To be drowning in debt

[Nohelpoutthere]

It doesn't matter how many hours I work, I never earn enough.

I'm in so much trouble.

Right, where to start.

I'm miles behind in my council tax and electricity.
I owe money to bailiffs because of historic parking tickets. I have to pay one this morning and it will leave me with about £30 for the rest of the week.
Just not managing.

Fed up of it all. Never seems to end,

Pay plan will help you, they are completely non judgemental and will help you sort out your payments and budget.
Not having a regular income shouldn't be a problem, they help the self employed, you will need to show them bank statements and your self assessment details.
It might feel like it, but debt isn't the end of the world, but you do need to talk to people.

Thanks

Poor you. It's not easy (although I don't get parking tickets as I don't park where I am not allowed to park so that might be a good resolution to make for the future).

I would put council tax before parking ticket payments as not paying that can lead to your losing your home. As advised above do see a debt expert.

Have you done a full benefits check lately as if you are a single parent and struggling this much I am surprised you are not entitled to anything else - even if your earnings can be high they can also be low if it's so variable. For example we have received more tax credits backdated when they've realised our previous year's earnings were lower than expected.

Any chance of maintenance from the kids' father?

Have you looked at all your outgoings on a daily basis, things that are little but add up - if anything is avoidable just think of putting that money straight on the debt instead.

Are you managing to eat?

OP join the Facebook group Beat the bailiffs and the bank there are ways to have debts written off if they have been bought by debt collection agency's Etc Council tax can be found in returned to them rather than bailiffs too (saves their fees and they will accept a lower monthly repayment) You will get through this one step at a time :)

What are you doing for work and what are you earning? Whenever I've had debt problems people have always been willing to listen so I'm really sorry you're in such s dire position.

Have you got a proper budget? Why are your earnings so varied?

Yes to PayPlan, they're brilliant. They usually get interest frozen (they won't guarantee it but all of mine did, several years ago now) so the debt doesn't continue to grow, and they'll go through a budget with you to work out what you can afford to pay and get your creditors to agree. Yes you can do it yourself but it's much easier and less stressful to have professionals do it for you. It's free and they absolutely don't judge you.

It took five years for me to pay off £15k of debt but I'd never have done it without Payplan. Definitely give them a call.

I echo all the people who say talk to pay plan or Citizens advice. You will need to do an income/expenditure form then they will work out what you can afford to pay and help you get the repayment plans set up. Dont worry about varying income there are set rules for working out an average over a certain period.
Council tax is a priority/emergency debt.

You aren't going to get a quick fix. You got into debt and only you can get out of it. The main thing is to stop spending money on non essentials and to throw literally every spare penny at the debt. Payplan are great, but they can only give you the tools to help; ultimately its down to you.

Life will suck, but that's the unfortunate part of it. The more life sucks, the quicker it will be over with. You will have to be ruthless and cut back to the bare minimum. The most important thing is to have a set budget. If you don't, then you can't see where savings can be made.

In general, I find MSE smug and irritating, but there are lots of people on there who will help you make and stick to a budget, and they will have loads of advice regards bailiffs and things like that.

Posting on here is the first step, you are obviously ready to sort it. Good luck.

My DH is self-employed, no fixed income but he used Stepchange a couple of years ago. Had no problem with them.

If you can get an appt with a CAB debt adviser, they will do a benefit check to make sure that you are getting everything you are entitled to.

If you don't own your house, your income only just covers your outgoings, and your debts are between £5k and £20k, they may suggest a debt relief order, which is like a mini-bankruptcy. All your debts get written off and as long as you don't get a big pay rise or come into money in the subsequent 12 months, that's it, you get a fresh start. Ime, Stepchange and Payplan don't often do this.

Make a list of all your outgoings. You can't cut back until you know where your money goes. Then see where you can make savings, and shop around for the cheapest deals for utilities, insurance etc. Ditch Sky, if you have it, and go sim-only for your phone, Plusnet is usually cheapest for landline/broadband..

Menu plan and batch cook - that always works out cheaper than just buying what you fancy. Jak Monroe is great for cheap meal ideas, and I can get 4 meals for 2 of us out of a £5.50 Aldi free range chicken (we have "pauper's month every now and again, where we try and live on as little as possible and don't have any treats: this usually reduces our outgoings by about £2000.

Do you get maintenance for your children? You should!

Sorry, that should have read £200 not £2,000!

How do you pay for things? Does it all go on your card(s) or do you generally pay in cash?

As a starting point, make a note of all your bills from the last three months (if you pay by card, your bank statements will make this easy). Some bills will be regular like council tax, some will be more ad hoc. But the first step is to figure out where the money is going on a typical month.

Can you do that as a first step?

You need to ask for help in prioritising the various creditors as well as budgeting. Council tax needs to be top of the list, along with rent/mortgage. You could try Stepchange again as they could liaise with the creditors to freeze interest ( if you haven't already done so) and agree a payment plan. Your cc may seem to be under control but if you haven't frozen the interest and stopped using them any money you pay will just service the interest not reduce the balance itself. If you don't want to contact them again CAB, Payplan, Christians against Poverty, Money Advice Service etc who don't charge fees.

I would speak to Stepchange OP. They are a charity and won't take money from you for advice/repayments etc. They really are good and very nice to talk to.
m.stepchange.org/

Sorry, just seen you have tried them.

Sounds like you need an IVA (England) or a Trust Deed (Scotland). You would be debt free in 3 years.

If you're a single parent and you OnLY revive CB, you just be on a decent salary.

You can get through this. You need to be aggressively pro active though.

Stopping getting parking tickets!

Are the children's father contributing to their upkeep?

If you're on a phone contract (or your DC are), don't renew it. Use Giffgaff instead. Fantastic rates and free calls to other Giffgaff users. My phone costs me £5/month and my DC pays £12. My friend on a contract pays £55/month in total for the same package of calls/data. You don't get a phone, but you don't need a new phone every year or so. Phone contracts are a massive drain on finances.

Have you got family who could help out with meals etc or friends with similar aged children who would pass on clothes. Can you cut back on unnecessary expenses such as eating out or having nails done.
I have heard that there are a lot of people with variable incomes who are having difficulty with Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, can you get those checked out to ensure that you have had and are getting all due benefits.
Talk to someone in real life in the family or friends circle as well as the debt organisations mentioned by others above.
Good luck

Thanks.

I do earn a decent salary but don't see much of it owning to my own bad choices I know. I don't have anyone in rl to talk to hence why you all get it sorry

I would recommend CAP. They are great at helping people manage their debt and create a manageable plan moving forward.
If you go to CAP you can put in your postcode and it will tell you where your nearest centre is.

I believe council tax really should be you main priority other than rent/mortgage of course. Bailiffs for council tax are allowed to use reasonable force to access your property and seize goods. You will also get a CCJ. They might make an attachment to your earnings though and they aren't shy about the amount that they take.
See if you can save with any changes your utility companies and if you have Sky, Phone contracts etc (that you don't have a fixed contract on) maybe consider cancelling them and possibly pay for Netflix and PAYG bundles that you can pick up or cancel month by month with no ties.