Paid off 1 store card :) Suze's diary (New)

Suze4Dan2007

I paid of my New Look store card in full yesterday. It was only 240pounds, however i am so proud of myself for facing up to my debts and taking a step towards paying off the rest of my debts.

I hope to be (almost) debt free by April 2009, the month my partner and I have been together for 2 years. We are hoping to buy a property together next year and i want him to know i am serious about sorting out and paying off my debts after ive burried my head in the sand for so long.

I have the following debts at the moment:
293pounds Capital One Credit Card
450pounds on MK1 Mastercard/Store Card.
680pounds Littlewoods cataloge.

All of these debts are unfortunatly with debt collection agencys.

I am paying the whole balance of 293 pounds to Capital One on the 30th this month.
50pounds to Mastercard on the 25th Nov.
60pounds to Littlewoods on the 21st.

I will then blitz my Mastercard after Christmas.

I say i will almost be debt free by April 2009. I will still have a HSBC Managed Loan with a balance of around 2500pounds at the time. I cannot afford to pay it off all at once, however i am currently paying 165pounds per month and that will rise to 200pounds per month next month. Once all my other debts have gone i will increase this amount even further. Luckily i have never defaulted or missed payments with HSBC, although i wish i hadnt got a managed loan now as the interest is sky high and i have heard that this sort of loan really damages your credit rating. However i was young at the time, only 18 and i didnt really understand the implications of my spending.

I'm 20 in two weeks time =] im looking forward to a debt free future. I want to get married, have a mortgage with my partner and i want to give any children i may have a better life. I will be writing on here to update you on my progress. I will also put some money into my sealed pot more frequently.

Thanks for reading if you got this far.

x

savingholmes

Just think if you learn this lesson in finance now - you will be able to save so much money in the future. I wish we had learned our lesson as early as you we would have so many more choices and resources now....

Good luck on your journey!

Suze4Dan2007

Thank you savingholmes! I am glad i have learnt my lesson so early on, i just feel so embarassed for being so young. I have been in debt since the day i turned 18 and my bank gave me a overdraft and a credit card. To say i went a bit mad on the spending is an understatement!

x

Burlesque_Babe

well done on taking action now. I wish at coming up to 20, I'd taken the bull by the horns and turned around my life financially. At 18, I went to university and spent the £200 overdraft and the small limit on the CC they gave me in no time at all and by 19, my overdraft was £1000 and so it went on....

Stick around and we'll all help you to think of ways of bringing your debr free date even closer.

halight

Well done thats great Good luck with paying off the rest.

Suze4Dan2007

Thanks very much everyone. I will enjoy coming on here for support and advice. It will keep me on the straight and narrow. I can honestly say i will never ever get a store card or credit card again. x

Suze4Dan2007

Hi again guys.

Having a bit of trouble today. Basically i paid my store card off on Saturday to the original creditor, although the debt is actually with a debt collection agency. The reason i paid the debt to the original creditor is because the debt collection agency only accepted payments by credit/debit card (which i dont have either of), cheque (again i dont have a cheque book) and postal order (i said i didnt feel comfortable sending a postal order to them through the post). They said i could go into store and use an old paying in slip to pay the debt, however they havent recieved the money yet, but the original creditor has. Atm im just trying to get hold of them =[.

In other parts of my life i feel a bit crap. Ive recently come out to my boyfriend about the extent of my debts. I dont think he realised how many cards i had until i finally told him. I used to pretend i had lots of money for things when really i'd just draw money off my credit cards. Im glad i told him now as i dont have to lie about my situation. He has helped me sort out the cards and has paid a few of them for me when i havent had the money. I just feel that since ive told him he has been a bit distant with me and we just seem to argue about money all the time now. I sometimes wish i'd never told him, although i know he's only trying to help me.

On a downer today

x

Burlesque_Babe

telling him was the best thing to do. Keeping it a secret will only eat away at you, I've been there, trust me

He is probably thinking it all through, it could have come as quite a shock to him if he thought you had more money than he realises you now have. He'll come around eventually, it's because he cares

hayley11

Hi Suze

Well done for taking control of your debts hun, you sound very determined now and we're all here to keep you motivated

I agree that telling your boyfriend is the best thing as well, even if it has caused some arguements. My partner and I argue ALL the time about money, he's younger than me and doesn't have half as much debt so doesn't see that it's a big deal whereas I worry constantly about it. But I know we'll still be together when we come out the other side debt free and we'll be stronger for it.

As long as you continue to be honest with your boyfriend and stop the spending, i'm sure he'll support you.

And I think it's great that you are so young, you've realised a lot earlier than most people that you're in trouble and you're sorting it out. And you've got the rest of your life to enjoy having money that is YOURS and not debt.

Good luck hun xx

Suze4Dan2007

thanks for the support guys.

i agree i feel a weight has been lifted off my back since ive told my boyfriend the extent of my debts. I just hope that he can trust me with money in the future. I have certainly learnt my lesson.

At the moment i'm probably just worrying over nothing. I havent seen my boyfriend since last Thursday, im probably just in the need of a hug

I also paid off made my loan payment today so thats 165pounds closer! Whoop whoop!

x

hayley11

Yay well done Suze!

Yeah you probably do just need a big hug and some reassurance.

Hayley xx