Could I be better financially educated? Yes. But I budget every month and skimp and save. We do not live above our pay grade. We don’t have access to overdrafts or cc and I have got myself into debt paying of husbands exes debt.
You hit the nail on the head with this.
You are right. You could be better financially educated.
Top of that list of things is not to take a pay day loan and that was your first instinct to do. Its the thing you MUST NOT do.
Second of all, you DO live above your pay grade, or you wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. You had insufficient savings and you've made unwise and expensive financial decisions in order to pay off debt. It doesn't matter who the debt belonged to, its clearly been handled badly.
The biggest lesson here, is to manage your finances better - in that you need to start making much smarter decisions.
I don't believe that two professionals can not raise £200 in a day - they will have enough stuff to pawn or SOMEONE they can borrow something off short term, without resorting to pay day.
Then you need to start prioritising your outgoings with your rent the priority. And get advice from charities on debt management because you clearly didn't. Stop taking the attitude that you are living within your means because thats also obviously not the case.
This hasn't come out of nowhere. Its crept up on you and there is clearly an element of burying your head in the sand about how bad things were. Its also come as a surprise to you that the rent hasn't come out as their were insufficient funds - that means you haven't been keeping a close eye on your outgoings as if you had, you would have been aware there was a potential problem a few days ago. Thats why I don't believe you really are budgeting properly despite what you say.
Its bloody awful to have got into this mess, and I am not judging you for it at all even if I do come across harshly here. I am being direct about whats happened and why there is more of a problem than you are willing to admit - and in doing so highlighting that there is more you can do in terms of your money management. This isn't purely about your income being insufficient - I've not entirely convinced about this - there are signs here that there is a real issue with how you think about and manage your outgoing, which unfortunately you have no other option but to think about carefully. Being on the emotional defensive about how you haven't done things badly, isn't going to help you. And actually this part of it, is the good news. If you can manage things better, there is a way out. Addressing this is key.
Life is shit, there are lots of reasonable responses on this thread. You have an immediate cash flow issue which isn't insurmountable. The longer term issue is the bigger issue (and thats why the pay day loan is the worst possible solution for you problem today).
Re gas and electric - double check whether your account is in credit or not. A lot of people are finding their suppliers are taking too much and they actually have money sitting on their accounts doing nothing. We are in this situation and its really bloody annoying and we are having to fight to get it back now. If you do, it wouldn't help you immediately, but it could put you into a better position next month.