Ok so ill go back a bit to explain what has made me need help. Back in august last year i was working at maplin electronics and i was off to university on october! i was very excited and decided to buy myself some gifts, what a good idea! WRONG!
So i got myself an ipod touch for £300 ish, but i did it on finance. So i didn't have to pay till february 2009. Awesome idea. Well as it goes no!
And lastly vodafone. i got a contract out with them on august too. it was for 18 months, got a nice new phone that is now a apiece of junk. it was for £35 a month. that seemed like a good idea too!
so now i had all these new gadgets to play with i left for uni(October). So it comes to student loan, first year you get all excited about having your own money and ohh its so much fun!
But i did another stupid thing. bought myself a laptop, which at first was really good. (it did get me through times where my pc died for months). but i had to pay 700 over 10 months. So all in all you can guess i racked hell alot of debt up!
i started get notices from companies about having to pay them, back. but i stupidly ignored them! I've made some really stupid choices this last year that have screwed me over financially.
and its only really come to pass this year that it was really urgent.
I've been sorting money out here and there. and i have really learnt a thing or two about spending money. Don't!
So here i am with money issues. i have payed my laptop off but i need to pay argos and vodafone. both have passed my debt to other companies. Never fun, i can tell you that.
So i have gone to university to sort out a emergency loan, but im not allowed one. I am however allowed an ALF. And for you people who don't know what this is, its an access to learning fund.
basically it means i can get money off the government, but i will have to pay it back off as i would with my loans ans such. But at the moment i need to write a paragraph on why i want them to give me the money.
Now ive never been good at writing convincing statements so im gonna post what i have written so far, in hope someone can help me a bit.
here it is:
"Before i started University i was working at maplin electronics. A few weeks before i left to university i took out a contract with Vodafone for £35 a month. This was a contract for 18 months, and i thought i could pay it back while i was at university. subsequently i couldn't and this got me into debt of £424. I also on the same month took out a buy now pay 6 months later with argos, expecting to do the same as i did with Vodafone. But once university had started i had to pay for rent, food, general goods(e.g.washing powder). Now after a year of stupidly ignoring the companies i owed money to, i got myself into debt. It was stupid to think the companies would forget about the money i owed them. Now because of the debt i still owe i am currently living on not much more than £10 a week. I am currently struggling to live on that a week. And the companies are demanding money that i owe. At the moment i am paying them off very slowly."
Now i know its not complete, but its awful, any ideas?
8 comments:
don't talk about your debts, or mention them vaguel, also you need to say tht the course is expensive and with computing you need to as up to date as possible wth the latest electronics and it costs more than your loan and big up the expenses of uni in general my little friend, you alos need to mention that you cant get support from home, especially due to the financial crisis and thats making it harder to find a job as well
first off {hugs} I did exactly the same when I was at uni, only I didnt realise nearluy as quickly as you and 5 years later I can only just see it being paid off.
First question is have you tries extending your overdraft? This is usually easier and more flexible then a loam, and has fewer strings and a similar interest rate on most student overdrafts) even if this would only allow you to pay a nominal amount of the total debt it could help with making a payment arrangement w ith the debt collection companies.
Secondly, the debt collection companies should have now paused all chrges going on to the account while you come to an arrangement, if they haven't contact citizens advice who will be able to help you come to an affordable arrangement with said companies (If all you can afford to pay is £1 a month, they should acept that without additional charges, and you can then pay it off when you are able to afford it).
Finally I agree with Feppy about not mentioning your debt. If I were you I would say something along the lines of "Was getting additional support from someone and am not getting that any more" (the someone was really Maplin who were paying you your salary but you can fuzz over that fact).
Fred, well done you actually understanding that you have a problem, I have many friends, neighbours and colleagues, who are a lot older (and one would have assumed wiser) and haven't asked for assistance before it is far too late to get practical help.
First things first, - don't get involved with any of these Debt Solution adverts that promise to make it all go away - they won't, and will escalate the debt. Citizen advice are brilliant, but overburdened, so try..
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/
they are free and extremely helpful in all the cases I have been involved with.
Also check you are received EVERYTHING you are entitled to...
http://www.entitledto.co.uk/
and go through their checklist. I thought I was clued up, but even found I was entitled to some obscure bits and pieces.
Hope these help, and keep your chin up !
ps - didn't mean to sound patronising, just well impressed with how you are sorting it.
Shani
Thanks for all the comments everyone. Im going to write a revised statment later. But in the mean time im going to follow most of your advice and have alook at those websites.
hehe don't worry shani if you think your patronising, because don't worry, your not :)
But in the case of realising im not good with money, if i didn't realise then my only other option was to put my fingers in my ears and go "lar, lar, lar" not listening :p
although that does sound fun it won't help me :P
ill be posting another blog once ive written up my new statment
I havn't really got any advice to offer regarding your debt problems, but it sounds like you are well on the way to creating a good plan of action.
Whatever you come up with, stick to it...it's important :)
Have you thought about finding a PT job whilst you are at Uni. I know it helped me a lot whilst I was studying, especially as it was in a Pizza shop, so I always had a good meal twice a week...hehehe! It also got me out into the *real* world.......
Here comes the *mother* voice within me ;)
Who does the cooking where you live? Learning to cook basic meals with cheap veggies found at local markets is also a good way to keep your spirits up. You have to eat well to be able to think clearly. If you make a basic sauce with tomatoes, onions, carrots etc, you can add other stuff and make it into all sorts of things....spag bol, curry, soup, pasta sauce.
Anyway, I'll follow your progress with interest, and try to add words of support whenever I can.
But what I do know is that you are very much cherished by your family, with or without any mistakes you make/have made.
Don't ever forget that.
Big Hugs.....
S xXx
Stay strong trooper!
Sort it and eat it for breakfast.
Yum
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