End of the road

2456

Comments

  • meer53 wrote: »
    Do what i do when i have to do things i keep putting off doing, set a time limit for doing them, then do as much as you can within that time. Say 2 hours, at the end of the 2 hours, stop and set yourself another target. If you feel like carrying on, then carry on !

    Another thing i find useful is to jot down each day what i spend, then at the end of the week, i can see whether i've overspent or not. It only takes seconds each evening but really brings home exactly where your money goes. I found that buying 2 coffees at work (we have Costas where i work !) each day was costing me £80 a month :eek:
    Not anymore ! That was without the sandwiches i used to buy too, i make my own now the night before. It's really satisfying when you get into the habit and can see what savings you can make.


    Yeah that's a good idea. I wonder where my money is going but I'm spending over £200 a month at work. That's money I don't even notice I'm spending.

    I know what I need to do but it scares me that I can't keep to it. I'm so desperate to make the change but it gets me down that I won't. I want a good life but im holding myself back.
    Watch this space.... Will update soon!
  • Only you can make that first step - we're all here for support and advice if you need it.

    Dont give up - you're better than that! :)
  • Hi Artnoble,

    There's good and there's bad here, but it can all be sorted. And I understand what you say when you talk about having no energy due to depression. Been there, got 100 t-shirts!

    Bad:
    You think there about £12K of debts.
    Maybe eight creditors.
    Depression.
    Spending out of control

    Good:
    Living at home.
    Low outgoings.
    Back in a job and earning wages (fantastic!)
    You want to do something to improve your position/life.

    It can be a little overwhelming trying to make sense of a SOA, especially when there's mounds of paperwork. Don't just look at the whole pile and shudder. Break it down, bit by bit. You say you've kept all the letters from at least the last few months. Even if you have to do the next bit in stages - do it.

    1. Gather all the paperwork in one place (don't get scared - you're going to conquer this).

    2. Methodically go through each piece of paper. For every creditor/bank/bank statement - put them in a separate pile.

    3. Once they're all in piles for each company/creditor - put them in date order. You can either have the latest date at the top or the bottom, its your choice. About now, you'll possibly think things look worse than they are 'cos there's loads of paper around. Don't give up - it just needs to look a little messy in order to make order out of chaos. Breathe!

    4. Once that is done (or while you're sorting them - up to you), write down the figures. Amounts owed, APR, date loan(s) were taken out, etc. Maybe make a note of contact addresses and telephone numbers at this stage too in case you need them later on.

    5. Transfer these figures into the different categories listed on the SOA.

    Voila - you've completed, or at least made a really good start, at your SOA.

    Before anyone says this is rather simplistic - its just doing this helped me. More so when trying to complete work expenses. I'd see the pile of receipts and paper and I'd start panicking. Then a kindly colleague sat next to me and talked me through it, i.e.,: where did the person go on the trip? I'd tell them. Right, put that destination on the expenses form. One thing done. Next, how did they get there? Fly. Where's the ticket? I produced it. How much did it cost - put that figure on the form. Where's the hotel bill? How much per night? And so on. So, by breaking it down logically, it showed me that I did have all the information there, I just had to separate it out. And yes, I am MUCH better at expenses these days :)


    Best of luck.
  • artnoble
    artnoble Posts: 879
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    First of all thank you for all your responses. It's very heart warming and made me feel better.

    Got the free noodle credit report and it says I have about 12,466 worth of debt.

    This is over 10 creditors one is a loan for 7309 with natwest. The other 5,157 is spread over the other 9 creditors. The highest amount being around £1300. So it's about what I expected.

    I think if I can get everything in order and start afresh after Xmas. Work out a budget and then plough as much as I can towards the debt.

    What would your advice be? Start paying of the lowest first. Should I contact them myself or can I get help?
    Watch this space.... Will update soon!
  • artnoble wrote: »
    What would your advice be? Start paying of the lowest first.

    The general advice is to pay as much as possible on the one with highest APR.

    Once the highest APR is cleared, use the money you were using on the highest APR, on the one that is now the highest, and so-on, until they are all paid off.

    You really need to post a SOA.
  • artnoble wrote: »
    First of all thank you for all your responses. It's very heart warming and made me feel better.

    Got the free noodle credit report and it says I have about 12,466 worth of debt.

    This is over 10 creditors one is a loan for 7309 with natwest. The other 5,157 is spread over the other 9 creditors. The highest amount being around £1300. So it's about what I expected.

    I think if I can get everything in order and start afresh after Xmas. Work out a budget and then plough as much as I can towards the debt.

    What would your advice be? Start paying of the lowest first. Should I contact them myself or can I get help?


    Even mine :rotfl:

    Start with the debt with the highest Apr as this is the one costing you more to keep!!
    DEBT FREE AND PROUD:D
    'Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt'
  • artnoble
    artnoble Posts: 879
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Bedsit_Bob wrote: »
    The general advice is to pay as much as possible on the one with highest APR.

    Once the highest APR is cleared, use the money you were using on the highest APR, on the one that is now the highest, and so-on, until they are all paid off.

    You really need to post a SOA.

    The thing is I've not paid any of these debts for years. There are no aprs they are just passed round from dca to dca.
    Watch this space.... Will update soon!
  • artnoble
    artnoble Posts: 879
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Even mine :rotfl:

    Start with the debt with the highest Apr as this is the one costing you more to keep!!


    Yours was the slap in the face I needed. I'll let you off this time
    Watch this space.... Will update soon!
  • Do you mean they have no APRs, or you don't know what the APRs are?
  • eeeeeee
    eeeeeee Posts: 459 Forumite
    :beer: the first thing you have done right is admitted that you have a problem !
    NSD = 3/31 spent = £97.88/31 groceries = £26/31 fuel =2/31
    various debts = /£14366.89:eek:secured loan = /£13887.21 full settlement figuremortgage = /£64,342.45
    ime not debt free ,but ime trying JANUARY BIG FINANCIAL FREEZE (JBFF)no35
    proud owner of a british bullog puppies due end of jan2013
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards