Hard Times, does it get better

Careful_girl

So the news is good. You have decided to sort yourself out and you have someone to love. Pretty good stuff. Posessions being sold on ebay are just a bitter pill. Money should be spent and not worried about -I used to say. I think I still think it should be so just I am so careful about what I spend my hard earned cash on.
Love costs nothing. Be mean and brutal with the spending. Be obsessive about getting the best deals and we will all be here.
Congratulations. You could have waited years before you made such a sensible decision and been in deeper trouble.:T
All the best
CG

LookingAhead

Hi biglad. Just wanted to say hello and say yes things do get better. Really really.

Good for you taking the 'regular' job......I have had to take jobs before that I didn't want but I just thought of them as 'long term temp' jobs and I used them for every penny and watched myself clear some debt. (Unfortunately I always fell off the wagon big style again but that was in the days before I discovered this site!!)

Keep coming back on here and ranting as it is better than blowing any hard work and going out on a bender or spending money you haven't got etc etc. And there will always be people here who understand.

I saw a programme on tv the other day about personal trainers who teach people outside for £20 a session. They met them on a green space and got them to do some circuit training type exercises and a bit of running. It works out cheaper to do that a couple of times a month than for some people to join a gym (they are encouraged to do other forms of free exercise in the meantime i.e. walking or cycling etc).

Maybe you could push that line and rope a few people in....it would be a great sideline on top of your regular job to beat the debt down.

But anyways, good luck with the journey.....

Careful_girl

You see you help us to save money on gym membership and help us get off our fat bottoms and computer keyboards and sort out ya finances. Way to go Lookingahead!!:beer:
CG

piglet6

Just wanted to say welcome :hello: and good luck, Biglad. Well done you for getting on top of the problem now (22 is fantastically young to face up to these problems and beat them and learn new/better habits for the future!!:T ).

I agree with the posts above - get a "boring" job as a temporary measure, throw yourself into it (do all the overtime you can stomach!) and pay off as much as fast as possible, but I think that your other idea of trying to stick with the personal training on the side is great. LookingAhead's idea of meeting people in a park outside and training them there is great - I live near Battersea Park and there are always plenty of people doing this option. If I could afford it I might well be tempted myself:o :rotfl: .

I am also amazed at how much you can earn doing this sort of thing (as an example, my boss pays a personal trainer to come to her house once a week and pays her £90 for 1½hrs?!?!:eek:). She also pays her in cash... Whilst not in any way condoning this:whistle: , or suggesting that you should take this route, it would certainly make a hole in your debts...;)

Good luck with everything!

Piglet

sparkle_monkey

Hi Biglad,
I agree that its great you are sorting it out so early. I'm 28 and didn't face up to until last year..a few extra years can cause a lot of extra damage.
You have love in your life, plus you know what you love to do and can get paid for it. I know you can't do it full time but in a sense it is a bit of a kick up the !!! for you re getting out of debt. Many people go through life without ever finding something they love to do. Like you, I have something I love to do, but right now can only get enough work part-time so will be looking for a McJob to pay the bills. It's motivating (putting a positive spin on it!), put feelers out everywhere for personal training work, I find the more people you tell the better. Sometimes connections come from the strangest places, talking to someone on the bus etc can be fruitful.
I'm sure you can succeed, if you want it bad enough you will find a way and your belief in yourself will be apparent to any potential clients.
Good luck :A

Molanole

LookingAhead wrote:

I saw a programme on tv the other day about personal trainers who teach people outside for £20 a session. They met them on a green space and got them to do some circuit training type exercises and a bit of running. It works out cheaper to do that a couple of times a month than for some people to join a gym (they are encouraged to do other forms of free exercise in the meantime i.e. walking or cycling etc).

Oooh I was just going to suggest this. I think it could be a real niche for you if you can market yourself to those who would love to have a personal trainer but don't want to have to pay the monthly gym membership.

All I can add is think of the motivation you have when excercising your body. Becoming debt free is an excercise of the brain and a test of the will power we all know you must have as a keen fitness bod. Apply the same motivation to that, see it as a challenge, set yourself personal goals, no matter how big or small, above all, remember what motivates you and use use use that! There was an article on the bbc the other day about how McJobs can actually be better than we all think. You can earn £45K as a store manager at McD's which is something I never knew - so, your "boring" might turn out to be better than you think!

Anyway, welcome and the very best of luck!

biglad

thanks all for your advice. I started doing personal training in december and am all ready doing various circuit classes which i REALLY enjoy and it brings in some extra money. Like every business though theres always people competing and things are never easy. Unfortunately i dont live in london so i cant charge those prices, and one thing ive found is i think ive jumped on the personal training bandwagon maybe a year too late, as far too many are established within the industry, which is why im thinking of having to bite the bullet.

Im looking for any job that pays well, been looking at recruitment agencey work which is the last thing i want, sitting at a PC and interviewing people, but the money could potentially be better and it will be a regular wage which is what i need right now and part of my job is listening to people, constantly seing the public and its hard at times keeping that front on that im all happy go lucky. after writing and reading this thread its apparent its not just my debt but other factors currently in my life aswell.

im going to pop the job centre on wednesday (next chance i get) and see whats going on there, its hard but would relieve some stress knowing whats coming in each month.

the sort of person i am, people talk to me a lot about things, especially my clients, one is even going through bankruptancy at the moment

as for the park stuff, thats a good idea, ive tried things like that just think i tried it at the wrong time of year, but ill give it another go.

people say 22 is a good age to realise, i feel a lot older trust me lol

Thanks for all the support and i will keep you lot updated on any job developments, just hope something comes off soon

Molanole

biglad wrote:

as for the park stuff, thats a good idea, ive tried things like that just think i tried it at the wrong time of year, but ill give it another go

It might well have been the wrong time of year but now, with beautiful weather, holiday season approaching and hundreds, nay THOUSANDS of women panicing about how they will fit into their bikinis this year I think it might be a good time! All the very best in your efforts!

sammy115

In my wild spending days I had a personal trainer (for all the good it did me!). Can I just say that you don't need to charge a fortune for your services, in fact if you lowered your rates to just below the going rate in your area you may pick up some business from people who may not have gone to a PT for reason of cost. Its good to have a 'boring' day job so that you have a 'plan' to stick to. I had to go back to work after having my baby and I dream of going freelance - but that is in the future. I am working towards it.

We all have down days. Log on every day and you will gain valuable experience/support/advice from all the good people on here.

You have faced your problems. The only way is up!

Mrs_A.

hi biglad what part of the country are you because i would love a cheap personal trainer. i am in scotland
regards