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im so broke..i ran out of food today.

301 replies

penniless · 19/11/2006 19:47

and i cant afford to buy anymore
im a regular but ive changed my name because im a proud person.
my dh walked out on me a year agoalthough he hangs around a lot still..he pays maintenance which takes me over the is threshold. so i only get tax creditsbut when we were together i took out a loan..a few years ago when i was earning and now im left with the payments to manage..ive just registered as self employed but im not getting any worki spent a lot of money getting my business up and running now im not getting any return im 500 pounds overdrawn at the banki cant stay afloat anymoreive no money for christmas prersents, no money for anything, the fridge is empty, i cant put petrol in the car,o told my mum today because id got so desperate but she wasnt interested, im so unhappy, how the hell did i end up like this, i dont want sympathy, just wanted to posdt it and get it off my chest

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
busybusymum · 22/11/2006 23:42

Yorkie Girl,Sorry havent read all the latest posts and dont want to if people are being cruel but can I just ask, Is next weeks grocery shop sorted?

fireflyxmasfairylights2 · 23/11/2006 00:06

Have just PP you YG.

Good Luck penniless, chin up!

gillybabys · 23/11/2006 01:29

hi penniless, moneys tight with me, so i changed my mortgage to interest only, saves me £140 a month,

hope ure ok

penniless · 23/11/2006 16:14

hi everyone, thank you for your continued ,messages of support, im overwhelmed by everyones kindness
xenia, sadly doubly up the rooms isnt an option as the children are already sharing.
gilly..i thought about changing the mortgage but im locked into a 3 year period where i cant make anychanges to it...thanks for your ideas though.
ive sent off my application for dla and will am investigating whether or not i can get further benefits.

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gillybabys · 23/11/2006 22:37

its ok, mite be in your position soon as mite loose me job for being a single parent.

was wondering, not read all the threads, cud u recap how old your children are, wud like to help for christmas if you dont mind
x

SecondhandRose · 24/11/2006 08:11

Penniless even though you have a locked in mortgage it may be possible to pay to get out of it (this you can add to your mortgage) you may then be able to get a lower fixed rate on interest only. It may cost a bit to start with but hopefully in the long run your mortgage will come down. I have a great IFA (independent financial adviser) who will give you advice for nothing 01992 516797 (Claire).

Thinking of you.

moondog · 24/11/2006 08:18

Penniless,send me your address please!

penniless · 24/11/2006 10:00

gillybabys, i dont really want to give my dc;s ages as it would out me but if you email YG she will tell you.
moondog, im not subscribed to cats, but have you worked out who i am?
secondhandrose, thanks, i did look into it and would have to pay a couple of thousand in financial penalties if i remortgaged now.

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curlysmum · 24/11/2006 11:23

Hi Peniless,
I 've been in a similar situation , I live alone with dd and work and struggle with my mortgage, I had to remortgage recently as it was crippling me , I had a penalty of about 2k but really will save that back over the 1 st year of my new mortgage and reduced my payments by a couple of hundred a month, its just a thought what % is your penalty.

I haven't read through every post as I'm at work but YOU ARE are entitled to a crisis loan , I work full time and got one about 8 months ago , it is a myth that if your working tou can't have one they are for everyone IN CRISIS. I had to go to local Job Centre and prove I had no money in bank with a ministatement and once you have a child and no food they have to give you something, I got about £80.00 for a two week period, they paid in cash the next day, its something you can look into.
The other thing I was thinking was your bank acocunt , could you switch banks are you being charged for bank charges maybe if you opened one somewhere else move all your payment, direct debits into the new one and pay off the old one at a small amount a month.
When things were bad for me I have to say I cancelled my mortgage direct debit and missed a month , and wrote to the mortgage company and came to a arrangement to spread the missed payment over 12 months , they will not take any action until you miss at least 3 mortgage payments , I'm sorry I just had to do that rather than have dd with no food, as for your isp I would say cancel it, explain you have little to no income your circumstances have changed , most companies will come to an arrangement to pay it back , they have to they cannot just take you to court especially if you have offered some payments towards the amount, they would not get anymore if they did take you to court as you would have to fill in a income and outgoings form and they can only take what you can afford they are not a priority creditor. I had to cut off my home phone and internet to save a bit, there no shame you can put it back on when your situation improves slightly.

moondog · 24/11/2006 15:28

Penniless,I thought you e mailed me????
Am confused now!
Twas you wasn't it?

