# Need help to sort me out



## suimhneach (24 Jan 2008)

don't know how i got here but  have a loan of 10,000 from been self employed and stupid  not knowing how to do my taxes use to get bills for tax for 8000 when i earned 17,000. so got loans over the years and now its 10000. then i use to have problems getting paid and somethimes could be 3 months till i got paid. so got a credit card and it was brilliant without it i wouldn't have been able to live at all. the credit limit was 1,700 but then two years ago they upped my credit limit to 5,200 and now im at the limit on that.  Last year i got a full time employment. i dont have a morgatage i cant afford one, i dont have a car, i have rent 500 a month and just normal day to day living expenses and i keep myself to a strict budget but i just cannot seem to pay anything off.  i earn around 2000 take home every month. i just dont know what to do i feel like im sinking


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## Welfarite (24 Jan 2008)

Suimhneach, maybe if you filled in the key-post template thingy (basic infor required) listing all your income/outgoings, etc,it would help people to give advice.


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## suimhneach (24 Jan 2008)

Is this it?

Annual gross income from employment or profession: 28560


Type of employment: e.g. 

Expenditure pattern: In general are you spending more than you earn or are you saving? Spending 

Other borrowings – personal loans etc 10 000 

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? No 
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? 5200

Savings and investments:

Do you have a pension scheme? no

Do you own any investment or other property? no


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## annR (24 Jan 2008)

Hi

Can you list out what your outgoings are?  I think the advice is mostly going to be along the lines of . . .see what you are spending on, can you cut back on something in order to pay your debts?


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## suimhneach (24 Jan 2008)

Outgoings rent 500 pm 
Fuel / Fire 20 week 
Oil 504 every 4 months 
food living in rural area local shops so around 50/60 week
loan repay 115 fortnight 
cc 900 month


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## Harlequin (24 Jan 2008)

Are you making the minimum payments on your loans or are you in arrears? Is it all one loan or are there several loans with different providers? Is the loan from a normal financial institution or is it with a sub-prime lender? What is the interest rate?

If you are in arrears, you need to make contact with your financial providers to see about arranging a new payment schedule. Do NOT just bury your head in the sand - if you've fallen into arrears, you have to tackle the issue ASAP.

If you're not in arrears, you might still be able to rearrange things - getting a longer term on the loan could give you the breathing space you need to tackle the more serious matter of the credit card.

The general rule of thumb is tackle the most expensive debt first - your credit card interest rate is almost certainly higher than the interest rate on your loan, so focus on clearing that first.

First thing to do if you want to pay off the credit card - stop using it. Cut it up, delete the number from any website profiles you've used it on (like Amazon or Play) and stop thinking of your credit card as being money available to you.

Always make the minimum payment each month so you don't run into trouble but make an effort to put a lot more than that into it. Every spare penny you have can be put into clearing the credit card and saving you from paying huge amounts in interest.

Try and make a note of your living expenses so that we can see where you could perhaps trim some of the fat - often people don't realise how much they're spending on groceries or phones or a night in the pub once a week. If you even found an extra €50 a week that you didn't realise you were wasting, it would help you get out of debt that bit faster. 

It might even be possible for you to get a part-time job for a few hours a week and put all the income from that into repaying your debts.

It looks like a manageable situation to me. Your problem was not having a regular income and now that you do you should be able to bring yourself about. Just prioritise your debts above everything else - no holidays, no €200 trips to the pub or restaurant etc etc and you should manage ok. It won't be dealt with overnight but if you're sensible about your money, you should be able to live reasonably well and pay off your debts. 

Listen to the advice on AAM and read some of the other money makeover posts - the same stuff comes up again and again so you should get an idea of where people go wrong and how to sort it out.

Good luck!


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## ClubMan (24 Jan 2008)

Contact MABS.


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## Welfarite (24 Jan 2008)

Your outgoings are 1100 per month by my reckoning. You take in 2000 per month. This gives you 900 disposable income after food, fuel, loans paid, rent. This is not too bad. Is ther something else you're forgetting about? Are  you including credit card debt in your repayments?


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## suimhneach (24 Jan 2008)

i wish! havent been in a bar since september we cook at home so as to save last time we went to dinner was once over the christmas im very strict with money in that way i have stopped using the credit card. perhaps you are right maybe now i have a regular income things will turn right. Its all the one loan with BOI cant tell you what the rate is and thankfully not in arrears.  Its just the old debt and trying to get rid of it. As for part time job im doing a night course as have been promised a better job within company if i do this. Have not been on a holiday in 4 years and not planning any this year either.  
Thanks for the reply maybe i just need to step back and take another look


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## ClubMan (24 Jan 2008)

As I mentioned elsewhere today a common problem when people outline their budgets off the top of their head is that they don't actually do it accurately. Keep a spending diary for a few weeks and that will sanity check your earlier figures.


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## Welfarite (24 Jan 2008)

You say "we"? If two of you are living off 900 per month, that's a different matter! When you say "all the one loan", do you mean that the CC was converted to term loan and that is what you are repaying? Have you cut up the credit card?


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## suimhneach (24 Jan 2008)

`walf. there are 2 of us living on whats left over most months as my fella is a fisherman and has only been able to fish 2 days since the beginning of december no fishing no money. the c c minimum repayment every month is 900 for the moment so there is no 1100 left over after i wish. if there was i wouldnt be here scratching my head


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## Welfarite (24 Jan 2008)

Is he claiming SW? Is he share-fisherman? Habve you shceked out nhis entitlements?


