HELP!! in so much debt and don't know what to do

[juicychops]

Well, its not so so much debt but its enough. We owe £2000 for stuff where intrest free credit runs out in march 06, we owe dp's dad £3000 for a loan we took out that he paid back for us, £500 joint acount overdraft, and £400 overdraft on dp's acount. And the bank has just charged us £80 for going over our overdraft last month. we have no money at the moment not even a penny and dp doesn't get paid for another 2 weeks. once he gets paid it will all go straight on bills and shopping. We have cut our shopping down to the minimum, and in the process of sorting out which tax credits we can claim. But i just don't know what to do. My dp is rubbish with money and leaves it all for me to sort out but i just don't know what to do. I don't work but im looking for a part time job to make a bit of money. But after paying childcare and travel i'l probably only be making £20 per week max. i cant think of anything to do from home to make a bit extra money and i don't know anyone to be able to do odd jobs for people. Im so sick of never going out and never being able to buy anything. It feels like its going to be like this forever! Me and dp were meant to go out this Thursday nite just for a couple of drinks cos ive felt so low lately and just need some cheering up but we cant even afford to now.

I know there are people a lot worse off but i just feel like everything is falling apart. i just feel like i hate my life at the moment

can you get an evening job in the local supermarket? or a week-end job in the local department store?
i would imagine the overdrafts are the ebst to clear asap because of the very hight interest rates.

anything you can get rid of on e-bay, or amazon?

my dp works shifts so i wouldn't be able to get an evening or weekend job. Ive got some stuff to sell on ebay so il put that on there

Juicychops - same advice as I always give, I'm afraid. Sit down and write out a statement of affairs, using the statement of affairs calculator on www.fool.co.uk - and have a browse through their discussion boards on "Dealing with debt" and "living below your means". If you can post your statement of affairs for them they will give you great advice. There are many people on the dealing with debt board in MUCH worse shape than you. The things they will usually jump on are satellite or cable tv (you can't afford it), magazine subscriptions, suggesting you look at changing your utilities providers, cutting mobile phone bills, shopping on line using every voucher you can lay your hands on (see www.moneysavingexpert.com), cooking big meals from scratch (no takeaways or ready meals) and freezing half, and looking at your transport costs - can you downgrade your car for example. But the first step is to see the whole problem set out in front of you in black and white in a statement of affairs. Hope this helps.

juicychops, sorry to hear about your money worries. JanIL's advice is brilliant. In the process of getting divorced I had to declare every speck of income, savings etc that I owned and I had to go through and work out exactly what my monthly expenditure was. It was hard work putting it all down on paper but it really focussed my mind and I have been able to make significant savings by doing it.
Could you do ironing from home? I know it is not the most exciting prospect but it would be cash coming in.
Hopefully the tax credits may come good and give you some relief in the short term.
However, I think once you have worked out exactly how much you have coming in you then need to work out a way of starting to pay off your debt. You also need to look at where you will transfer the debt on the £20,000 when the interest free part runs out.
Working out exactly how much you can spend each week works well too. Cut up credit cards immediately and try to take out a set amount of cash each week and not to spend anymore than that. There have been some fantastic threads in the past on how to eat really cheaply, really, really cheaply if you can find them.
Big hugs to you, it is horrible worrying about money.

juicychops, i really feel for you. we've been in a lot of debt (and still are but managing). i agree with janinlondon's advice. and here's what really helps imo: budget everything, so you know what comes in and what goes out. make your mortgage/rent, utility bills and food the priority. change utility provider if you can. look at cheaper car/life/home insurance. talk to your lenders to see if they will drop the interest (always worth a shot). sell some stuff on ebay or amazon marketplace. buy own brand stuff in your supermarket. check your accounts online so you know how much you actually have left to spend (the available amount, rather than the balance).
i am fanatical with budgeting. i know when and how much every direct debit is. we haven't gone over our overdraft limit a year or so because i will not allow us to go over it. the charges are just so damaging.
good luck with sorting out your finances.

Wish you luck! We have some debts, but DH was able to take a job evenings and weekends and I have a second job I do from home so hopefully next year will be better.

I sold some stuff on Ebay and made £200!