It's finally hit me.....

honey

little_miss_broke wrote:

Good afternoon all :wave:

I feel rather proud of myself actually! I know i have a long way to go, but i can feel positive about the future now, haven't felt like that for some time.

What a great way to be feeling

I've just read through your thread and I'm so impressed with how much you have achieved already.

jobbingmusician

Yay!!!

I have this picture in my mind of you at the top of an enormous pyramid of supportive MSE'rs, all rooting for you!!!!

manicdays

what a lovely thread!

Lisa xxx

kathfisch

little_miss_broke wrote:

Last night was great, we talked and talked and talked some more! He was wonderful, understanding and totally non-judgemental. For anyone who is scared to tell their partner about their debt, please don't be. Tell him/her, it'll be a load off your mind. Two heads are better than one and all that!!

That's fantastic to hear, and great advice too! There are so many on here struggling to tell people close to them and I hope your experience gives them some hope and positivity!

little_miss_broke wrote:

but i was informed IF i did a "payment plan" i.e. reduced payments etc... it would affect my future credit rating. That's not something i really want to do if i can help it.

This is always the case, reducing payments would be recorded on your credit file. Ask yourself, though, why you do not want this? Sometimes it is not such a bad thing because it makes it harder for you to get credit for a while. You are clearly very determined to make a change but if you have times of weakness then not having the immediate option of more credit can be a blessing in disguise! If you want to apply for any life of balance/special rate cards in future then then might be affected.

little_miss_broke wrote:

I'm a bit disappointed to be honest, but i'm going to carry on paying the minimum monthly amounts for the next few months and see how i get on.

If you can make the minimum monthly payments then do but if its going to stretch you too far and make you more likely to get more credit then its not worth it. I can't remember the exact amounts from your earlier posts but you did seem to have the disposable income to make the minimum payments and a bit more which is positive! Don't forget to target the highest interest rate ones first.

little_miss_broke wrote:

I had to go into town this morning and i was like a new woman!

...

Now i think to myself "what a total waste of money". I feel rather proud of myself actually! I know i have a long way to go, but i can feel positive about the future now, haven't felt like that for some time.

Your symptoms are very common and I'm glad to diagnose a "lightbulb moment" :idea: Seriously though, congrats on your hard work and enjoy the fun of saving money!

Best of luck

Kath

xela_17

Well done LMB! The next step is to really find out your APRs on your cards so we can help you aim your repayments better. If you don't know, then just ring the companies and ask! I know that someone round here can work out the APRs from the monthly interest rate. I think you saw this on one of your statements - the one that was 1.something.

Now that your husband knows, can you post the details of your household bills? i.e. home insurance, gas and elc bills, home phone bills, internet etc. Lots of savings can be made here.

tesuhoha

Have a look at the interest rates on your store cards. If they are really high see if you can balance transfer some of them to your lower rate credit cards. Also, are you paying more than the minimum payment on any of your cards? If you are then you should be paying off the highest interest rate cards first. If you can get rid of the store cards then please close them. Have a look at your mobile phone bill. £80 a month is a lot of money. Can you find some way of reducing it. Look at each and every outgoing to see if you can save on it in any way.

tesuhoha

i just read this whole thing and realised i was a bit late with my silly advice. however i do wish you well. One thing i did notice was that you do your food shopping on line. If you go to Discounts and Vouchers on this site you can get Tesco codes to save you money. Best of Luck with your debt recovery.

little_miss_broke_2

Hi all

To answer a few questions i've been asked:

At the moment the 3 CC's are all up to their limit

All i can afford to pay is the minimum payment, which i know isn't ideal, but i haven't got any spare money to pay any more than the minimum. Even from the savings i've made (mobile bill) i'm left with £20 a week to live on. I couldn't live on less than that unfortunately.

The card with the lowest APR is definitely the EGG card, i did apply to increase the limit so i could transfer the balance from one of the other cards over there, but EGG refused me. So, i'm a little stuck really. I don't know whether it would be worth me applying for one of the 0% interest cards that are about and transferring some (or all) of the balance onto that?

I think i'm wary of affecting my credit score because of the impact it could have on H too, if he wanted to apply for credit. I thought the whole house was affected if one person has got bad credit scoring?

The interest rates on the store cards are pretty high yes, but i don't owe as much on them as i thought, £120 on one card and £150 on the other. So the interest is about £3 per month per card. At the moment i'm paying each one £10 each, but i would like to increase that if i could. But like i said, i have very little disposable cash and i just can't afford any more at the moment.

I will, however, definitely be looking at all the household bills, grocery shopping etc.... this week (will be a BIG job lol!!) and if you guys could help me make some savings there that would be wonderful :T

MushyPeas

Hi LMB

I'm so glad it went well last night So, the grocery bills, where to start? I'll type some of my advice, but of course you don't have to consider it!!! I used to have shopping bills of £150 a week just for myself and my husband. Now it's only me :j I've cut down to £30-£40 a week. Top tips:

WRITE A MENU
I found it useful to write down what I'm going to eat each day, it then helps plan my shopping for the week. If you shop online you can browse through the offers, maybe you could plan your weekly food by what is on offer (and is actually a good deal, rather than something you wouldn't normally buy).

SET A TARGET
I started by trying to reduce my shopping bill down to £100 a week and then kept on going. You become quite a savvy shopper!

BUY IN BULK
When you are shopping look at the price per kg. You often find that if you buy larger packets it works out cheaper. Obviously you need to make sure you'll eat the produce before it goes out of date!

COOK IN BULK
I often cook many portions of food at once, for example a huge spag bol. Saves on money (food and electricty) and time. Some dishes, such as curry, taste better reheated for some reason.

SHOP AT THE END OF THE DAY
If you have the time, try to shop near store closing time. Often when you can get great deals on meat and bread. I bought a french stick at Sainsburys last night for 5 pence. My bargain of the day .

SHOP AROUND
Why do you use Tescos? If you can, look around at other cheap stores such as Lidls or Aldis (if you have one close). With Lidls you can sign up to their weekly newsletter which advises you of their deals.

BUY A SHOPPING TROLLEY
Finding it difficult to bring stuff back from the shops? Invest in a shopping trolley - they are very cool now....honest!!

KEEP A RECORD
OK, so maybe this is going too far....but keep a record of how much items cost in different shops. You might be very suprised at the price difference between shops!

I hope some of those ideas help. As I said, they are only ideas. Take them as you wish.

Good luck m'dear

You are doing really well :T :T :T

MPease

jobbingmusician

WOWWWWWW!!!!! This thread has been viewed over 400 times!!!! Although quite a few of these will be repeat visits, you can take real pride in the number of people you are inspiring!!!
:j :T :j :T :j :T :j :j :T :j :T :j :T :j :T :j :j :T:j :T :j :T :j :T :j :j :T:j :T :j :T :j :T :j :j :T

Edit - I meant 4000 times, not 400, of course...