Debt mutual support thread number 5 .... the light at the end of the tunnel is NOT an oncoming train

[TalkinPeace]

This thread follows on from the last four threads in the series, the most recent of which is here.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/a2142758-Debt-mutual-support-thread-number-4-every-journey-starts-with-the-hardest-first-step

We live in a society that makes it incredibly easy to get into debt but makes it incredibly hard to admit you have a problem and even harder to get out of debt.
The posters on threads are here to help people get to where they want to be.

I am not in debt, any more.
Here is a link to some spreadsheets that might help
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/1987219-SPREADSHEETS-for-Debt-Control-Budgeting-Mortgages-etc

and lots of people use this
YouNeedABudget

The important thing to remember is

• yesterday is as past as the Crimean War

( we will not judge how you got into debt, but we will support you on the way out )

• this is an anonymous forum

( we will not tell your employer, family or friends of the reality of your numbers )

• this thread is about supporting people through the huge mindset changes needed to come out of debt

( feel free to offload all of the feelings that drive you to want to spend, that make it hard to save and that generally make life crap at times )

Join in, bare your soul and come out the other end.
Its worth it.
You are worth it.
The long term results for you, your marriage and your children are worth it.

im also stressing about Christmas luckily bought most of the presents so not an issue although dd has lost interest in lego so going to sell the ridiculous amount I bought and buy her a tent from ikea as I think she will get more use from it. but must be strict and not try to equal the amount spent out. im hoping to use the difference towards the Christmas fairs and things going on at xmas but should really use on debt...

. Not even thinking about Xmas food & drink etc?

Think sensibly now, we all buy too much and takes us till January to eat it. Get a nice dinner planned that everyone will eat, my ds hates veg, hell have meat & mashed potatoes ,a bottle of plonk to go with it. Stretch to a nice bottle of fizz for Xmas night with your oh, with cheese and biscuits. Watch crap tv & the kids playing. Make memories. when your more flush you can indulgeindulge
My in-laws come to ours and I remember its just one day.
If people come round make them bring a bottle.

Please don't worry & stress.x

snowie
My DS wants an XBox One
I've told him categorically that he'll have to wait till after Christmas when the price drops.
DD wants a new phone : ditto

Christmas day will be stockings full of daft stuff from Hawkin and the Charity shop.
And some silly things under the tree
and then off to the sales on the 27th

Food : plan ONE big meal a day, make it such that leftovers can be enjoyed the next day : food waste = money waste

Snowie my DS wanted an x box last year (we make them save and but their own gadgets) and a few days after Xmas DH found him one on Gumtree which included loads of games.....so my advice is wait for those buying new ones for Xmas to sell off the previous model just after!

Off to Tesco later with my clubcard boost vouchers, hoping to get DD the slushie maker she's asked for as it's the only thing she said she wants, apart from an umbrella which my mum is buying her!

Hello everyone

I fell off the thread! (Lots going on, lots to worry about, unfortunately)

But I wanted to thank you all for your lovely welcome when I first joined up.

to everyone.

Looks like I maybe getting some cash coming in in new year! We will be able to pay off hopefully a large chunk of debt and even think about saving for a holiday in the new year. Also people appear to be falling over themselves to offer me interviews which is also rather nice.

We've managed to do Christmas on a budget and we're intending to stick with this new regime. Even if we're debt free I'm not going back to the way we were.

New boiler being fitted a day early so chaos will reign but I at least have tomorrow to get everything back to normal before hopefully enjoying a nice relaxed weekend!

Hello Holger the important thing about falling off is the getting back on! Hopefully you'll start to see light at the end of the tunnel too. My turning point came when I actually started talking about the problem rather than pretending it didn't exist!

Fell off the thread, probably because December is damage limitation month .

Hello everyone

I haven't posted on here either for a long time. Was doing really well in debt reduction... until I got my tax bill for January. Somehow, as well as the £9K in tax that I have to pay for the 13-14 tax year (which I have), I have to find another £4.5K in payment on account (which I wasn't aware I had to pay!) for this tax year. AND another £4.5k in July. Gutted.

The only way I can cover it is to put it on a credit card - however at least I have managed to get a 0% for 18 months on purchases card with which to pay it so by the time I will start to have interest charged, I should have paid a lot of it off.

It's just so annoying. Two steps forward, three back, it feels like. At least I have just become a limited company, which should mean I shouldn't have any more nasty tax surprises in the future.

Anilec
Do NOT put the 14/15 money on a credit card.

Pay the 13/14 as that is due
Pay what you can of 14/15 in January.
Then trickle the money through to them a little bit every fortnight - even £50 at a time
Thus every time they get funny, you'll owe them less than the letter
and the worst they can do is charge you interest at 1.8% per year

The first year you go to split payments is always horrible
BUT
it only happens once

You'll pay £4.5k by April then another £4.5k by August
but then next January you'll only have to pay £4.5k and so it will roll onwards.

