Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think I’ve really fucked up - not sure what to do

261 replies

frostedstrawberries · 14/02/2018 08:54

After a long period of temporary work and sometimes not getting any work for periods of time, I finally got something permanent in January.

I’ve got a big backlog of debt, though, of things that I hadn’t paid for a while because I couldn’t when I wasn’t working.

So now my take home pay is £2050 after tax NI etc.

But my outgoings are:

Mortgage - £800
Electricity - £200 (it’s so high because I’m repaying a backlog)
Council tax - £100 (I owe money on that too)
Car insurance - £70
Mobile phone - £40
Internet - £40
Petrol costs are sky high due to long commute - £300

So in theory I have about £600 left to play with. But it just vanishes. I have pets eating me out of house and home and I have wondered about possibly finding alternatives for them but I just couldn’t. Every day I have phone calls about debts I didn’t even know I had springing up seemingly out of nowhere. I am well aware I am a complete disorganised mess with it all.

I really, really don’t want to go down the route of a DMP - what are the alternatives? I naively thought all would be OK once I started working, but it’s not.

OP posts:
CMH123 · 14/02/2018 12:21

Frosted, someone told me to keep a notebook in my car. You're more likely to remember to write expenditure down as you go. I was doing it at night, but would forget to add little things such as car park tickets etc.

Original poster
frostedstrawberries · 14/02/2018 12:22

You’re probably right, cheddar

Like I say, I am really sorry if I’ve annoyed anybody, but I did say at the start I wasn’t going to do a DMP.

OP posts:
lostincumbria · 14/02/2018 12:25

Regarding your credit score, both Noodle and Clearscore give you free access to their records. Martin Lewis has a credit club who'll will give you a score too, as will Barclaycard if you have one of their cards.

LakieLady · 14/02/2018 12:29

But is no one else a bit hmm at the money leftover amount? How does it compare to y'all out there?

We have a joint account that we pay pay bills, food etc out of. We generally have around £100 a month surplus in that, that we use for holiday spends and treats.

After I've paid my half of that, I have about £500 a month spare. It was more, but I reduced my hours a couple of months ago. DP has about £600 left a month.

So, overall we have about £1,200 a month spare between us. We live very frugally though, always have old cars, cheap phones and spend very little on holidays (we go touring in our motorhome and mostly stay at Britstops, which are free).

Sugarhunnyicedtea · 14/02/2018 12:30

Just be aware that mortgage and council tax arrears are serious and can lead to court and repossession. Also, a creditor can take you to court and that can result in a ccj.
Deal with the priorities first, then the less serious debts. You can pay them off but need to budget properly. Do an income and expenditure form and send it to all your creditors. Even a token payment of £1 shows willing

Ollivander84 · 14/02/2018 12:31

Not read the full thread but if you use zooplus I think they do cashback via Quidco too. Butchers classic is a good one, pets at home sell it. Sign up to the pets at home loyalty card and you get discounts

PoorYorick · 14/02/2018 12:33

OP, the reason there are so many charities and initiatives to help people in debt is because it's such a common problem and so, so easy to fall into. Most people in debt difficulties have been ill or out of work, like you. So don't be embarrassed or ashamed. It can happen to any last one of us.

I too have heard good things about CAP, and that they don't try to convert you, they're just driven by their faith to want to help you practically. I do agree that it looks very manageable with some budgeting.

Also look into ways to make money at home - matched betting, surveys, selling stuff on eBay, that sort of thing.

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 14/02/2018 12:34

I wish people wouldn’t shout at the OP when they don’t instantly take advice !

Op there ARE some great ideas here so write them down, prioritise and get cracking ,

My friend managed to crack a 15000 tax bill in similar income to you so in the grand scheme of things your debt is pretty small .
I am afraid she did get a lodger for a while . Hated it but they did the job !

Baby steps and good luck Flowers

GinghamStyle · 14/02/2018 12:38

I was in a real pickle with debts and burying my head in the sand a few years ago. It was such a stressful time and I've been contacting some of the debts recently to finally take charge and sort things out. I'd not paid water rates since 2010 - which is ridiculous I know, but I'm paying it now and it feel so good to be in control of my finances and not be avoiding phonecalls and post.

I hope that you get everything sorted out. I've been going to workshops run by Christians Against Poverty and that's been really useful to draw up a budget and looking at ways to make the most of spare cash.

PoorYorick · 14/02/2018 12:43

My brother got a lodger some years ago - can't believe I forgot about that. It really was OK. He did miss his personal space a bit but the guy was absolutely fine and he brought in a significant amount of extra income. He was there for the duration of his course (one year), moved on and bro was in much better circumstances.

LakieLady · 14/02/2018 12:54

*As far as I can see, a DMP would have quite serious and long term repercussions to my credit.

I’m not being ungrateful or arsey. I really do get it’s frustrating when you sense you have the answer and someone won’t take it but I just don’t think it’s right for me at this time. It’s also very hard because if I remember correctly, stepchange has a number of questions that I just can’t answer.*

Tbh, if you have debt collectors ringing you, I'd be surprised if your credit rating wasn't already adversely affected. However, I do understand your reservations about going down that route.

Also Stepchange: I use them when I'm working with clients with debt issues because they're very businesslike, and because they process DROs (the solution for most of my clients) very quickly. But then I help the client gather all the required info, so we CAN answer all the questions!

