determinedtodothis for another year!

determinedtodothis

last years thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1313843&highlight=determinedtodothis

Hi well i've officially been an MSE for a whole year - thank you so much for all your support! a year ago I was in a right pickle:

• My mortgage company where threatening reposession of my house,
• I was in arrears with my council tax,
• Arrears with my car,
• Arrears for the electricity
• I had a consolidation loan that was in arrears and they wanted to take me to court for repossession
• I lost my job
• and I owed £20k in total

i really thought there was no way out and then I met you lovely people :j

If any lurkers are reading this please really believe this site is amazing and the people on here are soooo supportive

Today as it stands:

• I have paid 8k off my debts,
• my mortgage is up to date and has been for 6 months,
• my council tax is up to date,
• i'm £80 in credit with my electricity company ready for the dec bill,
• I have paid off the consolidation loan cowboys
• and the car is mine,
• xmas has been paid for CASH!!

I don't have any horrible letters, phonecalls or visitors and 12 months ago I really never thought I'd be in this position and its all from the advice and support I have found on this forum.

I still have a long way to go but I am more than determined to do this than ever.....

First challenge of my new year - NSD! i'm going for 10 (aiming low because of xmas!)

lolly_896

Wow - Well done, So far i'm going into my third week and finding it increasingly difficult i guess it was a hard time of year to start with xmas coming up!

and you've brought forward you Debt free date by 9 years! :O Hopefully you will take somemore off by this time next year x

Verbatim

On you go!!!!!!

determinedtodothis

Thanks lolly_896 - i'd be lying if I said it was easy and in the early days there were so many times I felt like giving up - just as I thought I had overcome one thing something else happend - please stick to it, I know you've picked a hard time to becoming MSE but in the long run it will be worth it - I PROMISE YOU!

Verbatim - as always - thank you so much really really appreciate your words of support and encouragement I really want to get to a point where I have a sig like yours!

foxgloves

That's a fantastic positive post. It's never easy paying it all off.....much easier to get ourselves into a mess in the first place! You're doing really well. We didn't have as much debt as many on here, but have managed to get rid of most of it, just the last small loan being paid off now. Over the last month, my car has had a service, new tyres & work on exhaust, etc, and MOT. I've been driving for 20 years and this is the first time I've EVER been in a position to pay car bills without either slapping it on an overdraft or a credit card. Sounds silly, but it was an amazing feeling. I hope we never rack up a load of debt again, but if we do, it'll be because of emergencies that have needed paying for NOT frittering away on rubbish we can't afford. Good luck with all your efforts into the next year. You can do it and it is worth it, as you're already finding, just to feel in control of things again x

milliemonster

Wow!!! how far have you come!!!! I am so impressed and I'm so glad you have posted this, anyone who comes on here now in such despair can see just how your life has changed in the last 12 months and that no matter how bad things seem, there really is a sliver lining!!! well done!!!!

determinedtodothis

Thanks foxgloves/milliemonster - just putting to words what I have acheived over the last 12 months has spurred me on!

foxgloves i totally know where you are coming from, I have a budget for the new year and includes monthly savings for MOT's and things - something I have NEVER had before and i'm so pleased to be in a position to have the money now to do that rather than lurching from one crisis to the next scrambling for money to pay for the large one off bills

WOW Milliemonster talk about my acheivements - check you out - well done!

natsplatnat

Hi DTDT!!

Your determination has certainly paid off!!! Well done you, your sheer grit and 'can do' attitude has been amazing!!

Nats x

Little_Vics

Hoorah! Well done you!! It's amazing what you can do in a year if you put your mind to it! Hoorah again!!

foxgloves

It does work, having a little rainy day fund. I'd known for years that this was one of the reasons (& not living within my means generally) why I seemed to be going from crisis to crisis on the stuff like house repairs, car bills, etc, which always went straight on credit. I decided to heed the advice I'd been reading for years and set up a separate account into which I pay a set amount by dd each month. I know that if I can no longer afford to do this, I can stop it at any time, but it's surprising how it concentrates the mind seeing a little emergency pot build up. I bet mechanics aren't used to seeing people walk away with a smile on their face having just shelled out for a full service but it really was because it was the first one I could pay for in cash. I used to think only really well-off people could afford to put money away each month but when I think about all the years I've been working, if I'd put away even just £20 out of each paycheque, that'd have built to a really useful amount by now. Never thought I'd say this, but think I really have learned my lesson.

evenmoreconfused.com

Newbie here...Great to see that this site really works. It's an ispiration for newbie's!! :T:T