# Total Mess - can anyone out there advise pls ?



## FloJo (17 Nov 2010)

Hi,
  I’m hoping someone might be able to give me some advise on my rather shameful situation. 

  Mortgage taken out in May 2007 -  288k at 92% Loan to value over 35 years.
  MBNA credit card (mine) – 8k (no payments made now since August)
  MBNA credit card (his) – 4k (paid up to date)
  My personal loan with BOI – 17k (+ 1000 arrears) 670 euro per month
  My mortgage repayment is 1050 per month.  
  There are 3 months arrears on this mortgage from 2008 when my partner first lost his job (he is a bricklayer and lost his job in January 2008 – 6 months after we bought our house!)
   I have a permanent full time job (40K per annum) and managed to get a second job in January 2009 working night shifts in a call centre at the weekends and did that for a year while my partner was still not working and kept us up to date with all our repayments during that time. I gave up the second job earlier this year as my partner got work on a construction project in the city centre and I thought I’d die of exhaustion J.
  Almost as soon as I gave up the second job, my salary from my primary job was cut. But we still managed to keep up our mortgage repayments as he was still working.
  My partner then lost his job in July this year and despite trying absolutely everything is still out of work. He is in receipt of jobseekers benefit at 196euro a week.
  I have kept up the mortgage repayments until this month, basically by (stupidly, admittedly ) running up arrears on my credit card and personal loan and now I am totally up sh*ts creek. 
  I have worked out a plan as to how I can manage to continue, I don’t want to loose my home obviously and I want to take responsibility for everything that I borrowed but I cant do it within the agreements originally made with the lenders.
  This is my plan – maybe totally ridiculous though :

  1.His credit card – 4k – He has paid protection on this and therefore we can effectively park this for 1 year while we try sort ourselves out.
  2.I can afford to make about 2/3’s of my mortgage repayment per month – 650euro until he secures full time employment.
  3.My personal loan was originally 32k over 5 years and is now at 17k after just over 2.5 years. If I could re-take out the 17k loan now and include the 1k arrears, over a further 5 years, the repayments would be about 400euro per month (270euro less than current repayment amt)
  4.Pending the previous two points being accepted by the lenders, I could then put 500 euro a month off my 8k credit card debt. This is obviously the one I want to attack first as its the highest interest and I am sick of trying to pay it off and getting nowhere.
  5.On more long term note, if the above is granted, my partner plans to retrain completely, has already done two courses in renewable energy and there are some more retraining options we have up our sleeve. Obviously the objective here is for him to be able to obtain employment outside of the ‘doomed’ construction sector with a view to us being in a better position in a few years time to then look at increasing our repayments on our mortgage.
  6.If option 5 above does not happen and he does not secure employment here, he has been granted a working visa for Canada and has family out there he could live with so he would not have to pay rent out there. Although I could go out there too, I would be reluctant to give up a good permanent job here too hastily. 

  I have 4 questions I would like to ask ....

  1.I just really wanted to ask what anyone thinks of the above plan? Is it totally ridiculous and over ambitious ? Would the lenders consider this do you think or would I be laughed out the door. Ive really tried to avoid having to do this at all costs, with getting the second job and that, but I cant keep going racking up arrears and digging the hole deeper.  I have to try something.

  2.When I spoke to some friends about the above and mentioned my plans they said to me not to put this to the lenders as a proposal but more as a non-negotiable. Like in other words ‘tell’ them this is the situation, rather than ‘ask’ ? Does anyone have an opinion on this ?

  3.If I were to approach the mortgage lender with the above idea, would it be advisable to mention the possibility of my partner going to Canada to get work ? Some friends have said they think this would be a bad idea as the mortgage lender might suspect it would become tempting for us to just ‘do a runner’ if money and that was so much better out in Canada ?

  4.With my MBNA credit card – would I be better off if I let them sell it on to a debt company? Like what happens in that situation ? Does the amount then remain static as it is on the day that it is sold  ? Or does the debt company apply the same interest arrangements as MBNA ?

  If you have read all of this – all I can say is sorry and thanks for your time !!. And any opinions or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
  Thanks,
  Flo


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## marti18 (17 Nov 2010)

Flojo, you have nothing to be sorry about. its this shameless government that must say sorry to its taxpayers who are now getting shafted!  the banks are getting bailed out and F the taxpayer.

im sorry i cannot help you in regards to advice but keep your head up and dont feel ashamed as there are alot of people is your situation due to this open lunatic so called government in which we have


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## FloJo (17 Nov 2010)

Hi Marti18,

Thanks for your response ! I kind of meant sorry about the length of that post !! I feel confident enough that I can orchestrate some kind of route out of this hole while I still have some bit of money coming in and Im reluctant to be bullied out of this country by 'this shameless government' as you say !! Ive a bit of fight left in me yet !!!

Thanks again !

Flojo


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## dmos87 (18 Nov 2010)

Hi Flojo,

Is it possible for you to complete the Money Makeover template for us? It will show us clearly where your money is coming and going from. We may be able to give some valuable tips on where to cut back and re-structure. 

I will post the link next for you. Give as much detail as you can, every little helps!


