Ginge !

we lived at my parents untill my little girl was about 8 months if i recall


we only moved out as we got this flat at a price we could afford,,, we had NO chance renting and couldnt get a council flat cause my parents own a 4 bedroom house, so we was well bolloxd but i am what i like to think of as a VERY fortunate person who seem to get lucky at times and bought this flat with " sitting tennants" and we just approached em with 2k cash and asked em to leave


well actually the missus day chucked something of theres through the window and said heres 2k,,, take it or follow the bag


jsut sold the flat for a nice profit and now we are looking at getting a "real" morgage


so mate trust me life for you i about to just start


i dont think i know what i would do without being woke up on a satuday morning to have a fee fee toy shoved up my arse or have her wack a plate on my head asking for toast till i finally wake up

its a new life

saff_cossie

That paragraph is absolutely spot on! I did it and I bet a lot us did on here too and the only way most of us will afford to pay it back, is to sell the damn car anyway. I did it at 18 and had to sell my car. Fortunately in selling it, it freed up more money and I paid the loan back in half the time. This earnt me a great credit rating and I suddenly had 2 or 3 credit card companies mailing me every couple of months! Fortunately I just took one with my bank and never looked back.

It's what makes me sad when I see people on here talking about loans/cossies/high insurance when they are under 20.

Porkie is exactly right with working when your mates are spending (although by the sound of it you are already). My brother did that and took 3 years but dug himself out of nearly 20K pounds in debt to someone not in debt and travelling. He worked behind a bar in the evenings and met a lot of great people and it was cash which is king.

I used to work 3 jobs, paper round, factory and then cleaning to save for a car at 16 between finishing school and starting college. Saved so much but you definately have to spend it IMO to appreciate saving it.

Good luck anyway mate and I am sure there are a lot of people on here who can advise.

AndyBlackFRST

Payplan have been great for me.. I had 15k of debts and have cleared these out over the last 3 years..

At first I was getting threatening letters from creditors, but Payplan will have sent you envelopes so this information can be sent directly to them and dealt with away from you.

I did get companies call me and try and get more out of me, but you have to be firm and say this is being dealt with by PayPlan and is out of your hands now.

Hope you get this sorted out!

MWF

Firstly don't worry, everything will be OK if you make some changes, I was in 20K of debt a few years ago and have reduced it to 5K on a average national wage. That's without living on jam sandwiches and using tea bags 5 times instead of once. I have recently been accepted for a first time mortgage with no deposit and save around £500 a month.

Now here's the blunt facts. You need to stop winging and saying you are going to throw yourself off a cliff and start looking at your lifestyle. We're all living in a society that's linked status to materialism and the best thing you can do is break out of that. If you don't it will own you.

Your Focus is just a car, and one you sadly cannot afford, believe me nothing that car can give you will measure up against the feeling of shedding debt. You need to accept that you need to sell this, you'll be better off in the long term.

The single most critical thing you can do is to look at your spending and budget. No debt managment or payment plan will give you as much as looking objectively at what you spend. You probably think you don't spend anything, most people think that, unless you have a budget you can reference you probably don't know.

Go to moneysavingexpert.com and download the budget calculator. Get your bank statements and look at your direct debits. Work out what you are spending each day, week, month and year on everything. It will take time to sort it, it took me about a year to get my costs all down. My car insurance was £600 a year and cost me £20 a week in petrol, I changed cars and it's now £300 insurance and £10 a week in fuel, my mobile phone was £30 a month, I went to PAYG and now it's less than £3. I used to go the pub every night and spend at least a fiver, I now stay in and cook a meal for less than that, I now don't drink and can make nice meals. I used to spend my weekends buying car stuff and wasting time, I now do DIY and gardening which increases the value of my home.

I'm not trying to sound perfect, I'm not trying to rub your nose in it or say that's the perfect life. My point is I was a -totally- different person a few years back and never thought I could be like I am now.

You need to do this and take control yourself because no debt management company genuinely gives a fuck about you. It's just you vs the whole world, it's your life to take control of.

