My debt-free dream!

hallsy85

Thanks Rox, you're doing really well from what i can see, good luck and hears to March 2010!

Spoke to Churchwood this evening and agreed to make a payment of £100, £200 less than my monthly payment. This leaves me with £500 owed to them next Friday, alongside the £350 rent my parents are expecting - £850 in total, and i'm only paid £650! eBaying like crazy tonight I think, it's starting to all get to me again, i'm not sure i'm able to see a way out at the moment, but keep plowing on and see what i can do.

Going to evaluate what i can find around the flat to sell, my 42" telly, the pride and joy of my flat, may be the first victim though! My dad, very bluntly, pointed out to me in a voicemail earlier that it's my spending priorities i'm getting wrong, and i couldn't agree more. God only knows why i'm going on this short holiday at the weekend, i can't see myself enjoying it much if i'm worrying about money all the time!

I long for a time when i can be debt-free and living a (lot) less stressful life, saving towards the future. Why do we get ourselves into these messes eh?

Right, to the study and all the spare goodies to flog on eBay....will update everyone later!

hallsy85

Quick update for anyone still reading this!

Paid £100 to Churchwood last night, and then drafted a letter to them stating i'd be reducing my payments to £100 a month - i intend to pay more, but this is just to give me some breathing space whilst i sort bits and pieces out.

Also paid a £30 debt to Wescott for an old O2 Bill, meaning i can get a contract with them in the future (won't consider until debt-free though!).

Letter drafted to Natwest making the initial request for bank charge notification, both letters copied and dated so i know when i sent them!

Started the spending diary, £5 up yesterday, and even today - gave my OH £10 for train fare, but sold a game to a guy at work for £10. Few more surveys in the afternoon and hopefully i'm on a positive! Have some free tickets to the local theatre tonight, so a cheap one - dinner is a nice chicken salad we prepared yesterday!

ElizabethJH

How come you're paying for the whole holiday and your OH's train fare? Sorry just had to ask?

How come your train far is so expensive? Do you get a monthly pass?

Good Luck with it!!

hallsy85

ElizabethJH wrote: »

How come you're paying for the whole holiday and your OH's train fare? Sorry just had to ask?

How come your train far is so expensive? Do you get a monthly pass?

Good Luck with it!!

Ah well, she's at college currently, so it was a treat for our anniversary - the £10 train fare was just a loan, i'll get it back this week

Train fare is about £270 a month - that's a monthly pass, the most-effective way. I'm going to look into what it would cost driving as well, as this might come in a little cheaper, but parking etc might bump this up.

I paid £100 off the Natwest account at lunch, so down to £1,500 owed to them!

ElizabethJH

Aw nice You sound like you have the same down fall as me though - treating others when you can't afford to treat yourself!! Hope you have a fab time and try and forget about money whilst you're away!! Well done on the extra £100

hallsy85

I know, i've often been told i'm too nice - which i guess can be a positive quality, but it does mean i'm a bit of a pushover sometimes, i need to be firmer! Treasurer for our local football club though, so good practice at being mean and chasing up others for cash!

Have been pretty pro-active tonight, got a load of eBay stuff up and sorted, should hopfeully bring in a few extra quid - i'm £5 up for the week so far spending wise, so am feeling positive heading into the weekend. Have about £150 to spend over the course of 2 and a bit days, so i'm hoping this will be more than enough!

hallsy85

Oops, i've slipped updating this!

Since the last time i posted, there's been a few changes in my circumstances. With regards to the Italy trip, we didn't actually go The OH had to stay to finish some coursework due the day we flew, and we both agreed it would be silly to go and risk her getting into trouble - EasyJet have refunded me the ticket price, but not tax - so lost about £80 here - not ideal! But, it did save us hotel and spending money, so silver lining!

I took the big step and explained the situation to my OH, who i think had had some suspicions, but took it very well and has been nothing but supportive, offering to help me however she can This morning, i emailed both the parents and told them as well, cowardly to do it by email i know, but they've been incredible, and pledged to help however possible!

So, i got in touch with First Credit Management, who are dealing with my Natwest overdraft (£1,600 at time of writing), and made a final settlement offer of £975, about 60% of the debt. Happy to say they agreed! Parents have very kindly made this payment, so i'll pay them back £100 a month, more when possible - incredibly chuffed with them!

Next step is to get a final settlement figure from Churchwood, hoping i can get this cleared for £900 with a bit of luck. The parents have also agreed to pay this if i can sort it. I was so worried about telling them, but they've been very supportive and surprised that i've been paying it off each month since uni! I've made it clear to them that i appreciate what they're doing hugely, and i see this as a chance to redeem what i've done, pay them back ASAP and really appreciate them more than ever now. I'm fortunate that they've agreed to help, and ideally this will allow me to build a better credit rating whilst paying them back

All in all, a more positive day today, and hopefully will be able to start paying them back asap!

ElizabethJH

Hey sounds like a lots happened, but all in the positive generally! I was the same about being scared of telling my parents but they've been incredibly supportive and I think always will be no matter how many times I mess up! Hope Churchwood accept the £900!!

CaroleM_3

Hello, thought you'd gone a bit quiet!

Thats great news on the overdraft, tho you will need to make sure they mark it off properly on your credit file, cant remember the words they need to use, but there are normally treads on the DFW board about it....sorry for the rubbish explanation but its Friday and my brain is fried!

And great news too about your OH, definatly the best idea to be honest and get the support you need

hallsy85

Thanks guys, the supports been great from everyone, so i'm having a positive day! Churchwood are notoriously bad for providing outstanding balances, but i'm hoping the lure of a final settlement will get them moving

Thanks for the advice CaroleM, will definitely search the boards for more info - i'm going to request a credit report in 2 weeks time and then hopefully start saving!