finances can be such an emotional issue for people and very scary too. I think you have some great advice on here already. The only thing that I wanted to add is that even though you only have a 4 year mark on your credit rating and no loans for 7 years, most loan applications ask you if you have ever been bankrupt and that will be with you for life.
The other thing is that if your DP is insistent on declaring bankruptcy - don't let him declare it in your name. If you have joint loans with him, talk to the people you owe money to yourself about what you can do. If you don't have joint loans with him and he wants to declare bankruptcy, just make sure he leaves you out of it. Don't let him mess with your credit rating. You have a choice here because he can only make decisions for himself and his own finances. He can't drag you into it as well, unless you let him as you have to sign all the paperwork yourself to be included.
I really hope that you can work something out. I agree with Leasha - make a budget and stick to it. It might mean that you have to take charge of the finances for a while and not rely on DP to do it. You may have to allocate him $20 a week or something as spending money (if there is room for it in the budget and after all your overdue fees are paid).
There are also other options - there is a clause for accessing super ahead of time if you are suffering severe financial hardship. You will have to meet a strict criteria to do it and I would suggest you also don't enter into that lightly either as it could affect your retirement dramatically, but be aware that it is there and you can contact his Super fund to see what their policy is and how you go about it. See what you can work out without it, but know that there is also that option.
Hope all that helps and good luck with everything.
You need to get to the bottom of the problem. Ask why he was acting like everything's ok when all along it has not been. What is he hiding...where is the money going? What compulsive behaviour have the $$ been spent on...is it just bad budgeting or is there an underlying problem? Drink, drugs, online gaming, gambling, compulsive spending, what else is going on??? If you don't address the reason why the 3K has gotten out of control you won't be able to address the rest of the debt either.
you do not need to see a financial advisor, you need to see a financial counsellor - usually run by your local charith groups.
GL hun, its a rough road but you really need to get to the bottom of it.
and, if you do become insolvent there are lots of things you cant do - but lots of things that you still can. call your local govt agency who runs insolvency in your state and ask for an info pack
I would also add that you should not take on any loans for anything for him - to protect yourself and your own credit rating.
Don't let him have a secondary card on your credit card account or get a car loan if the car is for him etc. Don't lend him your own money at all - you need to keep as clear from his financial mess as possible.
He is a big boy and he needs to man up and take responsibility for his mess and not drag you into it with him. He needs to cut up his credit cards and go talk to Fox Symes before he gets himself in any deeper.
I used to use a diary called Moneybags (google it, they were WA-based) where I would account for every single dollar I spent so I always knew exactly how much I had to spend and so I had the money there for everything when I needed it. It really taught me that budgeting is simple maths and you can't spend what you can't have. Sounds obvious but once he puts it into practice he will never be the same again.
Just because he is older doesn't mean he is smarter. Time for some tough love on your part, I'm afraid.
That sounds like such a tough situation. It sounds like he has taken out a debt agreement (this is called being insolvent), in which case Fox Symes would not have actually paid out his debt, but negiotated with his creditors so that he can make smaller repayments, and all interest is put on hold, this is done through ITSA, which is a government agency. It means that as long as he is making his payments his creditors cannot chase him for the full amount owing and cannot charge interest.
I am guessing he would be making weekly payments to Fox Symes and they would then be distibuting these payments to his creditors. He would have made initial payments to Fox Symes which covers their fee.
To be perfectly honest I am not sure that there are ANY provisions to be made with this so that you can set up a payment plan if you get behind....as far as I know if you get behind.....that is it. There is absolutely no option to reduce the repayments once you have entered into a debt agreement, it is legally binding, and if you break this agreement at any time it means that the creditors can once again begin chasing you for the full amount you owe INCLUDING INTEREST.....
Taking out a debt agreement is usually the very last option before bankruptcy anyway. The difference is that you still pay back your debt, every cent, where as with bankruptcy you do not. Debt Agreements stay on your credit file for 7 years, but you there are no restrictions on overseas travel or how much you are able to earn. If he goes bankrupt there will be major major restrictions on how much he is able to earn.....
I would be calling Fox Symes STRAIGHT AWAY, because as I said there is no leeway on Debt Agreements, you HAVE to make the repayments....
I don't mean to try and worry you more sweet, it is just how it works. I can't remember who said that you need to check where he is spending his money, but I agree, you really need to find out what the underlying cause is here, because otherwise this will continue.
A lot of people sometimes find themselves in a worse situation when taking out a Debt Agreement because they commit to repayments that are not sustainable. When you are taking out a DA, you need to be really honest in how much you are earning etc so that a repayment plan is worked out that is going to be easy to keep up with.
Last edited by Sweet Bliss; July 16th, 2009 at 10:27 PM.
finances can be such an emotional issue for people and very scary too. I think you have some great advice on here already. The only thing that I wanted to add is that even though you only have a 4 year mark on your credit rating and no loans for 7 years, most loan applications ask you if you have ever been bankrupt and that will be with you for life.
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