I thought you said in your e mail who you were?

Very confused now!

Who can I CAT to check??

penniless · 24/11/2006 20:29

moondog-no i didnt email you, best thing to do is mail pixiefish or TG and ask.
curlysmum, thanks for your suggestions, i will try going to the jobcentre and getting a loan.
i will see what i can do with regard to the mortgage however, my mortgage company i since discovered have an appaling reputation, so wont hold my breath, i tried unsuccesfully to get bank charges back, but my bank have written me a long winded letter saying, bog off..in shortened terms!
changing my account is not an option as im overdrawn massively.
sadly i cant cut off the internet as i am locked into a 12 month period.

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penniless · 24/11/2006 20:32

curlysmum, also i cannot remortgage, i spoke with the financial adviser who arranged my mortage and its not possible as im locked into a minimum period before i can remortgage, also, even if i could, this mortage charges you a 300 pound penalty for ending the mortgage regardless which must be paid up front.

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curlysmum · 24/11/2006 23:12

Hi , i see what your saying but you can come out of the mortgage if you just get the penalty added on you redemption figure ,mine was with this truly awful company too called Kensington and I was broke for 2 years , but in the end I found a truly great fella who has got me out of it and halfed my rate , you can email me if you like on [email protected] and I'm happy to see if he can help you , my situation was worst than dire.
i'm back now with Brittania who would not have touched me with a barge pole if it was'nt for him. Can you open a basic bank account in the meantime to have any tax credit payments ,child benefit paid into (abbey , barclays etc all do them you do not need to be credited searched) they allow direct debits and incoming payments,switch all your incoming payments over to the new account , then after you have switched things over contact your bank and explain your circumstances have changed and you will pay back the o/draft gradually , my ex partner had a 2k o/draft with Lloyds and he moved his direct payments to a basic bank account at Barclays which you need nocredit check for then explained to Lloyds filled in a income form showing he had no income presently and Lloyds have frozen the interest and charges and he pays £20.00 per month into his old a/c until his situation improves, and they review it every six months.
Please don't think its impossible it can be very overwhelming but these Banks would rather come to an arrangement , also have you seen the Consumer Action Forum website they also have all the templates on there to help you get your charges back and if you send the right letters most of the big banks will refund you, don't despair, you can email me anytime, and don't feel embarrassed either.
[email protected]

Greengirlforever · 25/11/2006 00:09

Penniless - just surfing and came across your thread - what a horrible situation and the wonderfulness (a word?) of MN and its people never ceases to astonish me -

Just a thought re your current account. How big is your overdraft? Mine is £1800 and I am over it every month and getting charged to the eyeballs (about to try the charges reclaiming thing). I went onto Moneysavingexpert who recommend an Alliance & Leicester internet account (since you're stuck with the internet anyway...) as the best current account for those with overdrafts, applied for it and got it - and my credit rating is extremely average!

ameli · 25/11/2006 00:47

What a lovely gesture, im so proud of you all. If theres anything i can do to help, please let me know.

fussymummy · 25/11/2006 00:53

Penniless just been thinking!!!!

Have you tried changing your gas and electric to a cheaper company?

Also your phone?

How are things for you now?

Hope you now have food in your cupboard and a bit of cash to tide you over.

Things will improve.

lissiew · 25/11/2006 00:58

how are you?

tigermoth · 25/11/2006 01:47

Have you talked to a financial adviser about your credit rating? Are you making every payment for every bill every month? YOu said earlier that you cannot cancel your direct debits - what do you mean? If direct debits come out of your bank account, you can cancel them at any time, with varying consequences.

It may not harm your credit rating too drastically if you miss a few payments and catch up later when things are better by spreading payments... BUT... AFAIK missed mortage payments or secured loans are the worst for denting your credit record. AFAIK the odd missed utility direct debit or non secured loan should not make a huge dent, or prevent you borrowing money for your business. I have missed non secured payments every now and then and we can still get loans and mortages. Phone a financial adviser to discuss everything.

