In Dire Financial Trouble - Seriously

[riot-grrrl]

Guys,

I'm in real financial trouble.

I went to use my card to buy some pet food and my card was rejected twice, I thought it was the card machine making a mistake, but when I went to a cashpoint to withdraw some money it said that I didn't have sufficient funds to withdraw anything.

I went to my parents house and I had some mail from the bank, I opened it and i've used up my £2,000 overdraft and my £150 reserve. So i've got nothing at all in y account, and no more overdraft or anything to draw from (my overdraft has already been increased from 1k to 2k) I have no savings at all as I just spent 7K on my MSc course tuition fees. So I have absolutly no money.

Im fortunate in that my boyfriend pays all the rent and bills on our house, and for a little while I can get him to buy me some food / I can go eat at my parents house. But, I can't expect him to pay for absolutly everything, like my pets dinner, my train fare to uni, credit for my phone etc. Also the other really big significant worry I have is that I'm paying back a Career Development Loan at £200 a month every month - this loan was taken out to pay for my previous MA. I have previously made every payment on this without missing one, but I've missed my last payment because my account is empty.

I'm not entitled to any benefits, I had previously been receiving DLA but they have told me i'm no longer entitled which is fair enough.  I've been searching for a job but i'm at uni full time, so it's hard, I can only work part time - and working more than say 16 hours a week tends to make me both physically and mentally unwell :-(

I can't ask my parents for any money at all, I can't even tell them the position i'm in because they are absolutly and totally broke, like our phone and tv keeps getting cut off because they can't afford the bills etc.

What am i going to do? :-(

[Je7]

Sorry you're in this situation, I don't have any amazing suggestions but can offer  and 

[Lorien]

I would say the first thing to do is go to citizens advice. They can help with all sorts of stuff and could help you to work out a plan to pay it back.

is there any work you can get at uni? I know people that work in the library etc.

If you used to get DLA would you be entitled to free bus/rail pass? I ddont know how any of it works but just thought it may be possible.

I know its hard but don't panic. Somehow it will work out ok eventually. You just have to work out the route to take.

are you expecting any more student finance money? Are your parents able/willing to help you financially,

[mbwa]

A lot of Universities do hardship or crisis grants to students - they are generally small - £100 or so, designed so that you can buy food and not much more, but it's something. If you contact your Universiy's advice service or students union they may be able to help.

[riot-grrrl]

Guys, thank you for the replies and the support. It's lovely to know I have you to talk to because i just can't talk to anyone else about this really....

I can't ask my parents for any money as they are completly broke and in debt themselves, which is a constant source of worry for them so i definatly can't add to that. My brother is in the same boat, he is broke and i dont have any other family members that are close / i talk to much. My boyfriend already pays for everything so i cant ask him for anymore. It's stupid i need to go to uni today to take my library books back but i dont even have the £3 train fare :-/

I've tried to devise a plan of action because doing nothing will not help me



Plan of action time....


* Been to the bank this morning and explained my situation. The lady i spoke to was really nice, she is putting in an application to try and increase my overdraft, but warned that it might not be successfull. I will find out tomorrow if i get it.

*got the phone number to call the career development loan up, will see whether they can do anything, like reduce the payments or let me take a coule of months break from the repayments

* emailed the financial team at university to ask for a meeting to discuss my financial situation, see if they can help me out in any way.

* got an application form for access to learning fund - it looks complicated to apply for though, but i'll try to sort it out tonight, worth a shot I guess.

The only other thing i can do is start job hunting fast. I need to sort my CV out, update it a bit and make it suitable, then start going around and asking everywhere if there are any vacancies, and start looking / applying online. But even if i do find a job and start working, the wage wont come through for a month, so how will i survive until then?! :-(

[Ellie]

sounds like you've got a plan. I would recommend going to citizens advice. They were great with me and will help you deal with those you owe money to.

[Lily Kym]

 

Plan of action time....

* Been to the bank this morning and explained my situation. The lady i spoke to was really nice, she is putting in an application to try and increase my overdraft, but warned that it might not be successfull. I will find out tomorrow if i get it.
Have you asked for a specific amount, or just asked for it to be increased? If they refuse (based on specific amount), ask again for a smaller amount

*got the phone number to call the career development loan up, will see whether they can do anything, like reduce the payments or let me take a coule of months break from the repayments
 May be an idea to get CAB to give you a hand with this

* emailed the financial team at university to ask for a meeting to discuss my financial situation, see if they can help me out in any way.
If you dont hear back by thursday, send another email (with your original attached), explaining it's extremely urgent. I work for a University and know how sparse admin offices are this week due to holidays

 * got an application form for access to learning fund - it looks complicated to apply for though, but i'll try to sort it out tonight, worth a shot I guess.
Give me a shout if you want a hand filling it in

The only other thing i can do is start job hunting fast. I need to sort my CV out, update it a bit and make it suitable, then start going around and asking everywhere if there are any vacancies, and start looking / applying online. But even if i do find a job and start working, the wage wont come through for a month, so how will i survive until then?! :-(  Temp work, pays weekly. Compile a list of local agencies and send your new CV asking for short notice temp posts. If you need a hand with CV - let me know.

 

[Je7]

Well done for devising a plan. It would be so easy to bury your head in the sand. I know I would. I know you prob won't be able too but can you start selling some stuff online? Even small stuff or clothes just to get something coming in? Rubbish suggestion I know sorry :/

[Hash]

Riott,

Just to let you know you could contact your local christians against poverty group as they will be able to manage your debts and help you manage your finances better and they may also know of any food bank access locally and they can put you on a course to help you manage your finances better. THey are really good and can take a lot of the financial worry from you.

Hash

[riot-grrrl]

Thank you so much for all the kind help    I really appreciate it honestly. I've felt pretty alone with all this, so it has been great to be able to talk to you guys.

I went job hunting this afternoon, it was pretty disasterous. Everywhere said they were not hiring, and in a couple of places the people actually laughed when i asked if there were any jobs going... :-(

I rang the bank to find out if my overdraft increase had been approved, they said that they hadn't made the decision yet and to call back tomorrow and they would now then. So fingers crossed, but im not hopefull.

Does anyone know whether it is possible to have two student bank accounts? If i can get a second one i could get a second overdraft?