drowning in debt 2 incomes, 2 children

Write to MBNA and tell them that in future you only wish to discuss your account by letter.
 
45 pm for gym & 13 pm for prize bonds stands out straight away - neither are necessary. Can you cut those? Know its only small in the scheme of things but if every penny counts...
 
thanks - I've been through the mill with MBNA - they kept calling and calling several times a day - it was embarrassing in work - I sent them a registered letter over 8 months ago offering a reduced payment of €150pm heard nothing, they would ring 4 times in a row without leaving a message.

Finally they sent a letter saying "now is your last chance to contact us and try to review your situation and come to an agreement on what you can afford - please pay €36 (or some random low amount) and call us on this number".

So tbh I hadn't paid in about 3 months (had been waiting for MABS though so was trying to deal) and thought well I'll ring them on the different number - was on the phone to them for over an hour and got the impression I was having a conversation with 2 people (ie someone was prompting the person I was talking to who was a bit clueless about financials suggesting I should be entitled to a medical card as my kids were at the doctor 4 times that month between them - obviously not the case when we're both earning !) - however it was pointless and they took all my details and then said yes you can afford to pay the minimum. They said they wouldn't confirm in writing and would reinstate my number for contact only if I didn't pay. They also said that the letter I received meant nothing and I had to pay €100 immediately by laser and then the minimum payment from then on. They said they would capitalise the arrears but would still not confirm in writing.

I then got the usual statement (after I paid) saying I was 3+ months in arrears and when I rang I got another lecture from someone saying that if I didn't pay they would "sell the debt to debt collectors" and since then they now ring 2 days before the agreed payment date.

Even I send another letter saying not to contact me on my phone they'll still ring from "unknown" and it would be hard to prove it's not them. They're unreal.
 
45 pm for gym & 13 pm for prize bonds stands out straight away - neither are necessary. Can you cut those? Know its only small in the scheme of things but if every penny counts...

yeah you're right I needed to hear it !
 
I need to move my phone asap but tbh couldn't even afford the spare e70 to buy a phone with a prepay plan.

You can get a sim from the likes of Tesco mobile for free if you already have the phone, it is not necessary to buy a new phone if you have one that is unlocked or can be unlocked.
 
I thought that but would vodafone lock it when I cancel with them ? Plus prob need to be on O2 as that's who husband is with - free texts ?
 
Also a family of two adults and two kids with 5570 incoming a month. We don't thank god have anything like your debt burden but between mortgage and childcare, we are paying out almost 4000 a month, so not a huge amount of disposable income.

A couple of things that strike me

Gas 140 pm - this seems very high as a annual average. Can you change supplier? Or look at your heating controls again - is it timer or temperature controlled? We just got a new heating control system (subsidised by a SEIA grant) and it is making a big difference to the amount and how we use the heating

Electricity 70 pm - seems reasonable but you can reduce it by up to 14% by changing to Bord Gas, paying by direct debit and being an existing customer

Gym 45 pm - cancel it straight away. Lots of ways to exercise outdoors or indeed in front of a DVD if its raining

Get rid of prize bonds

UPC 130pm - we have a TV, broadband and phone package (which includes free calls at certain times) for 70. Switch packages immediately.

Life assurance 110 - you should be able to get a better deal on this. My outstanding mortgage is not hugely smaller than yours and our life insurance costs 33pm. Bare bones - mortgage paid if we die, nothing for illness et al.

Saving say 10% on energy costs, cutting gym and prize bonds, changing UPC package and halving life insurance saves you nearly 200 a month. Add another 50 for a change in phone package and you are beginning to have an emergency fund for doctors bills, Christmas presents, clothes etc

What about childcare? 1675 is a lot for 2 children - are they both pre-schoolers? Depending on where you are, there may be cheaper options. If in a creche, can you negotiate a discount? Or look into a childminder (in their own home)? Although if the kids are happy where they are, I can understand you would be loathe to make a change unless absolutely necessary.

Could you cycle to work? Only use mobiles in an emergency - texts for all routine communication and landline or Skype for chats.

Check out the money matters thread on rollercoaster.ie - a more frugal set of people I have never come across! Fantastic money saving tips on everything from grocery shopping to energy use to psychological tricks to stop you spending money (my favourite being freezing your credit card in a big block of ice - defrostable in emergencies but you'd think twice about doing it for an on-line impulse buy!)

Also for winter clothes for the kids, check out jumbletown.ie - lots of people giving away clothes and toys in good condition for free

HTH
 
thanks for your reply - let me address some of the points !

Gas - yes it is high and I know for a fact this is from having it on at night - reason ? No curtains upstairs - so to get the kids to sleep/keep them to sleep. Desperate isn't it but I can't even afford curtain poles upstairs & husband doesn't do DIY so have to pay for both. This is where it gets depressing when you can't afford basics like that.

