Single and in Debt Part II

Shoe_Gal

Hi Sarah

Congratulations, that's fantastic news :j :j For what it's worth, I think you've done the right thing, the relief must be amazing

sarahb123_3

skint_spice wrote: »

Well done Sarah, it's the sensible thing to do when you think of how much interest Mr Barclay was taking and how much you got on savings. You will be able to build it up again and look at the shrinkage in outgoings - fab!

Thankyou, have spent today shaking just thinking about it. But I think it is the right thing to do as I am sick of paying interest. My money shoud be mine for a change;)

gwen80

Wow Sarah! I haven't been posting here too long, but it sounds to me like you've done the right thing. If the debt is that stressful and bothering you that much and you have a way of getting rid of it, then it's for the best. Also, like you said, you're paying a lot of interest on the debts and the rates for savings are rubbish.

Don't get me wrong I think these forums are brilliant. There is so much fantastic advice and God knows, Martin Lewis has saved my @ss twice now when I've gotten myself into a hole. However, I do think to some extent you need to try to understand your own behaviour and use it to your advantage. If saving motivates you more than paying off debt then do it that way round if you can. For me, I know I'm far more motivated to pay off debt than I am to save up. Therefore I set up DD's to my savings account, so I can't spend it and I've kept my savings while I pay off my debt.

Well done for making such a brave and wise decision Sarah and good luck with your saving journey!

Gwenx

sarahb123_3

Shoe_Gal wrote: »

Hi Sarah

Congratulations, that's fantastic news :j :j For what it's worth, I think you've done the right thing, the relief must be amazing

It is:D. I think. Am going to cancel dds on internet banking as soon as I can. Need a nice short list. I will get my house. Sig looks very embarrassing at the moment, but it will change:D

I also need a new car, but I read about someone on here who was going to part ex their car but realised there was still life in it. There is still life in my car -I think- so I am going to work with what I have.

Bowski_1011

Sarah that post was not boring in the slightest. Infact reading it I actually wanted to cry.. happy tears though!! I don't know you, yet I feel extremely proud of you right now. I hope you feel proud of yourself. I know that this is a MASSIVE step for you, but I think you have done the right thing. That deposit will soon build back up don't you worry about that!

:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T

sarahb123_3

gwen80 wrote: »

. If saving motivates you more than paying off debt then do it that way round if you can.

It really does. I hate spending my own money. I can spend £100 on cc very easily, but the thought of handing that much in cash is ludicrous. I am going to be a strictly cash girl from now on:D

I have changed my dd to pay 0.02% to my house savings each month. I will be there in no time at all:D (am hoping to add a bit more each month:D)

sarahb123_3

Bowski_1011 wrote: »

Sarah that post was not boring in the slightest. Infact reading it I actually wanted to cry.. happy tears though!! I don't know you, yet I feel extremely proud of you right now. I hope you feel proud of yourself. I know that this is a MASSIVE step for you, but I think you have done the right thing. That deposit will soon build back up don't you worry about that!

:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T

Bowski, thankyou, it is really important to me to get this done and you made me teary, thankyou:A

Bowski_1011

Sorry I didn't mean to make you teary. Hopefully you mean in a good way?? lol Where's Lula? She'd be so pleased to hear your news. She can't still be entertaining surely! No man is that lucky :rotfl:

sarahb123_3

Bowski_1011 wrote: »

Where's Lula? She'd be so pleased to hear your news. She can't still be entertaining surely! No man is that lucky :rotfl:

:rotfl::rotfl:Have been wondering that for the last couple of days too:D Lula where are you? No man is that entertaining:D

Paulgonnabedebtfree

sarahb123 wrote: »

Hi all, hope everyone has had a good day. Well today I have made a huge step in the debt fee direction. I have taken all (bar a few pounds) of my savings out and used them to pay off my debts (well I will when it credits my account). I will be able to pay of my overdraft, 2nd overdraft, Barclaycard and MBNA, replenish quidco account, with a bit extra to go into an ISA. Phew.

