This is it, my LBM - The Aftermath!!

rc01

Keeping_Positive wrote: »

Good morning

My date is 2014 as well and Im aiming to get there in 2012 so we will have to watchout for each other.

Definitely! I'm becoming obsessed by that date on my snowball!!

xx

mogchops

Hey RC01 - you are doing well!! Fabulous positive attitude, keep going honey!

rc01

Well its been a busy few days, so haven't had much chance to pop on here. I haven't done very much at all about paying extra amounts off my debt. This is an expensive part of the month for me, but hopefully next week I can start again with extra payments, and that HSBC card is my target!

I have managed to sell a fair few things on Amazon and Ebay, so far I've raised about £70 which I'm really pleased with.

I'm trying to sell a super king size bed, which doesn't seem to be shifting - I'm getting a bit worried because I move in three weeks and there's no room for it in the new house :rolleyes: Oh well, it could make a nice feature in the garden :rotfl:

Have just received my email from EagerLearner all about clicking. Seems fairly straightforward, but another new thing to get my head around. Half term isn't the best time for that, so hopefully now this week I can start.

My Quidco account is doing ok so far too. Need to find out when my contents insurance is up, but I think its soon, so that'll add a nice amount onto my Quidco.

Oh and one final thing - we had a little win on the lottery last night - 4 numbers so we got £63, that's going straight off our nightmare hsbc card!

rc01

Have been trying to get my head around the clicks thing! A couple of the sites I find a bit confusing so I'm just going to have to assume I'm doing it right and hope that points start to appear shortly!

I still haven't paid off any extras on my c/cards. I have been struggling with a very low few days. I still have to go to work and look after my tiddler but just can't manage anything else really. This is when I start to get frustrated with myself.

This is also when I want to spend money to try to cheer myself up. It doesn't work but I still do it. I've had to be really, really strict with myself and not spend money cos it would only go onto a c/card.

Willpower is being tested!

Keeping_Positive

Ditto there RC really hard to work deal with house and family and then watch those pennies. Have you got a ME budget? You should have a reasonable one for the week/month so you can treat yourself on occasion.

rc01

Yay! Finally I made an extra payment of the nightmare HSBC card today.

I've also been looking at a couple of my cards and they have some space on them so think I might do bal txfrs to get the hsbc card balance down. Plus I've just worked out that my hubby's savings account has a couple of hundred in it, so he's had orders to go and get that money to make another payment.

I really hate the fact that the APR on this card is so high - when hubby first got it, it was 10.9% and has just slowly crept up :mad: Although I have my DFD set my first goal is to clear that one card - I will definitely be celebrating the day I pay that off.

rupe34

Hey rc01 - how are you doing??

WorkingHardDFW

Hi rc01 - just noticed your thread and I've been catching up with it. I wanted to offer support and wish you luck. The hardest part is facing up to your debt and you'ev done that:T

I wanted to wish you all the ebest. We had a gradual LBM like you and at times we've found it really really hard. It does feel like a FT job sometimes but the buzz you get from paying off a debt if FAB. Well worth the pain.

Based on my own experiences I would have three points to note:

1. Take a month at a time and give yourself small targets. Everyone gets overwhelmed with XXk's of debt but focus on one card (HSBC) and just think about that one.
2. Budget budget budget. I've learnt so much in the past 18 months from this. We're a family of 5 and I've had to learn to budget for everything we spend. Pre LBM my budget (if I could call it that) was the basics and everything else got spent but invaribly went on cards hence the LBM debt of £36k. If you spend it budget for it however minor it may seem.
3. Keep a spending diary. This will highlight the difference between what you are actually spending and what you think you are spending - usually equalling debt. However it workds for you notebook, spreadsheet write everything single thing down you spend. You'll be suprised at what you can learn.

Its not easy getting DF but it can be done. I can't advise on the benefits/drawbacks of a DMP but I am sure others can.

See what you can do yourself on upping your income and reducing your outgoings to make them equate and then knocking down the debt bit by bit.

Keep posting as well it really does help

EssexHebridean

You're doing well - very focused and positive which is half the battle.

Someone mentioned above a "ME" budget - I think this is important. At the moment, because it's still relatively new and shiny, it's easy to put every spare penny against the debts, but as it becomes a longer term thing you're going to start finding it tougher and that is when temptation will creep in. How about setting yourself a budget per month - even if only £10 - that will either let you go and buy something small as a treat (lipstick & nailvarnish, new top, new bag etc) of that you can stash away to put towards something bigger? I have a savings tin (well, I have lots of piggies, tins etc, but this one is different) that I chuck a couple of £ into each week - I still don't entirely know what I'm saving for to be honest but it'll be nice to have the cash there when I decide! :rotfl:

rc01

Thanks to you all for the well wishes - I am still amazed by the helpfulness and well wishes of complete strangers! It's great.

Yep, I have definitely been feeling overwhelmed by the reality of everything. So, for now I am making minimum payments only on all the debt, except for the HSBC Card. I'm also balance transferring as much as I can to also help reduce that card.

WHDFW - a budget is my absolute next big job to tackle. As you said, we have been using our cash to just buy whatever and anything we couldn't afford went on credit. OH and I have totally learnt our lesson - shame it had to be the hard way! Although I don't think we would've ever learned our lesson if we hadn't had a dramatic change in circumstances which woke us up to how we were living our lives.

I realised when we first lived together I used to treat our household spending the same as I did for my work (I work in accounts), I used to have Quicken which I would log everything on, and reconcile the bank accounts each month and keep a budget. When we relocated about 7 years ago, I was employed in a really stressful job, working really long hours and I just let everything slip. Since being a SAHM I also got into the routine of just being a domestic godess :rotfl: and so things didn't get any better. Time for a change now - posting here really does help, I don't think it would matter if nobody read it or commented, it's just good to get all those thoughts out of my head and vent if I need to. The fact that some of you are taking the time to read, and offer advice is a massive bonus.