I've hit an all-time financial low :(

secondhandsusie6cats

Hi fellow debt-free wannabees. I am feeling a bit down over my financial situation and just wanted to share and also to say NEVER ignore your mounting debt situation like I have. I was always going to get round to sorting myself out but kept putting it off and now I heavily regret it. I have reclaimed some of my bank charges but as I've got £600.00 a month more going out than coming in (yikes!) I have also written and posted letters to my creditors asking them to freeze interest and reduce payments as I just can't go on as I have been. I am waiting to hear back from them so wish me luck. I went to draw some money out at the weekend to get a few groceries and I was way overdrawn; I couldn't take a penny out. I was also up to my limits on all my credit cards so no joy there either. I've never been in a situation before where I didn't have access to some credit of some kind and I guess the realisation has at last dawned on me just how much debt I am in. I've just about got enough cash to put fuel in the car to get to work but anything else is going to have to wait until pay day on Friday. I was about to make sandwiches for work this morning but when I got the cheese out it was so mouldy I had to throw it away. I've hardly got anything in the cupboards which made me feel really down. This really is the worst it has ever been. The most frightening thing about all this for me is that if any of my pets were taken ill, I don't have any money but I would beg, borrow or sell my own kidney if I had to, to pay for it; I just don't like being in a situation where I have to ask someone else to bail me out. No doubt my creditors will ask me to return my credit cards so I won't be able to use them. This means I am going to have to manage on my wages plus whatever I manage to sell on e-bay/car boots. Does anyone have any advice to offer me? Thanks for reading.

Susie

Birdie85

I think the first thing that anyone would say would be to post a SOA so suggestions can be made about cutting back etc.

Good luck with trying to get the creditors to reduce payments, that's certainly a step in the right direction!

bank_of_slate

Have you had any advice from CCCS or Payplan?

Keep posting on here as you'll get lots of help and support from everyone!
...Linda xx

Pollycat

Hi Susie
Here's the template for your SOA:

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Once you've completed this, lots of good people will be along to give you some good advice.

Regards

redkev76

Hi Susie

Just so you know you're not on your own, i checked my bank account today and had 1.50 there to use (I say £1.50 to use, basically, 1.50 before I hit my massive overdraft limit). My wife needed a couple of things today while I was at lunch and I could only get 1 of them so i've had to lie to her and say that i've left my bank card at home and didn't have enough cash to get the other one so she doesn't worry!! I get paid Wednesday so gotta try and get through this evening and tomorrow without needing anything despite my wife and kids probably needing things before then. Had no breakfast and couldn't afford lunch so had to sit in my office and watch other people eat!!

You know what though, it's at times like this that I am reminded of something that George Orwell once said and it went along the lines of 'you spend your whole life fearing that your life will one day 'go to the dogs', yet there is consolation in poverty as once you are 'at the dogs' it doesn't feel that bad'! This about sums up how I feel today, things are going pretty !!!!!! financially, worse than I thought they would but, ultimately, I still have my health, my family, my friends and my sanity(just) so if I keep plugging away, at some point, things will pick up and i'll look back at today and laugh.

Just my own thoughts but hope you can feel the same about your situation!!
:beer:

rubyslipper

Well done for posting on here, that really is a brilliant first step and very brave. I can completely appreciate how desperate you feel. I am down to pennies in my bank account and lunch today was a half-stale bagel, toasted, with butter from the work fridge on it.

It's a great idea to do your SOA (statement of affairs) if only to show yourself everything in black and white. If you choose to post it on here, others with tons of knowledge will be able to help you make some changes. In the short term though, please rely on this board for help, support and ideas. It really is a fantastic resource.

Good luck and keep posting! x