Here's my situation. I'm truly awful with money. Like, shockingly bad. I'm 36, single & have no assets of any worth. I'm currently living with my parents, a situation i'd much rather not be in but until my financial problems are sorted, i'm stuck there. For the past year i've had no real life outside of work whatsoever. Any holidays from work are spent alone at home, & i just can't carry on like this. I feel like i'm working for nothing.
My take home pay is £1000 a month.
I pay my parents £300, my outgoings to my creditors are approx £650, & i just can't cope anymore. My car insurance, repairs, petrol, clothes, food & toiletries are all going on a credit card, & i've been kidding myself that i can somehow claw it back to a manageable level but it's finally struck me that i'm totally screwed.
My mother was made redundant & my dad took early retirement about 2 years ago & their money has just ran out so they're pretty much on the breadline & are rightly asking me to contribute more.
I put my details into the CCCS website & was mortified to discover that i owe around 26k. With the interest, i'm never gonna be able to pay that back & have any kind of life again. It recommended an IVA but i just don't know what to do.
Advice anyone? I just can't go on like this, i'm so ashamed of myself.
Please don't be ashamed - most of us have been where you are now and have either come out the other side or are close to it.
Apart from CCCS, I would speak to one or two more companies. Visit www.iva.com and phone some up for some free advice - there will be a solution out there for you and the forum is always around for advice and support.
The best thing is to speak to a couple of professionals for advice. There is a listing at www.iva.com which also has client reviews.
If you want to move out of your parents home within the next few years, this will reduce the amount available to your creditors and possibly make an iva unsustainable. Have you thought about BR?
I was scared of it when I was thinking about a way out of debt and didn't give it proper consideration. Knowing more about it now and having got to know people on the forum who went BR and how positive it was for them, I would definitely think about it very carefully.
Please don't feel ashamed, you should be proud that you have acknowledged the difficulties you have and are willing to ask for help to get sorted. As Harpic says, if you ring 2/3 companies and compare their solutions and importantly communication. This initial discussion will be free and non judgemental. If you visit www.iva.com this shows how people rate various companies. I used Mel Giles company and could not fault them. Remember, you are not alone, there are thousands of people use this forum. Do let us know how you get on....
26k in debt with nothing substantial to show for it? I am ashamed & will be for a long time. No kids, no house, an embarrassing 12 year old banger of a car & a head full of worries. That's my net total from 26 grand.
But i have to face up to it & accept that i need help. I've got someone from CCCSVA calling me tomorrow morning & i'm constantly going over it all in my head.
How do i prove what i pay to my parents is correct? Are my outgoings for food & clothes reasonable? It worked out i could afford 230 a month, which is a massive drop from what i'm currently paying but what if they don't believe me & make me pay a lot more? What if something goes wrong & i need money but have nothing to fall back on?
I'm worrying myself sick over it & i haven't even had a consultation yet.
You should not be ashamed - we frittered our money away instead of clearing debts. We took holidays, the wife spent loads on clothes (a Saturday afternoon 'just browsing' usually meant £100 plus spend!)
Do your parents know of your problems? You will have to provide proof of what you pay them.
Speak to CCCS but also speak to one or two more companies via the link posted above. Some of them post on here and come highly recommended.
Bankruptcy isn't an option. As much as the creditors have taken their pound of flesh from me over the past 15 years or so, having it all wiped just doesn't sit right with me. I intend to pay as much back as i can, nobody asked me to dig this hole for myself, i did it all on my own.
I've sat down & told my parents & they took it surprisingly well, considering. How do i provide proof of what i pay them though? It's not like i can get a receipt.
With BR you would still be paying some back to the creditors - anything over £20 a month disposable income after all of your normal bills come out would be paid across for three years so they would get something.
As to proof - your parents can provide that by a letter stating that this is all they are receiving from you.
Hey!!! I was circa 26k in debt with a 10 year old banger, no home and nothing to show for it!
It does take a little while to accept you made a few bad choices regarding credit. But that is only a tiny fraction of who you are as a person and think of all the good decisions you've ever made or how many times you've helped people! Try to put those credit decisions in some kind of perspective and then you'll start to be able to accept them and move forward in feeling better about yourself.
Great news you have a call lined up! That's a huge step towards ridding yourself of the debts.
A letter from your parents should suffice as proof of rent.
Clothing allowance is usually around £20pm for a single person. And food about £200pm...which I find quite generous. Meals at work is usually capped low at circa £30 so the housekeeping allowance helps subsidise this. These are all general figures and you should put down what you actually spend to make sure the iva is affordable.
Creditors don't expect us to pay the same in an iva as we would if we were paying minimum payments outside the iva - so please don't worry on that score.
I don't want to keep banging on the drum, but do give BR consideration as if you want to move out of home the iva may not be sustainable. When you commit to five or six years in an iva, you need to know as far as possible that it is suitable for now and the future.
It's just not something i'd feel comfortable doing. I was looking at doing a DMP, but i don't think i could handle the harassment from creditors & the fact that my interest payments alone add up to more than what i can reasonably afford to pay back each month is a huge concern.
I only put £70 pm as my food & toiletries allowance. I don't actually know what i spend (which explains a lot i suppose...) so i tried to be as cheap as i could be.
Me living with my parents for a further 5 years isn't an issue, the only reason i'd move out is if i meet someone & i just can't see that happening in my current situation!
Fair enough, I felt the same so can't knock you for that.
All I will say is that time in an iva tests those principles and gives you a more pragmatic outlook. Have a read through the forum to see posters experiences.
I am still intent on returning a high dividend and have to some extent made personal sacrifices, but this doesn't suit everyone and I'm not even sure it suits me! LOL x
This may sound utterly ridiculous, but the no BR is purely a matter of pride. If i can pay back a proportion of what i owe over 5 years & get the remainder wiped off, after i've already spent the previous 15 or so years paying interest & fees, i'd feel a lot better about it. It's just the way i am. Assets or not, i owe this & should do my best to pay what i can.
