A Chronic Case of Overspending......

MCBIRNIE25

I think so, seems like a good move.
Good luck anyway. You have received some great advice, not much more i can give. Orange do give free broadband with contract phones though.
Follow the advice above.

In_Search_Of_Me

Just to say welcome! You're in good company! Re pet insurance - I used to have petplan but at the advise of someone her changed to M&S (DL dont renew if you have diagnosis of long term illness - ie diabetes so you're effectively stuffed!) BUT you need to check re prexisting conditions as most insurers wont cover that - the reason why 1 of mine is still with petplan...
Re the loan its done but do be careful not to do what I did & get that "oo I've got money" feeling & carry on spending! As suggested would cut up CC & consider want or need...if its a want then save (£2 coins, 20p's!) & feel satisfied when you get it! Can also cut down on food/cleaning products by being frugal, looking at prices & cooking yourself (I couldnt eat a ready meal now but used to live on them!!) - have a look at old style boards here!
You will feel overwhlemed initially as lots of sorting to do! Can you sell stuff on ebay/amazon to make some extra dosh?
Mainly though welcome & big hugs!

Shelton_2

I followed your advice and the cards are now confetti! Felt quite satisfying actually and at least now I cant be tempted into using them again. Ive spent this weekend sorting out a load more stuff to bootsale - will probably do that nxt weekend if the weather stays good. Sad as it may sound Im getting quite into this money saving thing. I stayed in tonight when everyone else was off down to the pub and Ive even made sarnies to take to work! Lets hope I can keep my motivation going!:D

madduck

just to reinforce other posters advise about pre-existing conditions on your pet insurance. Most (if not all policies) have a clause that does not cover pre-existing conditions. They can be really, really picky about them to. My dog had a major ear/throat problem last year £2k in vet bills and in the end we lost him. He had been insured with Tesco for 7 of his 8 years - but because he had had treatment for an ear infection when he was a puppy (and with another insurer) Tesco didn't pay out on the claim.

Was really p'd off as you can imagine. Was really tempted to cancel Tesco insurance for my other dog but as he'd been insured with Tesco all of his life and had had major surgery on his leg as a puppy (£5k worth) couldn't take the risk.

Just a word of caution - sometimes a pound saved here and there might cost thousands in the future.

In_Search_Of_Me

well done for cutting the cards up!! Still feeling good or did you panic like I did?!! Just remember it will take time but hang on in there, we're all in it togeather!

Toomuchdebt

I cut my cards up yesterday-was a very odd feeling I have to say.felt very strange.

Bestthingsinlifearefree

Hi Shelton,

Welcome to MSE, you have taken the first few steps in the right direction.

Would it be worth you and your OH drawing up one SOA and using your combined income to tackle the debts in the best way ?

You clearly have had your light bulb moment. Has he ?

Surely your debts are his debts and his debts are your debts. e.g if he or you got made redundant would you be on your own e.g your OH would not help.

If your income went to zero. Would he say tough its your problem / debt ?

I think you both need to begin a spending diary.

What is your mortgage / equity in the house ?

I think if you are married you need to tackle this together as one team, one strategy, one goal.

nelly_2

have you read this ---> http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1095079865,8297,

That bit of advice will save you thousands on credit card payments on its own.

Also try and swap everything to the lowest interest cards.

and stay out of Debenhams

Shelton_2

thanks nelly - a useful link indeed! The debt on my debenhams card is not actually from buying stuff in there - they did a low interest for life of the balance offer and so I swapped a balance over to them and now im just paying it off as quickly as i can. Its a !!!!!! though because they are always sending me letters abot special offers for card holders and increasing my limit to encourage me to spend. Im starting to see this whole debt trap as a battle of wills and Im determined not to fall for the cheap marketng ploys anymore!

loobyloo1980

nelly wrote:

have you read this ---> http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1095079865,8297,

That bit of advice will save you thousands on credit card payments on its own.

Also try and swap everything to the lowest interest cards.

and stay out of Debenhams

I have just read the link too and hadn't realised that is how it worked, I'm even more determined to get mine paid off now :T