Can we have a nice, kind supportive gowd we are in so much debt type thread?

[grumpypants]

One where we can just be noice and not scathing? I am just always doing little sums in my head, about when things will be cleared, etc. We have sooo much debt. Interest only mortgage, can't afford repayment at the mo. Credit card - bought rubbish house, paid for work with 'real' money, living expenses on cards. Loan, car loan, overdraft etc. It's about £35k unsecured. We pay 1,000 each month in debt. I am so shocked by how this happened, but there are no expensive shoes peeking out the wardrobe; it's a combo of poor choice, me giving up work due to ill child, and the house falling apart just after we moved in...anyone else? I am trying so hard to cut down, and to pay stuff off - one day I really want to enjoy the money dh and I earn.

I have decided not to chuck clutter out, but to do a boot fair instead. Yuk.

I find car boot sales weirdly depressing but satisfying at the same time. I am planning to do one with kids toys. I think it's OK as long as you're really finished with these items, but feels horrible if you're doing it with things that are meaningful, and you still like/want but don't need.

On the positive side, I have just cancelled sky.

£19.50 pcm saving.

Many years of bad choices and overspending on takeaways and gadgets and junk - who knows

We should have a very small mortgage now but no, remortgage after remortgage plus around £25k in unsecured debt. I've been off sick for over a year now and we would have managed without handouts from my parents if it wasn't for the debt. Instead they have had to help out over and over.

Debt free by 40 is my motto.

I made over £1000 selling stuff on ebay before Christmas. And we still have loads to go.........it is no wonder we have debt

Oh I hate car boot sales. They aren't so bad in the summer so if you can I'd wait. The first ones of the year are so cold and damp.

Ben - definitely. I need time to gather strength against the pro car booters. Welcome! I really need to get into selling stuff on.
Seems like your reasons are v similar - doesn't really matter tho. Totally get the remortgaging thing and stupid choices. We have bought and chucked so many beds over the years, trying to sort the kids out. Should have made a plan and stuck to it.

Remember...don't let them rifle through your bout looking for gold and mobile phones as soon as you get there .

Also make sure you take any old trainers with you. Mad people buy them at car boots :)

Ooh good tip. No more chucking stuff out til the summer.

Ben - am torn between car boot sales - hate them but know i should like them! Am planning on waiting til spring (ish) before i do one. At the moment our bedroom looks like a car boot sale as everything am planning on getting rid of is in a big pile on our floor just have to keep kids away or they'll decide they want to keep some of it.

Also thinking of trying to live on homemade soup and sandwiches for a couple of months as seem to spend an unbelieveable amount on food for 2 ad and 3 ch. Managed to cut back on brands etc a good while ago and certainly dont buy the "naice" food that we used to.

It really is all the choices isnt it and we pay for them time and time again - over and over.

Sunshine - does it have to be car boot? Could some of it be ebayed instead?

Our garage is full of shit stuff that I have earmarked to sell. I had a spate of ebaying but like others have said, got totally fed up of the faff and also lost money on one item by miscalculating the postage

I will get round to doing a boot sale, but I just never seem to have the time to sort it and put it in the car. Have got loads of old trainers though, good tip!!

Anyway, just checking in again so you don't think I've won the lottery and emigrated.

Can I join in, we have between 10 and 20k in unsecured debt.

Both self-employed. DS1 has SN and DS2 costs me a fortune in nursery fees, but that will reduce in April.

DH works in London on building sites and spends between £200-£300 a week on fuel, congestion charge, parking and 1 cooked breakfast a day. (Can't change that as it would cost me more to do a pack lunch and it's the only food he has between 5am when he leaves and 7pm when he comes home)

January has been quiet so very few outgoings- only 3 days work so far so no money coming in next month.

Just so fed up of never getting ahead, it's like we pay the bills (usually) then something breaks or we need to spend money on travel etc to get the work in, then we borrow money to tide us over and end up spending our wages on debt.

Again, years of bad choices, then good choices followed by 2 years of illness (me) and two pregnancies one after the other. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to DH. I am dreading him having an accident at work etc, but I can't afford to insure him.

