Millie's Moans

milliemonster

Well, I think this must be about the fifth diary I have attempted but this is the final one.

I have been an avid DFW for the last year but lost my way on a few occasions, I guess it's cos having been in debt for so long, it seems like a mountain to climb to get out of it and I have those moments of thinking 'oh well, what's the point'

Well I have now found the point.

I used to be a nurse but left the NHS for a private company a few years ago (better money, car etc), I'm just about to start a new job with a different company but this has led me to question what I want out of my life.

I am 36, married with 2 kids 10 and 6, we have a good income but lots of debt, have never defaulted on anything and are overpaying (most months lol!), trying hard to stick to a budget but sometimes that blows out of the water somewhat.

So, the point being?, I think I want to go back into nursing at some point, yes I know that's completely mad thinking like that when I am just about to start a new job!!! but whatever I do in the 'industry' I am in, I can't ever work part time, I don't want to be working full time forever, dh only gets one weekend in two off and I am fed up that we never seem to have much time as a family to do things together.

My plan is, to use this job to pay off the debts in as quick a time as possible, this will then allow me to do a return to practice nursing course and get a part time nursing job working 2 days a week (with a £1k salary drop:eek:), more time with the family and dh, more holidays so we can do more things together, if that's not an incentive to stick to the plan then I don't know what is.

I've figured we can do it in 2 years, maybe sooner depending on bonuses I may get in my new job, but I have to stay focussed and that's been the problem before, I've lost my focus, well not this time.

So if anyone wants to join me, offer any words of wisdom during the times I want to go on a spending spree etc then feel free to chip in:D

yummymommy

Hi Millie

Great start. I am a little older than you, (only a little!!), but have two children, 6 and 8. Up until 2 years ago I have a full time, v well paid job. I now work part-time and have taken a huge drop, but for the first time ever am able to pick kids up and take to school etc.

I have yet to start my diary but plan to soon after our hols. First one in three years!:j

Have you got a plan of action ? One thing I notice about reading these diaries is that the people who are successful have a plan of action along with achievable targets.

I'm sure once we get the ball rolling and get organised, (procrastination can be my middle name !), then we will succesful too.

Good luck on your journey :beer:

milliemonster

Hi Yummymummy, well, I have a plan of action of sorts, I have already spoken to the university that do the return to practice course, it is a 6 month course but the course fees are funded by the local authority, and it's very flexible that you can fit it around your existing work/family committments, there are 2 intakes per year also, so I plan to apply in either 12 months or 18 months time depending how I get on with debtbusting!

In the meantime, we are overpaying our debts from anything between 100 and 800 a month, I have worked out we will be down to £32k by xmas, but the next month is going to be hard as I get paid from my current job tomorrow, but then don't get paid again until 30th Sept in my new job, during this time there are DD's for credit card repayments that will come out on 22nd Aug and Sept obviously out of one salary so this next month and a half is going to be very tight, meaning we can't overpay at all this month. After that, it should be fine.

We have a loan finishing in Nov and another in Aug next year which will free up another £150 a month, plus I am currently paying £200 a month into a bond for my kids, I'm going to stop paying this after 22nd Nov so there will be another £200 there meaning we can have around £1300 a month spare to throw at debts. I can't stop the bond money before Nov or we will miss out on 10% interest!!!!

So, my plan at the moment is to get started in my new job, we have a budget for food etc, to reach the target of just under £32k by xmas and then come January I want to look at getting £20k paid by end of next year to leave us with £12k for the following year.

I may be able to pay more if I get bonuses with my new job, they pay bonuses monthly and recently another member of my team received a £10k bonus!!!!! but obviously I am not relying on anything like this, however any bonuses I do get will help

I then want to save to buy both myself and dh a newer car, I have a company car at mo with my job so would need to buy a car when I go back to nursing, we have a W reg freelander at the moment which is ok but by then we may want something a bit newer but I will save for this before I finish work.

Then long term my plans are to overpay the mortgage, have the freedom to do more with my life. I have always been really ambitious regarding my career, worked my way up in nursing and since leaving have worked hard but I have come to the stage in my life now where I wonder what it's all about? money isn't everything, time is more important to me and the freedom to choose what I want to do, I lost my mum last year and think this brought it home to me that I don't want to be working in a corporate job all day every day and snatching a couple of weeks off a year just to earn a great wage, life is too short, my kids will be grown up and I will have nothing to look back on.

So I guess that's a plan of sorts! we could afford to do this now at a stretch but there would be no money to overpay anything so it would take so much longer to get our debts down.

hypno06

Do you have your debts in the snowball calculator on www.whatsthecost.com so you can work out a variety of debt free dates based on the different possible sums - ie no over payments, £150 extra a month, £1000 extra a month?