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## dmos87 (18 Nov 2010)

Age: 
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 

Annual gross income from employment or profession: 
Annual gross income of spouse:

Type of employment: e.g. Civil Servant, self-employed 

In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving?

Rough estimate of value of home
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: 
*What interest rate are you paying? *

Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? 
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? 

Savings and investments:

Do you have a pension scheme? 

Do you own any investment or other property? 

Ages of children: 

Life insurance: 


*What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you? *


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## Billo (18 Nov 2010)

Contact MABS


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## Bronte (18 Nov 2010)

In addition to filling out the money makeover template could you tell us if the personal loan is with the same company as the mortgage.  

You need to make an appointment with MABS.  

In relation to you borrowing a further 17K, they are not going to agree to this.   

It is admirable that you want to try and pay back your debt.  

Your observation that you are in a worse state because you used your credit card to pay your mortgage and living expenses is quite true and applies to a lot of people.  

You are certainly a case for an interest only mortgage, but until you do the money makeover we can't see if the debts are surmountable.  

Be aware that the stress of this affects relationships.  That's just as important to manage as the money issues.


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

Thanks so much folks for replying - see below:

Age: 31
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 29

Annual gross income from employment or profession: *40k - €1200 per fortnight net*
Annual gross income of spouse: Job seekers – *196euro per week*

Type of employment: permanent, full time – private sector 

In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving?
*All over the place – not paying Billy one month so I can pay Jack and then doing the opposite the following month but definitely NOT saving.*

Rough estimate of value of home – *200k*
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: *275k – with EBS*


Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc
*MBNA – 8k – minimum repayment - €250 per month*
*MBNA – 4k – minimum repayment - €120 per month*
*BOI – 17k – repayment - €670 per month (2 years left on this loan out of 5)*

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? *NO*
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? *8k + 4k*

Savings and investments: *0*

Do you have a pension scheme? *Yes*

Do you own any investment or other property? *No*

Ages of children: *None*

Life insurance: *40 euro per month*


At the moment, this is what is coming in/going out every month:

*Combined net income per month – €3185*

*Mortgage €1050*
*Personal Loan €670*
*Credit Card 1 €250 (min repayment)*
*Credit Card 2 €120 (min repayment)*
*Life Insurance €40*
*Home Insurance €25*
*Car Insurance €55*
*Phones €200* *
*Petrol to work/toll €280 *
*Food €300*
*Gas €50*
*Electricity €50*
*Sky €25*
*Internet €20*
*Waste Collection €25*
*AA Insurance €20*
*Estate management €10*
*Health Insurance €50*
*Total €3240*


Ok so from the above I guess I’m spending slightly more than I take in every month. But my real problem is that I have no emergency fund/extras fund. Like for example, last month, my car needed a service the timing belt changed and a new bearing. That cost me €450. So I couldn’t pay some of my debts in order to get this done.

The previous month the boiler needed its service and the TV license was due. That was 300 quid I couldn’t pay off my debts.

Two nights ago in the high wind, two roof tiles came off – they need to be fixed, where is this going to come from unless I don’t pay for something else?

Next month, apart from being Christmas, my car tax and insurance are due. Something is going to have to give.

So while the above is my monthly minimum repayments, it doesn’t account for the extras like car insurance, tax, services, general home maintenance, etc etc.

Also, as mentioned earlier, we feel it is important that my partner retrain as I think it would be fair to say that there will be little or no jobs here in the construction industry in the near future. Obviously we have tried to make use of funded courses through FAS, but there are some that are fee paying and we need to come up with the funds. I think this is a worthwhile investment in our future but I need to free up some of my money to do this.

I don’t care about social life, we have become resourceful in terms of doing things that cost no money, regulars in Glendalough etc !! – this has been going on for us for 3 years now so it’s become normality. We have managed to weather the storm without killing each-other so far so I have no doubt that we will manage to come out of this at some point. 


also, just to mention, in relation to the phones, this is something I know we could make savings on, 200 quid a month for two mobiles is ridiculous, but we are both contracted to this until April. Ive already alerted the company involved that come April we will be parting company and getting two pay as you go phones. In doing so, I hope to halve the above spend to 100eur a month.


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

*Bronte/Billo*
Thanks again for replying. Do you really think I need to make an appointment with MABs ? I know this sounds ridiculous but I thought that would be totally a last resort ? I  really wanted to try my best to manage this myself at least then I would feel in some way in control of what Im doing. I think if I went to MABs and had to lay all my cards out on the table I would just burst into tears at the reality of it all. Im usually quite a positive and resourceful person and having to get a third party involved in my financial mess would just make me feel like a total failure and a complete eejit for getting myself into this situation. I don’t mean any disrespect to the rakes of people Im sure are in discussions with MABs at the moment – its just how I would feel. Like I thought Id approach the lenders with my plan first and if that was a no-go then maybe then go to MABs. I just really need to feel that I did everything I possibly could to try sort this out myself before having to ask for help. Is this a silly thing ?

Thanks,

FloJo


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## laobhise (18 Nov 2010)

In relation to retraining- have you looked at local Partnership organisations to see if they have any courses available. The government has given a couple of million to Partnerships and some Universitie( I think DIT anyway), for a labour market activation fund. A lot of the courses are targeted at people who were in construction and have been unemployed for at least 3 months. Some of the courses even try and link people up with employers in up and coming areas of work. For example I know someone working in Meath Partnership and involved in this. Check out their website and you can see information about the courses under education and training- I think their courses have started but if you are interested they may be able to give you more information about other courses upcoming.


