How has your attitude changed?

Quincifer

In answer to the thread subject - I feel better in myself because I know im trying to tackle my problems. I think alot more about what i'm spending money on and feel unbelievable guilt if I spend on something I know I shouldn't. I feel a bit tight on myself sometimes and get tempted to give in but I know that i'm working to a greater goal and that spurs me on xxx

In_Search_Of_Me

Bump...some people feeling v. low so thought some sunday inspiration may help as they crawl back onto the waggon! (or is it wagon?!!)

mountainofdebt

Well if I was unhappy then I bought stuff whether I needed it or not.

If I fancied a blouse then I bought it.....if i fancied a cd 'cos I like a few tracks then I bought it (even though I hated the others!) .....if I was bored then I bought a magazine/book. If I was going out then I had to have new every time.

Now if I fancy a top then I don't buy it.....tend to buy my clothes off ebay now (but don't tell my sister!), don't buy cds anymore as I listen to the radio (far more educational - well how else do you think I learnt about this site!) and have worn the same dress to the last several evening dos now .....I think even hubby is beginning to dispair of me!

raju786

well first of all i really have to congratualte all of you for able to put your finances in order, but it seems to me no offence to anyone that you really cant have your fun without money, i would rather have my fun now and while paying back the debt i can at least say i had fun with that money and it wasnt just a waste. I know literally everyone here will disagree with me but its my opinion of things, im probably wrong but you know its the way i think....

Willsnarf1983

raju786 wrote:

well first of all i really have to congratualte all of you for able to put your finances in order, but it seems to me no offence to anyone that you really cant have your fun without money, i would rather have my fun now and while paying back the debt i can at least say i had fun with that money and it wasnt just a waste. I know literally everyone here will disagree with me but its my opinion of things, im probably wrong but you know its the way i think....

Thats kinda my feelings on paying back debt, i pay 1/4 of my wages back and live ont he rest, i could at a push use over 1/2 of my wages on debt repayment but then i wouldn't have golf or football. I do agree that to many epople are quick to tell people to pay as much as they can and squander some of the things they enjoy doing. For me its about finding a happy medium

WIll

Froglette

I really like this thread, I'm glad its been posted on today otherwise I might never have found it. I have only been really trying to reduce my debts for three months and it is really strange how my attitudes to certain things have changed during that time.

When I was a student I built up a £1500 interest free overdraft and was very comfortable living at the bottom of it. To the point where every month I would always go over it just prior to payday (anywhere from £40 to £120 over). A few months ago the bank changed my account status from Graduate to a standard account, along with this came charges for going over my overdraft limit. They hadn't told me that they were going to do this so I was able to claim what ammounted to £125 in charges back. But I was determined not to go over my limit ever again.

I promised myself that whatever the difference was between the balance of my account and my limit each month I would split half and half, one half on an extra repayemnt to my priority debt and one half on whatever I wanted.

To get my point back on topic, the main change in me and what has suprised me the most in my attitude towards money is that I now get more of a buzz out of making those extra payments than I do out of spending the other half. The first month the difference in the two figures was just £8.90, so I decided to put the whole lot onto my CC, the following month the figure was £38.76, and again I decided that I would pay the whole lot onto my CC. This month if I have done my sums right, I am looking at a possible £500 difference if I stick to budget. I can't say yet what proportion I will keep for myself as I still promise myself half and half, but if I choose to pay it all onto my CC then it will obviously be what I really want to do with it. How strange.

Does anyone else do something similar?

fabianne

Great thread!
I was just talking to my brother about cash flow etc and I said that I wished I had all my 'Saturday Night Out' money back in my pocket right now! I used to think nothing of blowing £100 in town at the weekend,plus a new outfit/shoes/taxi's. He said "Yeah,but it was great fun,wasn't it?" (he isn't in my position obviously lol)
I have always tried to be careful with money-and got into a real mess with it recently.I think it is little things that accumulate over time that get's us into trouble.
I have been cooking from scratch a lot more or putting something in the oven whilst I walk the dog,then it is ready when I get back-time management improved too!! I think we as a family are eating a lot healthier,it's amazing how you can come up with some great meals by cobbing leftovers together.I have made sandwiches more often for the kids,I hunt out reduced items to pop in the freezer at the supermarket.
I realise the big mistakes I have made in the past and will learn from them now.

richardvc

Great post -

Struggled to keep a roof over my head by taking on too large a mortgage and when my job went pear-shaped it all got a bit much.