When it comes to loans and credit cars just do some reading, they aren't -that- complicated and the net is full of answers. Besides a bit of research costs you nothing. I personally 'tart' my debt via zero balance transfer cards so at least the debt isn't increasing. Any money I have to pay off the debt I keep in a 5% interest current account which I'll continue to do until I can tart no more, at that point I'll pay off the balance.

The reasons I suggest the route of budgeting and taking control is:
a: It forces you to take an objective look at your own spending habits and makes you look at the genuine value of things.
b: It teaches you about handling money properly.
c: You will come out of debt with a different attitude to money and hopefully move from spending to oweing money to saving and making money.
d: It boosts your credit ratings and banking scores.

Paddy

Like Porkie said, get a second job where you're out earnign rather than spending. I did that in my final year of University and walked away with no debt

Also, no offence but if you're in debt why have you got a £7k car?

What the fuck has THAT got to do with anything Was it a magic lock picking ring or one with a genie in that transported your parents home?

CJBear

I appreciate all the advice and taken it aboard

FYI im already working 3 jobs reduced my spending and revised my budget with the help of payplan and its making a difference but just not enough. Im making myself sick working so much but i have no choice or option to work less hours, even though feel like jumping off a cliff; i certainly havent the bottle to go near one bloody vertigo!

AndyBlackFRST

I looked at the option of taking on a 2nd job but didn't as I couldn't justify burning myself out to pay of money.

I stuck to 1 job, went through PayPlan and now owe a total of £800.

I did get to the state you are in.. Wanting to just vanish as life wasn't worth living etc. Paying off £1k a month and living on sausage sandwiches for lunch and dinner.. toast for breakfast.

After 2 months I realised I couldn't live like this anymore and had to sort myself out. I went with PayPlan, created a spreadsheet so I could monitor my complete monthly spending and eventually sold my FRST.

The Fiesta was costing me soo much money due to engine issues, November last year saw me buy a nice Pug 306 td. Insurance dropped from £700 a year to £170, Fuel bills quartered and life was good again.

I'd sell your Fiesta, pay the 7k to your debt people. Before paying any money to them, let PayPal know what you are doing as they need to be aware of any changes to the balance etc.

Hope you get it sorted

Fagin

This is one of those situations that many, many people are in and won't admit to. You have admitted it and taken the first key step.

I hope you get it all sorted mate , but you arnt the first and you certainly wont be the last........ I know loads of people that are (imho) in debt that they either can't manage or will never get out of (however much crap they want to keep telling themselves).

I'm sure a number of people will either ignore this thread or start reading it and get that horrible sickness feeling inside their stomach.

CJBear

Right finished writing an ad for the focus going to stick it in the window tomorrow an hope for the best

Katie

Totally the right decision..a year or so down the line all being well you could get another and not have to worry about it..

Lee R

what does an IVA do to your credit rating? Does this paypaln involve an IVA too??

will you like not be able to get ANY credit for 5 yrs or more?

zowow

in the same situation, i've had to leave uni without even getting a degree. About 7k excluding the 12k student loan... Shoulda stayed at home and bought an RS500 instead...Unfortunately i've had to get rid of some cars that i would of wanted to keep, but sometimes its best to get rid just to keep your head above water... Did you buy it from new? is that why you are so attached?

I've now had to move back in with the parents and i havent owned a car for 3 months, but its starting to look up as im getting another tomorrow. Just gotta keep your head up mate

CJBear

Yez bought from new saved like a bitch then paid cash for my first new car, at the time i was comfortable financially just had no idea studying would rape me so hard Got 2 viewing later so fingers crossed

On the downlow got more letters saying termination an more bad credit rating this morning again forwarded them off to payplan. At the mo seems like payplan doing shit for me its making me

zowow

just try and chill

It's only a matter of time before things get better, you'll have to keep us posted...

I've got piles of letters i've ignored now, but i'm hoping to start paying them off before they issue me with court dates

Big AL

Just forward all correspondence to payplan, even if court dates are issued, providing all details on your budget are correct there's nothing more the court can do.