RumpledTitSkin

Wash the trainers in the machine I sold a pair of used trainers for £10.50 on ebay and I would have chucked them in the bin.

Welcome Octonauts. DS also has SN (probable AS). It's so hard isn't it. Life throws shit at us all the time no matter what choices you make. In the past year we have had DH redundancy, got stuck abroad with volcanic ash leaving us well out of pocket, flood meaning we had to have brand new kitchen (again out of pocket) and now I have been off work sick since Nov 2010. Sometimes no matter how careful you are you just can't make the money stretch. I think that the stress probably caused us to be less careful with money than we should have been.....

Hi Octonauts - totally get that one ben - i tried so hard in january to avoid anything unnecessary, then we had the car break down, the doors go, the electrics and now a flooded kitchen - about 600 quids worth at leats. It then feels pointless going round Tesco calculating stuff inmy head and watching the pennies! We just have NO safety net at all. That's the scary thing. Despite bloody thousands coming in.

Having said that octonauts is right - all those bad choices cost a fortune. Now, any 'treat' on a credit card (always run out of real money by day ten!) is going to cost the price plus the interest. Much less attractive, esp as the cards are going to be longterm things.

grumpy are you sure your council tax is 1k?? That is huge

Ben10 you are right about stress making us less careful. When I get really down or stressed, I spend without thinking.

Noddy our council tax is 1900 a year. 3 bed semi. Should be £2,100 but they give us a reduction due to DS1's SN.

Can i just urge everyone to check the mis-sold PPI thing out?. Was talking to a friend who just on spec wrote to LLoyds before Christmas, didn't go through a company or to the ombudsman, and just gor a lovely £12000 cheque!.

I'm so happy for her as her arse of a ex-husband left her with loads of debt.She'll be able to clear it now.

I thought it was per month sorry!

Haha! Per month wd finish me off. Don't have any loans with PPI, no go there. Do u get a reduction for sn?
Really tired thinking of money all the time!

Smacka, think some of it isnt quite good enough to ebay tbh. And by the time i photograph it, upload and watch every night then package it all. . . Would rather spend a sunday morning and blitz it all. But i know it shouldnt matter how much work it takes if it makes some money
I think you're all right you know - i definitely spend more (usually on --shite- essentials) when worrying about/stressing about other stuff. We applied for DLA for dd2 in sept and were successful - not sure if sn would count too?
We have no ppi either although thinking of that £12000 i really wish we had!!

ooh that didnt work did it

shite
there we go

"Disabled people are helped with their Council Tax through the disabled band reduction scheme. This makes sure disabled people don't pay more Council Tax because they needed a larger property due to their disability.

Having a disability does not automatically entitle you to a reduction.

In summary, the requirements for a reduction are the property must be the main residence of at least one disabled person. It must also have at least one of:
an additional bathroom or kitchen required to meet the needs of the disabled person
a room (other than a bathroom, kitchen or toilet) required to meet the needs of the disabled person, and used predominantly by them
extra space inside the property to allow for the use of a wheelchair - wheelchairs for outdoor use only are excluded

The room or the wheelchair must also be of major importance to the disabled person's well-being, due to the extent of their disability."

THerefore DS who gets DLA doesn't qualify for the reduction because we don't need a bigger house because of it.

Thank you - am considering looking at extra help financially for ds but feel bad as officially (before the debt and mortgage etc) we have a lot of income. But I need to pay for stuff like 1 to 1 swimming lessons, extra help with things, cost of replacing chewed stuff etc. Not sure.
Good news? Insurance will cover the replacement floor. Bad news? Cost of plumber and excess for accidental damage. On top of the car/ the electrician/ the tyre/ the fence/ christmas. All my overtime (to be paid end jan) has been spent in advance. So will go straight on the credit card to repay extra stuff we didn't expect. Feel really depressed about it. Bums!

If your son has care or mobility needs above other children of his age then definitely apply. Use this guide to help. Ds hasn't even got his AS dx yet but has been in receipt of DLA since June.

See life throws stuff at us all the time no matter how careful we are....... :(

Thanks Ben - don't want to put too much about him but will definitely look into it. Thank you. How are things your end? Any light at the end of the tunnel?