ESB - tempted to move but have heard it's a bit of hassle ? Is Airtricity cheaper anyone know ? Also is it going to all just level out in the longrun ? I thought I saw smallprint saying the good rates only last a year plus I have stories of friends who got massive last bills from old suppliers.

Gym & prizebonds - point taken - I never win anything anyway ! (without the gym though I literally will have no life at all !)

Childcare - this includes seperate pre-school fee - they're not in a creche but very happy so no point in changing for a small saving.

Cycling - love to but way too far from work to cycle unfortunately.

Life assurance - as they're tied to 2 mortgages and based on our ages a few years ago I'm fairly sure it would be more expensive to move.

Jumbletown.ie - thanks for the tip ! Already read rollercoaster it's great too.
 
Switching Electricity suppliers has been made extremely easy.
As far as I remember it just involes getting your MPRN number from your last bill and entering your address details. Even if it was a bit of hassle, surely it is still worth it given your situation.

I'd say your gas bill is probably double what it should be. Putting up curtain poles should not be that expensive and it's pretty basic DIY. Maybe you could get a friend to help.

The UPC package of 130pm sounds crazy. You must have the top package of everything. Ae you sure it is not for two months?

I don't know what other posters think but given your credit rating sounds like it is already damaged, you might be better off only paying the highest interest rate lenders first Start with the crerdit cards and work your way through the others
 
Your VHI dental plan seems very high to me. My plan is a basic package and it costs me about 5 euro a month for 1 person. From that I am only allowed to makes claims up to no more than the value of 1000 Euro a year. I would advise you to check the policy and see what the is the maximum value amount you can claim per year.

You could also just use the normal aerial and have the basic TV service, you could remove UPC from the equation. If you wanted more channels you could get a dish and install it and get the other channels.


When things are tight - if you cant measure it - you cant manage it. I would also make a suggestion that you ring the Gas and ESB company and ask them to install meters. That way you have to get a card and top up. It makes you more conscious of how you are using your energy. These meters are not on a higher rate than the normal bill pay customers. You could argue the case with them about payments and they might be able to give you the meters free of charge.

Cancel the BB
 
Hi - VHI is over 8 months I think as it was a slow start with the direct debit - thanks though for pointing it out.
 
something is missing, your outgoings come to 5472, and incoming is 5950. there is 478 missing. what's the deal with the other apartment, I don't understand the 550 & rent = 820.
is there income here or more expense?
 
I had also calculated the incoming and outgoings and saw the difference of 478 and u have extra from the second property of 265 ( I am taking it that you are gettting rent of 830 and your paymetns are 555 but reading again I think this is wrong are you paying 555 and getting rent of 265 and thus paymetns to mortgage are 820????) .

Firstly start a spending diary - every thing that is spend is to be written down and that is everything be it .50c of 50 euro.

Gym has got to go for now, get out walking or do exercise in the house, it doesn't mean you cannot take it up again but it just has to go for now.

Prixe bonds also for the time being to go.

GAS and ESB is far to high. esp in the summer months. Invest in nice kiddies hot water bottles for the kids and nice all in one PJ's. Saw some lovely stripped fleece blankets reduced in home store and more today which are great for throwing over u while watching TV/working on the pc or while in bed as an additional layer - think they were down to 4.50 euro.
You will have to invest in curtains it will save you in the long run. You can pick some cheap ones up. Also curtain poles and surely you know someone that can put them up for you as a favour or for a small few bob.

Mobile bills both big. You could switch to vodafone simple basic which is 20 euro. I switched 3 months ago and am kicking myself as I was paying up on 60/70 euro now only 20-25. Get to know those that are not on your network and use the webtext facility to tect them - you get 600 free per month.

I would seriously look in to alternative childcare. you may get someone in there own home for about 300 a week for the two which will save the guts of 500 euro.

When does the interest only period end on the mortgage and when will you be finished paying the arrears on the mortgage??

I'll go through your post again in relation to the cards and post back but the above is just for starters.

With some of the savings listed in my post esp the larger ones you would be able to clear the Tesco and Ulster Bank cc's in no time.
Seeing as you are having so much hassle with MBNA would there be any possibility of approaching the Credit Union and seeing if they will double you loan extend the term and you could clear MBNA.
Can you also edit your OP to give the terms remaining on the loans and if you have interest rates for the CC's.
You need to get back on to MABS and get them to write to the CC's company esp MBNA and get the interest frozen. Even if it takes 4-6 weeks to get an appointment it is important and will save you in the long run.
CUT up the cc's.
 