A few things to bear in mind about DMPs though:

once you've paid off the debt, your credit rating can rebuilt pretty quickly when you're a home owner with a regular income

interest and charges are frozen once you're in a DMP, so you pay less overall

you can pay more than the agreed amount, as long as you treat all your creditors the same and don't favour one above the others

you just make one payment a month and the debt agency sorts out everything else, so hassle free once it's set up

I really get that you don't feel it's right for you at the moment though.

spugzbunny · 14/02/2018 13:34

Have a look at zooplus for cat food. Saved me a fortune! Work out how much they eat and only feed them that! If they only eat half a pouch each meal then give them that and put the other half away in the fridge for later

RabbityMcRabbit · 14/02/2018 14:35

Frosty, re the cat food issue...I have 4 cats and food costs me £15-£17 pm from Amazon. It's called Harrington's and it's pretty good quality and it's delivered each month. It's saved me a fortune.
Re your situation, agree with PPs about facing the situation head-on. Find out exactly what you owe and to whom. Log into a credit scoring site such as Clearscore and Noddle, this will give you an idea of your debts. You should also gather any paperwork you can find. Knowing what you owe is the start. Also agree with another PP don't bury your had in the sand, that will make the situation worse and will cause you greater anxiety in the long run. Plus you don't want any nasty surprises such as a court summons or baiiffs turning up because you haven't communicated with your debtors. I wish you all the best Flowers

Scotsrule · 14/02/2018 14:52

Have a look at your Local Authority and see if they have a debt advice service. They often come under housing, but they help all residents, not just council tenants. They can help you organise your debts; contact creditors and arrange suitable payments - and stop interest being added to debt outstanding! They will also do a credit check with consent and identify any debts/defaults you don’t yet know of.

Laying it all out and going through it with fresh eyes will be a huge help.

First steps are the hardest, but you will get there. Good luck

GnotherGnu · 14/02/2018 23:08

*As far as I can see, a DMP would have quite serious and long term repercussions to my credit.

Ignoring phone calls and letters from people chasing debts will have considerably more serious repercussions.

user365241987 · 14/02/2018 23:30

Try Christians Against Poverty who will help you organise a payment plan and will deal with the providers on your behalf. Good luck and well done on the job.

G120810 · 14/02/2018 23:41

600 spare u haven't taken food off that how many pets do u have answer the phone to them and find out what it is for and arrange payment plan do this with them all

ftw · 15/02/2018 00:09

I use a (free) app called Money Monitor to track what I actually spend - it was a real eye opener in seeing where my money went and where I could start cutting back.

Also, on fb there are a million groups for frugal living/frugal eating. They’re worth a look.

Purpleneonpinkunicorns · 15/02/2018 03:18

Hi op, sorry about your situation and I know at the moment it feels awful to be in but things will get better and you have now got your permanent job to also help in the long run, I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned this but if you go on clearscore (it's free for life) that should show you any debts you owe other than the ones that you have mentioned, if your don't want to go on a management plan call the places up explain your situation and offer then what you can afford as they can't really refuse it as long as it's a reasonable amount, as others have said prioritize your mortgage and council tax and then everything else and good luck op..I know it seems like your growing right now and it's scary but you will get through this and will be able to get it sorted Flowers

Flomy · 15/02/2018 03:45

How many pets have you got? £30 a week seems high. I have 1 cat.

She has 1 pouch a day = £9 for 44 days.

Then 40g a day of high protein biscuits, to fill her up, as pouches are mainly water. £11 for 6 weeks.

We use Purina One, Iams or Applaws when on offer.

So £20 every 6 weeks for 1 cat.

HashtagTired · 15/02/2018 03:49

I agree with Brazzle. Find out where the £600 is going. Run through the last couple of months of bank statements and figure it out. Account for every penny. Then download a budgeting app on your phone and every time you spend something, log it. You'll see the pattern and change it.
As others lave said, play the long game. I expect some of the things you have a contracted, but reduce your phone and other regular outgoings as soon as you are able. £40 a month for a phone when you're in debt is just too much.

19lottie82 · 15/02/2018 04:42

But no way should she spend money on pet insurance. If animal suffering you put to sleep, that will cost less than £5000

What? Why shouldn’t she buy pet insurance?

So it’s ok not to buy pet insurance and if your pet needs medical assistance (which you don’t have money set aside for), then you just put them down? Shock what a load of tosh. I seriously hope you don’t own any animals!

Not all medical issues with animals equate to the kindest thing for them to be PTS.

If you own an animal then you need to have provisions in place to be able to provide them with medical care, if they need it.

Pet insurance for cats is cheap. Mine was about £5 a month for a six year old outdoor cat.

Butterymuffin · 15/02/2018 07:36

Pet insurance is good, but at the moment OP can't even afford to feed her pets. She needs to get sorted first and then turn to that in a couple of months.

Goldilocks3Bears · 15/02/2018 17:43

£600 disposable income AFTER your major bills? Where do I sign up?

I appreciate you are overwhelmed etc. and don't have the answer but where does that money go? You say your pets? How many and what are they? And what do they eat?

It's all nice and dandy people trying to help you and give advice but if you have 8 horses, 4 goats, 34 cats, 7 dogs then we are all polishing a turd here.

Pinklady1982 · 15/02/2018 17:48

Sorry I haven’t rtft so this may have already been recommended, but I’ve used step change and they were brilliant. To get a list of everything try opening a Noddle account , which is free, and it should have all of your open accounts on there to be able to tell step change who you owe to. You have to prioritise utility bills and and council tax, and if you explain that to companies they usually give you time to deal with it. I know it’s so scary and you feel like burying your head in the sand, but once you start making those calls and are just honest with the companies, they do help you and give you time to get yourself sorted. Trust me I’ve been there and done it, still sorting some bits out now but no where near as bad as I used to be xx