Starting my DMP on 1st Feb... Anyone want to join me?

true27

DizzyDizzy wrote: »

Thank you so much for your advice true27!

We are going down to the CAB first thing tomorrow with budget sheet etc that I drew up for CCCS so we know all our figures.

Re the council tax. we have a breathing space of about 3 weeks as OH has to get a statement from his accountant about getting no wages for 3 months. When we go back I hope to possibly get a reduction on last yrs bill (you never know) and also to try to get relief on this years bill, as I will be on maternity leave for 6 months. Whatever we have to pay I hope to spread it out over 12 months to make the payments as low as poss.

We have been ebaying and will be car booting like mad but unfortunatly that doesn't count as an income as it's unpredictable!

I've cancelled the DD's for the end of this month (we have 5 creditors) and today sent a token payment of £1 to the first CC that's due this week. I'm trying to leave my natwest cc & overdraft in the dark as long as poss until I have another bank account set up.

Feels like I should be doing more but I think I just have to wait at the momment. OH just came home and said "it will all be fine" lol! Wish I had his confidence !!

I have to agree with OH my lovely - it all WILL be fine! You are on the right track and you are making a fantastic start!

Personally I would be sticking the car boot and ebay money under the mattress, save up to get a decent emergency fund and then start thinking about full and final settlements and don't forget the odd luxury!

Good idea re: leaving NatWest in the dark. Which bank have you applied to for a new account?

Good luck at the CAB this morning, let us know how you get on - they will also be able to help you negotiate with the council too!

"Speak" to you later xx

true27

Professor_Pat_Pending wrote: »

Evening ladies, the phone barrage has started: 4 witheld numbers since I got in from work at 6, answered one and it went dead, no messages left on the others. Pathetic, aren't we supposed to be adults?
Oh, there it goes again.

Ooo watch out for those "dead" calls - I got my itemised bill through the other day and they had been charging me for those!! Hence the phone being removed at the weekend - let them call now, I won't know anything about it and I certainly won't be paying for those "please hold the line" calls!

verystupidwithmoney

I am one month into my plan - second payment is in April. Don't get many calls now which is the best thing even and I'll be debt free in 6 years! Hopefully, with some luck, I'll receive some bonuses this year and I'll be able to wipe some of them completely.

I will never, ever, ever get into debt again. The thought of credit makes me sick. Sure I have to stick to a budget but I am much happier. I advise anyone thinking of doing it to just do it! It's a little time consuming at first but well worth it!

true27

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oooo loook!!! I got a medal!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone! :grouphug:

Glad DB had a lovely bday Candy, bless him!! Great idea on the spending diary too, I must do that and then I remember that I never spend any money unless its in the budget and then get confuzzled about where it all goes :rotfl:

Are you going to visit ShopA Rhian? You'll probably get three lots of W bars (:D) for 60p :rotfl:

How did the beer/vodka stroganoff turn out in the end PDD? Sounds like a dish right up my street :rotfl:

The windscreen wipers on the sodding car have gone kaput for the third time :grr: so she's in the garage and I'm riding shank's pony again today so please, please, please weather man, be wrong about the rain!!

true27

verystupidwithmoney wrote: »

I am one month into my plan - second payment is in April. Don't get many calls now which is the best thing even and I'll be debt free in 6 years! Hopefully, with some luck, I'll receive some bonuses this year and I'll be able to wipe some of them completely.

I will never, ever, ever get into debt again. The thought of credit makes me sick. Sure I have to stick to a budget but I am much happier. I advise anyone thinking of doing it to just do it! It's a little time consuming at first but well worth it!

:j couldn't agree more!!

Rhian82

verystupidwithmoney wrote: »

I will never, ever, ever get into debt again. The thought of credit makes me sick. Sure I have to stick to a budget but I am much happier. I advise anyone thinking of doing it to just do it! It's a little time consuming at first but well worth it!

Absolutely. We'll hopefully get a mortgage one day, but that's the only kind of debt I ever want to contemplate.

true27 wrote: »

Are you going to visit ShopA Rhian? You'll probably get three lots of W bars (:D) for 60p :rotfl:

Ha, unfortunately I live in a very posh city that does not cater for poor people. We have neither ShopA nor ShopL, and even ShopT requires a fairly significant drive.

We have a Waitrose. Sigh…

pure_dead_dopey

true27 wrote: »

<

---

oooo loook!!! I got a medal!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone! :grouphug:

Glad DB had a lovely bday Candy, bless him!! Great idea on the spending diary too, I must do that and then I remember that I never spend any money unless its in the budget and then get confuzzled about where it all goes :rotfl:

Are you going to visit ShopA Rhian? You'll probably get three lots of W bars (:D) for 60p :rotfl:

How did the beer/vodka stroganoff turn out in the end PDD? Sounds like a dish right up my street :rotfl:

The windscreen wipers on the sodding car have gone kaput for the third time :grr: so she's in the garage and I'm riding shank's pony again today so please, please, please weather man, be wrong about the rain!!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:still chewing:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

true27

Rhian82 wrote: »

Ha, unfortunately I live in a very posh city that does not cater for poor people. We have neither ShopA nor ShopL, and even ShopT requires a fairly significant drive.

We have a Waitrose. Sigh…

:eek: In my pre-mse days I would have been massively jealous as Waitrose don't appear to have heard of Cornwall :rotfl: but now, I don't know where I would be without my ShopT blue stripe 14p spaghetti!!!

true27

pure_dead_dopey wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:still chewing:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

:rotfl: so cheap meat really is moneysaving :rotfl: dinner, breakfast and possibly lunch out of one piece :rotfl:

true27

tedsd wrote: »

Hi True, getting back to CAB as I'm now going CCCS or CAB...??

Do you make an appointment, go in with your SOA and statements and that's it? Do you take in wage slips etc? How come they have no trigger figures, is it about writing out your ACTUAL budget rather than fitting things into a 'template'?

What happens after the appointment?

Well, when I made an appointment there was a bit of a wait, so they sent me out a pack to fill in and a list of stuff (statements, payslips, etc). And yeah, I find their approach much more realistic and flexible than the CCCS (although I understand CCCS's theory). After the appointment, your advisor will write to your creditors and get an up to date balance. They will then work out your surplus income, pro-rata it between the creditors and write again sending your SOA and payment offer. Once they have agreements then your advisor will contact you to tell you how much and who to pay, and then you make the payments. The major difference between CAB and CCCS is that CAB don't handle any money.

In the process of setting up, I've used a combination of the CAB and CCCS figures to get to the best situation for me - hence self-managing.

I think (again, just opinion) that CCCS is great if you don't want the hassle of dealing directly with the creditors and to not worry about the distribution of funds. CAB enables you to self manage by empowering the individual and gives you greater control over your budget. I think it really is an individual choice.