Bankruptcy

[ThomasSoerensen]

Maybe you should try and find something more within your capabilites, then you won't have to work an extra 20 hrs a week to get the job done?

But seriously, if I try and work 12 hrs a day the client will complain, when I was averaging 9 they put a limit on how much I could bill in total in my contract, so now I keep it to an extra 2-3 a week on average. That works out OK as I can get an earlier flight on the weeks I'm flying home and get home before midnight.

And sometimes I am knackered, because I've landed at 1am on Monday morning on a delayed flight after a weekend of little sleep because a 4 year old kept waking us up. 6 hrs kip and up for work, but I'm not going to be putting in 10 hours.



That's exactly what I am doing! The only difference is that I commute monthly because we simply can't afford 4 flights a month and all the man stuff around the house gets compressed into a single weekend a month.

I bet neither of you hard men have taken a holiday in the last 3 years either. Or been to the pub with your mates. You probably don't have time for friends what with all that working

Drink 2 RedBull before your morning shower and you are ready to go. Sleep is for the rich.

[doodab]

Drink 2 RedBull before your morning shower and you are ready to go. Sleep is for the rich.

I gave up redbull when I started to notice that I always tulip blood after drinking it. That is not a joke, unfortunately. Although it could have been the vodka and tequila I suppose.

[Sysman]

Well, I think we have proven that I'm not really loaded.....

It isn't just the money.

I was thinking of the snobby expat mums, and some of the spoilt Yank kids who used to invade my local on a Friday night.

[TheFaQQer]

Yes, the OCP needs a course now but it's a 4-5 day one, should be doable for £1500 + the exams I reckon. The main reason I'm considering them is because it shows basic technical competence that maybe is a doubt in some peoples minds because I'm seen as a "product X" guy rather than a Java guy that knows "product X" as well.

It depends which OCP you are after, I guess. I did OCP DBA which is four exams plus a hands-on course. OCP PL/SQL you could do without a training course at all as you can do it with three exams. So I guess it's possible to do it without doing the course, but they need some study first.

Might help - I have them on my CV, but I don't mention them unless a client does. I don't do DBA work, but it's handy to be able to throw it in in passing that I have the certification.

[Platypus]

Maybe I missed this, why not sell one of her flats to pay off the debts?

BTW, you really really don't want to go BR for a measly £20k it will seriously fsck your life up, for example, you won't be able to consider buying a place for 6-7 years until the BR drops off your credit file. You can't be a director of a Ltd company, so unless you work through an umbrella, that's your company wound up. Some jobs & contracts require you to get credit checked (e.g. at a bank) so BR will prevent you getting some jobs. The OR will inform your landlord that you're BR which can muck up your current rental. I'm glad you've already concluded that you don't want to go down this path.

[doodab]

Maybe I missed this, why not sell one of her flats to pay off the debts?

Well, 2 main reasons, #1 is that it probably won't pay off the debts (at least one if not two of them is well into -ve equity) and #2 is that they aren't mine.

The purchase of two of them was done when we first moved in together, without my involvement or knowledge, as we had quite independent finances. At least one of them has turned out to be a bad investment and is more in -ve equity than the debts I owe. I don't know what the situation on the whole portfolio is but she's unlikely to want to crystallise a loss, plus that would lose the income they generate which is probably on a par with what the debt costs anyway.

BTW, you really really don't want to go BR for a measly £20k it will seriously fsck your life up, for example, you won't be able to consider buying a place for 6-7 years until the BR drops off your credit file. You can't be a director of a Ltd company, so unless you work through an umbrella, that's your company wound up. Some jobs & contracts require you to get credit checked (e.g. at a bank) so BR will prevent you getting some jobs. The OR will inform your landlord that you're BR which can muck up your current rental. I'm glad you've already concluded that you don't want to go down this path.

Indeed. We need batten down the hatches and engage in some radical cost cutting. She can move out of london to a cheaper provincial town, I'll try and find a cheaper place out here, and keep my current job until something worth having comes up in the UK so as not to risk benchtime. A bit of shuffling the debt could save a few £100 a month on the cashflow as well, although that will mean it's not actually getting paid back.

[lilelvis2000]

Maybe I missed this, why not sell one of her flats to pay off the debts?

BTW, you really really don't want to go BR for a measly £20k it will seriously fsck your life up, for example, you won't be able to consider buying a place for 6-7 years until the BR drops off your credit file. You can't be a director of a Ltd company, so unless you work through an umbrella, that's your company wound up. Some jobs & contracts require you to get credit checked (e.g. at a bank) so BR will prevent you getting some jobs. The OR will inform your landlord that you're BR which can muck up your current rental. I'm glad you've already concluded that you don't want to go down this path.

Not to mention that if a Insolvency Practioner get a look at all your assets (eg: flat) - he'll go for the juglar. And at rates as much as £350 per hour he'll quickly surpass £20K and you'll owe not just £20K but the IP's fees on top...and he gets paid first.

Wife nearly went fully bankrupt. it cost her £30K to the creditors and £11K to the IP. She nearly lost her house, but by paying off the creditors at 50p/£1 the BK was annuled. The original creditor that filed bankruptcy order was owed £12K.

[doodab]

Not to mention that if a Insolvency Practioner get a look at all your assets (eg: flat) - he'll go for the juglar. And at rates as much as £350 per hour he'll quickly surpass £20K and you'll owe not just £20K but the IP's fees on top...and he gets paid first.

Wife nearly went fully bankrupt. it cost her £30K to the creditors and £11K to the IP. She nearly lost her house, but by paying off the creditors at 50p/£1 the BK was annuled. The original creditor that filed bankruptcy order was owed £12K.

Well, we aren't married, and I don't have a stake in any of the flats. My assets amount to a few boxes of books, CDs, DVDs etc, computer & network stuff and a few musical instruments and things. Oh, and some hand tools, multimeter, oscilloscope, the furniture in the house and so on.

[Sysman]

Well, 2 main reasons, #1 is that it probably won't pay off the debts (at least one if not two of them is well into -ve equity) and #2 is that they aren't mine.

The purchase of two of them was done when we first moved in together, without my involvement or knowledge, as we had quite independent finances. At least one of them has turned out to be a bad investment and is more in -ve equity than the debts I owe. I don't know what the situation on the whole portfolio is but she's unlikely to want to crystallise a loss, plus that would lose the income they generate which is probably on a par with what the debt costs anyway.

This reads to me as if she is the one who should be considering bankruptcy, not you.

Since you aren't married, you have no legal obligation for any negative equity she has. In the cold hard light of day you could actually walk away from all this and get your finances sorted, leaving her to go bankrupt and rely on state handouts thereafter.

On her refusal to move to Germany - most of us have had to put up with working and/or living in places we detest at some time or other. What has she done that makes her the exception? And why should you pay for that?

Sorry to be blunt, but it needed saying.

[Platypus]

Not to mention that if a Insolvency Practioner get a look at all your assets (eg: flat) - he'll go for the juglar. And at rates as much as £350 per hour he'll quickly surpass £20K and you'll owe not just £20K but the IP's fees on top...and he gets paid first.

Wife nearly went fully bankrupt. it cost her £30K to the creditors and £11K to the IP. She nearly lost her house, but by paying off the creditors at 50p/£1 the BK was annuled. The original creditor that filed bankruptcy order was owed £12K.

I'm guessing this was a business debt? Personal bankruptcy (self declared) doesn't involve IPs nor does it involve you having to pay fees to professional practitioners. The point is, you're skint.