Tackling This Problem One Debt At A Time

spykey_uk

Hi everyone,

I have been on the DFW boards before and failed miserably...I think maybe I wasn't ready to deal with the problem, or just found it too much to deal with.

Anyway, I have now got my light well and truly on! My situation is that I am getting married in a few months to the man of my dreams (but it's all paid for and I'd lose deposits if I cancelled so that's not an option). I have just found out that at the end of June when I finish my training as a solicitor, I won't be taken on. I was devastated when I found out, but am feeling a lot more positive about it now. I will find work, it's just a matter of staying positive.

We have made the decision to move in with my in-laws until after the wedding to give me time to find work and to allow us to make a dent in our debts. It is not ideal as we'll be starting married life off with my parents-in-law, but both of our parents did it and I think if it enables us to have a better life in the long-run, clear this debt and start with a clean slate, then it's got to be a good thing!

Anyway, I'm struggling with the idea of paying off all of my debt, so I am just going to break it down into small chunks. My overall total is around £8,000 but my fiance has around £10,000 in his name. He has got lots of overtime opportunities coming up so hopefully we can really start to make headway on these debts once we've moved home.

My first debt to tackle is my Halifax Credit Card (my most expensive debt) which today totals: £1,322.64.

I am going to make payments from my wage, but will also try to make dents in it from selling things, mystery shopping, surveys, cashback etc. My aim is to try and get rid of it by the wedding in August.

Wish me luck! x

spykey_uk

Well I've started off my challenge well. I had an email saying I've had £25 for my mystery shoppings this month, so I've paid that straight off the card. I was also trying to build up some emergency savings, so had £88.08 saved in an account. I've decided that this would be better used at reducing my debt, so I've paid that off the card as well.

New total: £1,209.56!

I'm feeling better already! :j

Unfortunately I know it's not always going to be that easy to make a dent in the debts. I've got another MS booked for the weekend, which will be another £10. I've also got a few bits on ebay that will hopefully sell for a bit, and I've got some cashback due at the end of the month from Quidco.

Lemon_Tree

hello again spykey, sorry to hear you won't get your job once you've finished training but you're right, witht he right attitude you will find one.
good luck with the debt journey and your wedding planning.
It's a good idea to take one debt at a time, that's what i've been doing through this journey and fingers crossed it's working for me.

spykey_uk

Thanks for the support Lemontree! You've done so amazingly well, every time I see your signature it seems to have dropped another £5k! :rotfl:

I'm really proud that I am finally doing something about my debts. I think by the time the wedding is over, we will have made some significant dents in our debt levels.

I have also have an idea about starting my own business, but I don't want to go into any more details until I've given it some more thought. My idea has very few start-up costs (probably just the initial registration of the company and perhaps insurance if needed) but could be a nice little income earner. I'm going to give it some more thought over the next few days to see if it's something that I can do whilst working (as I can't afford to take a complete break right now and just do that in case I make no money).

Either way, I'm feeling quite positive at the moment. With happy thoughts and a belief in yourself, anything is possible! x

anonymoose_3

Good luck with everything x

spykey_uk

Payday and I've paid another £27 off! I make a direct debit payment of around £80 later in the month so that will be over £100. I'm hoping though that with my mystery shopping (I've got one at lunchtime) and my ebay sales I can drop under £1000 this month.

I've got 4 items to list on ebay, so am going to do that this afternoon, and after today will be due £18 from my mystery shopping. It all adds up!

New total: £1,182.56! :T

spykey_uk

Ooh, I've just noticed as well - that's over 10% gone! Yay!

spykey_uk

A few more ebay/amazon sales and I've knocked it down to £1,153.66. I would love to get it under £1,000 by the end of April so that is my goal. I have a few more bits that I can list on ebay and hopefully I can get a few more mystery shops done this month as well. I'm due payment from 2-3 which should total another £20-30 so I am starting to make some real headway.

We are moving back in with the inlaws at the end of this month so it's a real opportunity to have a clear out and sell some of that stuff that has been sitting around for ages. I'm also trying to get all of my paperwork in order as I horrified myself the other day by putting all of our "little" piles of paperwork in one room and realising they totalled more than 4 cardboard boxes full! So my mission for this week is to sort that out!

Ciao for now! x

Lemon_Tree

good luck for the paperwork sort, sometime it's quite cathartic isn't it, just have your shredder handy and keep getting up to make a cuppa under the guise of letting the shredder cool down otherwise it will burn out.
You're doing really well on getting the card down, well done for getting some more stuff sold on ebay. I'm lurking on there at the moment trying to decide if i should buy something. decisions decisions

spykey_uk

Thanks Lemontree! Yes I do find it really therapeutic doing a really good sort out, so I'm quite looking forward to it actually!

Ebay is a double-edged sword really, I love that I can sell my bits on it, but every time I go on there I find something I'd like. I've made a pact with myself to only buy things on there if I've raised enough through ebay sales to pay for it. That way it's almost free! x

beanielou

Great idea on tackling one debt at a time.
I find it really helps me to foccus doing it that way.