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Original poster

Just found out we are skint - help!

33 replies

Sella · 29/04/2010 16:33

I found out last night that we are officially skint, dh deals with finance and caught him on phone to a debt management agency, says we are in dire straights! He is working on commission and I'm on maternity leave with dc3! Baby is only 3 months old and I'm breast feeding so can't exactly go and get a little job. By day I'm a childminder but wasn't planning on going back till Sept, have new kids lined up for then so can't really go back to that straight away as it will take time to build numbers and would lose sma immediately. Need ways we can make money, either working from home or something I haven't considered yet, any advice please it's really worrying me.

OP posts:
countydurhamlass · 29/04/2010 19:38

car boot or ebay things you don't use/need any more.

speak to your bank, perhaps they would give you a loan to pay off all your debts and then you have the loan to pay back over a longer period for less each month or could you even remortgage to cover the debts? or perhaps you could have a mortgage break or they could hold the interest on debts util you back to work?

try reducing your outgoings by getting rid of everything you don't need for a few months, ie internet, Sky tv

honeydragon · 29/04/2010 19:44

please only talk to consumer credit counselling service or citizens advice bureau - do NOT pay anyone for a service and try to avoid debt management if possible it will ruin your credit file for at least 6 years, call cccs and they will help you first of all try and find a budget you can live with and prioritise debts

Original poster
Sella · 30/04/2010 07:15

Thanks it's the govt agency he spoke to I think not anyone dodgy but I know what you mean, just waiting to hear back what they say...

OP posts:
3point14 · 30/04/2010 22:36

Get over the forums.moneysavingexpert.com/index.php ASAP

blinkinblimey · 30/04/2010 22:40

Mortgage holiday! Easier if you've overpaid in the past..

Speak to creditors and minimise regular payments.

Work out a reasonable budget- together- and pay off house items first. Ie pay electricity before council tax etc...

GlastonburyGoddess · 30/04/2010 22:43

errm. not sure advice above is good. council tax is classed as a priority debt-elec is not as such, you can come to an agreement with leccy company, but council tax will come down on you like a ton of bricks after 1 missed payment, then you'll be taken to court and could lose your right to pay in installments.

purpleturtle · 30/04/2010 22:46

Don't miss Council Tax payments. Miss an installment by 21 days and you become liable for the annual bill. Fail to pay that and you'll be visited by bailiffs before you know it.

Do find a free debt advice service, rather than a management company who will charge you for something a charity will offer for no charge.

BeenBeta · 30/04/2010 22:47

Sella - I work in a organisation that helps a lot of people in debt.

What honeydragon said is absolutely correct. Only go to CAB or Consumer Credit Counselling or call National Debtline. They will all give you free advice and sometimes can also negotiate on your behalf. Everyone else you talk to (including debt management companies) will be looking to make money out of you by getting you to sign up for a contract that earns them a fee every month. I see far too many people signng up for costly debt advice they could have got for free.

blinkinblimey · 30/04/2010 23:05

Sorry for rubbish advice! I was trying to suggest that there is a desirable priority order of payments.

Looks like there are some good organisations out there.

Good luck!

GlastonburyGoddess · 30/04/2010 23:27

definately call national debtline, its a free number and they will go through everything with you and send you loads of information. Ive used them numerous times for myself and on behalf of friends, cant recommend them enough.

Original poster
Sella · 01/05/2010 07:51

thanks all, i think it was national debtline he spoke to, they have recommended an iva to deal with what is apparently 30k debt! (i had no idea but i suppose its my fault for not asking) don't know how i feel about this but it does mean we would know exactly where we are and be able to start a fresh in 5 years. he says it won't affect my credit score(?) as everything is in his name but that doesn't really matter as i'm not planning on leaving him!
my main concern is being able to afford everything and not losing the house. a friend of mine got an iva last year and said it was the best thing she ever did, that's the only experience i've got of them...

OP posts:
aSilverLining · 01/05/2010 07:57

Sounds like national debtline have been helpful, moneysavingexpert is a really helpful site for advice and tips, hope you get it all worked out.

Original poster
Sella · 01/05/2010 08:15

thanks so do i! just been looking at other threads to find inspiration on making a bit of extra cash, anyone any experience with mystery shopping? might start a new thread on it...?

OP posts:
8rubberduckies · 01/05/2010 08:30

IVAs are great for people in your situation but please make sure that you offer a monthly payment into it that you can afford long-term. If you fail the IVA (miss payments) any of the companies you owe money to can apply for your bankruptcy, which, if you are a homeowner, could mean your home is threatened. Bankruptcy in itself is not so bad an option if you are not a homeowner though.

Many commercial companies will not advise you properly and not set a realistic monthly repayment with you, based on what you can actually afford, when it comes to IVAs. If you've spoken to National Debtline they will have pointed you in the right direction I'm sure, but Payplan and CCCS are both charities who will only charge the true cost of entering into the IVA and will guide you through the best debt remedies to suit your needs.

Good luck

BeenBeta · 01/05/2010 08:32

Sella - unfortunatley, I think it will affect you credit score. When I run credit checks on people I can see that their partner has credit problems and when we lend we take total family credit history into account. Married couples tend to run their finances together.

