I have recently been introduced to Utility Warehouse and will be signing up with them for my gas and electricity when my current contract runs out. It will save me alot!

And in the words of Tesco “Every little helps!”

What I liked most was the advice given:

“HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF SUCCESS

Be 100% committed. If you are half hearted you will be less likely to succeed. Do something you know about and understand. Now is not the time to plunge into the unknown. Analyse your motivation. Ask why you are doing this and what you hope to get out of it. Don’t be in too much of a rush. Taking six months to consider your options may stop you making big mistakes. Do not try to keep your options open by applying for jobs at the same time. You will end up doing both things badly.

Don’t assume that friends and colleagues who said they would buy your products or services actually will. Talk is cheap. Make sure you have the full support of your family. It will be a lot harder if you don’t. Consider starting up your business with a partner who can share the workload and the stress and help you stay motivated. Work out how much cash you are going to need and then double it. Understand what will make your product or service stand out from the competition. If you do not know, do not proceed until you do.”

There is always the odd catch out and it tends to be the things related to the kids activities! So then I can do cash, still claiming to be an Eco warrior.

For me the biggest issue around cheques and things is no longer being a company director simply an employee and no longer being able to sign cheques or be involved in the company’s finances or anything else. And not telling any of the people I am dealing with that I am in fact a bankrupt!

Should I have left the company?

MissY

One of my friends David Cocks who is an acupuncturist (and listed in The Times Online) suggested that I might be stressed, more than that he said that I was probably attached to my stress. And then my boyfriend joined in that I associated being stressed with being busy and getting things done.

Reflecting on their conversation about me I think they are right. Alot of my personality is tied up in how much I am doing and how stressed I am and how much of a struggle it is. I like overcoming the odds to emerge triumphant! Who would I be if I wasn’t this person?

David offered me a treatment and it took me several weeks to find the time to book it because I was too busy!

I had it today and who knows what the outcome will be………….all I know now is that I want to sleep forever…..lets hope I will.

MissY

Take copies of the most recent otherwise you could find yourself in the same situstion that I find myself!

I swear I paid my water bill but I can’t prove it and they have sent me a red demand. And I can’t check because I don’t have the statements for my old bank account which has now been closed!

An irritated MissY

Even though you may  have to change your bank account (by the way The Co-operative will give youan account if you go bankrupt) make sure that you keep the payments up!

I didn’t now I have to pay loads of installments or lose it and sign a declaration of health! But I have been to the doctor for sleeping pills and headaches etc lots of stress related ailments. I wonder if they will think I am healthy enough? In other words don’t fall apart until you policy is back in place!

MissY

I was then in the horrendous position of not being able to manage my debts and I started to negotiate with my creditors. They really weren’t that interested, it seemed as though their debt recovery policies were all the same, keep hassling and threatening the client more than anyone else so that eventually they will borrow the money to pay your debt first!

I had borrowed £3500 from a close friend of mine, at the time of borrowing I thought I could pay her back within 3 weeks…. I was wrong. She was not in a position to lend me the money indefinitely, a single parent with health issues.

Having known Mr X for years, he is like a brother to me, I was of course following his plight too. My decision to go bankrupt was more impulsive and6 weeks after he had his number I had mine.

BUT I needed to pay my friend back! So I did what any good friend would do I sold my car and paid her back, 3 weeks before going to court! I felt good but it was the wrong thing to do. Apparently I was favouring one creditor above the others and that for a 6 month period before going bankrupt the Official Receiver can ask for any payments of this nature back, which is exacatly what they did.

She was really worried about having to pay it back and it put me in a terrible position. On top of which the Official Receiver is now holding me culpable and although I will only be bankrupt for a year I could be subject to the restictions for 2 -15 years, I am still waiting to hear!

As far as I know these restrictions are, not able to be a Company Director or have any credit for the duration………………..Fingers crossed.

The good news is that my friend, having written to the Receiver explaining her position and that she no longer had the money to pay, has not got to repay it.

Watch this spaceand I will let you knowwhat happens to me……………………….

After months of harassment & letter writing I could also tell my creditors where to go. Now all that remains are my personal friends, some family and a couple of others that I have promised faithfully to pay back, of which I’ll keep you all informed how I go about it and why.

For me, the aim of our blog is to assist in creating the breathing space required to enable a bankruptcy with ease, to enable the freedom to decide who to include and who to negotiate with and most importantly to show how to navigate through the waters during the period up until when “discharge” takes place and when life can begin again.

For me, I never had the fear of having bailiffs turn up at some ungodly hour, since they never actually had my true address – thank the lord for Mailboxes Etc. (of which more another time) – suffice to say that they are a franchise where you can register and have all mail sent with an address that appears to be an actual “home” address.

The experiences that I will share are that of a successful (or so others viewed me) businessman and entrepreneur that won awards and seemed to have the trappings of success who suddenly ran out of credit. If life where a game of snakes and ladders, then my journey up the ladders of opportunity suddenly became slides down the snakes rather rapidly.

I too will be giving the bits of info we wished we knew before we went bankrupt and what we learn on the way back from bankruptcy, practically and emotionally. The grey areas that can be used, the black areas to stay in and the areas where not to tread. I hope you enjoy this blog as much as we are beginning to enjoy writing it and gain as much from me as from Miss Y. Do please join in…..

Mr X declared himself bankrupt about a month before I did and we are getting through it together. We wanted to share our experiences and any ideas we have to make it easier for you.

Mr X will be talking from the male perspective which for obvious reasons I can’t do.

Enjoy…………….

MissY

As she spoke about her plans to set herself up in business and claim Working Tax Credit, Housing & Council Tax benefit until her business took off  I was stuck with the the realisation of who wins in a recession.

It made me  feel depressed because I certainly  didn’t think that I was in the category of people who succeed in recessions! Why? Because it seems that people who succeed in economic downturn are a combination of:

1) Experienced masters of their trade. (My friend with 20 years in recruitment and built up relationships).

2) Have something that people have a need for or perceive they have a need for. (She has the ideal candidate for the role).

3) People who will go further for their clients than others. (She can undercut the competitors because she is working from home).

4) People who are innovative & flexible. ( She reads all the trade and daily press so that she knows exactly what is happening in her specialised field).

So now the million dollar question “What am I a master in?”

Perhaps it is life after bankruptcy!