Today is a new day!

macgirl

Hi Positive and Focused

Just read some of your thread and wanted to say Hi. Your post earlier today brought a tear to my eye. I'm not surprised you're tired and can't begin to imagine what you have been through. I'm glad you got some comfort from your time away.

However, from the outside you do sound like you could do it your way. What struck me about your post is you said "I visualise...". Those are words from a person who achieves and makes things happen.
None of us know what is around the corner and you know that better than most. Once you have spoken to your sister, family and maybe CAB, you will instinctively know what to do.

As wise owl hypno said - only you know what you are capable of, but to me that sounds like a lot.
My sig used to have a quote that I heard Peter Andre say (of all people :rolleyes:). It sounds glib, but I think there's some truth in it

"If you see it in your mind - You can achieve it!".
I sincerely wish you and your DD well x

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Macgirl, you are right. I now know instinctively what to do for the time being!!! I love my family to bits and I trust what my sis has to say about things, she doesn't mince words and has my interests at heart! And I realise I needed to talk to the man from the charity about my finances and Im so glad I did. He's helped me realise that rather than knocking myself for not doing enough, I need to realise without sounding boastful that I have come a long way.

My sis suggested that I leave the IVA for the time being. If I was getting behind with payts etc, that would be another matter, but Im not. So, she reckons I should try for some 0% deals, if I get turned down, then sobeit, but at least try and give it a go. Secondly, as has been suggested to me on here, go on interest only on my mortgage for a while. Now my mortgage is due to be reviewed next Sept, so my thinking is why not go interest free till then. Shes done it temporarily to clear a debt quicker, and I could do it for the next 10 months, then restart my repayment from when it is reviewed. That sits comfortably with me, I feel I can look into that and implement it without getting stressed. I feel that could give me some breathing space. Thirdly, I am going to really review my weekly plan. Every weekend is for my dd and I. I think I could fit my work in the Mon to fri and have time to rest my leg without getting behind, with a bit more self discipline, with a bit more praising myself for what I am getting done, rather than getting cross with myself for not doing everything I ideally want to do. Im so please I opened up to the charity for it has helped give me a clear path, the chance to stop worrying and going round in circles, but actually celebrate how far Ive come, the debt IS reducing, slowly but surely. I can and WILL rise above this situation. At the end of the day, the IVA option is there, but Im going to have faith in myself for a little longer, the saying from a Barbie film my dd bought yesterday with her £10 pressie she recd from the charity last week. " Courage is taking the steps to fulfill your dreams even when others think they are impossible!" I am going to look at my goal board more often and believe my dreams of debt freeness and other goals will happen. So, on that note going to watch x factor, Doc Martin, do the ironing, and my to do list for tom, and yes, go to bed before 2am!!!!! Let the challenge begin!!!

Step 1, plan to call my mortgage co on Tuesday to enquire about interest only.

BTW, Also, pleased to report that in my post coming home, I have been advised that 2 of my pieces of furniture Ive sold at auction went for £430 which is just over what was expected for them. More are to be sold in the coming days and then later this month, its a start, and I now feel confident once more that all will be well.

hypno06

Good for you - that all sounds pretty sensible to me!

Enjoy X factor, and sleep well x

Keeping_Motivated

PAF.. I agree with Hypno it sounds pretty sensible to me.

Its up to you but I wonder if it would help to not (at this moment) include your mortgage debt in your signature then you can see the figures of your higher APR debts coming down quicker. Not that I am suggesting that your mortgage is not a debt but most of us have a mortgage longer than we have the debt if that makes sense? I mean I have no debt now but I will have my mortgage for a long time but I accept that especially as its manageable and not stressful.

Hope that post made sense. I just mean it might help the overall mental stress levels if you don't stress yourself about paying off your mortgage as quick as the debts and for now accept that that might have to run its natural course.

Good luck with all your plans.

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Thanks for that support. Yes, KM , I have considered what you are suggesting re my signature, and may well change that. I need to update it anyway, so watch this space!!

First part ofmy challenge went well, in bed before midnight, a solid 7 hour sleep, so well done me! Lets see how I get on today, quite a bit to do both at home and out. A prospect has contacted me yesterday, asking for us to chat about the business today, so that sounds positive. I have an order in the region of £500 to put through this morning. DD's uniform etc all ready, so off to a good start. Today is focusing on getting upstraight with business, emails and tel messages, and books to get out. Prospect calls too. Tom, I plan to call my mortgage lender - Halifax! - and also MBNA who are in complete breach of their complaint procedure at the moment, failing to contact me by dates stated, and by telephone too. So, will be on to them for the £51 they owe me tomorrow! Heres to a great day!