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## Complainer (18 Nov 2010)

Phone spend seems very high - must be a way to cut this down.

AA Insurance - is this really necessary? Does your car insurance provider offer a breakdown service?

Petrol/Toll is very high - any public transport options?


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## pinkyBear (18 Nov 2010)

Hi there, I would second your phone bill. Can you get UPC? We have it, as do others at work. 
Our package is phone, braodband and TV for €80 a month. We have worked it out that we effectively get our broadband for free. 

We have ready to go mobiles as well for €20 approx per month.
In relation to petrol and tolls, our bill for 1 car is about 2 fills of petrol a month (€120) and 2 daily tolls. Do you have two cars, would you think of selling one?  If you have only one car, have you got the eflow tag? We pay roughly €36 a month with it.

Your waste collection too is very high, is there an alternative? Do you recycle much?
P..


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

*Laobhise* - thanks for this - I'll have a look on that website and see - that would be fantastic!

*Complainer* - will check that about the insurance - thanks - good idea ! As for the phones, I know its totally ridiculous amount to be paying but we are in contract with the phone company until April. Ive told them already that we want out at that point and will go pre-pay with a view to halving that 200euro a month spend.

As for the petrol spend - I live about 30km from work and I put about 45eur a week into my car - no public transport option Im afraid. Actually i lie, I could drive to a certain point, get a bus then directly in to work but would then be paying a little on petrol, a bus fare and parking. Think it would work out dearer. Then I spend 18euro a month on tolls - three trips accross M50 and back.

He puts maybe 15/20 a week into his van seeing as he is not working. This is mostly used for travelling up and back to the local FAS (he spends his life up there at the moment !!), attempting to get work - pricing small jobs etc (there has been a bit of this lately but so far nothing has come of it), going to football training twice a week (only thing keeping him sane).

I honestly dont think there is any saving to be made on the petrol.

Im not sure if there is anywhere at all I can cut back - gave up the smokes in Jan as I simply just could not afford to smoke anymore (this is a good thing though I know !!).

Have shopped around for pretty much everything to make sure Im getting the best deal.

I made my Christmas presents for people this year ! Cringe !! But its the thought that counts !!

I made my Christmas tree last year out of traffic cones wrapped in garland - I thought it looked class and will be doing the same this year !!

Cant think of anywhere else to cut back.

Suggestions welcome.


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

*Hi Pinky* - thanks - what is UPC ? Is this only if you have a landline ? I dont have a landline just two mobiles. I avoided the landline as I thought it was just be yet another bill. As soon as I can get out of the mobile phone contracts I will and we will go pay as you go so I plan to halve that monthly phone spend. 

As for the cars - my car is 8 years old but its a good car, not a flashy number just reliable - Im glad I bought a decent car - very little hassle with it despite pretty high mileage. As public transport from home to work is not an option - my car is an absolute must !
He has a 15 year old pick up truck !!! I dont think he would get a penny for it and not sure it has much time left with us - its in bits ! But it does get him the odd job here and there to be honest - picking up something for someone or taking things to the dump for someone else. So it gets him the odd 20quid here and there. He is going to go around after Christmas and try get a few bob getting rid of peoples Christmas trees for them !!


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## pinkyBear (18 Nov 2010)

Hi there, this link will tell you about UPC, I have absolutly no affliation with the company - just to be clear. We switched about 2 years ago, and colleagues laughed at me because apparently their customer service was appauling! I must say we have never had a problem, we did need to contact them with questions, and their service was great. Since then, my two colleagues who laughed have now switched!! 




> Actually i lie, I could drive to a certain point, get a bus then directly in to work but would then be paying a little on petrol, a bus fare and parking. Think it would work out dearer


Given that you are paying to keep two cars on the road, its something you should concider, maybe your partner could drop you off for the bus.. I understand the desire for a second car, but really you cant afford it, we had to give up ours, we had it off the road for a year and eventually sold it for €300.. 

The botom line is you have to look at cutting your spending and petrol is a very big spend for you guys..

P..


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## Complainer (18 Nov 2010)

Congrats on giving up the smokes. That's a huge achievement, and is making a big difference financially. It would certainly be worth doing the sums on the public transport option, and seeing how that might work out for you.

Is the €50 pm health insurance for one or two? If one, you'll need to shop around.


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

Thanks folks,

I'll definitley look at the UPC option.

Im not trying to be a pain and put obstacles up Im just really not too sure about selling my car. Not out of being lazy or too posh to sit in a pick up truck or anything of the sort !! Id say at max Id get is about 4k for it. I just I know his van is on its last breath and what happens then if we have no car. We certainly wont get a loan for a new one or have the funds to buy even an old banger out right.
My car effectively brings the only bit of money we have into this household - if its gone, I cant get to work and we are really in trouble then.
Id imagine within the next year anyway his van will be gone so we will be a one car household at that stage anyway.
Is this being really stupid ??