Keep your chin up.

ram

iTrader: (4)

ive got 2 years left of uni and obviously have all this to look forward too already in debt and behind on my house rent. time to get another job on the side me thinks!

zowow

its not fun, but jobs are the way forward

AndyBlackFRST

Have you called Payplan and explained this... I also would call up the company after money and say that Payplan are now dealing with your finances, give them the PayPlan ref number.

They might keep sending you letters as they want more money out of you, but just relax a bit and enjoy yourself.

BlueSmoke

I've been exactly where you are mate. I started repaying everything on a monthly basis and just felt better that I was making progress with it all, but I still hated being chased for stuff and paying out in all directions.

Now I have a loan that someone else got for me, am in the process of paying my creditors and will only be paying the one payment a month from December on. I'll be paying off my entire debt at the same rate but not being bled dry doing it, and once the beemer goes I'll be saving a packet overall.

It's hard if there's nobody who can help you and you have to do it the hard way though, but sometimes there's just no choice. If the debt's that bad though, maybe you should declare yourself bankrupt. It'll take you years though to get back to a level where anyone will give you a mortgage or even a phone contract, so I would definitely get proper advice before doing anything like that. I'm making the suggestion, but I'm not pretending to know the ins and outs of it.

Best of luck fella.

CJBear

Little updat sold the focus last nite feel like a croc of shit now its gone to a new home in Dalston. One of my creditors terminated my account now im being chased by a 'debt recovery team' who will take legal action to recover thier money i hope it dont mean bailiffs an shit, i aint got fuck all now

Big AL

As long as the debt is unsecured and not court owned then as far as I am aware there is nothing a bailiff can collect on.

Normally finance houses get fed up of sending standard letters, so they forward the debt to a debt collection agency. Most agencies are clued up and understand that if it was to go to court they wouldn't get any more money than what has already been offered by payplan, therefore it's normally better for the debtor once it has been passed over as the agencies tend to accept the offers.

CJBear

Really aint to sure on that Big Al?



just seems like everyone wants to push my shit in

MWF

From what I read about Bailiffs all they can do is come round and identify you, once they have a positive i.d they can then proceed to discuss how you are going to repay the balance and sometimes will value property in your house.

As far as I know, unless you got your loan from "Steve McSharkies No Questions Loans Shop" then there should be non of that, coming round your house, kicking the door and taking your TV stuff you see in the movies.

I may be totally wrong though.

AndyBlackFRST

You need to inform Payplan of any changes in the company that will be collecting money.

The bailiffs won't come round as you are making a payment.

What have PayPlan said to this so far? I assume you filled in the expenses sheet and they have fully agreed with the companies involved regarding the monthly payments that are being made ???? Check with them.

Like said I was in a lot of money trouble just over 3 years ago and PayPlan sorted it.. Only £400 to pay off and I'm home and dry !

Andy

CJBear

Trying to get hold of Payplan all day have over 7 stacks of reddies from selling my Focus last night, i want to put all of it towards my debts, unsure if i get the heavies round maybe hold some cash to give them?

RWD_cossie_wil

iTrader: (9)

don't give them a penny mate, let payplan sort it

Lee R

what does this payplan do to your credit rating?

saying that, I guess most who use it already have a shit credit rating?

CJBear

SHITS hit the fan today had a call from barclaycard demanding payment the shit on the other end was a rude stuck up ignorant cunt i couldnt get a word in edgeways Basically sent payplan money from the sale of my Focus barclaycard claiming they havent recieved a penny nor any paperwork or agreement from payplan STILL so they adding more charges onto my account Whas pissed me off is that barclaycards attitude, shit customer service teams and basically WHERE THE FUCK IS MY 7 THOUSAND POUNDS????

AndyBlackFRST

Firstly check with Payplan.. You should have the direct number for the person dealing with your case.. Otherwise call on the 0800 number they have..

If barclaycard haven't received anything, then pay them £10. I had to do this at first due to Payplans paperwork. This is classed as a contribution and they can't complain..

