Too scared to work out what I owe

moozie_2

D&DD wrote:

Its a deal with you all the way on this one and look forward to us both getting there :beer: I've just noticed southernscouser has the same date as me as well so we might be having to have an online shindig :rotfl: The thing I find so inspiring about this site is a lot of us are all in the same boat (up to ours necks in it!) but people still have time to help others.It really restores your faith in society when you are at your lowest ebb there are total strangers reaching out to pick you up :T

I could not agree more! There is definitely hope and I found mine right here.

Frugal_Fox

Hi Moozie,

Wonderful to read your latest postings tonight, you are sounding so much more in control and calmer. Wonderful - you really should be proud of all you have achieved, and yes it is right that you are an inspiration to others.

As for debt free dates - when I was first coming to my light bulb moment, I read loads of posts from Ms_London who was near hers. She is now Debt Free and I got so much inspiration from her. She isn't the only one too! One day I'll be one, and so will you (and the others too!).

We can tell each other things on here that we wouldn't necessarily tell our OH, or even friends and that is the real beauty of this site. We are all here to support and guide each other.

Keep posting - I love it!!! :T :T

thirdparty

Well done on starting to take control of your finances. What a differences a few days can make and the results that can be gained.

Now that you know what you owe, you now need to know exactly where your money is going each month.

Somewhere on this forum is a budget planner which well help you list all your income and expenditure. This is a good starting point and could explain how your debts have arisen.

I noticed that you have two loans, were these to consolidate debts or used for new purchases.

If you want to, you could list all your income and expenditure and you could get lots of suggestions on helping to reduce your outgoings.

Some will be painless i.e switching and moving to different providers
Some will involve sacrifice i.e getting rid or reducing some of the luxury items.

All will help you in achieving you goal of being debt free.

All the best.

loubie_lou

Hi Moozie!

I bet you are a bit flabergasted at all the responses you have had I know I've enjoyed every minute of reading this thread since sunday and watching how things have unfolded for you!

I don't know if you want to do this but a lot of us have 'signatures' at the bottom of our posts. Basically you can write anything in there you like. Take mine for example it tells you my current debt and how i've messed up a bit this month!!

If you are to become a regular poster on this board (as i'm sure you have gained lots of knowledge on here!) its a way for you to keep us updated on your progress! Have a look at others regular posters, there are lots of examples!

Yanto_2

The other guys are right in that you are an inspiration!!!

There are still lots of people out there who have not plucked up the courage to drag thier heads out of the sand, myself included, but reading your postings has pushed me that little bit further and I think it might just be enough.

I have all the bills and a spreadsheet ready just going to take a deap breath and and take a leap of faith I suppose.

Thank you.

If you could bottle you courage and sell it for £2, it would be my first buy from my savings. Thank you again.

quack

dont worry

Mortgage £113,115
CCards £8850
Loan £25,000
Student Loan £1000 (this one), (been paying of Student Loan's for 10 years)
Overdrafts £3700


Total £151,665.00
Debt Free @70

Just keep paying and working of the debt

oh we have 2 kids as well (the money means nothing compared to them)


p.s.

there is ALWAYS away out of debt

do not be afraid

LookingAhead

Wow Moozie. I have just read this thread from start to finish and it made me want to join up to the forum just so I can say "well done you!!" :beer:

Please know (and remember if you have any bleak moments...) you *are* an inspiration and the progress you posted on here a few pages ago was so good to read.

Someone said they had tears in their eyes (I am sorry I don't recall who it was...I just got absorbed in the words...!) and I sat there nodding away it total empathy!

I want to point all the people I know who are in debt in the direction of this thread to give them some confidence.

Also somebody advised you to sell on EBAY or Amazon - I couldn't agree more. I started last October and have probably made since then a useful amount (say...£250 - £300 or so - certainly enough to stop my overdraft going over it's authorised limit anyway) selling cd's I never listen to anymore, clothes I bought that just don't suit me, shoes I have hardly worn and even old bits of jewellery or camera attachments etc. I hope you do start doing this - you will be amazed what you can sell and then what you can turn up at home to put on EBAY!

Finally, one thing I have done recently which you may find useful as well (maybe??) was buy a couple of advisory books by Trinny & Susannah (got them second hand off of Amazon Market Place) and educated myself in what to buy...so I don't waste more money on stuff that gets shoved to the back of the wardrobe because I thought it was nice then realise I feel uncomfortable or look like a man in drag or something. They have saved me a fortune - and all the "mistake" clothes, I have sold on EBAY.

Good luck Moozie - I think you're probably an urban legend already. :dance:

moozie_2

Frugal_Fox wrote:

Wonderful to read your latest postings tonight, you are sounding so much more in control and calmer. Wonderful - you really should be proud of all you have achieved, and yes it is right that you are an inspiration to others.

Hello FrugalFox

You are absolutely right, last night I felt quietly confident, even though I still had not worked out the total of what I owed and my monthly outgoings. OH and myself are now at the stage where we are coming up with ideas on how to save on the standards expenses but most importantly, we are talking about money and not arguing. That is such a great relief for me.

This morning, however, I woke up feeling scared, lost and overwhelmed. On the way to work, I nearly burst into tears thinking about how much I have got to achieve. I mean apart from the debt, I really have to change my ways of using money for comfort buying and have to stop being so spontaneous with purchases. Thinking all that was really getting me so low.

When I got into work, I got Martin's e-mail about the 50p donation for every new subscriber. So I forwarded it to a couple of colleagues with a few comments about how wonderful I think this site it. Almost immediately, they both e-mailed back saying they are already subscribing to the e-mails and use the site regularly. One of them even told me that he used to be in great debt before he had found MSE!

That was the best pick me up I could have wished for! Seeing my colleague's comments about how he turned his life around through this site and how he never looked back was a godsend to me in my hour of misery. I kept his e-mail for future hard times

moozie_2

thirdparty wrote:

Now that you know what you owe, you now need to know exactly where your money is going each month.

You are absolutely right. Although I wanted to do this earlier in the week, I somehow didn't. This time I was not avoiding looking at my bills/statements though. Every evening this week something positive has happened and tonight was the time to work out where my money goes.

thirdparty wrote:

I noticed that you have two loans, were these to consolidate debts or used for new purchases.

The first one with Sainsbury's, I used it to consolidate all my previous debts to that point. That included accomodation cost and expenses while I was studying as well as being completely stupid with credit cards/store cards.

The Tesco one, I took it out specifically to cover an unplanned cost as well as a small balance on a credit card. In hindsight, I should have realised I could only afford to pay both back if I was very strict with my monthly outgoings. Instead I continued using a credit card and the OD and dug a huge hole for myself.

All will help you in achieving you goal of being debt free.

I really believe that and it makes such a difference! Even though millions are in debt, it is a very lonely place to be - this website changed all that though

moozie_2

loubie_lou wrote:

I bet you are a bit flabergasted at all the responses you have had

Oh yes!!!

loubie_lou wrote:

I don't know if you want to do this but a lot of us have 'signatures' at the bottom of our posts. Basically you can write anything in there you like. Take mine for example it tells you my current debt and how i've messed up a bit this month!!

You know at first, I didn't want to do that but now I think it's time. Hope you 'approve' when you see it Miscalculating is easy, I do it all the time. The important thing is you are still here and still going the right way :T