In answer to the recycling, yes we are careful about managing our waste. The waste collection providers in the area are Panda and Oxigen and price wise are pretty much the same.
The only issue I have with this is that as there are only 2 of us, we dont fill the bins every week so dont put them out for every collection yet we pay the same as if we did put them out every week. One of my neighbours is in the same boat so we are thinking we might share the cost/share the bins. That will save me the grand total of 12.50 a month !! But its something I suppose !


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## pinkyBear (18 Nov 2010)

Hi there, I'm not suggesting selling your car, but do you really need the truck???? Think of it, what are you really gaining by insuring it, petrol etc? 
P..


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## Bronte (18 Nov 2010)

FloJo said:


> Thanks again for replying. Do you really think I need to make an appointment with MABs ? I know this sounds ridiculous but I thought that would be totally a last resort ? . Is this a silly thing ?


 
Free advice and you're turning it down? You are at last resort. In tandem with talking to your lendors you should be seeking advice wherever you can in order to make the right decisions.

Mortgage
Can you renegotiate for an interest only for say a year to give you time to pay of your credit card debts

Credit cards
Can you switch to interest only. Are the cards cut up. 

Phone
Not sure on this, but what kind of contract ties you into spending 2400 a year. Get out your contract and see how you can break it. Or ring them up, tell them you're broke and see if they'll come to an arrangement. 

Cars
2 cars are not justified. Work out the real cost of running them. Your hubby can drop you to the bus, no parking charges, only the bus charge, maybe your employer will pay for public transport? Your hubby then has the van for the day. 

Loan
Talk to BoI about extending the term so that it makes the repayments more manageable for now in order to get the credit card down. 

Do you need a) health insurance - young people b) AA, is it justified c) Sky, can't see any justification for 

You seem to be in a doable situation. Good. Happy too to see that both of you are tackling it together. 

Mabs should be able to help you negotiate with your creditor's, of course one can do this oneself, but Mabs have arrangements already in place with many of your creditors.

You also need to learn to make a budget and stick to it. That means setting aside money each month to pay for unexpected bills. 

Last piece of advice. Don't mention cash jobs on AAM or everyone will start going crazy. Recommend you delete that bit of your post.


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## dmos87 (18 Nov 2010)

Flojo, I think you're figures are slightly out, the combined net income is actually €3249.33 (every little helps!!).

One thing I can definitely help you out on is the shopping bill. There are only two of you and you can definitely reduce the shoping bill from 300 to possibly 150-200 if you concentrate on it. It goes without saying you should only be buying cheap brands and shopping in Lidl, Aldi, etc. you have to get smart. Meal planning is key.

Example: We bulk make meals. Lasagne, pasta bake, etc. can all be made in bulk and portions frozen or stored for the following evenings meal. We make a tray of Lasagne which has 6 decent size portions to it. We buy cheap mince, pasta sheets and basic cheese sauce all from Lidl's to make it but add some spices and herbs we have at home to add flavour. It feeds 2 of us for 3 nights and comes to a total of 5-6 euros. Do this twice a week if you want of freeze them for later on (I hate repetitive meals so I freeze). 

If you plan your weeks meals before you go to the supermarket you're less at risk to throw additional items into your basket. for breakfast, get a cheap brand cereal & milk, lunch should be Sandwiches, Sandwiches, Sandwiches! Can be done so cheaply and can do a whole week's lunches. 

I know its repetitive but you find ways to jazz the food up and make it better. It will drastically cut down the bill and put money aside for ye. 

In relation to the BOI Loan, Bronte has suggested talking to BOI to extend the term of the loan out by another few years - this will cut down the amount you pay out each month and allow you to clear the CC's quicker. There's no harm in asking them, at worst they will say no.

Re: The cars. You need to get real. You say you might only get 4k from the sale of your car, but you do realize you could pick up a small 1L car for anything from €500 - €1000 now? That would release 3k to reduce the larger CC. Not to mention lower your tax, insurance and petrol costs. This one is a no brainer. You could manage 1-2 weeks of him dropping and collecting you from work in the truck until you buy a smaller one. 

Have a look around the house and see if there is anything ye want to get rid of that might be worth a few bob - ebay and donedeal. Rather than throwing them out you might get a few bob for them.

Get rid of the internet ASAP. That is a luxury and one you need to do without, even if it is only 20 euros a month savings. 

There has to be some way out of the phone contracts. Can you not just buy 2 pay as you go sims, get the phones unlocked and cancel the DD for the phone? Or call them and say OH is out of work and you cannot afford the bills anymore? I have no doubt people have been doing this. 200 a month is crazy money, why are you still paying it?  Servicing your mortgage and debt is more important. And forget about just halving it - you need to QUARTER it, 20 euros a month each.

You need to get brutal here.


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## Pocket (18 Nov 2010)

I would second everything Bronte has said - especially regarding MABs.

Just to add that my husband negotiated his way out of a year contract for mobile phone. I think he paid a fine of around 70 euros but a fine of this scale would be much better then spending 200 euros a month on mobile phones! Shop around for the best value pay as you go phone - e.g. No affiliation but Tesco have a good deal on credit for their phones at the minute. I'm sure you could quarter your mobile phone bill with very effort.

DMO has some very good suggestions to reduce your food bill.

