Just wanna cry :(

nova

Hi Sugarpants!
Look at all the pages you've created from your bit of despair this afternoon! We all have to support each other it really does help, l've got into a pickle because my mum died last april and l just let every thing slide, to be honest l could'nt be bothered to pay anything on time and now l have enough default notices to stuff a cushion, which is terrible, but l've now got my act together, realised that my credit rating is going to be crap for at least the next 6 years!Oh and my OH'sl paid his bills late too, he's been fab and just says that at the end of the day we have our health (although he is waiting for an unexpected double hip replacement!), the kids are healthy, l think sometimes we have to think of the things we have got rather than the things we have'nt.
Lots of love to you all and big kisses XX

TurnaroundSue

Hi - we went to Butlins with our Tesco deals and it cost around £55 in vouchers for a Friday - Monday break, and have got to say it was one of the best weekends I've had. The kids still talk about it loads, nearly 2 years on!!

Also re AOL, we told them we were leaving and so long as we agreed to sign another 12 month contract, we got unlimited calls for ever and ever and ever, unlimited broadband and new wireless router all for £6.99 per month. Dead chuffed with that, as where we were paying nearly £30 pm, am now only paying £7 - so would push for that deal if you can.

Also did same with Vodafone - threatened to leave and they automatically reduced my bill from £30 pm to £12.50 and increased my minutes by 100 and gave me unlimited texts.:D Another result.

It does annoy me though as there is nothing for loyalty until you threaten to leave. I think it would be brill if they actually came to us and said 'seeing as you have been a loyal customer for x amount of years, we are now going to reward you by .........' - that would be good customer service, and they are still making on the reduced amount anyway:mad: :mad: :mad:

Good luck and really would recommend you do snowballer - coz once you have that debt free date (DFD) it gives you something to focus on and it nearly isnt anyhere as far away as you think it is.

Cardamom

Hello... just wanted to say that you should have a look over at the old school board for some good cheap recipes.

One thing that you could do is go to an Asian grocery store and buy some lentils (they do loads of varieties and its cheaper to buy a big bag that will last you ages!) and make lentil soup with crusty bread. You can also use this to bulk up meals that you make using meat. Another good idea is to shop around for discounts, make your own cakes/biscuits etc.

However if you're not feeling so adventurous cheese and beans on toast is yummy too lol

TurnaroundSue

Just had a lovely plate of beans and cheese on toast - know I am a bit late for tea, but have only just realised that I hadn't eaten since lunchtime til I read this thread :eek: - thanks sugarpants:T

sugarpants_2

Can you go on council list after renting privately? Ive heard you cannot.

xnatalie81x wrote: »

A 3 BED HOUSE and your gas and electric are soooo low WOW i pay 84 elec and 41 gas for a small 2bed! and that is me and 3 kids! Which leads me nicely into my suggestion - have you thought about going on your councils housing list.... I rent privately. Have been on list 1year and nearly have enough pts to get our house. It may take 3 years or more but it will be cheaper. I'm looking at going from 725mth to 400mth max!!! And that is 2 bed to 3 bed as well!

Ignore me if that sounds like rubbish lol

sugarpants_2

OMG thankyou for posting link
Woke this morning and the snowball chart is fantastic!!! Gonna show DH later and hopefully we will have our debts all paid within 2 years!!!! Not 10 like I thought:j
Oh thats made me feel a whole lot better. Just gotta make sure we dont spend on the CCs thats all. Eek.

Keeping_Positive wrote: »

http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

This should link to the whats the cost snowball calculator if not search under that name.

sugarpants_2

Just shown snowball to dh and we gonna follow it next month. do they really work?

Keeping_Positive

It helps focus on a date but dont be too disheartened if it goeS back a bit through unplanned emergency spends. At the saMe time unplanned windfalls can happen and its fun to play around to find a budget/timespan that suits the family. You may find that you want a bit of freedom in the budget and aim for three years or go for it hammer and tongs to clear ASAP.

Personnally because I know my debt isnt going to be cleared soon I am taking a slightly longer path so I can treat the kids a little bit. If it were a lower figure I might try to blitz it.

rugbymum

sugarpants wrote: »

Can you go on council list after renting privately? Ive heard you cannot.

Yes you can go onto the couoncil list after renting privately, happens all the time. It will depend on your circumstances. You can apply, the council may tell you that you don't have enough points and that there are others in greater housing need (especially in current circumstances), individual councils will have different criteria. I find it is always worth aplying anyway!
Also, just a thought, ask local council to send the housing benefit forms through. I was told that I wasn't eligible (twice), applied anyway, got told no, waited a month, applied again & got about 20% help. Always worth sticking at, especially as you live in an expensive area.

sugarpants_2

Just mentioned about council to DH and he dosent ant to go down the council road. He said he would rather live in his own place even if its a 2 bed maisonette I agree with him.
Good luck with your council applications though guys.

rugbymum wrote: »

Yes you can go onto the couoncil list after renting privately, happens all the time. It will depend on your circumstances. You can apply, the council may tell you that you don't have enough points and that there are others in greater housing need (especially in current circumstances), individual councils will have different criteria. I find it is always worth aplying anyway!
Also, just a thought, ask local council to send the housing benefit forms through. I was told that I wasn't eligible (twice), applied anyway, got told no, waited a month, applied again & got about 20% help. Always worth sticking at, especially as you live in an expensive area.