Did your accountant not warn you when they did your tax return

I've just sat my DH down and gone through the options for being debt free in just over a year. So we're back on the wagon. We've had some CC debt ever since we met and it's been going up and down (various reasons which include my new job and needing a family car and moving to our own house and being a bit silly and saying yes to too many things) but we're determined to be debt free and stay that way this time. One frugal year and we think we should have it cracked.
Virgin 0% £6106
Halifax 19% £405
Halifax 17% £637.31
Barclaycard 0% £52.52

It's just registered that we're running 4 credit cards - this is not a good thing and will be changed! We've got £500 a month to use to pay off debts so it'll be gone by February 2016. And if I have my way by this time next year.
I think the hardest thing was talking to DH about it as he earns far more money and I'm in charge of the budgets and to tell him that we need to sort it out and that we can't carry on as we are was really difficult. However, I've done it and he's been really really supportive. I think it helped that I sugar coated the pill by promising that as soon as the cards are paid we can afford a weekend in Paris! That'll gee him up a bit!
That was quite epic - right, off to pay off the Barclaycard so I don't have to think about it anymore.

Hi TiP, the accountant is who broke the bad news!
Trouble is, at the moment, I don't think I will have £4.5K to pay to HMRC by April, without using 0% credit. Obviously as the months go on, I'll a better idea of what I'm earning (I only know 3 months in advance - the perils of self publishing....) so if I have a good January/Feb/March like last year, I should be okay.

Also, I don't understand how it works. How can they demand payment up front when I don't know what I'll earn for the rest of the tax year? This kind of thing makes my head hurt. I do words, not numbers....

anilec
Its not up front.
Its an estimate based on your last year's earning.
The money you are paying in January is the tax on your earnings from April 2013 to March 2014

The money that HMRC want to add to it is their best estimate of your income for April 2014 to March 2015
ie the year that we are already half way through

If you think your earnings will be lower then you can "apply to reduce payments on account" BUT if your bill then comes in higher, they will backdate the interest.

How much can you afford to pay per week out of your earnings until your tax bill is back on kilter.

bless you TIP for all the help you give x

Yes, agreed, thanks so much TiP for the advice.

Unfortunately I won't be able to pay much at all over Jan/Feb/March - my income for that time (earnings I made in Oct/Nov/Dec) are enough to cover the essentials (I'm the only one earning in our family at the moment and for the foreseeable future) but with not much left over.

I suppose I could cut back on my credit card overpayments and maybe scrape up a few hundred a month but that would be it. It won't be anywhere near enough to have paid off £4.5k by April, hence needing the credit card.

Anilec
If you can manage £25 a fortnight through the lean times the little darlings at HMRC will leave you in peace.
Do an estimate of earnings for the current year and make sure your payments on account are right
if the card is a 0% and you can keep it that way then make it so, otherwise let nice Gideon Wallpaper wait for his dosh.

andsmile
As you have probably guessed, I just love getting one over on the banks and HMRC - even if its not even one of my RL clients

Oh, I can manage THAT :) Thanks TiP.

Just a little link to stop the twitch...dont reach for that card, stop clicking:

www.becomingminimalist.com/why-fewer-toys-will-actually-benefit-your-kids/

mrsguy hi your post rang a couple of bells.

We have several - it does seem attractive to have it all in one place but the reality is for us that to take advantage of all the deals for 0% etc we have several: M&S, Amex, MBNA x2, Halifax x2, Barclaycard x2 Mint plus one huge overdraft...about 19k in total.

I too find dealing with DH the harder part. I do all the budgets too. I feel like I work hard to gt things done. After a number of false starts and paying but still spending we have finally made some progress this last three months.

This morning at 730 he has just asked me how come he only has £50 for the rest of the month...after all social commitments via work, petrol things he cant get out of. I felt really bad but I pointed out just how much we are doing that is already paid for and money I've put aside for some social. He earns 112k, works very hard but feels poor...well its tough but it is payback time. Even after the debt is paid we still have a reasonable mortgage to pay for a number of years.

and we dont live in a large house btw

What a great salary tho andsmile you won't know yourselves once you don't have any payments!

We are posting the Xmas gifts to family today, it will be a weight off my mind when they go. DH currently having a lie in and not sure when he will get up, hope it's not too long as we have a lot to do today

I braved Card Factory at 10am. Need a sit down and a stiff drink now...

Make a list of how many cards you need and go again after Christmas, if you store them in the decorations/tree box you know where to find them next year.

I bought loads of "from both of us" cards last year.

I definitely need to be more organised Fluffy. It was like the third circle of hell in there this morning.

Then I twitched big style and bought a load more Christmas stuff. What is wrong with me? The only positive has been that none of it has been on a card, but still. I find this time of year really hard for controlling my spending. It doesn't help that I am very, very tired atm and it taps into the spending as catharsis, plus 'spoiling' people who I care about. Am a loon - I know it counteracts all of the minimalist stuff I've been reading, but I just. can't. help. myself. Gah!!