  That plus cancelling AA, Health insurance (if young and healthy), sky or broadband should free up a few hundred euros for those rainy days.


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

Hi Bronte,

Thanks for the reply.
God - I didnt think I was quite at a last resort yet. But maybe its time I need to listen to someone else rather than thinking I know best. You are right, I need to get over it - free advise as you say. So MABs it is then.

The phones - we are on price plans that cost 100 each a month - taken out last April on a one year contract. If we try to come out of them early, we have to pay the minimum monthly repayment for the rest of the contract term - ie til April 2011. This would cost me upfront 800 quid (now with 4 months left on each) - I dont have this money. I have contacted them, told them Im broke etc and all they will do for me is put me on a cheaper price plan. But by starting on a cheaper price plan I am automatically tied into another one year contract with them. I want to go Pay as you go as then if I dont have it - I cant spend it.

Cars
I guess I will look at this too. But can I ask do you really think this is advisable to sell my car when the van is on its last legs, or wheels as the case may be, and if we have no car or van then I cant  get to work ?

As for the the cash jobs. Maybe I should have mentioned in my post that over the last three years anytime my partner got even a weeks work we notified the dole office and he came off benefit or had it reduced accordingly. This at times was a real pain (particular where he only got a couple of days work) but my belief is that the dole has been our life line in extremley difficult circumstances. And that that is exactly what it is there for - extremley difficult circumstances. Therefore, I would never dream of abusing it as it has kept us afloat and God knows when or if we will ever need to depend on it again in the future. We have been completley honest in this and will continue to do so should he even obtain as much as a days work. When I got the second job last year, I paid the higher tax rate on every penny I earned working a Friday night shift and a Saturday night shift every week on top of my full time job. I came out with an extra 100 quid a fortnight for working four twelve hour night shifts. Some poeple would say it wasnt worth it. But it was the difference between keeping up my mortgage payments or going under. So I did it. And rather then contributing to the total state this country is in by looking for a cash in hand job - I paid my taxes as is expected of me as a working Irish citizen. I wouldnt dream of doing anything underhanded and I want to be very clear about that.


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## pinkyBear (18 Nov 2010)

Sell the van, or take it off the road at least, just cancel the insurance. That means you only have the expence of 1 vehicle...
P..


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## Marietta (18 Nov 2010)

Flo Jo - You debt is 7.4 times your yearly income after tax, you are in very serious debt and you would really need to engage with Mabs.


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

Thanks so much *dmos87.* I do my shopping in Aldi/Lidl and a little bit in Tesco. But if you are really doing it for that cheap for 2 people there is no reason why I cant. I'll have to try plan a bit better. Ive been doing a bit of the lasagne freezing and that and bringing dinner leftovers to work with me the next day for lunch in a lunchbox. I will have to try harder here. That is really after setting me a challenge 150-200 quid a month for food for two people - wow im so impressed !!

Im really interested as to how I get out of these phone contracts ? Ive rang them twice now explaining the situation and they are telling me I cant - I have to pay whats left 100quid per month for four months for two phones. 
I thought about that - just literally getting two new SIMS and unlocking our phones and to hell with the phone company but that means we loose our numbers as there is money owing. Now I couldnt give a sh*te about the numbers normally, except for the fact that the amount of people that have our numbers (his in partcular) that he has met on building sites etc over the years that have his number and ring from time to time about jobs coming up etc. Also, he has business cards done up in September & dropped around locally with his current number on them.

*Health Insurance*
This is for my partner. I cancelled my VHI months ago for exactly those reasons (young healthy - now a non smoker etc!!). My partner plays Gaelic. Four years ago he was badly injured twice in the year - he was a bricklayer at the time so this was really worrying. he had to have an operation. We had no insurance. Gaa were refusing to pay. I fought like mad and eventually got them to cough up for the op he required. But nothing for the loss of earnings. We were advised to take out an insurance policy in case of future incidents. Ive gotten rid of the 'loss of earnings' loading on this but Im not sure is it advisable to get rid of the poilcy altogether. Like if he gets injured and has to go to hospital we havent a bean to pay for it ?? 

*Marietta*
I feel like crying after reading your post. I just didnt think I was that bad. Ive got so used to this. I thought I could sort it out. But thanks for the dose of reality anyway.

In answer to someone elses question there - both credit cards are well gone. They were cut up in 2008. But Ive never managed to be able to pay anything more off them than the interest. (and even the minimum repayments have now not been met for the last three months).


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## Pocket (18 Nov 2010)

FloJo said:


> Thanks so much *dmos87.* I do my shopping in Aldi/Lidl and a little bit in Tesco. But if you are really doing it for that cheap for 2 people there is no reason why I cant. I'll have to try plan a bit better. Ive been doing a bit of the lasagne freezing and that and bringing dinner leftovers to work with me the next day for lunch in a lunchbox. I will have to try harder here. That is really after setting me a challenge 150-200 quid a month for food for two people - wow im so impressed !!


Why dont you put this challenge to your partner? He will have more time to do the shopping, research good deals and prepare meals from scratch. Set him a task of getting the food costs down to less then 50 euro a week. Anything that is left over at the end in the kitty at the end of the month gets put towards a treat like a takeaway/cinema to celebrate.

