Huge debt. No savings. No pension. Need some advice please

[nomoneyy]

I’ve been having a google recently about the above and just not sure what on Earth to do.
I worry about the long term and obviously short term

Debts are huge but are being sorted out (stepchange)
We have no pensions and can’t start one as stepchange payment doesn’t allow for that currently (I’m unsure if we can factor that in at renewal stage)
We cannot save as all money goes on bills and if we’ve managed to cut back and save a little we’ve ended up having to pay for school trips or something has broken and needed replacing you get the idea

I’m sorting things out to see if I can sell anything especially this time of year it may be more successful

If we could get pensions I dont even know what sort you’re meant to get (DH works full time plus overtime and I don’t work and can’t for the foreseeable future so assume we would need differing types?) but also unsure where I could get free advice about that ?

Why can't you work? Does yr partner get weekends/evenings off? Would bankruptcy be an option. Whilst you receive child benefit you get state pension years credited to you.

He can’t switch the only immediate option was overtime to get some more money
I had a look for some working from home jobs that may be possible but so far haven’t found anything that would be suitable and fit around everything else that’s why I just have been sorting through everything we own, Boxing up what we don’t need and now I’ve done the whole house I’m going to list it all for sale

Stepchange went through the options but we didnt choose bankruptcy as dh needs his car and it had longer term implications

At the moment no he has been working all the overtime he can so very little time off if any

Have you considered an IVA? You aren’t a home owner and it doesn’t affect car ownership. You can’t have new credit but it’s all done in 5/6 years. That would save you 7 years in payments.

Do you have pre school kids OP? If they are at school could you look for work like being a TA? Or cafe/ pub in the evening?

@nomoneyy it does seem like the only real solution here is for you to find a way to work too? I realise you have said it isn’t possible, but actually people have to tie themselves in all kinds of logistical knots to just manage a way to both work. I work crazy hours into the evenings so I can juggle work around childcare.

They have said IVA was also an option
Yes school age and pre school age but even if all at school my health is currently too fragile

Are you claiming esa or pip?

Seriously consider an Iva, being in a debt management plan for that long will wreck your credit rating for 5 years after the plan ends and that’s 2037!! An Iva will be paid by 2023/24 and cleared off your credit score by 2028/9. And once it is paid although it will limit your options for available lenders for a while it’ll be much better long term.

Plus what is the impact on your family if your husband is never there because he is working all of the time?

OP - I know it may not be much, but if you need something 'light' that you can do from home, Leapforce/Appen have social media ads rating work. It's an hour a day, at $14 an hour. They do quite a few other projects too, but there's no harm in applying and seeing what there is available. It could make a bit of a dent even if you only did it for a few months.

I didn’t qualify for pip etc

At your current rate you will be paying it off until your mid 40s. Do you think you can increase family income to get back to paying more off to clear it quicker? If not then personally I would think about bankruptcy again.

I recommend Christians Against Poverty, but I would have thought the debt management would be fairly similar to Stepchange (which I know nothing about) just with some extra prayer if you want it. However as far as I know CAP allow pension payments and savings as part of your plan.

The OP said the debt would be paid in 5 years so not 2032 but 2023? Is that right?

Debt free in 2032? Surely you're better off with an IVA or bankruptcy

Her earlier post said 2032 whether that was a typo I’m not sure

She said 5 years but then their income fell so it is now estimated to be 2032

How much is your debt? I can't imagine that anything other than insolvency would be a solution to high debt, no assets.

If you’re really not going to be debt free until 2032 I think you should revisit your options.

I really think that you need to revisit bankruptcy ( not an IVA which are really only suited to people who have equity to property to protect.)

What is it about the car that is so important? Is it on finance? Owned outright?

Pop over to the Bankruptcy board on Moneysaving Expert as the guys over there can help with any questions you have about the process, filling in the forms and doing the SoA for bankruptcy, which is different to a DMP one.
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=136

Gosh 2032 - how big is the debt op and what is your family income?

Could you not work in the day with DC at school?

Could DH not do extra hours/find a better paying job? Why did your income go down so much?

Income went down so much as in the dla to pip changeover I lost all of it

Have you appealed the PIP?

Yes and still nothing. It’s very very complicated
Previously it was a better system. Based more on medical issues. How conditions affected me and in terms of one condition how it affected my everyday functioning
With pip some of the questions were just not helping to show how illness affects me, so many questions about can I do online shopping, even the fact I was able to talk to the assessor and really bizarrely that I have qualifications (but I got them as a teenager ??)

Why is your health so fragile you can't work. I have recovered from a broken back and work. DD has recovered from serious anxiety and depression due to an underlying neuro dev disability and can study and work.

How did the debt arise?