An IVA is certainly a lot better than your DH getting into a real financial mess and baliffs knocking on your door and County Court Judgements being handed down.

The other thing you have to watch out for is that your DHs creditors do not start attaching the unsecured debts he already has accumulated to your house. Increasingly, we are seeing unsecured creditors going to court to get attachment orders to allow unsecured debts to be secured againt the debtors house as a second lien. They cannot force a sale of your house but can claim any remaining equity you may have in the house if you sell.

Truth is that if you added up all your debts including mortgage, credit cards, loans and other debts you and DH owe people and substracted that total debt frm the value of your house there may not be that much equity left. Is it worth fighting to save the house in those circumstances? Selling the house and paying a rent rather than a mortgage may the way to get your finances sorted out. I understand of course that may not be the best thing right now but maybe something to think about in the near future.

You need to think through all the options and having a thorough discusison with some like CAB will allow you to explore what is possible. I wish you well. I know that this is a very distressing thing to go trough and you must make DH be completely open to you and not hide anything from now on. Many people hide debts from their spouse/partner.

Original poster
Sella · 01/05/2010 09:19

Thanks again, selling the house is not an option, we only bought it 3 years ago 1st time buyers so will have no equity. The repayment figure we've been given seems v realistic around 190 vs 800 so maybe it is the best course of action...

OP posts:
snowlady · 01/05/2010 10:04

Have only looked at this briefly. Do you have close relatives living near by. I'm wondering if you could rent your house out for a short time to raise some money and move in with family.

Bumperliouzzzzzz · 01/05/2010 10:27

I know that this isn't the big issue right now, and that you posted this under a finance topic not relationships but you really need to think about how you got into this situation and how you can avoid it in the future. It's not your fault for not asking. If your finances were this bad your DH should have talked to you a long time ago so you could take action sooner. You are a partnership and this will affect both of you. I'm sure he wanted to sort this out himself but that is not the way it should work. I would be thinking about how you can take more control over things yourself.

Good luck.

expatinscotland · 01/05/2010 10:36

I'm sorry to read this and hope it works out for you.

We're £10,000 in debt and that seems a lot.

But we manage to pay a bit over the minimum every month and don't own a home.

Best of luck to you and I agree you two need to talk about how he got this far in the hole.

Original poster
Sella · 01/05/2010 13:19

I know what your saying bumper but it's not entirely his fault, dh lost his job at the beginning of last year and after a couple of months with no work managed to get his current job which he is working really hard at, even had a promotion this year, but he needs to build up his area and as it's commission based it means our income is drastically lower than it was - esp as I'm on maternity leave. I agree it should never have got this far but we had a good talk about it last night and have agreed that if we go for the iva that we never use credit cards again (not that we could get any!), which is fine by me as I've never had one anyway, but it has def taught me to take a more active role in finances.
snowlady I do have relatives near by but it would have to be REALLY bad to admit to my parents what situation we are in and I don't think we are anywhere near there yet, thanks for suggestion tho
Hopefully we can draw a line under this horrible mess soon and start a fresh on a more realistic level. Dh honestly thinks that his work will start earning more money in the near future, which seems more likely since his promotion, but either way I think we can afford everything with the proposed iva - still not had papers through yet. Was really unsure about it to start with and obviously horrified by the shock news but the more I think about it the more I think it's the best option, at least we will know exactly where we are then and can keep a firmer hold on things - anyone got any thoughts on the mystery shopper thing, I think it would be a get way for me to earn some extra cash but don't want it to interfere with my maternity pay or get caught up in a big scam!

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 01/05/2010 13:30

Well done for taking matters in hand, though, and doing the proactive thing. And getting in contact with a reputable service who can help without further cost to you.

It's hard times out there, but hopefully you are both on the road to financial recovery.

tigerbear · 01/05/2010 13:33

Hi there, sorry you're having a hard time. Regarding mystery shopping, I'm afraid it prob won't make you a huge amount of cash. I'm with two mystery shopping companies - one of them sends regular jobs to work on and pays a decent amount (I got £70 for the first and only one I've done) but they have a limit on how many jobs you can do - usually 1 every 6 months. The other agency offers jobs that would be more hassle than they're worth, paying approx £5 to do a store visit (and you often have to spend your own money on these visits, then get reimbursed later).

ilovemydogandmrobama · 01/05/2010 13:38

Could you do over night baby sitting? Am thinking maybe for shift workers, like doctors, nurses who may need child care because their shifts have changed, possibly to nights? Emergency type child care for people who don't have family around?

Original poster
Sella · 01/05/2010 14:01

I have 3 month old who is exclusively breast fed so couldn't really do babysitting unless I took her with me, don't think people would be that keen! Emergency childcare thing would be tricky, I'm a childminder by trade and I know I can't take on any kids without giving up sma also ofsted implications. I just need some thing that I could do with baby in pouch that could earn me a few quid each week, seriously considering paper round - if I can bear the embarrassment of asking in the papershop!

OP posts:
snowlady · 01/05/2010 15:52

How about dog walking/pet care - there are organisations for this who must need employees..obviously only offer to walk nice baby friendly doggies!