I'm afraid I cant tell you about the legallity of breaking your contract on your phones. My husband just rang them up and told them he would be stopping his direct debit and luckily they agreed to release him from the contract by agreeing on a fee. It might be worth posting the question as a seperate post to see if anyone has some more advice?


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## truthseeker (18 Nov 2010)

dmos87 said:


> lunch should be Sandwiches, Sandwiches, Sandwiches!


 
I buy an 'oyster' of ham from my butcher for a fiver, boil it on sunday night, and its used for lunches and sandwiches/snacks til the following friday. Better taste than plasticy packet ham and a much better price too.

Between that and a sliced pan youd have work lunches sorted for the week for well under a tenner.

Alternatively I get him to bone and roll a chicken and slice that - he does that for a fiver too. Just for variety - although the ham keeps better.

You can also use bits of either of the above to add to cheap pasta meals.

Fruit - Lidl bananas - I find they go brown very quickly - I have found the solution though - put them into a freezer bag and wrap the bag around so the air isnt getting in - I put 2 bananas per bag and re-use the bags - the bananas look the same 7 days later as brand new ones. Saves on wastage.

Fill out pasta meals with cheap end of day veg from the supermarket - many places sell off 'about to go' fruit and veg just before they close - cooked and frozen the veg is perfect.

Use a butchers for meat - get deals, cheaper than prepackaged meat in many cases. My local butcher does lots of cheap deals.


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## truthseeker (18 Nov 2010)

Do a clear out - take your junk to a car boot sale and sell it, books, dvds, cds, clothes etc...

A friend did it before and made over 300 euro just on her unwanted stuff.

I know its not much, but itd help you psychologically to have a few extra bob.


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## Marietta (18 Nov 2010)

FloJo said:


> *Marietta*
> I feel like crying after reading your post. I just didnt think I was that bad. Ive got so used to this. I thought I could sort it out. But thanks for the dose of reality anyway.


 

Flojo, I had no intention of making you cry but sometimes we need a reality check. I looked at your figures and my heart sank for you. No amount of shopping at lidl or car boot sales will  get you out of this mess. 

You cannot pay back this level of debt on your combined income it's as simple as that. You will need to start thinking outside of the box, you have no children would your partner consider  emigrating say to Britain or Holland to find work, avail of cheap RyanaAir flights and fly back every weekend??

You could avail of the monatoriums and special concessions that are currenty being put in place for mortgage holders should you go into arrears. 

I think MABS will be best able to advise you.


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

****UPDATE****
EBS have just agreed to allow me go interest only - to be reviewed in 6 months. If we stick to this arrangement they will park the arrears for now and look at spreading them out over the reamining term of the loan 30 odd years. I am really happy with this (I know its not ideal paying nothing off the capital) but it will seriously help me get sorted in the immediate future. I have to say - I probably should have done this earlier and they were extremley pleasant to deal with. this will lower my payments from 1050 per month to 690 per month. 

Truthseeker - thanyou for your very inventive and creative ideas - I'll certainely try them out !

Why didnt I think of the car boot sale. Im raging with myself. Just gave three black sacks of stuff to VdeP about two weeks ago. But I suppose there are people who really need stuff, especially coming up to Christmas. Bad as my situation mught be, there are some really unfortunate people who are way worse off.

*So my next step is tackling the BOI loan.*
I am not feeling as confident about this one. Its at 17k + 1k arrears. It was 32 K when I took it out 2.5 years ago. If I could spread out whats left + the arrears over 5 years from now it would cost me 400 a month. 270euro less then what I currently pay. Im dreading asking them if they will do this for some reason.


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## truthseeker (18 Nov 2010)

FloJo said:


> Im dreading asking them if they will do this for some reason.


 
Ask them - the dread is worse than asking them!


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

Marietta,

No you are absolutely right - definitley need a reality check and a good kick up the backside ! I appreciate your comments. We looked at Britain but there is very little in his line of work that would pay enough when you consider he would have to be able to be earning considerably in the UK in order to continue to pay a mortgage here and also to pay lodgings there.
 I had never considered Holland, mainly because of the language barrier i suppose - is that silly ? 
I have put serious thought into Canada. He is eligible to work there and has a brother, two aunts and two other sets of relations out there and the money in his line of work is good. He would not have to pay rent. I guess I just need to think long and hard about it. I would miss him terribly but this isnt the time for being emotional - we just have to get on with it. I suppose a year or two of him out in Canada and me here would be a small sacrifice to pay for financial freedom and the prospect of a decent future. It is something for us to look at but I would prefer to get him retrained here and explore all possible avenues before him having to emigrate. Why should we be bullied out of here ??


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

*Truthseeker* - Ive rang them, just waiting on a call back now from the lending department. Im sure they will want to meet with me anyway and go through all the evidence but Ive everything at the ready so will go see them tomorrow if needs be. Have you ever heard of a bank doing this for someone though ? Do you think I should go in with the approach of 'I cant pay at current amount' full stop, end of, non negotiable, but here is what I can pay. Or should I just ask & beg really really nicely


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## Marietta (18 Nov 2010)

Flojo - It was done in the 80's, fathers, husband's, partners left the country while the wife and kids stayed behind.  It was tough going although in those days the personal debt just wasn't there.  Go on the internet, see what's available in mainland Europe, there are loads of builders emigrating and some of them are getting jobs. 

