DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 5)

dsljfreeman

Hey everyone,

I'm new to the DMP Support thread, my first payment to cccs is due 1st January, just glad to get it up and running. In an odd way we seem to have more now than we did before, I have the budget sheet stuck up on my fridge and once the wages come in they are being put into different envelopes or accounts for different things iykwim, like food shopping, petrol, school dinners, car tax etc, you get the gist.

Before my DMP we didnt seem to have enough money for shopping, it was all going on debt payments, now we have a nice healthy budget and I'm able to shop around more. Also having a budget for clothes is great, I clothes shopped over the weekend for the kids, spent about £60 and got absolutely loads which should last them til the summer, with the exception of underwear which I still need to buy.

I feel so liberated that after all these years in denial, that we are actually doing something about our debt while we are still young and our kids are young, so hopefully by the time they fully understand what debt is we will be excellent role models and they wont get into the stupid mess that we did. The best thing of all with a DMP is not being able to get anymore credit, just knowing that if we need something we either save for it or go without.

We still had a really good Christmas, we've only bought for the kids in our family for several years now so everyone knows what to expect, sometimes we may make things from the kids to the grandparents and they enjoy this more.

Hubby and I have thought of more ways to do things as a family which don't involve spending money and we are becoming closer as a result, we take a walk to the park, down the river, play board games, bake cakes, play football in the garden, have a movie night in.

Anyhoo, think I may have babbled on enough xx

Toffee_Penny

Ruthie - I was chatting to Kudox on here a while back about the exact same thing. Britain has some lovely places to visit IF the sun shines. Ok maybe not Blackpool, something to do with the turds making the sea brown :rotfl: I'm sure if you ask most folk why they holiday abroad majority will say because of the weather. It's certainly not the entertainment! I think British resorts wins hands down on that.

Welcome dsljfreeman :beer: It is great when you first start your DMP isn't it? you feel so rich! I'm starting to turn against the creditors now, when I first started the DMP I missed my overdraft and buying what I could if I paid a credit card cheque into my account to cover a spending spree. Now it's all changed I can't wait to pay them all off, I never want credit again!

sunshine38_2

Ooops, dont know what happened there, was half way through a post and lost it ... so if you find a random message somewhere ... it's probably mine

Anyway, what I was trying to say to Ruthie and Toffee Penny is that I know exactly how that feels ... been there and done that - and not planning on doing it again (I think :rotfl: )

No sooner had we managed to get Boxing Day out of the way but a family member decided to tell us about their planned THREE holidays for 2009, Grrrr :mad:

Still, never mind eh? I am willing with all my might (anyone want to join in) for really nice weather in the UK for 2009 so that it wont feel so bad not being able to go abroad. Yes, I/we like to go for the sunshine (cos it makes me feel happy) so if we can manage to get some here, I'll be just as happy ... I will just pretend there is a pool in our garden!

There is just no point in getting into any more debt for the sake of two weeks in the sun (please, please tell me I'm right!).

I am going to try and have a look around for some nice days out/perhaps an odd night away if I can find a bargain Travelodge and arrange places to visit around that. I even just wanted to book a caravan for a few days but dont think that's do-able at the moment either.

Still, first things first ... prepare for battle with the banks and get that DF date brought forward. THEN we can have a fab holiday!

Sx

Toffee_Penny

Sun? Summer? Do we still get them in Britain? :rotfl:

Ahhh girls, to cheer ourselves up we just need to think positive and giving the holiday abroad option a miss means

• no hassle trying to find a bikini that fits the top and bottom parts perfectly. I had cheap bikini from Tesco one year and I had to constantly keep picking a few pence of it from my cheeks if you know what I mean
• none of the hassle regarding making sure you are de-fuzzed for the holiday (men have NO idea what its like to be a woman!)
• don't have to worry about hair being frazzled in the sun by the sea water and pool water and looking like a red scarecrow throughout the day, feeling insecure compared to the 'perfect in every way' European women
• no worries about expensive falsypedicures and manicures melting in the hot sun
• no getting up early to do the sun bed run whilst all the other family members are still in bed

Nope we are better off staying at home :rotfl:

ruthie70

:rotfl: :rotfl: yes, staying at home is a much more appealing prospect - you just reminded me Toffee Penny of the "joys" of holiday preparation :T I have thought of another one of mine:-

Starting a diet every Monday from about 2 months before your travel date, only to fail by Thursday and start the process all over again, then end up on holiday feeling a failure once again next to the cellulite free gorgeous European ladies - who always seem to get a mahogany tan no matter how pale they are to begin with :rolleyes:

(however, now that I am on a limited food budget, I am losing weight as eating less takeaways and "luxury" goodies - every cloud and all that.....!!!)

ruthie70

Can I have a number please....?

debrag

what happens if i loose my job?

candygirl

Grrrr i've had 2 calls from Barclays today demanding this months full cc payment:mad: even though i've written to them with full budget details, CCCS number etc:rolleyes: .Told them i've paid a £1 today and they hung up:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: Like CCCS said though, I can't pay what I haven't got

Eriberri

Kind of a newbie, more of a reader/head-in-the-sand lurker!! Anyway - hello

I've just clicked the necessary buttons on the computer to sign up to a DMP - but it is a low start DMP. My circumstances will change and more money will be able to come in, but not at the moment! I'm also a little unsure about budgeting and stuff so have probably allowed more than I need, but I feel I need time to learn how to live without credit and manage my money! :rolleyes: I'm hoping that after a month or two, I'll have a much better understanding of how to do things.

My total credit card (x 6) & 1 loan debt is over £36,500 and is very scary. I'm a single mum and trying to manage stuff emotionally on my own is tough, I work full time, I'm doing a postgraduate course part time (the fees are covered by work, thank goodness!), I work 1 night a week behind the bar in nightclub. I have had other income due to a further bit of part time work, but because of the pressure of the postgraduate study, I've had to put that on the backburner until my course finishes in June - I had to admit I'm not superwoman, because I felt like I was totally losing the plot with everything. The postgrad course will lead to much better job prospects thereby improving my circumstances for the DMP, its just a good few months off yet!

I do have a question - I've applied for and been accepted for an A&L bank account, requested no overdraft, etc (today) - I have a loan with my current bank, so that's why I've done it. The DMP info says to cancel the direct debits on the unsecured debt (the credit cards and stuff) - when do I do that?? After I get the DMP paperwork, or now? And making the token payments with letters - when do I do that??!! I've got payments to CC companies due to go out in the next couple of weeks - do I cancel the DD's and make a token payment to them with a letter?

Thank you for any insight - and support

candygirl

ERIBERRI, CCCS adviced me to cancel the DD payments right away, then amke the toekn poayments and send letters out.I did the payments online, and then sent letters.
I'm techinically not on a DMP as am on benefits at the moment, but CCCS have been really helpful