|
|
| The independent answer to your debt problems | login join |
| conwyman | 05-12-2007 09:37 AM |
|
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 12 My Profile | HI i am new to the forum and i have read the guy who is struggling with his debt and i know how he feels. I have been running my computer business for five years and having struggled to get it of the ground in the first few years. I borrowed money from re-mortagaging my house which was a bad move but there is no other help if you are self-employed. My income as inproved but my debts have gone worse in fact this year my partner left me with £15.000 of debt that i took out a secure loan to pay it of so i wont get black listed since then i have been struggling. I already had my own debts of £9.500 so now my total debts is £24.500. I havnt missed a payment yet but i find that some months are better income wise then others which as been getting me into all types of problems. My house is worth about £110.000 and my mortgage is £84.000 my plan is to try and clear my debt and in a coulpe of years to add the big debt on my mortgage. But its hard the worry is starting to creep in and i will spend sleepless nights trying to work out what as gone wrong. I cant get no help from family or friends so im in this mess alone. When i look at my accounts for this year there as been a jump in income to £20.000 with next year getting better. When i first started my business five years ago my income was less then £10.000 so i can see that it is inproving. When you are in debt like this nagative thoughts enter your head and thats when things look bleak. I understand why people commit sucide over debt as a easy way out which is sad. I dont intend to do this but it as entered my head. My fear is loosing everything i have tried to built over the last five years. I cant go bankrupt because i will loose everything and i cant do IVA because of the secured loans. Whats the best thing to do? |
| View My SOA | |
| helpmenow | 05-12-2007 10:48 AM |
|
Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 30 My Profile | Hi Conwyman Welcome to the forum. You have done well with your business. I was watching Dragon's Den the other night and they said that 60% of business fail within their first three years. So well done and it seems your business is improving. From your OP I can see that your debts are getting you down. It must have been difficult to put up with the pressure of your wife leaving you, your mounting debts and running a successful business. What the experts in this forum need is a good clear picture of your financial situation. Do an SOA and make it available for all to see and post back to let us know you've done so. |
| DW George | 05-12-2007 11:12 AM |
|
Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 148 My Profile | Morning Conwyman and welcome. An SOA allows independent comment on your expenditure. It's always good to get a second , third, fourth opinion about your expenditure. You will also get good tips and ideas on how to save money and use that saving to bring down your debts. For more information about how to deal with your debt read follow this link. In your current situation, sleepless nights etc, it is difficult to get perspective on things because all you do is focus on your main worry, money. Here's my angle on your situation. No matter what happens, if you lose your house and business you can always start over again. Every entrepreneur will experience failure at some point in their lifetime and use that failure to rebuild more successfully. In America bankruptcy seems to be a prerequisite for being successful. Helpmenow mentioned the Dragons Den, one of the Dragons, Peter Jones lost everything in his early twenties and now look at him. Remember if you are an entrepreneur, a risk taker. There is no such thing as failure just risks which have not succeeded. Post you SOA and we will help. George |
| conwyman | 05-12-2007 02:04 PM |
|
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 12 My Profile | Thanks for the comment its good to know there are website sites like this out there. Been really inpressed with it I will do a total expenture and outgoings The biggest problem i have is the secure loan My ex partner had debts mounting which didnt know about and because she coulnt pay the intrest sent the total figure to £15,000 i could of left the debt but that would of blacklisted my house i have never missed any payments but that gives me sleepless nights my mortgage is fixed till 2009 so thats ok till then |
| View My SOA | |
| paladin | 05-12-2007 02:37 PM |
|
Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Posts: 55 My Profile | Hi Conwyman Your ex partners debts, are they in joint names, in her name or what? I'll explain after you tell me. |
| conwyman | 05-12-2007 08:37 PM |
|
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 12 My Profile | they were in joint names because i was daft enough to sign the consent and agree what i didnt know was the creditcard and the loan was in joint names the rest was in hers the thing is that the secured loan payied them off but you live and learn |
| View My SOA | |
| paladin | 06-12-2007 11:56 AM |
|
Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Posts: 55 My Profile | My thoughts on your SOA Fuel £100.00 Can this be reduced Repayments £565.00 Transfer to interest only Council Tax £87.00 Are you getting single person discount? Life Assurance £20.00 You don't need this if you don't have any dependants Life Insurance £35.00 see above Mobile £45.00 Needs to be reduced Satellite Cable £17.00 You need to get rid of this Telephone £15.00 Water £44.00 Are you paying arrears. this seems very expensive. You have nothing down for clothes, allow £20 shoes jackets etc. Nothing for entertainment / contingencies /presents say £50 . By getting your SAO to accurately reflect your living expenses we can see what your next step is. Could you post back what your debts are as it it is not clear on your SOA. |
