Wwyd re: financial situation?

[Badvoc]

Argh...just typed a massive post and lost it!! :(
The basics:
After a house move last year and lots and lots of unexpected repairs (new boiler, roof repairs etc) dh and I have just over £6k in cc debt. We used all our meagre savings too.
We have sat down and had a good look at the situation and we are both stumped as to what we can do.
We have moved the balance onto a 0% cc til dec next year' we pay £100 per month off it ATM.
We both use our agreed overdrafts each month which isn't good obv.
We didn't drink, smoke or go out.
We have just sold some stuff n e bay and got £100 and we more stuff to list this weekend which should hopefully get more but that's a shirt term fix obv.
We have claimed for some Ppi we think we were mis sold a few years ago but not sure whether we will get anything back...
We have ds2s b day coming up, my 40th (just wont do anything for that though) and of course Xmas.
Dh is due a refund from HMRC so that should take care of Xmas but this month I have had to buy new uniform, new shoes etc and it's been holidays so there have been days out etc.
We have no savings, have even stopped paying into the dc ctf until next year!
Our insurances are the cheapest we can find. Ditto utilities.
Ds1 is having therapy that costs about £50 per monh too but can't stop that.
I buy some of their clothes from e bay, rest from tesco/asda.
Is there something really obvious we are missing that we can do?
How can we pay back the cc and get some savings?
Any advice welcome
Tia x

Sorry for typos!

....should also have said that I have cancelled an ou course I was starting in oct...just can't justify the debt ATM :(
I have been looking for part time jobs but I phoned up re 2 cleaning jobs this week and they just hung up in me....why not just say that the job has fine? Why be so rude??
I have 2 young dx so need a job that's fits round them and also Dhs work trips....I live in a village so jobs not exactly abounding :)
I'm not scared of hard graft...have done all sorts pre dc and whilst a student...bar work ( all bars in this village are closing) waitressing (ditto) care work, cleaning, retail....was in admin prior to dc.
I don't really want to work every weekend if I can help it as then I would never see dh and I can't do Sundays anyway (I do voluntary work on a Sunday)
I have applied for abo a dozen admin jobs since last niv and not even had a reply :(
Sigh.....not easy is it?

...should also have said that the cc and mortgage are out only debts.
Blimey...this is an epic fail of a post isn't it?
:)

Maybe obvious but have you done a budget for all the expenses, food, utilities etc. Is there room in your food budget? Do you meal plan?

Can you get help with your sons therapy? Are you sure you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to? Can you switch your mortgage to interest only until the cc debt is cleared?

Sorry if you have already thought of all this :)

Could you have DS2's party at home or in the park to save money?
There's a lot of fruit growing on public trees you could forage to save money.
You could do surveys online, it's not big money, but you can easily get enough to cover birthdays and christmas (they often pay in Amazon vouchers).
Proofreading pays, once you get a name for yourself, as does blogging.

If there are cleaning jobs there may be an opening for a cleaner. Or ironing, dog walking.

Inmysparetime, how do you get into proof reading? That'd be right up my street!

OP, how about advertising yourself as a cleaner? might get more results than going for exisistng jobs.

Have you been on the money saving expert site? Can't link as I'm on my phone, but there's some great ideas on there.

Hi.
All our insurances and utilities are the cheapest we can find.
Our mortgage is a fixed rate for the next 4.5 years so not sure re/ interest only.
Could ask I guess.
Ds2s party will be at home..just family and a couple of his little friends.
Not bothered about my b day tbh...we did want to go away fro the weekend but that's not going to happen.
Just no jobs around ATM...maybe after summer it will be better.

Have you thought about doing Avon. I started when my kids were 4, 3 and 1. You choose your own hours, you can vary them week to week according to what else you need to fit it around. Sept is a good time to start as sales will start building towards Christmas.

Go and talk to your bank. I was in a very similar situation to you. They allowed me to borrow enough to sort out the od, and the cc. I now have a monthly payment 3 x your cc one but at least it's all been sorted out and I will never be o/d again or use the cc.

The rate of the loan was very low. Sainsburys gave dp one at an even lower rate (he had less debt though) and I saw recently that they will match any you find cheaper than theirs.

Badvoc, you posted a couple of weekends ago about this, I recognised your post. I won't link to it in case you'd prefer not.

What about getting rid of the car? It sounds like your DH might be more receptive to that if you've both now sat down and looked at the finances together. What about reducing your food budget? You mentioned on the other thread it was quite high. You're also going overdrawn despite having no income of your own, i.e. the money your DH is giving you is basically going to service the debt. Does he have any spare money that could be used to clear at least your overdraft?

You mentioned in your last thread you couldn't work on Sundays because of your church work. Another poster there said you may need to prioritise your financial requirements over the church work, at least temporarily.

Can your DH increase his income? Any promotion prospects? A job in another firm?

Hi tribpot.
Dh and I agreed we would wait til the end of the year re: making a decision About the car and I don't want to go back on my word...it took days to get that agreement it of him!! :)
Re: church...it is something that is important to me. I don't want to give it up. I may even let it be known at church I am looking for a job - how knows? Might lead to something?
Dh has been at his current firm since he was 16....he won't go unless they force the issue...frustrating but that's how it is.
Dh also works away form time to time so that limits my choices further :(
Hilda - the cc debt is on 0% til next dec so I won't get a loan that cheap anywhere! :)

Get some notices up about cleaning in your area, post office and supermarket notice boards, local newsletters etc. Also in the church notices - there maybe some elderly person needing someone to pop in a few times a week, do shopping, want their dog walking, escort to hospital etc.