InaPickle

:beer: :T Yay PaF! :T :beer:

I was reading your decision-making process with interest, although I didn't say anything as this obviously had to be something you had to decide yourself and you were already getting lots of good advice. I can't help but feel that you have chosen a wise path: you are successfully managing to keep on top of all your payments etc. so it would seem foolish (for now) to start undergoing all those other payment plans. As you say, they are other options if needs ever be, but for now I thinnk you are doing an all-singing, all-dancing FANTASTIC job and should keep up with your new life plan as it sounds a doozler. xxx

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Well, I think I will need to revert to plan b!

1. Called MBNA. They are refunding the £51 to me today. They are not prepared to reduce my interest rate, only freeze it and that would effect my credit rating! Should I care about my credit rating Im wondering. Is that not one of the reasons why I do not want to go down the IVA route. So, yes it is, so Im stuck. The best thing is just to repay the debt as quickly as poss and never have anything to do with MBNA again.

2. My mortgage is with Halifax. They will only change my mortgage to Interest only if Im having financial difficulty, and therefore that will be noted on my credit file. So stuffed there. Will keep it at repayment I think.

If things get any worse, I may as well go for an IVA, if my credit rating is going to be stuffed anyway going down the above 2 routes, I may as well lessen the debt in the process!. I want to keep on top of everything. I dont know!!

Interesting, both companies I was honest to in terms ofmy situation. It is fact that I am disabled, that my dh was murdered, and neither care less. To be disabled/ill in this world are they saying that they can help you but at the cost of a good credit file? There is no understanding that to have the two sorts of help as above would help me not fall over before its too late. A bit like the way the benefits situation works in this country. To have had help from the govt towards the cost of a stair lift I would have had to give up my right to work and go on Incapacity benefit, and then my right to own a home as I would not have been able to afford my home on that benefit. So is a disabled person not allowed the right then to have their own home or own business. This country has become so bizarre. As it is I was blessed to have a charity pay for my stair lift so I am forever grateful for that and must focus on the positive!.

So, the worst case scenario is the one Im in now. I just have to work really hard and pray I do not fall over seriously again, that my tiredness can be kept under control, and that I can keep on top of it all. I have done till now and I WILL continue doing so. Or should I give up and consider an IVA that I dont want............................

Keeping_Motivated

PAF, do you know who your local MP is? If not look on the net and find out. Then make a quick call today and make an appointment to see him/her.

Tell him about how you fall into this difficult category of being disabled but wanting to work but being penalised for it and also tell him about how some of the debt was run up (struggling with the murder of your OH while disable and looking after a small child) and tell him that the CCs are not willing to give you a reasonable % unless you have a black mark against you. Then ask him if he can write to the CCs and ask for leniency for someone who is willing to pay back the debt and work very hard.

Please try this.

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Just thinking about it further, maybe this is gods way of saying I need to leave the mortgage as it is. I have 15/16 years left on it, that will take me to the age of 59/60. It is due for review at the end of next September, so if I can hold my own for the next 10 months it can only get better then as with interest rates as they currently are and IF they stay as they are, my mortgage will go down drastically.

So, in theory I am just looking at the next 10 months with things as they are but with my cc debt still reducing each of those months. I am paying everything, I am working hard, I am very blessed to have a beautiful dd and our small but dear little home, we are holding our own. We could just do it. I sound like Chris Gardner in the film In The Pursuit of Happiness when he was deciding if he could manage working for 6 months without a wage. His decision to do so paid off for him with sheer determination and focus and self belief. I am incliined to think it will for me too.

And I am in the process of selling lots of bits at the mo, my tax bill will be covered, I will be able to get ahead of myself.

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Keeping_Motivated wrote: »

PAF, do you know who your local Mp is? If not look on the net and find out. Then make a quick call today and make an appointment to see him/her.

Tell him about how you fall into this difficult category of being disabled but wanting to work but being penalised for it and also tell him about how some of the debt was run up (struggling with the murder of your OH while disable and looking after a small child) and tell him that the CCs are not willing to give you a reasonable % unless you have a black mark against you. Then ask him if he can write to the CCs and ask for leniency for someone who is willing to pay back the debt and work very hard.

Please try this.

Hi KM

Thank you for your feedback. I know who my MP is, he helped me with my case against tax credits when they wrote to me to tell me I owed them £6000, after much correspondence and sticking my ground, it turned out they in fact owed me £1000!!!

If I do as you suggest, I only hope he wont think its that person again with another query! Plus I know from previous experience, taking on these situations takes it out of me, but then my energy will be taken out of me no matter how I look at it. My backs against a wall isn't it.

Thanks KM, I will let you know what I will do. I could email him this afernoon, I have his contact email address from before. Take care x