| conwyman | 06-12-2007 02:03 PM |
|
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 12 My Profile | HI The mortgage is on a repayment (20years) 565.00 i do have a son and dauther both live away from home son 27years old dauther 20years old the fuel of £100.00 because im a computer engineer and travel around north wales will get the fuel down a bit mobile phone is high but its on a contract till end of next year my main debts are 15.000 secure loan 187.00 a month 1800 loan (van) 78.00 a month credit card 2.000 68.00 a month credit card 4,600 100.00 a month credit card 1,000 60.00 a month lifr insurance and illness £30.00 a month covers £100.00 |
| View My SOA | |
| conwyman | 06-12-2007 02:04 PM |
|
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 12 My Profile | water rates have no arrears thats the cost round here council tax also |
| View My SOA | |
| paladin | 06-12-2007 05:25 PM |
|
Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Posts: 55 My Profile | Your water must be the best in the Britain! Bottle it and sell it on eBay :) What's happened to your food? You can't live on £20 a month. Your life insurance and assurance, tell me why you need this? Are you a getting council tax discount? Just had a thought, are you paying any PPI insurance on any of your loans? It may well be worth speaking to your mortgage company to see if they will transfer you to an interest free mortgage for a couple of years until your income increases. I know you have just changed, but if you explain to them that your debts are building up they may transfer you without penalty. The banks don't want customers who default. P |
| DW George | 06-12-2007 06:09 PM |
|
Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 148 My Profile | Have you thought about a lodger. The government have a rent a room scheme which allows you to charge up to £4250 a year tax free. You could rent out a room for the weekdays to any student or business man or whoever. A lick of paint and news sheets Bob's year aunty! |
| conwyman | 06-12-2007 08:22 PM |
|
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 12 My Profile | I NOT HAPPY TO GO ON A INTRST FREE Mortgage because the amount will go up not down and what about the payments My mortgage is fixwd for two more years The food is about £35.00 a week I cant take in a lodger as i work from home and my spare room is my office the other room is my dauthers who comes home from college weekends I have spoken to a debt management agent but they take 15% of the monthly money i pay credtors which seems im no better off the water is dear but i have only one moths payment left for this year and two months left for council tax for this year my insurance i need which covered for £100.00 incase i die everything is payied which is a releaf |
| View My SOA | |
| conwyman | 06-12-2007 08:26 PM |
|
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 12 My Profile | i do pay insurance on 3 creditcards which mount to 75.00 extra a month i dont get council tax rebate because i earn more then £18,000 the problem was is worry me is my business and to loose it now after spending years building it up is something that would be hard to take |
| View My SOA | |
| paladin | 06-12-2007 09:09 PM |
|
Joined: 06 Jun 2007 Posts: 55 My Profile | Conwyman To get your debt under control you need to minimise your expenditure and maximise your income. Life insurance etc. You need to get rid of this. In the unlikely event you pop your clogs in the next couple of years your children will be independent enough to look after themselves. Saving £75 per month £900 pa Council Tax single person discount is not means tested. If your have a low income you can get a discount. Saving £18.13 per month £217.50 pa PPI you'll need to look at the T&C's, normally they are very tight. A lot has been said against this. I think that they are not worth keeping, if you meet the requirements they will only pay the the min's for 6 months. Just google PPI Get rid of PPI. saving £75 per month £900 pa Your house- re-read my post above. Think about freeing up an extra £150 per month doing this £1800 a year. The only alternative is to sell the house and rent for a couple of years, until your income increases. From just enacting these three things you could put £3817 towards your debts. I understand that your business is important, that's why you need to take action. |
| conwyman | 06-12-2007 10:21 PM |
|
Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 12 My Profile | thanksfor the advice i will look at it |
| View My SOA | |
|
emmielou
| 22-12-2007 01:32 PM |
|
Joined: 22 Dec 2007 Posts: 1 | Hi all, I need a little help please, I have offered a DC £25 a month for a debt of £250 I have written to them with this offer, however they keep sending me letters back saying they need to talk to me about the debt. I don't want to talk to them because they confuse me and I end up agreeing to things that I cant afford...hense why I'm in this situation...what should I do next? |
| DW George | 24-12-2007 10:06 AM |
|
Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 148 My Profile | Hi emmielou I have created a new thread entitled "emmielou help". George |
| fred333 | 05-03-2008 03:34 PM |
|
Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 10 My Profile | Thanks for the link. I will come in handy. |