 Maybe somebody reading here might point you in the direction of a company who may be recruiting abroad.  Don't worry too much about the language, the Irish can make out where ever they go.


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## PiedPiper (18 Nov 2010)

I too have mbna card if you can borrow the balance off a freind for two weeks clear it and reborrow it you can get back to into rate fro 6 months which should help your cash flow if you keep paying what you are paying it will be smaller in 6 months


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## Scotsgirl (18 Nov 2010)

Hi Flojo,

Would you think of renting out a spare room if at all possible?  You could get €300 - €400 a month that way.  You could put that money against the credit cards.


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## pinkyBear (18 Nov 2010)

Renting a room sounds easy, but trust me we have had good and bad renting rooms from us. When it was good it was brilliant, and when it was bad it was a nightmare, and I would never wish it on anyone! Between coke heads and alcoholics we vowed never again.. Also OP appears to live in a rural location so they may not get a tennent that easy...


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## FloJo (18 Nov 2010)

hi all,

thanks again for replies. Scotsgirl - thought about renting a room out. Again, need to generate some money to do this as we have no furniture in our spare room and when we first moved into the house we dug out the bathroom (thinking we were rolling in money !) and then sure the sh*t hit the fan and it has been left like that. My partner can do it himself - we just need funds to pay for a bathroom suite, tiles, install shower etc. At the moment its not in rentable state. If I get any few bob over the next few months its on the list of plans as I could get cheap second hand furniture on buy and sell and cheap white tiles and that for the bathroom - nothing fancy. 
Im hoping to have this done before the summer as Im on a list to take in some spanish students for a few quid !!


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## Greta (18 Nov 2010)

Marietta said:


> Flojo - It was done in the 80's, fathers, husband's, partners left the country while the wife and kids stayed behind.  It was tough going although in those days the personal debt just wasn't there.  Go on the internet, see what's available in mainland Europe, there are loads of builders emigrating and some of them are getting jobs.



It was done well before the 80's too - my husband's grandfather had to go to England to find work, as there was none for him in Ireland. My father-in-law never went to Britain, but he worked in Northern Ireland for weeks at a time when my husband was growing up, so my husband rarely saw his father for several years. But it provided financial security for my parents-in-law and education for all their children!

Working in Canada for a year or two seems very much better than for OP to have to work extra shifts killing herself and still struggling terribly with debt. I know it's tough to live apart but life is tough in general and it won't be permanent


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## branners (26 Nov 2010)

Sorry to read about the mess your in OP but you seem to have your head on your shoulders and are well able to dig yourselves out of this mess imo.

The only advise I can offer is cancel your sky, you might be only saving €25 per month but that is €300 over a year! You will still get all the BBC & Ch4 channels (E4 & More 4) and ITV (by adding under additional channels) for Coronation Street and X-Factor. You can watch RTE with rabbit ears or online, not that you will want to with all the depressing sh1t they show!!

Personally I dont think you need to ask your oh to emigrate, strength in numbers and all that!! 10 years from now this will be a memory, a bad one but a memory none the less! If your oh goes away who will keep you company in Glendalough!!


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## Bronte (26 Nov 2010)

What do you plan to do with the savings on the mortgage?  What other progress have you made in cutting your expenditure?


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## Panacea (26 Nov 2010)

Have you notified your Life Assurance company that you are a non smoker?

We got a reduction of about 10% when my OH quit smoking last year !!! The bank suggested considering increasing the level of cover instead of reducing the premium.

Do you know if you have mortgage term life insurance or whole of life cover ? It is cheaper if you have cover that goes down as you repay your mortgage.


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## plendoza (1 Dec 2010)

Hi Flojo,

Your situation is serious. Have you looked at what's coming down the tracks in terms of budget tax increases and welfare cuts? Your partner's jobseekers will only last for 12 months because you are working - check if this is the case? - hopefully not.

Also is your mortgage costs fixed for the forseeable future or are you on tracker? If not you will be looking at increased mortgage costs down the road.

Stating the obvious the best way out is for your partner to get work - he needs to use every contact he has got and broaden the scope as much as possible. I presume he is aware of the strain your finances are under. If not possible for him to work proceed as follows - drastic situation calls for drastic measures:

Because of these extra costs coming down the tracks I would suggest you cannot afford to pay these credit cards and you should stop paying them because of this. It may mean all sorts of threatening letters and phone calls (ignore these, easier said than done) but you may be able to cut a deal down the line eventually where they might write off most of this debt. Hopefully then you can build a little cash pile (under the mattress) to pay off some of the other debts and as a little buffer.

Quit Sky, AA and Health insurance immediately. You just cannot afford them full stop. Try to get out of the phone contracts. 

Its most important for the *two of you* to sit down and a budget for the next 12 months with some of the stress tests mentioned above included to see where you really stand and what your objectives are in all of this.

