at it. I am now exhausted. If there are any mistakes I'm sorry.

** I'm hoping that by making some changes we can reduce this to £100 or less a month.. We're in a 1930s end terrace with a north facing gable wall in the hallway so not easy to heat. Landlady is sorting out new UPVC windows as our current ones are 15 years old and starting to fail along with a new UPVC front door for us, instead of the current draughty wooden one. Central heating (A rated boiler which is <5 years old) is kept at 18C constant over winter (I try to leave it off until mid-October/November if possible and it goes back off around mothers day if not earlier) or if it gets too wet other times otherwise I can't physically function and since I work from home it's needed. I rarely put it above that, although we may blast it to 21C some mornings for an hour or so if its particularly cold/wet. We used to have a cannabis farm next door and (ignoring the fire risk and the crime) I really miss the extra heat it gave our house :rotfl:Then we had a brothel who also kept the house very warm. Now we have more law abiding neighbours and the house is noticeably colder :rotfl::rotfl:



If you've made it this far thank you so very very very much. Even I can't re-read all this :rotfl: