We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

It's finally hit me.....

Options
little_miss_broke_2
little_miss_broke_2 Posts: 80 Forumite
in Debt-free wannabe
Hi,

My level of debt has finally hit me in the last few days. You know, you go for ages kind of pretending it's not there, then one day it just smacks you in the face?

I've spent all morning reading this forum and i want to post and say 'hi' :wave:

I'm ashamed of myself to be honest. I owe approx. (don't know the exact figure) £20k i think. At the moment i'm making the monthly payments on everything okayish, but i'm left with very little for myself. What i'm most ashamed of i think is that my husband knows nothing about it. He knows i have CC's and an overdraft, but i know he'd be horrified if he knew the full extent of it.

I *think* my credit is pretty good (well, i've not been turned down for anything in the last couple of years, more's the pity eh? Might not be in this mess!), but i'm not sure if consolidation is the way to go?

Off the top of my head i owe: {gulp}
3 credit cards - £7000
personal loan - £6000 approx.
overdraft - £4000
store cards/mail order - £2000

I just can't really see an ending in sight to be honest.

I'm sorry, this post hasn't made a lot of sense, but i do feel a little better for getting it all written down.

Thanks for reading :embarasse
Why is there always so much month left at the end of my money? :doh:
«134567…13

Comments

  • MushyPeas
    MushyPeas Posts: 3,104 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    Hiya LMB

    You've done the first thing, taking a look at how much you owe. Next is working out how to budget and pay it off. It can be done, I did it and so have many others on this website. I hope you find the boards supportive. I'm a newbie so won't offer any advice, hopefully the more experienced will :j

    Good luck - you can do it!!

    MPeas
    Previous debt: £14K :embarasse Debt free: Sept '03 :DMFW#42 Mortgage OP savings £4271.18/£12000 2019 :)Started dating OH Mar '12, married Oct '12, Walnut born Dec ' 12 :A SPC 12: 99 £38.05/£500 Make money Jan: £412.34/£310 :T Feb: £88.79/£280 May: £215.52/£310 June: £18.98/£300
  • wigginsmum
    wigginsmum Posts: 4,150 Forumite
    Welcome aboard - speaking from bitter experience, it's very easy to get a consolidation loan then run up the cards and overdraft again so you're in a worse situation than before.

    Why not post a statement of affairs listing all your income and outgoings? There are lots of people here who will advise on how you could make savings and put the money towards getting your debts down more quickly.
    The ability of skinny old ladies to carry huge loads is phenomenal. An ant can carry one hundred times its own weight, but there is no known limit to the lifting power of the average tiny eighty-year-old Spanish peasant grandmother.
  • jobbingmusician
    jobbingmusician Posts: 20,347 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Keep posting and we'll show you the light at the end of the tunnel! WELCOME to the board :wave: - lots of people on here have carved their way successfully out of bigger debts than yours.

    Consolidation is NOT normally the way to go, and can even lead to bigger problems - but don't panic, there are other remedies!!!

    Can you post a SOA (statement of accounts)? There are other threads here with one on, so you can see what they look like. Basically its all incomings, outgoings and the interest rates you are paying at the mo. Don't worry if you don't know all the rates yet - it may take you a while to research these! Then we can give you lots of helpful hints.

    There are a lovely bunch of helpful people here - you've come to the right place! _party_

    Lots of hugs - jm
    Ex board guide. Signature now changed (if you know, you know).
  • bazzaang
    bazzaang Posts: 161 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Well done you have taken the first step by facing up to it. Now you have to tell your husband, you will feel much better for getting it off your chest, if you think he will be shocked now he will be even more shocked if six months down the line you have struggled to get a grip of it all on your own and ended up deeper in debt.

    But enough of that, good luck you are not on your own
    Only when the last tree has died,the last river has been poisoned,and the last fish has been caught,
    will we realise that we cannot eat money.
  • little_miss_broke_2
    little_miss_broke_2 Posts: 80 Forumite
    Oh wow, thanks so much for all your kind and helpful replies. I'm now sat here fighting back the tears.

    Right, okay, statement of account? Give me a few minutes and i'll do my best!!
    Why is there always so much month left at the end of my money? :doh:
  • jobbingmusician
    jobbingmusician Posts: 20,347 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    bazzaang wrote:
    Well done you have taken the first step by facing up to it. Now you have to tell your husband, you will feel much better for getting it off your chest, if you think he will be shocked now he will be even more shocked if six months down the line you have struggled to get a grip of it all on your own and ended up deeper in debt.

    I agree it would be best to tell hubby. But there does seem to be a self-esteem thing going on here - LMB wants to prove to HERSELF she can cope. And she won't end up deeper in debt if she follows the excellent advice on this board, so I think she possibly (depending on what we see in teh SOA) has the luxury of telling her husband when the time is right.
    Ex board guide. Signature now changed (if you know, you know).
  • vyvyan_2
    vyvyan_2 Posts: 653 Forumite
    500 Posts
    Welcome - you'll find a lot of support here. I'm new as well. There's a lot of people who've got lots of good and sensible advice. I've kept it all secret too. I don't have a husband or other half in my life. No-one knows just the readers on this site! My parents don't know, or my children who are grown up (just about at 17 & 22). No need to be lonely. Look at my Top Secret thread and a helpful bod has posted links to some useful sites. Worth exploring...
  • little_miss_broke_2
    little_miss_broke_2 Posts: 80 Forumite
    Right, deep breath - here we go.....

    Incomings:

    Wages - £984
    Child benefit - £120
    Manitenence - £120
    Working tax credit £40

    Total: 1264

    Outgoings

    Joint account - £588 (covers mortgage, all household bills, food shopping - thank god!)
    Mobile phone bill - £80 approx.
    Tesco loan - £107 (think that's got 6 years left, would have to check)
    Virgin CC - £65 (Balance £2500)
    Egg CC - £40 (Balance £1200)
    Lloyds CC - £60 (Balance £2500)
    Next - £120 (Balance £1200)
    Faith store card - £10 (Balance £200)
    New look store card £10 (Balance £200)
    Overdraft interest £36 (Overdraft is £4000)
    Catalogue - £30 (Balance £400)
    I also have another £1000 loan that i took out before christmas, with a "pay later" option (stupid, stupid me), that's £50 a month (i think) and starts in April.
    And £1000 i owe my mum.

    Total: (inlcuding new loan) - £1196

    Oh. My. God. I feel sick now and incredibly tearful. I can't see a way out of this.......
    Why is there always so much month left at the end of my money? :doh:
  • jobbingmusician
    jobbingmusician Posts: 20,347 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Don't panic! Your incomings are more than your outgoings so far. And we are the people that are going to IMPROVE that situation with/for/alongside you :)

    Just wanted to do a quick post, now we'll all start thinking about it.
    Ex board guide. Signature now changed (if you know, you know).
  • wigginsmum
    wigginsmum Posts: 4,150 Forumite
    There IS a way but it takes time, so don't lose heart.

    - Consider moving the mobile to pay-as-you-go as soon as you can - £80/month seems extremely high to me.

    Can you breakdown the mortgage/household bills/food for us? Often that's where a lot of savings can be made.

    The CCs - are these the minimum payments you've listed? If you can list the APRs on them, it'll show where you're paying the most interest and you can target them one at a time with little bits of extra money each month.
    The ability of skinny old ladies to carry huge loads is phenomenal. An ant can carry one hundred times its own weight, but there is no known limit to the lifting power of the average tiny eighty-year-old Spanish peasant grandmother.
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.
Update Your Picture