Borrowed cash off the credit cards and then ended up with a huge tax bill.

Grand total of approx £36k in debt. Sold house and reduced that to approx £22k.

After having my head in the sand for years I realised that after moving in with my partner I had to face my fears.

June 25th 2005 sat down and opened all the envelopes marked private and confidential (all bills surprisingly !!!!) and nearly died when I saw that I still owed £22kish.

That very day I wrote to all my creditors (roughly 16 of them!) explaining my situation, accepting my responsibility and offering payment terms to them all.

Within a few days I had lots of positive responses and am fast approaching to be in 4 figures with my debt !!

That day in June last year I vowed to myself and my partner to get myself organised, take responsibility and promised to tell her if I had any money problems (we all know that silence doesn't work).

I now am down to 8 creditors and organise my money on MS Money so I can't go overdrawn. I have no credit cards and spend only cash so when I spend it, it HURTS !!!!!

I have applied this organisation to every facet of my life and now preach the gospel of organisation and decluttering.

So how has my attitude changed ? I earn less now but make it go further without curtailing my lifestyle and respect the power of money.

Thanks to this board I pay less for Sky and aol, make cheaper phone calls, have very cheap breakdown insurance, shop at Lidl (which is great), buy and sell on ebay, take my own healthier lunch to work, reclaiming my bank and credit card charges and too many more money saving things to mention. I have also managed to get out of the habit of impulse buys which has saved me a fortune !!

I live a better life and pay less for it and am more content now than I have ever been in my life. At last I am controlling my money rather than it controlling me !!

pms

Got my 1st credit card at 18 and if I wanted something just put it on the card. I managed to max out not 1 but 2 credit cards by the age of 24 but with my parents help cleared both took out a loan to help pay one card off. Unfortunately I did not learn my lesson, I did not cut the cards up but continued to use them for different things I wanted (didn't need them)

May 2005 moved out of home with the 2 credit cards about half way to being maxed out, plus the added payments of running a car. All this happened about the same time. October 2005 I was in serious trouble could no longer afford to pay minimum payments on the credit cards and I had a loan which I had consolidated onto on a few occasions so upped my monthly payments. Between rent, food and my debts I had no money whatsoever to live on.

At this point I changed my bank account to a Natwest Step Account, it made me really think about ther money I was spending and how I was dealing with my finances. In february I moved back to my parents house and in March I signed a Trust Deed.

The budget that was set up for me with the Trust Deed I struggled with at first - then I found this site I now write down every last penny I spend no matter how little it is and have a note book with all my budget in it and it has helped me so much. I am definately 100% more organised with my finances now than I have ever been.

HazelEyes_3

Really interesting thread - glad it was bumped up as I was not a member when it was first started.
I am so much more money aware since discovering this site and subsequently having my LMB.
I sorted out a budget and opened a third bank account so I now have 1 for paying bills, mortgage etc, 1 for paying debts and 1 for cash. I've set up standing orders out of my main account to cover the bills and cash accounts so that what remains is for debts.
I log into each account every day and transfer what I can into the savings account attached to each current account. At the same time I set up a transfer back to the current account in time for each direct debit payment.
I never used to do this - partly because it was so depressing to see my overdraft.
The other big change is that when I get any extra money such as my annual bonus from work I sit down and work out how best to use it for paying off debts. Before I used to plan how I was going to spend it.
I also try to include business spending e.g. petrol, parking etc into my regular weekly spends so that when I get my expenses paid into the bank at the end of the month I can use that towards debts as well.
And like others have mentioned I have reverted to cash for things like the food shopping as I am much more aware of what I spend that way.