how do you all do it

earwig

hi i have been lokking at peoples sigs and have noticed that quite a few of have been paying masive amounts of your debts each month some at a rate of a thousand pounds some even higher i have allso noticed that some of you have really high debts 30.0000 +and will be debt free in two to three years so to do that you must be paying thousands of each month i have a small debt of 7 thousand well bvig to me but small next to some poeple on here and would love to pay it of quickly but i know there is no way i could pay of the amounts what some of you are doing and it will take longer than two to three years to pay it so i would love to know how you are all doing it is it every single penny gose on debt if so what do you do if you need new clothes tyre for the car school trip weekends ect or are you all masive earners and you live normal lives and just throw what you have left once you have paid for everything please let me know as i could be diong something baddlywrong with our money thanks

themaccas

Hi earwig, I think it depends on the circumstances really. The old phrase'the more you earn the more you spend' is usually very true and we have found that to be tru personally as the more money we have earnt - the higher our debts have become. 18 years ago, when DH and i we got married as teenagers our monthly income was around £400 now it has risen to nearly 4K plus we get a rental income from our house we currently have rented out. But with the massive rise comes massive debts. In order to earn the high salaries, DH and I have taken a lot of time out of our jobs to gain better qualifications and our family life has suffered without a doubt. I have no doubt most people have the ability to earn very high salaries but it takes, commitment, hard work and time spent away from your family with long hours and the high cost of education to get the qualifications needed. We did it. It's just that sometimes I wonder if it was all worth it. I have no doubt we'll pay this debt off by the snowball date below maybe before, but that's still another 2 years away and 2 years out of my family's life.

Broken_hearted

I think I just got sick of all the crap I was getting from OH's creditors. So I decided to get rid of all debts, paying as little as possible (offering low full and final settlements). I havn't used payplan or CCCs so if I need to buy clothes I simply pay less to the creditors.

sarah0404

I've sold my car since deciding to become debt free. The money I made from selling it went towards my debts, so it would look as if I had paid a huge amount towards my debts. I've also sold my main computer and lots of other bits and pieces. I've moved a lot of money around onto 0% credit cards, so every payment I make pays off the debt, rather than interest.

Now I've done all that it's going to be a slow and boring process to pay everything back. I owe about £30K and it'll take me till 2010 to pay it all back. We are on a fairly low income, but I have made cut backs everywhere and can afford to pay £400 every month towards my credit cards. Once I've sorted them (which will be June 2007!) I'll start making over payments on my loans.

ceegee

That's a really interesting point, earwig. I have concluded that people who earn fantastic amounts of money become complacent, because they know that there will be thousands of pounds going into the old bank account at the end of every month, whereas people on low wages (like moi!) watch every penny very carefully, because we know that it will just be a couple of hundred quid at the end of the week!

I could say more, but I won't.....I don't want to cause trouble on a wet Monday morning! :lipsrseal

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi Hun

I think we've all had to make some kind of sacrifices IYSWIM. I find that by meal planning and only buying what we need has cut back alot each month and the extra is paid off etc.

It doesnt happen over night and takes time to work with a budget and work out whats best for you. Is there anything you could cut back on....mobile, utilities, insurances, going out, smoking, socialising, eating, groceries etc etc...even lillte cut backs will make a huge difference.

Good luck and HTH. Keep smiling sweet:D PM me if you want a chat...it can be so depressing but will become easier an we're all here to help ya!!

PP
xx

themaccas

I will definately own up to being complacent ceegee!

ms_london

Because I am single with no dependents it was easier for me to become a hermit & take on a 2nd job.. If my circumstances were different I definately wouldnt have paid it off so quickly. Also, not having a car in London meant that there were no unexpected costs cropping up (i.e a new tyre), and renting means that if anything goes wrong the Landlord has to sort it - so I only had to think of myself really!!

It sounds as though are are doing really good & taking part in lots of the boards challenges - so keep up the good work!!

You will get there in the end & it will be so worth it.xx

Chortle_2

You also have to take into account that the higher the debt, the higher the initial minimum repayments. I for one, had minimums totally about £750 p/m when I first started trying to clear it. As I didn't go the DMP route, I just carried on repaying that as a minimum, and threw more at it as and when I could. I've also sold lots of stuff, and every spare penny I have goes towards it. My debt has also reduced dramatically in the last couple of months, as I had a large payout from reclaiming my bank charges.

I get much more satisfaction from paying a few more quid off of my debt than I do spending the same amount on a 'treat' for myself. I'd much rather buy financial security than a 'thing'. I put money aside each month for anything I am likely to need, and can't remember the last time I bought new clothes (don't need to - have far too many anyway :rotfl:)

Broken_hearted

Chortle it's great seeing the debt free date come down.

in*the*red_6

Earwig
I know how you feel, as the Maccas said, although we're all in the same boat i.e. we have debt, our circumstances are very different. Like you I have preschool children which means my earning potential isn't what it would be if we were a dual income couple with no kids.

There is someone on the board that's got a debt of nearly 100k and a debt-free date sooner than mine LOL, not that I begrudge them but it can make me a teeny bit envious too!
ITR