It could come to a point where the mortgage comes under threat. Don't mean to be pessimistic but better to be pragmatic and have a Plan B. It could mean looking at selling the house or reducing your mortgage payments significantly. Look at all the options. At the minute you have wiggle room. If you leave it too late you will be like this country and someone else will be calling the shots very fast. Best of luck


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## fio1978 (10 Dec 2010)

Hi all,

Thank-you so much for all your comments and help. Have not been on in a while seeing as Ive been spending so much time in bank/mortgage company, form filling etc while also trying to get in and out of work in the snow !!

Ive taken on board a lot of what you have all said.



Firstly the mortgage company have agreed to allow us to go interest only to be reviewed in six months time
Secondly, the bank have allowed me to restructure my loan (just waiting for them to call me to go in and sign) - repayments will now be 370 per month
Got rid of the health insurance for now
Serious shopping budget has been introduced in this house and Sundays are now being spent preparing more economical meals for the week !
My partner has just got 2 weeks work before Christmas (and before I get eaten alive - he has signed off the dole for this period 
I plan to ring around about the life insurance next week and try get a better deal seeing as Im a non smoker now.
Ive made a payment plan with MBNA to pay 500euro a month off the main credit card
My partners credit card is being covered by the insurance company that MBNA use as he had paid protection on it. This means we can park this for a year and hopefully have something sorted by then.
All of the above means I will have about 150 euro a month (taking into account the effects of the new budget) for unforseen things that crop up - that gives me some peace of mind.
My partner has been contacted about work in the mines in Canada. Its not a definite yet, its not long term (about 6 months work) but it is excellent money and would provide a much needed cash injection to clear the two credit cards. he would have very little living expenses there as you live on camp and meals are provided. Nothing may come of this but its a possibility.
I know none of the above is really ideal. Im prolonging the agony really by putting off the debt and Im fully aware Im going to have to pay back a lot more in the future. But the above means I can survive, I can not feel guilty every month for not being able to meet the commitments I have made to the various institutions, I wont have horrible letters coming in my door and I dont have to worry as much about things going wrong and having to be serviced/fixed/replaced. It also gives us a little wiggle room in terms of deciding what area my partner needs to retrain in so that we can pay off these debts in the longer term. Like, Im determined that in a year or two we will both be earning and in a position to seriously attack this debt.

We have been thinking of options for my partner, Canada being a last resort. I was wondering if anyone knows what is happening with the announcememnt of the water charges coming in in the near future, what the story is with water meter installation ? Ive found a training course that my partner could do. It costs 1k (our parents have said they will help with the cost of this). Surely this would be a good investment given that every home in this country is going to have to have a metre installed in the coming years. Does anyone know anything about this ?

Again, Id just like to thanks you all for your comments and advice, my only regret is that I didnt do it sooner !!

floJo


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## niceoneted (11 Dec 2010)

I have scanned through the thread and one thing I don't seem to have seen suggest is asking MBNA to freeze balances (apologies if I missed it in a thread). 
Point out to them that the card has not been used since 2008 ( I think I read that correctly?), point out you are making consistent payments and assure them you will continue this and ask for the balance freeze - this is the type of thing that Mabs would do so that is why it is suggested to you. 

I commend you for tackling your problems but you have to be tough. I think you have had your reality check! 
One thing you said early on (and you have grown since then - well done) is that you didn't want to go to mabs as you didn't want to involve a third party. Well you are involving a third party being on here even if anonymous - but stay here as some like me who have been here before want to help by using our experience. 
Good luck to you and chin up and keep up the great efforts.


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## FloJo (11 Dec 2010)

Hi Niconeted,

Thanks for your comments. Freezing the credit card balance - thats something I never thought of asking MBNA. You are right - cards have not been used in years. I'll put that on the 'to-do' list for this week. Thanks for the suggestion !

Im delighted with all the help and suggestions Ive got on here. I certainley got the shock that I needed from some of the frank posts on here !! For now, I feel like Im a bit more in control of the situation. Luckily, I found the banks/lenders veryhelpful to deal with. I was just very honest and upfront with them. I want to pay my debt off. I dont want to run away from it. I borrowed it, spent it, enjoyed it, so why shouldnt I have to pay it back. Im just happy that I have been met with flexibility in doing so !

I may need MABs down the line - hoepfully not though!!

Thanks again

FloJo


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## niceoneted (11 Dec 2010)

Thanks for posting back, sometimes I feel like you have to be cautious as to what to say as you don't know how thin peoples skin has gotten and you don't want to push them over the edge but at the same time you know they (you in this case - I needed it myself a good few yrs back when around your age) need a kick in the right direction. 

Being honest and upfront with the banks etc is the way to go just as you describe in your last post. They obviously see the honesty and the genuineness in you and that is why they are being flexible with you. 

I sincerely wish you all the best and come back for further assistance if needed. 

Oh one other thing I don't think I saw mentioned which is great is a spending diary. You basically write down everything you spend be it .50c or €50 (keep all receipts if necessary to help) and evaluate every week/few weeks/month to help see where money is wasted or can be cut back. 


Oh one other thing on top of the other - I know it is easy to say you can put off MABS but you have to be thinking ahead - wage cuts, SW cuts ( as in latest budget), higher prices for some things etc. You have a good opportunity for the nest 6 months while on interest only to clear a decent bit of CC - don't waste it on xmas etc. 
Well done also on the cigs I did that to and saved a bundle.


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