I will still have my loan left as I can't afford to pay that off in one go, but it is not too crippling. I have reduced to dd to my savings as well, so my monthly basic outgoings (rent, debt repayments, bills, dd to savings, professional fees) have gone from £1050 to £600. :jI am now officially skint and it is an odd feeling to have no savings to fall back on. :eek:

I have done it because i have spent the last few days just getting more and more anxious about my DFD and I have had a really bad couple of months workwise- although it is picking up nicely again thank goodness- and I was worried about spending the next few months just meeting the minimum payments. I have been in debt since I was 20 and I just can't stand it anymore. I was getting 0.4 ish on my savings and paying 14.9 on my od and Barclaycard.

I am good at saving and carp at paying things off. So, I have decided to start saving again from scratch. In a good month at work I will be able to put away at least 1k a month after outgoings and spending. I find it very easy to spend Mr Barclaycard's money but not my own. So, I think I will respond better to having money to save at the end of the month rather than money to pay things off.

I am going to miss the safety net of my savings but in an emergency I will have to call on the Bank of Mum and Dad (would have to be dire emergency) and within a year I will if I am sensible be able to build my savings back up. I am going to cut up both cards as soon as I have done the transfers and close my overdraft once it is cleared. Then I will ring card companies as soon as funds have cleared and close them. I was worried about not having a cc but I do still have one left which I pay in full each month, so any emergency could be sorted with that and dealt with later e.g car, dentist.

The main reason for this is that i had said earlier this month that I needed to stop feeling overwhelmed and it was just too overwhelming for me having all these separate debts, minimum payments, long list of creditors, needing to earn a decent amount to pay debts, live and try to save. I just want to be able to stop thinking about debt. I want to be liberated from all this worry, which has been going on for nearly 2 decades now. (Although I admit my head in the sand approach helped avoid a lot of worry for many years.)

So. on Friday I will log on to internet banking. Move money around. Call the bank immediately to cancel overdrafts. Send money to cards. Cut up cards. On Thurday I will open a new ISA. On Wednesday I will call card companies and cancel cards. I will be nearly home and dry. DFD is Sept 2012. I think. It was always that as I was planning to pay off loan last. I may use savings to clear the loan but I might just let it go on.

It has been a wierd day, I feel free from the relentless minimum payment/ I need to earn this much/ I am skint must splurge nonsense. I also feel stupid for getting this far in a decent career and having nothing to show for it.

I know this is extremely boring for everyone else and I am rambling but I feel like crying. 3 years sensible savings will get me a good house deposit. I am on the home run. I love spending on overdrafts and cards but I don't like it with my own money. So, with no access to credit I will have to be sensible.

Hmmm. I am back to being poor again. I removed a nice round figure from savings and left a small amount in to keep it open. That is my house deposit (see sig.) Apologies for ramble and I know this must seem very dull. But it is a big thing for me. No more being overwhelmed. No more sums.

Am sick of feeling emotional about money. I have a fairly small loan. I will have an ISA. When it is full I will add to house deposit. I have a small dd to house deposit every month. My loan is going down. I pay my only remaining dd in full each month. It is a cashback card and it earns money for me. I have a good job. I will be ok. I was exhausted with all the worry and now it has stopped. I earn enough each month to pay everything and not need my od and add to my savings. I will get my house.

Well done Sarah (I think) .
Regarding thge unpaid loan: Depending on the terms of the loan and when it was taken out, it is possible that there may be little to gain by paying it off early. One way to check this (if you are so minded) is to calculate how much there is left to pay (your monthly repayment times the number of months left). When you have done that, contact the loan company and ask them for a settlement figure. Factor in how much your savings would earn during the time it would take to pay off the loan (probably not much at the moment. Having those numbers in front of you will give you a much better idea of which way to jump with this.