Single mum in debt

[polarbear99]

I'm a single mum of 3 DC aged 6, 4 and 1. I used to be absolutely terrible with money and am trying desperately to change my ways. My mother was the same way (still is) and it was completely normal to me growing up to not pay your bills, have bailiffs at the door etc. I am now paying my debts back one by one and "snowballing" them (when one debt is paid off I use that money to go towards the next one). Doing this, my debt will be completely clear in just under 2 years. I have sorted my incomings/outgoings, put a tiny amount in savings each month and have made some lifestyle changes and now do things like meal planning. It has been a massive adjustment for me especially when I have no "role model" of someone who is good with money. I'm determined to do this for my DC and break this crazy family cycle. I'm currently on universal credit so things are quite tight, does anyone have any more debt/money saving tips or inspiring stories for me? Thanks for reading.

There's 3 principles.

1. Address your debt- sounds like you have started.
2. Increase your income . Check you're getting everything you are entitled to, sell stuff, look at using your tax allowances etc.
3. Minimise your outgoings- shop around for the best deals on all your household Bill's. Cancel subscriptions.

Help2Save sounds brill. Will definitely look in to that.

Depending on the types of debt you have you could try and consolidate into one debt, can sometimes cut down on interest etc.

Like others have said, meal planning is your friend. We also bought a lot of foil boxes and any left overs would be frozen, then we can have meals where we heat it all up and pick what we want.

No advice, just wanted to say well done. You sound like you're doing really well with it and I wish you all the best

Well done

If you don’t have one already, I would really recommend getting a Monzo bank account. It is free and all run through an app on your phone and it clearly breaks down your expenses into food/bills/travel etc. You can set up separate pots to save towards certain goals and set an overall budget for the month.

I still have my normal bank account but just transfer over spends to help better track my budget. I’d be lost without it. Good luck!

Really well done op. What are you doing is fundamentally changing your life for the better so keep going in great job.

. My piece of advice as there will be times when you get the urge to buy something. The urge can be really strong especially when you start to clear a bit of debt. So what I do when I want to buy something is I write it down on a page in my diary called "things to buy". And when I get the urge to buy something I write it on there. And if I still wanted in a month or so then I can think again about If I really need to buy it. But usually just the act of writing it down is enough and I don't need to buy it at all.

@TheClitterati

Really well done op. What are you doing is fundamentally changing your life for the better so keep going in great job.

. My piece of advice as there will be times when you get the urge to buy something. The urge can be really strong especially when you start to clear a bit of debt. So what I do when I want to buy something is I write it down on a page in my diary called "things to buy". And when I get the urge to buy something I write it on there. And if I still wanted in a month or so then I can think again about If I really need to buy it. But usually just the act of writing it down is enough and I don't need to buy it at all.

This is a great idea that will work for me! Thank you

@Pottedfern

If you don’t have one already, I would really recommend getting a Monzo bank account. It is free and all run through an app on your phone and it clearly breaks down your expenses into food/bills/travel etc. You can set up separate pots to save towards certain goals and set an overall budget for the month.

I still have my normal bank account but just transfer over spends to help better track my budget. I’d be lost without it. Good luck!

Thank you. I've been looking in to Monzo, it sounds great

It's really good to hear positive stories reg this subject. I work for a bank and see how EASY It is for ppl to get into debt situations it's so sad :( What I would advise is look at the rate of interest on ur debt companies and pay the one with the highest amount of(not sure how ur paying them off)
Speak to ur debter company ask if they can do anything to help you - you may be suprised just a polite ask may get u!
FCA has now made finance company do more to help customers so they can reduce ur interest fees etc than before. There's something called persistent debt where if ur not reducing ur balance enough and paying interest&fees they're meant to do more to help u as they are affectively making u go more in debt.
All companies have a retentions team or vulnerable team they'll look at ur account and see if they can help in any ways.
Definitely look at Martin Lewis money Saving tips
Any question pls just ask xx

Ppl are shy/scared to their debtors but they are there to help esp with the current economic situation rn.
Idk if u may be entitled to a balance transfer offer which will help u massive.
There's so many government funded debt charity to give free advise like step change google them
All the best and well done!

Do you use cash back sites?

www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cashback-websites/

I agree you’re very inspiring. Have a look at this if you haven’t done so already: www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme/low-income. Also check to see if you water company has any special tariffs. I’m guessing you know about Healthy Start: www.healthystart.nhs.uk/.

And if you haven’t done so already, apply for Council Tax Reduction and a Single Person Discount.

Well done!!