That would give you a date to work to, then when you are wondering about "what's the point?" next time (and there will be a next time, there always is - they creep up on you when you least expect them!) you can look at your debt free date, and know that YES there is the reason you are sticking to this - so that the DFD comes forward and you can change your work/life ratio.

milliemonster

Thanks Hypno, I will def look at that, I'm so envious of you, we had similar level debts this time last year and look at you now!!! and then look at me lol!!!!

milliemonster

Right

I need to make some plans

been thinking about this all day and have to break down the debt into manageable chunks as its just too daunting as it is

soooooooooo

first aim is to be under 35k by xmas, to get to that we are going to hammer down the highest charging interest credit cards first, namely:

A&L Visa - £889 owed, interest 34%
Argos Card - £1339 owed, interest 27.9%
Natwest Visa - £6239 owed, interest 27%

the aim is by xmas to have the A&L visa and Argoscard paid off and Natwest down to £5k or just under, along with reductions in our other cc's this will take the total balance to just under £35k

am going to change my sig now to concentrate on these first

milliemonster

Going on hols on Monday so I can't wait for that, then as soon as I get back I start my new job, a bit more money that I am on now so hopefully will be able to overpay like mad.

Fed up of being depressed about debt

I'm going to start with a payment a day aswell, £5 coming off the A&L total right now

rubydoiwannabee

Hi Milliemonster, I think you and I joined around the same time and I feel certain we have commented and 'spoken' on posts before. I just wanted to pop in and say good luck with your plan. I will follow with interest and support.

Best wishes:D

milliemonster

Who do you think you are posting this on my diary?

Firstly, every month we are overpaying the minimums on our debts by at least £500

The holidays are for our kids and have not been paid for by adding to the debt, they have been paid for outright, I don't believe our kids should suffer because we have got into debt over the years.

We never go out anywhere, don't drink or smoke and our holidays are our only luxury now, why do you think it is an expensive holiday? we are going to France and it has cost us £400

The debt we have is going to take us a few years to pay off, during that time I am NOT prepared to cut every other form of spending so that we have no life and our children have no life, I am NOT putting their lives on hold for the next few years. We are fortunate that we earn enough to have over £2500 disposable income each month, the highest proportion of this goes to pay our debts, the rest goes on making our lives worth living. If I choose to spend some of that on a holiday a couple of times a year to spend the time with my children so that means it takes slightly longer to pay off my debts then that is my business, not yours, I did not ask for people's opinion on this

We have good jobs, work hard and earn good money, we have paid off £30k worth of debt over the last year and have not added to it, I don't call that little progress

This is not the first time you have attaked me on this forum and I don't understand why you have such a personal issue with me

This is my diary where I have not asked for advice therefore I don't understand why you have come on here offering it

urg123

Hi Milliemonster

I have just read your diary - you have done really well to get where you are.

One of the fundamentals of this site is that we provide support for each other. This is a meant to be a safe space - we should provide constructive support and criticism but not judgement. Not one of us walks in your shoes. You have made a decision to deal with your debt and not let it affect your children - fair play to you.

I wish you well on your debt free journey - having paid off £30K in a year must be very hard work - you deserve the break and time off with your family. I have no doubt that you will get to your Christmas goal.

urg x x

milliemonster

Thank you Urg, tbh I am really upset over CJ's remarks which I feel are completely uncalled for. We have made a lot of progress over the last year, paid a loan off, another loan is paid off in a couple of months, made serious inroads into our debts and not used the CC's for anything over the last few months

we live to a budget now for our essential outgoings, downsized our house last year and reduced our mortgage by £50k, we don't have even have Sky TV FGS, we don't spend money on anything frivolous but yes we try to have 2 holidays a year with our kids, if we couldn't afford to pay for this and continue to pay our debts and essential outgoings then of course we wouldn't have holidays.

I am proud of the fact we have our spending under control, we are paying off our debts and we have never been in arrears, missed payments, had a ccj/default, we have NEVER had a problem paying our debts so I find it a bit much that someone who I don't even know decides to come onto my diary and tell me that I shouldn't even have a holiday

We are in control of our debts now and if we allow money within our budget to go on holiday then what is wrong with that? it's not like we are not paying our debts and going on holiday, I don't see why we should have no life for the next 3 years while we pay this debt off and by being a bit more flexible with our budget means it makes life more bearable and feels at least we are working for something and have something to look forward to.

TBH, this has made me feel like leaving the forum, it doesn't feel a safe place for me anymore if certain people are going to make judgements on me every time I post