Worried about the future....

[NoddyfromToytown]

Ok I'll preface this by saying I have A LOT of debt. It's manageable but it's massive - a lot of it is my own fault due to a spending addiction (reasons were there) but some due to a relationship breakdown and issues with renovating my home. Not to mention the cost of living now that I'm supporting a family-sized home as a single person (no kids and moving is not an option I'd consider).

Managed to sort things out a little by shifting stuff round and currently I should have around £750 a month left after all food, bills, etc. I do admit that I like nice things, nice holidays, etc. and am accustomed to my lifestyle so trying to cut back on those is HARD despite however much I try.

BUT... I don't have a pension. I'm NHS as well and I could cry that I've thrown so many years away. I wasn't as worried as I might be at first given that I own my own home and will have a small inheritance in later life, but with that extra cash available I thought now is the time to get back into it (I'm 39, not planning on retiring until at least late 60s and have good career progression expectations).

I checked and my pension contributions are £446 a month! At first I thought, ok then, still £300 a month spare... but my mortgage is due for renewal shortly and I expect the payments will eat that up given the higher interest rates! Leaving me with literally zero money for emergencies, Christmas, birthdays, etc.

I just wish the NHS would allow us to set our own pension contributions! So what do I do? Just try and save as much as possible? Overpay my loans/mortgage? Get a sugar daddy? Join OnlyFans? 😂

HELP!

Not suitable for everyone, but when I was in a similar debt situation, liking nice things, nice holidays, buying stuff I didn't need, I took on an IVA... the budget is tough, was a massive learning curve about money & spending, with the added extra of being a single parent.
I did the 6yrs, IVA was settled, and now 12yrs on I can have the nice things without going into debt, have a good civil service pension to draw in 5yrs time, and am so much more money savvy.
It's certainly not for everyone, and it wasn't a quick fix like the adverts used to lead you to believe, but it worked for me.

@Bjorkdidit it is on total pay, it is bad my DH had a payrise and it meant he ended up £100 worse off as his percentage went up. They have changed the rules a bit, the percentage is now linked to a band so for instance bottom of 8b is when one of the thresholds changes.

It used to be that if you worked part time your percentage was based on the FTE (eg 10.7% for 8a) but now it is based on your actual income so if you earn £10k part time you’d pay 5.2% not the percentage for your band FTE salary.

Sacrificing 23.7% of her salary every year (which is in effect what she is doing) is only going to make her financial future worse. The trade-off should not be pension vs debt, when she has access to such a generous pension scheme.

The OP's problem is that she is a single person, paying the mortgage on a family-sized house. How many single people can afford to do that, even people without any other debt? It's nuts.

What she ought to do is downsize, to pay off her debt, either by selling the house, or renting it out and living somewhere cheaper. It's obvious that she is not going to do anything so sensible though.

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