Can we have a support thread for people who are massively in debt?

[Nerfmother]

Because you can't talk about it in real life? We owe 44k, reduced from 60k in a year. Not including mortgage.
It's so depressing.
Dh is determined to pay it off and so bankruptcy or plans isn't an option. I do think its doable, just hard hard hard.

Can I mark my place. 16k in debt here not including student loan that I'll probably not have to pay unless I go back to work full time and not including mortgage. And not including dp car payment which is going to be ongoing as he puts 1k on the mileage every week.

I know that's not a lot compared to some but our monthly payments are over 800 pounds a month with a second dc on the way.

Will be looking for hints and tips

Thanks talkin. That's a really good tip.
I can't wait for payday actually as I have plans!

What's the house situation Kazza? Do you have DCs at home or just you and DP?

Could you let a room for some extra income?
Move in with relatives and rent out your house?
Any additional jobs you could pick up? Dog walking, house sitting, cleaning/ironing...anything DP can do too?

Hi mrs. Any debt is horrible if it causes stress- don't feel bad yours isn't bigger

And welcome Mrs!

Well I don't think I've ever come out of Christmas unscathed...until now! No need for overdraft (repaid it in full in Nov), nothing on store card (again, paid in full in Nov-and will cut up card tonight), nothing to buy between now and payday (Mon), and I have money left in current account...woohoo! Going to pay it to credit card #1 now to take temptation away, it also puts card balance at a position where I can reduce the limit by £1k, again,removing temptation

Well we have managed a whole Saturday without buying stuff!

Well done Nerf! I was £8.23 at Tesco for bread, milk, soap, some veg and reduced mince beef. All food today has been/will be from what I already had in. Chicken and puff pastry from freezer defrosting for dinner tomorrow alongside mash and some of today's veg so Sun will be NSD for me. Once DS in bed tonight I'm going to write up everything I have in fridge/freezer/cupboards and meal plan for coming week!

Mum, we have a 4 bed house, but eldest dd and Ds moved out, so two rooms were free. One is used as an office (we both worked from home for a while). Now Ds is moving back in for approx 5 months, while he and his girlfriend save for a flat. We also have youngest dd aged 12.

We did let out a room a few years ago, but when she left we couldn't find anyone else. We live in a tiny village and it's 45 mins drive to the nearest big town, so not sought after.

I have tried looking for cleaning jobs, dog walking, ironing .. Again, in a small village there's not much demand and lots of other mothers offering those services Also as mentioned before, I suffer with depression and anxiety and feel I'm at breaking point as it is, working 3.5 days.

Dh is looking for work, applying for jobs all the time. I've told him he has to take anything, regardless how low the pay is, just to pay the bills.

It sounds like I'm making excuses, but I am really trying to make ends meet, cutting costs where I can. I know we'll get there eventually, I'm just fed up of worrying

Forgot to say, no relatives nearby, nearest is 1.5 hrs drive away, so I wouldn't be able to get to work anymore.

kazza
have you looked to see if you have any skills that could be used by peopleperhour

I have tried that. I did a lot of typing from home for a while, but the rate is ridiculous, the work dried up and now I've started to develop arthritis in my hands, so they seize up when I type a lot Tbh typing and estate agency negotiating is all I can do

Kazza,will DS be making a contribution to the household? It's admirable that you are supporting him, but make sure it doesn't cause you further money issues...

Yes, he is paying £200 a month, but he does eat a lot plus his girlfriend will be round a lot too.

Kazza it's really hard isn't it? We are sort of lucky in that we have loads and loads of debt and that really restricts us but we can still eat and heat (in moderation) but it sounds awful if you are worrying about everyday expenses as well. I really hope something turns up; I really believe noone knows what's round the corner, but that is no hope just now.

Fergus - I'm trying to sell all the baby stuff but it's really hard, people don't want to pay anything for second hand stuff.

Hi all - I just wanted to lend another voice of hope. I paid off just over 40k of debt (not including a mortgage) over a period of 8 years. I remember it well. Not wanting to open my letters, always worrying about it, having no money for anything other than paying off the debt and food - and then still struggling. The best night's sleep I had was the day I paid off the last instalment. I hope you get that feeling soon.

It's hard and long and I really wish you all the best.

I have clients who deliver all brown envelopes to my house - unopened! Bless 'em
BUT
Once we start mixing tactics and strategy I've only got one left in a heartbreaking situation (out of 10 who were)

I've been reading through the thread again. Very inspirational. You are all going so well.

Before dh was made redundant I used to divide the money equally between the debts and it felt like I was getting nowhere. How do you decide which card to pay off first?

The problem is because we've requested interest and charges be frozen they ask to see our income and outgoings every six months. I may have to adjust our figures so there's a little extra to pay a bit more off one card. We have seven creditors and some of them are low amounts, with one big loan. It would be nice to pay off some of the smaller ones.

Hey kazza, I think you are meant to do highest interest first: in doing smallest amount first.

kazza
I would strongly suggest putting nominal amounts to each debt but then clearing them in triaged order ...
triaging depends on various things

• if interest is frozen then you pay a bit to each and clear the smallest first
• if interest not frozen then pay the highest rate first

the other thing is to regularly look at your credit file ... who is piling the most checks onto it - pay them off first so that your rating is cleaning up as you go ...

but if you are paying, say £500 a month and have 10 creditors
the 9 lowest risk get £25 a month, the other gets £225 until clear, then the next, etc etc and as you are clear and transparent, each knows that when their turn comes they get bigger monthly shares of the £500

if you see what I mean

Another voice of hope-we had loans and credit cards totalling £7k when we were about 24 and paid them off within a year despite crappy low salaries by just throwing ourselves into it. Dave Ramsey's books are great and so is his podcast (which is free). Hearing people's debt-free stories is amazing-and some of them are insane. One couple began earning something like $30k between them but got 2 extra jobs each, downsized, sold as much as poss, went on a tight budget and paid off $100k of debt in a year!!

Ooh, also look up the YouTube channel 'Debtisdum'. Ignore the slightly cheesy intro!

Thanks peeps, I'll have a look through all the paperwork again. I think on most interest is frozen, but have a feeling one isn't, so I'll concentrate on that one first.

Also grateful for the links and book suggestions, I'll take a look.

Morning all...hope everyone is well and feeling positive

Planning a NSD today-plan on clearing cupboards etc and doing a full stock check and meal plan for the week,will pick up what I need in the morning.

TiP-tell me more about this credit check. I didn't realise they could do random checks to keep an eye on you. I'm currently on the month free trial with Check my File and can only see usual monthly updates...note to self to cancel this before they try to take a payment.