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i've been reading all this and have to say that i can't understand why so many people are in debt

if you can't afford it why do you take out a load to buy it? the same loan which costs you more to pay off inthe long run?

i've have never been in debt (mortgage aside that is and thats only this year) so i can't comment on what it's like for anyone who is at the end of their tether so i don't mean for this to sound like i preaching, but i've never bought anything if i couldn't afford to buy it with the cash i had in my pocket at that time

i know it's weasy to stick it on switch or visa or whatever, but i don't
perhaps it's because my old man was such a miser and never spent a penny, then again, i was spendning money, i got married and was spending the same amoutn of money while my wife didn't have a job, she got a job and saved all her money and i was still spending the same amount, then we had a kid and all his benifit goes into his account (mine but it'shis trust account, not the govt £350 thing either thats seperate) and i have set aside another £30 a week for him
other than the estential like a cot and a walker and a push chair and other baby stuff my expenditure has always remained at around the £100 a week mark, running a house of 5

so when you lot say you have £20k+ of debt i can't understand how you've all suck in so deep, what have yuou been doing to spend so much money? it's incomprehendable, really it is so fess up then, where has it all gone? and don't say it's cars and pubs and birds because even they can't be THAT expensive (says he who's blown at least £100k on his motors in the past 14 years )

MWF

In my case I was earning quite good money at the age of 20 and living with my parents. I was a good boy but considered pretty much all my wages to be disposable income and used to spend it all each month. Just magazines, CD's, beer, kebabs, ICE then it would be wheels one month, exhaust another.

I got a loan for £1500 to buy a Cavalier SRi and they payments barely seemed to dent my income. After about 6 months of spending all my wages I then decided I really wanted a 4Runner and took a loan out for about 8K and it all went horribly wrong at this point. It worked out at about £175 a month so it didn't seem much.

I learnt there was no way I would be able to insure a 4Runner and decided I was going to have a nicely modified black RS-turbo. Looked at a few around the 3K mark and they were rough. Spent about £1500 on a load of stereo equipment. Then spotted an XR4x4 turbo for sale at £1200 and thought it must be amazing. Bought it in the dark of course.

Got the XR and realised it was a smokey old bag of shite and went to Turbo Systems to have a power steering pipe fixed. They suggested inspecting the car and found pretty much everything was wrong with it. Ended up having a re-con turbo, koni's etc, first bill was something like £1.2K. Then got pretty hooked into going to Turbo Systems and started spending up any of the loan I had left, when that ran out I went onto the credit card, when that ran out onto another card.

Meanwhile I bought some new wheels on finance, bucket seats on the card, then got a new computer on the never never.

Then got made redundant from my job.

Decided I was going to freelance but couldn't really find work. Outgoings were something like £500 a month, when I couldn't find the money to pay the DD's I would take money out with the credit card. So I was paying for credit with more credit!!! The monthly payments crept up and up to about £800 a month.

Eventually the credit ran out and the DD's started bouncing and I got charged for those. Got called into the bank and had my card taken from me, overdraft converted into a high APR loan and bascally told to stop fucking about.

At this point I was in a real nasty position. I needed to get a job but it would have to earn over £800 a month to make my payments. Then I got lucky and dropped on a big job which cleared my cards and then more freelance work came in and I was able to get back on my feet... slowly.

CJBear

I cannot explain for every case but my own problems were not through a shopping problem, cars or going out. I wanted better career prospects that ment going back to study which cost me loads by then i racked up a few grand but i would pay that back going back to full time work, so i did not mind as much, tuition fees, material costs, living costs all add up and by only working part time debts mounted up. Then there things you can help spending money on like heating packed up in winter that cost a fair few which i had to put on the card are just example of things i had to spend money on, i never buy things on impulse like oh i like them nikes fuck it £250 on the card no worries pay it off later. infact im still kicking about in boots from 8 years ago

Then i fell serious sick couldnt work full time for over a year by then debts mounted the interest was the killer every amount i paid cleared about 1/2 to 2/3 of just the interest so the amount gets bigger and faster until it hit me i am never going to clear this.