Also, if you have equity in your house, you might be able to get a new mortage deal that releases some money to tide you over - again, discuss with a financial adviser. I know you might have to pay a penalty on your old mortage but as its crisis time right now, it might be worth it in the long run.

Better to find out your options now rather than later, as if you start missing mortage payments, the more you miss the harder it is to get another mortgage deal (though still not impossible, just progressively more expensive) But remember, even if you miss just a month and spread the repayments across 12 months, you will still be technically in arrears for the whole 12 months, and being in mortage arrears affects credit rating. Sorry I am rambling but you get the picture?

You really must try to make any equity in your home work for you if you can.

And do claim back any bank/credit card charges. Sending letters does work, banks do pay up and your claim can cover the last 6 years.

Good luck and thinking of you.

HowTheFillyjonkStoleChristmas · 25/11/2006 07:13

penniless-have only skimmed thread, sorry, but 3 things come to mind.

  1. have you checked to see if you are entitld to mortgage interest relief in income support? this could increase your entitlement + take you over the threshold.
  1. apply now for is anyway and state you have a dla claim pending. if you are given dla then you can also apply to have your is backdated. (if you are only just over the threshold you may well become entitled if you are given dla, cos you get extra premiums on your IS if you get dla, if that makes sense...)
  1. on what grounds are you claiming IS? Is it cos you are at home or cos you are unable to work? Consider claiming for the latter-after 26 weeks you will get an extra premium worth around £25. Think you also get extra money on your tax credits? mummy brain descending.
  1. Assuming here you are not entitled to Incapacity Benefit?

this info was true 18 months ago when I was last working btw. sorry if there have been any massive changes-might point you in the right direction though.

HowTheFillyjonkStoleChristmas · 25/11/2006 07:15

ps I do know about dla claims. It was a big part of my job-bascially taking failed claims to appeal. If you are turned down and want any help-your first stop should be a cab but if not-do post here.

Applying for dla is a complete minefield but fortunately there is a solid route of appeal.

penniless · 25/11/2006 11:44

hi, thanks for your continueing advice.
with regard to the current account, im in a tricky situation as the loan goes out of my account, so although would perhaps come to an agreement about the overdraft would still have to pay money in to cover the loan. i have been in to see my bank and thery were not sympathetic.
i will get in touch in touch with the FA on monday and see what he says but i do know that whatever i do, i have to pay the 300 up front and it cant be added on to my remortgage amount.
the reason i said that i couldnt cancel my bills is because when 2 of my direct debits were refused recently, one was the phone bill and another a utility bill, both companies rang me and said i had to pay over the phone with a debit card, or risk disconnection, so im not being petty, i dont want things disconnected.
fillyjonk, ive had a letter today saying that the dla claim has requested a gp report, im expecting to be trurned down, if i am i would very muvh appreciate the help re; reclaiming

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penniless · 25/11/2006 11:48

fillyjonk, also i will look into the mortgage interest benefit.
i dont know if im entitled to incapacity, im going to my gp to see if he would support a claim.
tigermoth, with regard to the bank charges, im a little scared as i now have to issue a court proceedings letter which is not going to endear me to my bank very much

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Fattymumma · 25/11/2006 11:55

I know you don't want to tell us to much as it would reveal who youa re but JJ and Davros are miracle workers with DLA and if they knew what sort of difficulties you are claiming for they could possibly offer you some advice as to how to word your answers for maximum effect.

I would definatley go to the local benefits office and apply for housing benefit. i know of a couple of people who were ableto get the interest on their mortgage paid as they were on a low income.
so they may not cover the full amount but it would certainly give you al ittle extra.

How is the business going? is there anything that anyone here could help you with? marketing or advertising what you do?

penniless · 25/11/2006 12:26

fattymuma, thanks for your advice.
the "business" is going nowhere!
ive given up on it for the time being, it was never going to make me my fortune, i did it purely because i loved it.

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penniless · 25/11/2006 12:48

ive also been selling stuff off, anything that is saleable

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