My neighbour does accounts for small businesses and proof reading/ typing for several academic people. Certainly supplements her pension.

Sorry but it sounds a bit like you want a miracle to happen.

Your situation wont change unless you change something. There is no easy fix to clearing debt.

Hmm, okay - you've reached an 'agreement' about the car that you know he won't actually honour, Badvoc, but there is nothing you can do about it til Xmas now. Likewise he won't move jobs despite the fact that effectively your outgoings exceed your income and the nature of it makes it extremely difficult for you to find work. This is hardly a question of sitting down and putting every option on the table, but more a question of how you work around those things he refuses to consider changing. They may not, practically, be changeable anyway but situation is relatively serious.

The only thing you can do is continue to trim your outgoings. Your food budget is high - it needs to come down. Does your DH have any discretionary spending in the money he keeps each month? What about mobile phones? Cable TV? On the last thread i posted links to Money Saving Expert and the Motley Fool, both of whom have templates for completing a 'Statement of Affairs' (at least that's what it's called on the Fool) to put down absolutely everything you have in your budget, which will enable the experts over there to crawl over it looking for changes that will free up money to throw at your debts. I heartily recommend you do that.

I completely sympathise with your desire to keep your church commitment, particularly since all other compromises appear to be being made by you as well.

No, not a miracle.
Just ideas for what we can do to improve the situation.
I have 2 small children that need caring for, otherwise I would be out working a 40 hour week as I have in the past.
I am the childcare. Dh earns far more than I ever have/ever could so he works and I stay at home with the dc.
I simply dont know what else we can cut.
We were very unlucky when we moved with the issues we faced but that's life and we need hot water and heating and a waterproof roof!
if we get rid of the car that will cut my earning potential even further as I will be limited to this village!
I just have no idea what we can do to make things better...

Thanks tribpot.
I tried to do the statement of affairs thingy but it didn't work? Maybe because I did it on an iPad? (ds1s I should point out, bought with his b day money and holiday money)
Def need to get the food bill down...dh and I are on a health kick ATM but that has actually increased the bill!! All the fresh fruit, veg and salad :)
On the plus side we have both lost about 9lbs :)
Dh can be a it sensitive in the subject of money...he feels I am criticising him but I'm not...we have just had a very bad year financially, that's all.

Grow your own salad leaves on a windowledge, it's far far cheaper than bagged salad.
Get fruit and veg from a market, it's generally cheaper, and fresher.

I think improving the situation is going to be difficult if so many areas remain off limits in terms of compromise. Obvious places to try and pull back are on luxuries like mobile phones, TV packages, broadband, children's activities (though obviously not essential therapy for DC), food and clothes.

If your food bill is high you should look at meal planning, 2 adults can easily eat very heathily on really quite a small amount - cook from scratch with DC eating the same food as the adults (not too salty or spicy), pack lunches for DH - soups are v healthy and v cheap and you could take a flask if you're going to be out and about with DC. You also need to be realistic about presents for children for birthdays and Christmas, you've not said how old your DCs are but either they're young enough that they don't need high price, high tech gifts or are old enough to understand times are tight and you need to cut back.

Harsh as it may sound, DH doesn't have the luxury of being over sensitive about money. You've had a bad year financially, you both need to pull together to address it which means him accepting it's not a personal criticism of him that you need to change your lifestyle for a while. You do seem to be the one worrying about money and trying to juggle things to make it work - he needs to get on board with it and help you out.

Do check out re your mortgage being on interest only - ours was on a fixed deal and we still managed to change it to interest only when DH was made redundant at the same fixed rate.

Trigglette
Thanks.
I will ring bank tomorrow and ask re: interest only.

Cut back on Xmas and use the HMRC refund towards your debt, esp if your kids are young. . Why did DH get a refund from HMRC - ie was he on the wrong code and is he now on the right code

I do online surveys which I get paid for usually in vouchers. Sometimes I get to trial free products.
Last year I made about £150 I'm on 4 survey sites.
I know it won't solve your financial problems but it will help for birthdays and Christmas.

Seriously think about your weekend commitments, you could earn £400 each month by working Saturday & Sunday minimum wage? I know it's not a huge amount but if your DH is around at the weekends?
How about an Ebay business? You may have to save a while to bulk buy the wholesale but it may bring in some more money & is flexible?

Yes he was on the wrong tax code...about 6 people at his work were affected.
Re: weekend working...dh has to go away with work (next trip is to the US) so not sure how I can work evenings/weekends if every 4/6 weeks I have to have time off??
It would mean I used all my annual leave on childcare which wouldn't work.
I was thinking about starting my own business but have no idea what I could do...I can clean, cook, look after children, tutor, do admin, reception work etc etc but in this economic climate and in this area there arent many of those jobs around.

Where are you OP? I'm desperate for a cleaner! It's really hard to find someone honest, reliable and thorough... If you fit that bill, I'm sure you could earn money to fit in with you dc, wherever you are.

The going rate around here (S. Wales) is around £10 an hour, so that could be £40 a day, although you would need to agree what would happen when your dc are off school.