Net income: 3400 (me), 2250 (him) = 5650
Child allowance (2 kids) = 300

Mortgage = 630 (interest only for now)
Childcare = 1675 pm
car lease = 260 pm (refinanced with lender) balance 8k approx
MBNA CC = 260 pm (refused to reduce payment said we could afford it) balance 8k approx
Halifax CC = 260pm (converted to loan had to make min. payments) balance 8k approx
Tesco CC = 50pm balance 1700 approx
Ulster Bank CC = 50pm balance 1700 approx
Credit Union = 175pm (refinanced with lender) balance 8k approx
BofI loan = 390pm (refinance of overdrafts & loan) balance 18k approx
gym = 45pm - not a necessity
petrol = 100pm
groceries = 400pm (family of 4 inc. nappies etc. and we bring lunch into work) - where do you shop? for a family of four I think this is alright but I find I save money by not using just one supermarket.
house insurance = 35pm
life assurance = 110pm (tied to mortgages)
quinn healthcare = 170pm for all 4 (needed at the moment )
VHI dental plan = 56 pm for 2 (also needed) - very high! 672€ p.a. is crazy.
Prizebonds = 13pm - not a necessity
Vodafone = 100pm (too much i know need to move to prepay O2) - why do you have vodafone & o2? there are plenty of better options out there at the moment. Shop online for ideas!
O2 = 50pm billpay
bus ticket = 80pm (will prob take up work plan from Jan) - why are you using the bus if you can't get rid of the car? if only one person uses the car to get to work, would car pooling be an option?
Mortgage arrears = 290pm
ESB = 70pm - same here, for the summer months, way too high. I changed to Bord Gais, you just did too right? Felt there was a bit of a saving alright.
Gas = 140pm - this is way too high. as others stated, it's the summer. I use gas for heating the water up and my bill ran for the last 2 months to 30€ = 15 p.m. (and I like my hot showers so don't think I am being needy greedy)
UPC = 63pm - I pay 50€ for internet, phone and tv (basic) - ring them up and check for latest offers

I noticed you have an awful lot of CCs and with quite high amounts to pay off too. Would it be an option to get one large loan, rather than lots of "smaller" ones? It's still the same amount plus a bit more interest if you, let's say spread it over 5 or 10 years. On the plus side, you have a better overview of your finances (I would get confused with all those different CCs) AND your monthly payment is reduced because it's stretched into a couple of years.

Also you stated due to health reasons one of ye couldn't work. Did you use the MED Form to claim back those expenses?

If you're in the Union, you can get Tax Credits for it. It's only a small amount but better than nothing.
 
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Could you sell the car and buy something cheaper (realise this may not be an option if selling it doesnt cover outstanding HP agreement).

I notice you dont mention car tax/insurance costs - how high are these?

Gas is way way too high. About curtains - when I moved into my place I couldnt afford anything nice in terms of curtains and all associated curtain poles etc.... SO I bought the cheapest curtains possible - check ebay, hickeys sale basket etc... And I got curtain poles from a friend who had moved and was getting rid of her curtain poles for new ones. As far as DIY goes it was a matter of borrowing a drill and asking a male friend to put them up. They were ugly curtains - but they kept the heat in and did the job til I replaced them a year or so later. You may well get curtains and poles from jumbletown or free trade ireland - its absolutely imperative you do this - your gas bills are madness and keeping the gas heating overnight is so expensive.

Do a clean out at home and take your stuff to a car boot sale - a friend did this last year and made 300 euro on her junk.

Get rid of the gym membership and use the 45 quid to buy a secondhand bike - use the bike for exercise and to make short trips you would otherwise have used the car for.

Get rid of the prize bonds and get the mobile phones onto cheaper packages.

Childcare - surely there is a cheaper option here?

Claim back anything you are entitled to like MED1, bin charges etc...
 
quinn healthcare = 170pm for all 4 (needed at the moment )
Might you consider a cheaper health plan? For example, Aviva's Level1 Plan would cost you €93/month, freeing up €77/month.

Your mobile bills look silly (especially given your financial position). I put €20/month into my wife's Vdodafone pay-as-you-go (so she gets free calls & texts to Vodafone users) and €10 ever six months into mine. I top mine up by transfering unused credit from hers onto mine online. Granted we're not heavy users of the mobiles but it is possible to run mobiles very cheaply.
 
Now is the time to do the curtains before coming into the winter. You really have to sort that even if it means hanging them from a few nails hammered into the wall! Do you have any relatives / neighbours who would put up some curtain poles for you? You could buy poles and curtains for the amount you are spending on gas no problem. I recently got nice full length curtains for the living room bay window for e50 in Hickeys (half price!). Check out the ends baskets from the fabric shops as well, there's no shortage of lengths of material.

With decent curtains and bundled up in bed with good jammys and plenty of blankies (not expensive) your kids will be fine. NO need to have heat on at night save it for when the weather is *really cold*.

In terms of kids clothes, there is so much second hand childrens clothes out there I don't know how the shops sell anything new. Have a trawl around the charity shops. Look in the buy and sell section of rollercoaster and post up something about wanting second hand kids clothes and/or curtains, you will get something.
 
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