Can't afford minimum payment -advice please?

[daysmustgetbetter]

I know I'm a idiot
When I moved into my house I had nothing
I got my appliances /sofa from littlewoods
I put them on buy now pay later but now I'm struggling.
I get £1,000 a month
£460 is rent £100 is gas /electric £90 council tax and I pay them £240
I'm left with £110 for food
It's killing me
I've asked if I can set up a payment plan they said no
I honestly don't know what to do
If I don't pay the full amount will they pass me to a debt collection agency ?

Over 18s contribute to household expenses not just pay for their own food. I think you should sit down as a family of adults and have a financial conversation about the outgoings of the household - yes, the debt isn't theirs but if they paid their way you'd be able to afford the payments. If they're unhappy about this then I'd suggest they look online to see how much a room in a shared house costs! Even another £20 a week each would help your situation.

There's a template letter you can send on the Money Supermarket website. You list your outgoings, what you can afford to pay and ask them to stop interest and charges.

It will affect your credit rating though.

Your adult children should be contributing more. Why should you effectively be funding their holidays?

@daysmustgetbetter first try pp suggestion of writing to Littlewoods. If that doesn’t work and you can get a 0% credit card then try to use that to pay the debt. If you then paid £200 a month you could clear £4500 in less than 24 months. You might have to keep switching to 0% cards but it is the interest rate that is stopping you getting out of debt not the original debt.

I’m sorry but you do not have the funds to subsidise your adult children, especially just so they can go traveling!
One very low, part time wage cannot sustain 3 adults, irrespective of your ideals

Don’t do a live chat. Call them

tell them you are experiencing financial difficulties and wish to arrange a payment plan. They will freeze the interest and stop you from purchasing more.

Sorry @daysmustgetbetter but your DC are adults, they should be contributing fairly to household bills or they find somewhere else to live. You aren't helping them live in the real world if you aren't making them contribute towards bills. I understand they are saving to go travelling but that is a luxury and they should be able to do that whilst also paying bills.

You can’t subside your adult children and then claim you need debts written off/reduced because of that.

They need to pay rent/board etc.

If csn access credit, I would get a card with a interest free or small fee for a balance transfer. £4500, small fee, pay little wood's in full then tackle the credit card and keep switching for 0% if needed. That's if you can access of course. Definitely speak to someone on the phone, those chats could be AI. And adult kids should pay rent!

Are your children aware of the debts? They must be benefit from the sofa and appliances?

I would be horrified if my mother was struggling like this and didn't ask for a contribution. You do them no favours by shielding them from financial realities.

They work but are saving to go travelling in summer and I won't dip in to their savings. They pay for their own food which I think is more than enough of a contribution
So you think you shouldn’t pay money you owe so you can subsidise you adult children’s lifestyle?
Sorry if it sounds harsh but you working part time + your two adult DC not contributing rent/utilities is the problem.
I’m also really surprised that you can’t find work considering you don’t have any childcare needs so are able to work evenings/nights/weekends.

Even if you got your 2 kids to pay you £100 per month each (or more if they are on good salaries) that will help pay towards your debts, they should be paying something anyway other than just buying their own food, after all they would be doing that if they had a place of their own or in a flat share.

When I moved into my first house I had nothing other than a beanbag. I furnished it with freebie handouts (from freegle type places and work colleagues) and a £20 cooker from an ad. Your children should be contributing, not going travelling.

You are being ridiculous not to take money off your kids. Subsidising them to "go travelling" while you are in debt is lunacy of the highest order.

That being said, Google "food pantries" and the name of your council. They should have a list of places where you can get food at lower cost e.g. 7.50 for 35 quid worth of food.

Op as an absolute minimum your kids should be contributing to council tax aswell as their food. Them being there means you won't be getting single person discount which is 25%. And yes they should be contributing to utility bills as well. It's not dipping in to their savings, they'll still be saving, but not at the expense of your credit rating and the stress of not being able to cover the bills.

Also, get a 2nd job as a carer, they're always crying out for them.

Sorry I've never said I want my debts written off or reduced have I ?
What I said was I have asked to lower my monthly payment which means I'm paying the amount owed just over a slightly longer period of time ...

Its office work I'm looking for not care work
It's too triggering for me after loosing my mum I wouldn't cope with that at all

Your kids need to step up, you're in serious debt and a low earner, they need to contribute to all your overheads - electricity, gas and this debt that enables them live in comfort in your house. Travel comes after the essentials.

You need to call littlewoods again and ask to speak to their financial hardship team? They definitely will have one, you may have been advised incorrectly on the chat function

I agree with the others. Your kids need to pay keep /rent

You say they have savings - wouldn't it be better to dip into those and pay off the debt then pay back each month £100 or more if can afford.

Or put the debt into an % free card and pay it off that way

Obv look for a new job /more hours

Sorry for the loss of your mum

I know you don't want to charge your kids OP, but charging them a minimal amount of £120 a month would still be an amazing deal for them and would help you cover this payment.

I paid £150 to my parents 20 years ago - it was a good deal then, let alone now.

As a pp said you are incurring costs by losing your single person council tax discount so at the very least you shouldn't be out of pocket.

I know you are trying to do right by them and you sound like a good mum but you are teaching them nothing about the real world when letting them live rent free as adults and even though 120 doesn't come close to experiencing the costs of living independently, it at least is an opportunity for them to learn how to budget etc which is an important life skill. And it helps solve your problem to so it's a win win obvious solution.

Please contact Stepchange today. They will offer you FREE debt advice and they will be able to help you with this.

Good luck- you will be fine with their help

https://www.stepchange.org/

@MooseOnTour I don't think so but thanks for your attempt at degrading me
I have qualifications and years of administration experience

So whilst they are saving to have an amazing time travelling in the summer, you are worrying yourself silly and struggling constantly. Seems a bit unfair, really