Determined to dig myself out of this hole!

Chatterbox25

Hello to you all. I can't tell you what a relief it is to read about other people exactly like myself. Well Martin Lewis has over the last few months has become my hero. I'm in my early twenties and dug myself into a deep amount of debt with 2 loans, 2 high overdrafts, a credit card and 5 (yes u heard it right 5) phone contracts! As u all know its sooo easy for people to say how did u manage that?!!! But as we know its so so easy to get into the loop of spending becuase it makes us feel good and in control, borrowing to pay for what u've bought (which lets face it often with me are very unneccessary purchases e.g. the latest iphone etc) and then facing bank charges upto the hills for going over your overdraft with the constant fear of what if something goes wrong with my car, i have nothing to fal back on. Anyway after my building society telling me there was nothing they could do and i would have to go down to the Citizens Advie Bureau i came clean with my family. Terrified eveytime the phone rang or i recieved a letter i had no other choice really. They went mad as you would expect but at last i wasn't hiding all of this anymore and doing it alone. I know i probabbly seem like a silly girl compared to people in real trouble with mortgages etc they an't pay but i was on a downwards spiral. Anyway a year on i've paid of all but one phone corat (it cost me £800 for the priviledge) and am no longer incurring bank charges. I still have 2 overdrafts, 2 loans and a credit card but they are becoming much more manageable as i bring my outgoings down. I keep trying for a balance transfer as i pay soooo much interest for my credit rating isn't good enough to rent a dog's kennel! Anyway i'm still trying and won't stop to firstly clear my overdrafts and then go from there. Me being one of these people has to do it to learn from it have learnt some very valuable lessons along the way and am now soooo careful with money (most of the time!) I just want rid of these debts that weigh heavy on my shoulders x

Tixy

Hi Chatterbox

Glad to hear you have managed to get yourself back on track with your finances. And telling your family makes such a difference I found as well.

It sounds like you managed to have your light bulb moment at quite a young age which is great. Do you still live at home with your folks? That at least means not having the worry of losing your home.

With regards to the balance transfer - do you know why you have been turned down? Have you looked at a copy of your credit report?
I'm in a similar position I can't BT one of my high rate credit cards because I am too near my limits on my other cards, so I'm working on bringing them down over the next 6months and then applying again.

Keep at it, it will be worth it in the end? Have you looked at working out when your debt free date will be? (you can work this out with the snowball calculator on whatsthecost website) Once you have this date in your mind you can then see that as a challenge to get there sooner.

Good luck