# Please help me sort out My Debt



## jakearmitage (1 Jul 2009)

Basically I earn 910 euro net into my hand every 2 weeks but I am in a spot of bother as I have alot of Bills due.

I am currently paying back 316 a month on a 5 year loan which I only started paying last november I have also maxed out on a 2500 limit credit card which has now gained interest and I owe 2565 on that.I owe chrous 150 euro for internet and 100 euro for a disconnection fee and I also owe my dentist 400 euro for root canal treatment part of which I paid last month which caused me to miss a repayment on my loan .

So to sum up

Getting pain 910 euro this week

Owe

Dentist 400 euro
Bank loan 316 plus 316 for last weeks missed repayment
chrous ntl 250 euro
Rent 180 euro

Plus my credit card is maxed out by 2556 and my overdraft is currently minus 1050 which will be -140 when I get paid

Can anyone offer any advice?

Is there any way I could go into the bank and get my debts paid ,add those costs to the loan and change the loan to a fixed one over so many years


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## suemoo1 (2 Jul 2009)

are you in a credit union? could you borrow of parents even to clear credit card?


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## Setanta12 (2 Jul 2009)

Jake, you mentioned in one of your first posts that you can do shift-work and increase your Gross form €30k to €37k.  This is the very first thing you should do.

From a quick look at all your previous mails, it seems to me that you're looking for a magic bullet to your woes. 

There are no easy answers/ways out of your predicament - you need to front up/tackle your problems headon.


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## Joanne1 (2 Jul 2009)

Can you explain your situation to the people you owe money - acknowledge the debt and that you are having difficulties paying. Possibly they will give you some time to repay.  Prioritise which debts need to be paid first.

Consider lowering your living standards until you have paid off your debts.


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## so-crates (2 Jul 2009)

Jake,

it is stating the obvious but you can't afford to repay all those debts this week. Have you been in contact with each of your creditors? Have you promised them payment this week? I think you need to ring each of them back and negotiate a payment schedule you can afford.

I think you definitely need to make an appointment with MABS, clearly you have been in trouble for some time and simply can't afford to live on your income. The loan repayments are a large burden but I think that you may have been overspending probably by spending based on your income rather than on your income less your debt. You are not affording your lifestyle so you need to do two things, get your debt under control, get your spending under control. After that you can start planning more prudently.

As for the current situation:
Rent - that is basic requirement so that is your highest priority debt - pay that (I am guessing that is for two weeks? Or is it for the week or the month?).

Aside from that what you can reasonably be expected to repay this week is probably more like this.. 
I am going to budget you to a very tight 50pw for living expenses because i have no idea what you need in terms of electricity/gas/food/transport but hopefully that would be enough. That leaves you with €630 (yes i am ignoring the o/d for the moment - you need to stabilise and stop living debt-to-debt but firstly you need to get through the next few months with your head above water). That needs to be used to meet the following debts 

400 - dentist
316 - loan payment
316 - loan missed payment
250 - NTL

I would ring the dentist and try and negotiate a payment schedule (say €100 a fortnight for the next two weeks) - if you can borrow this money from a family member it might be best and offer the repayment schedule to them instead. That leaves a notional €530. 

Pay this weeks loan payment in full. That leaves €214

Ring NTL and explain that you can only afford to pay €100 this week, €100 in two weeks time and €50 the two weeks after that. You will need to be very firm with them and push hard on this - you simply cannot pay them what you owe in one lump sum. That leaves €114

Ring the bank and apologise for the missed payment and offer to catch it up over the next few periods, again at €100 per fortnight.

This leaves you with keeping €14 off your overdraft.


This is only the start. Firstly you need to absorb the immediate hits on the dentist and NTL before you can start rebuilding your finances in a more sensible manner. I too have been looking over your posts and you do seem to have a long-term problem with debt. I think this is partly driven by repayment of the student loan but I think beyond that you are spending money you simply do not have. There is no quick fix that will dig you out of this hole, it will be hard slog. You have in essence been borrowing from yourself, from your own future (credit card and overdraft are mechanisms for extracting money from next weeks paycheque, you just don't have to hand over the paycheque to get the advance). You need to stop this and it isn't going to be easy because you have built up a pattern of it. It is going to take sacrifice on your part, even if you can increase your income as suggested above.


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## chlipps (2 Jul 2009)

jake... difficult to interpret what your total debt is from the post... can you detail this further.

I think you should go to the bank and get one loan increased by say 5k. Use this then to clear you credit card, dentist etc.. Also then get spreadsheet in place and record / control your spending and dispose of the credit card

btw..i think you may be able to get back some cash via med 1 form for the root canal works


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## z109 (3 Jul 2009)

The two important things you have (assuming you are not concerned about your credit record) are your loan and your credit card. IMO, they are the ones most likely to land you in court.

When you say you owe NTL for disconnect, I presume that is as a result of not being able to pay the internet bill? So you are now disconnected and behind on your payments? To be honest, I would play hardball with them. Tell them you are in difficulty, offer them €20 euro a month, but that you can't pay the disconnect charge because you can't. Do this in writing. Keep sending letters upping your offer, dispute the reasonablyness of the disconnect charge. Ask them is that the economic cost to them (it is illegal for them to charge more than the economic cost, AFAIK).

For the dentist, I would also arrange a repayment scheme and as chlipps suggests, check out what you can get in refund.

But the two you need to attack are the loan and the credit card, in particular the credit card (because the interest rate is so high, you are paying money in interest without reducing your outstanding debt). In any case, phone up and write to the credit card company to say that you are in financial difficulties as a result of the change in the economy and the increases in tax rates and that you are looking for an interest pause while you pay down the principal).

Talk to the bank and see if they will give you an interest free overdraft for a period or at least reduced interest. You are likely paying top-notch rates on this too. Again, do it in writing.

The key thing with all the debts is to show willing to pay something of the debt and show that despite the onerous terms of your creditors, you have done your best. You must keep all correspondence, you must respond to everything, and you must contact MABS.

The very best of luck.


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## sustanon (3 Jul 2009)

Do you have anything to sell? Stateside, Garage Sales are very popular for bringing in some extra cash, maybe these will take off in Ireland?


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## Setanta12 (3 Jul 2009)

I think Posters here should have a look mat Jake's history on AAM via his other posts. 

From a quick look, it seems that his situation hasn't changed since January - he was offered shiftwork for an extra €k a year but seems to have preferred to wallow in debt posting occasionally looking for short-term solutions rather than knuckling down and getting it sorted.


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## jakearmitage (4 Jul 2009)

Setanta12 said:


> I think Posters here should have a look mat Jake's history on AAM via his other posts.
> 
> From a quick look, it seems that his situation hasn't changed since January - he was offered shiftwork for an extra €k a year but seems to have preferred to wallow in debt posting occasionally looking for short-term solutions rather than knuckling down and getting it sorted.



Why do some posters just jump to conclusions.Not once have I said I was offered to go on shift. I did say there was a possibility I could go on it but unfortunately that didn't arise and I dont have that oppourtunity now as I would jump at the chance if it became available.


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## so-crates (4 Jul 2009)

Jake, no point getting worked up, Setanta may have simply misread your other post. To get back to the topic in hand, have you done anything about your current difficulties?


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