Dojj i get why you dont understand what is like but its like a trap a con a ploy to suck you dry and keep you down eats your whole world up from within.

Anonymous

I develop a lot (well i would if i wasnt on here most of the day, LOL) of finance systems, its quite frightening how much interest you actually end up paying on even a fairly "cheap" loan.

It makes mugging someone look friendly

MWF

I am a strong believer that personal finances should be tought at school. It's clear that getting credit is becoming easier and easier.

The only advice my parents gave me was doing a budget which was bascially taking my rent out of my wages and refering to the rest as 'disposable income'.

Still no excuse though, I was pretty fucking stupid.

Anonymous

I ended up 20K in debt once, just didnt even notice it happening, wasnt keeping an eye on my finances and ended up running up a really big overdraft and loading up a couple of cards.

Luckily at that point in time i was pretty well paid, so 3 or 4 months of saving my arse off sorted it out and ive never been that bad since, but i do still dip into the red by a few grand quite often, its not cause i dont understand money, its just cause i get tempted by car stuff and cant resist, its SO easy to blow a few grand on car bits

Katie

It should be taught at school!...luckily the bank gave me my switch early so I didn't get the option of ''debit or credit'' at 18 like most do with no idea what it means...so pick credit because it's ''FREE MONEY''...I know a lot of perfectly intelligent people who had a few k in debt weeks after their 18th birthdays..

I got a credit card like 3 weeks ago and still don't quite understand what it's about...I just had it because the barclaycard woman at the union told me i'd get ''lots of'' free vouchers with it (£5 when you spend 39.99 or more at game...how un-useful for me...or one free round of bowling when you buy 2 in a bowling centre they don't have outside the south east..)..I don't intend to use it..and they'll probably get a complaints letter by return post relating to the lack of ''lots of'' vouchers...bastards.

Easy to see why so many people get sucked in...£20 here, £20 there...

Phil

iTrader: (1)

I am quite lucky in that my only credit card is my company one, even then it adds up VERY quickly... I've got about 1k or so coming out next month - its a big wake up call for me - with credit cards I just think "Why pay on the Debit card when I could buy it on the Amex and not pay for it for 2 months" Fatal as in two months i've long spent the money on the Debit card as well

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i have never "budgeted" on anything in a meticulous manner, if i have the money i spend it,if i don't i don't

income of approx £1900 a month for myself (overtime etc not included because it's not garanteed) and £1100 for the mrs sees us doing fairly well for ourselves
but other than the £500 i put aside for the month for shopping and bills and the £450 for the mortgage plus the £300 i put aside for spending, the rest of our money goes into the bank account for the "rainy days" fund

ok, so i've just put out a £100k deposit on a mortgage that i'd saved up and i've got another £200k sitting in the bank, but i'd rather have the money sitting in the bank and paying a mortgage with my brother and the lodgers doing their share of it than i would paying off all the £280k for the house and then see prices tumble in the depression of the 80's and have nothing to show for it

it's like everything in life though, either in moderation or in excess, either way, you'll either be happy or you won't and there is only one way to find ut when it's time to pay the piper

MWF

I think your upbringing and society have a lot to play though.

I grew up in a middle class invironment where you paid your bills and spent the rest treating yourself, never struggled, never saved, it totally misslead me into a false sense of security.

I don't know if everyone goes through this but after school it seemed everyone was in competition to show off their status. Flashy phones, fancy clothes, newer cars etc... You felt like you were doing something wrong if you didn't have a new mobile, so it wasn't a case of "can I afford it" it was more "if they can afford it so can I!"

My GF on the other hand, she grew up with her dad working far away, then he studied and they struggled for money, used to do things like heat up a thermos of hot water in the morning and make it last all day. So she's a total saver.

Pretty much my whole life is budgeted now down to things like how much I spend at Christmas.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

i see where you are ocming from
i'm sure i could have got my dad to buy me loads of stuff, but i didn't get my firs tpair of trainers until i was 12 and going to high school in my plimsols but he did give us sky telly when it first come out, so we have had a few luxuries