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## Harlequin (24 Jan 2008)

The minimum repayment is €900??? Maybe I'm confused but even back when I had a debt of €3k on a credit card my minimum payment was only ever about €150. Or is that the minimum payment you've agreed - I think the bare minimum my CC provider would accept was 5% of the balance. If you've agreed to pay more, then fair enough, you'll clear the debt faster which is good but not if you haven't enough to live on in the meantime.

Agree with Welfarite about it making a big difference to have two of you living off that. Much more difficult to do. If no fishing, no money, maybe for the time being your fella could get a part-time or full-time job doing something else? Even minimum wage stuff would be better than nothing. Or is he getting jobseekers benefit/assistance? Can he contribute anything?


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## Welfarite (24 Jan 2008)

I'm also having difficulty figuring out what debt you actually have. How much do you pay to BOI each month? Have you asked to convert CC debt into term loan. Ther eis a scheme called "Fish Assist", similar to Farm Assist, to help fishermen who have low incomes. Do you know about this? Have you gone to SW at any stage? Maybe you should, in the first instance, contact www.MABS.ie adn then go to SW and ask if there is anything you or your spouse can claim.


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## suimhneach (24 Jan 2008)

yeah i am maxed on cc 5200 and minimum is 946 this month and last. He is looking for another job at the moment but still hoping for a break in the weather to go back fishing. Been a fisherman you cant get sw as far as i know cause you have a job and youare going to go back to it. Next to impossible to get a job where we are too he use to work in construction but mean living away from home cause job was in another county and he was paying rent and cost of fuel ect at the end of the day wasnt really making any money


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## suimhneach (24 Jan 2008)

never heard of fish assist where can i get more info? google?


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## ClubMan (24 Jan 2008)

?


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## Welfarite (24 Jan 2008)

suimhneach said:


> Been a fisherman you cant get sw as far as i know cause you have a job and youare going to go back to it.


 I don't know where you're getting this fro... perhaps ten/twenty years ago when fishing was good. Times ahve changed. Go to SW tomorrow and enquire as to what you might be entitled to. Go to the Information Officer.


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## ClubMan (24 Jan 2008)

Might also be worth trying www.citizensinformation.ie for info about your rights/entitlements.


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## Thrifty (24 Jan 2008)

Sounds to me like you may have overpaid tax esp if you didn't do out proper accounts. Do you have any accountant or tax knowledgable friends who might be able to help you have a look back over the books. find out what you actually paid in tax and if you did possibly pay too much, pay a tax consultant for proper advice.


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## floydmuppet (25 Jan 2008)

Would your circumstances allow you to go out and get a full or part time job, as well as continue in your business?8000 euro tax on an income of 17,000 is not right you may be due a refund if what you say is correct.call revenue.


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## Harlequin (25 Jan 2008)

She isn't running her business now - she's got a full-time job now.


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## legallady (25 Jan 2008)

well going into the future, perhaps your partner should save say 40% of his income from fishing to cover the times he has no income. Is there any way he can get some additional work when he is not fishing? perhaps registering for the farm relief service? Your partner could work for a local farmer on an ad hoc basis, and be paid for this. It might suit him as you live in a rural area.


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## mercman (25 Jan 2008)

Seriously. Maybe you should take a small holiday (weekend) to clear you mind. 
 Things are not that bad compared to other cases I have seen. You are working and attempting to handle the situation. There is no quick fix - believe me, but try Clubman suggestion - MADS  they are meant to be very helpful at helping people. Chill a little


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## ClubMan (25 Jan 2008)

MA*B*S!


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## suimhneach (25 Jan 2008)

thanks everyone you have made me feel a whole lot better about the whole situation.  your suggestion made me smile legallady, its just altho we live in a rural area there are no farmers on that level here  a farmer might have two cows here.  You all right tho things are not as bad as i thought things were and am seeing things in a whole new light and good news the fisherman is back out fishing tomorrow


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## mercman (25 Jan 2008)

Suimhneach -- I think you are living in the same part of the country as me -- The West. You will be able to deal with this little problem. Sit down with your partner and work out a plan or if this fails, try  what Clubman says, go to MABS, but I don't think you will need to.


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## Satanta (25 Jan 2008)

mercman said:


> Sit down with your partner and work out a plan or if this fails, try what Clubman says, go to MABS, but I don't think you will need to.


I fully agree with the sitting down and making out a plan (when you look at the cold hard facts you might actually be surprised that the situation isn't as bad as when you simply worry about it and don't act). 

However, I suggest you do make contact with MABS if you have the option (not sure how rural you are, constraints on time, nearest office location, etc.). They offer a free service which, at worst, will provide you with some additional information and might even lead to reduced payments on your existing debts. They will/should help you investigate other issues with your finances which will help in moving forward to mitigate against this type of scenario happening again.

There are lots of free sources of financial information available. I'd suggest contacting each of the bodies detailed above (and contacting/looking at any additional sources... www.itsyourmoney.ie etc.) to ensure you are receiving all relevant tax credits/payments/etc.


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## Black Sheep (26 Jan 2008)

I suggest you collect all outstanding bills ESB,Heating,etc. 

Make a list of all outgoings including Mortgage,credit card repayments etc.

List income on a weekly basis (as it appears it varies)

Make an appointment with MABS and bring all your papers

Do the same with Social Welfare and then

Go to Community Welfare Officer and bring all bills as with MABS- he will need to see that you have been to Social Welfare and made serious effort to help yourseef


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