It's possible!

amyreid20

Hi all, I am new to this and I know there are probably a lot of people registered here with way bigger problems than I have had, but I am hoping that by hearing my story it may help people in similar positions to myself realise that they can become debt free and it's not just a dream! I'm on my way there now and will be debt free by June next year! Yay! I was really down and depressed about my debts which at the worst were at around £15,000.... to put this in to perspective for you all I am only 22 and still live at home with my parents... I know. It is terrible that I could get in to so much debt...here's how it happened....

As with everyone I suppose, the bank asked me to go see them about a day after my 18th birthday. It started so innocently with a £50 interest free overdraft!!! From there I got a £4,000 car loan which I thought was the only loan I'd get! WRONG! I then got a River Island Store Card, a Halfords Storecard (to pay for things for aforementioned new car), then I opened a Freemans account, and then I got a personal loan, just for the hell of it. It ended for me in December, 2006 when I was 20 and realised that I was never out of my £1,700 overdraft and I was now paying off THREE car loans and had a Next account, Argos Storecard and another random "not for anything in particular" personal loan, I had a pay monthly mobile phone and was forever going over my overdraft and getting hit with £30 bank chrages per time - not good.

I never looked at my bank statements and I had no money for anything not even petrol. I had to bite the bullet and take a long hard look at my finances.

I worked out that I had around £15,000 in debts and, as I was only earning around £14,750 a year, I was left with a tiny £20 per month to myself after I paid back my monthly outgoings. No (legit) bank would give me any money to consolidate my loans to make one monthly payment so after a lot of stressing I decided to ask my dear father who was oblivious to any problems I had!

Obviously he hit the roof but agreed to get a loan in his name and then give it to me. I would then pay it off to him every month for 3 years. It was £395 per month. Seemed great! I paid off all my credit accounts, my overdraft, everything. I promised never to get in to debt ever again!!!

Ha! Nice one Amy!!! From then (Dec 06) until Jan 08 my overdraft crept back up to £1,700 and my next account to around £450, I owed my gran £300, my mum £100, my dad £400 and my boyfriend £350!!! I also got another car on credit and a pay monthly mobile phone. All this while still paying dig money, car insurance and my £395 a month loan my dad had got for me...

So again in January this year (08) I thought ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! And I have stuck to it this time. Every month I have MONTHLY BUDGET SHEETS! Sounds really strict but I have to be!! I write down all my monthly outgoings and then pay roughly around £100 per month on debts (or however much I can afford to), I leave myself with a £30 budget per week which isn't great but it's done for the past 7 months so I'm making it last!! My Next account is paid off and I have almost paid my lovely boyfriend back. This lovely boyfriend is also the same boyfriend who has recently told me that he has saved up nearly £5,000 and is paying off the last year of my £395 a month loan for me so I can be debt free quicker and we can start saving for a deposit for a house! What a complete sweetheart!!! So I have worked out that after I finish paying this £395 a month loan on 24th December this year I will be able to pay both my overdraft and my one remaining car loan off by 26th June 2009!

Anyways, sorry for rambling on. I just wanted to highlight (again) how easy it is for young people to get into debt and not even realise. I'm over the spending bug now and I can't wait to be debt free and just enjoy MY money without feeling guilty about it!!! Only 10 months to go and believe me, after FOUR YEARS of debt (my whole "adult" life) I am counting down the days until June 2009!!!!

Good luck to everyone who is trying to pay off debt, no matter how small or large the amount its, it can be done and it is so worth it in the end!

beanielou

Sounds like you are doing really well.

Quietgirl

Your story sounds very much like mine. I left home at 16, then at 18, my bank gave me a £50 overdraft. I then got left with all the bills from living in a shared house I rented with a group of friends. I ended up paying all of it when we left. Then I ended up with a dixons store card. A Barclayloan for a scooter. Then another Barclayloan for a better scooter. Then a Barclayloan to buy a car even though I failed my test at the time. I got credit cards it was SO easy, and Barclays even gave me a morgage. More credit cards. A consolidation loan to clear all my debts, laptop on finance. Can't remember everything I had. I can see why people advise against consolidation loans on here as I maxed the credit cards out again. Then in 2002, due to a change in my circumstances I had no choice other than to go bankcrupt.

I have learned a lesson, I obviously can't get credit cards, the only thing I have is a contract mobile and a catalogue now.

It is annoying that at such a young age that banks and companies literally THROW credit at you, I think that is why we have the credit crunch now, banks etc have no morals they did back then just throw credit at you, I am not saying they are 100% to blame but I think there should be some sort of guidelines to how much credit a person can obtain in relation to wages, and then you should have to prove how it can be paid back, like the SOA seen on here. Perhaps at school we should be educated on budgeting and taught about the perils of credit.