Have you learned your lesson

pebblespop

i have been paying debts off ect and havn't used my credit cards for over a year. i have a holiday coming up next month which i have paid for but i am dreading the thought that i might spend on my credit card as i want to take it for emergencys. arrrgghh!!

i feel like an alcholic who only needs one drink to fall back in bad ways.

i am spending the rest of the month matched betting and ebaying etc to try and get a small emergancy fund so i don't have to use the cc.

i think it is very easy to get back in debt.

ejbg2001

I'm still working on mine and I think I always will have to.

When I had my lightbulb moment (payday b4 xmas 1 year, day after payday I had no money, my overdraft was maxed and I had no way of buying food let alone xmas prezzies for anyone) I swore I wouldn't let myself get that way again. Fast forward a few years, I had to consolidate my loans in order to get my roof repaired (the mortgage company would only lend me the money if I borrowed enough to pay everything off). I thought I was debt-free but hadn't included one debt of £2000 (didn't check my credit report) that bit me on the bum 6 months later. At the same time, thinking I was debt free, I took out a credit card to help with emergencies...

Now, I owe £1500 on the cc and £600 on the loan. I use OS ways to help with things like budgeting for food etc. I do a lot of crafting and I stop and think about what I'm buying before I spend. When I clear the loan n cc I intend to:
1 - Use cc ONLY for big purchases that I saved for first (computer, house repairs, double glazing etc)
2 - Check what I'm paying for and how to get the best deals (still working on that too)
3 - Only buy things I need or have saved to splurge on (books and crafty things mostly)

It's tough 'cos I sometimes thing "pot it, I wanna..." but then I think "It's going towards...XXX" and it stops me. I guess I'm a bit like an alcoholic, I will always need to keep tight control or it will all go out the window again...

ejbg2001

lol pebbles I know what you mean!

ejbg2001

Has anyone ever seen the John Cleese film Clockwise about the Head Teacher who is so strict on timing because if he wasn't he would be completely hopeless? I feel like that most days about my spending... all or nothing...

OK not just spending lol...

hullight

I'll bet in some cases the boards make people want to get into debt even more...full and final settlements, debt relief orders, bankruptcy...some people would value the things they buy more than their credit rating.

Deep_In_Debt

I'm still paying my debts and I've learnt my lesson, especially when I had my lighbulb moment 2 years ago and worked out that my monthly unsecured debt repayments came to more than my monthly mortgage repayments. Now that is scary!

I now live within my means and without credit (apart from mortgage) and now realise the value of money - if I want something, I save up for it or go without whereas before I'd borrow by way of credit cards and most of the stuff I didn't need, so it has changed my attitude towards money.