Finally decided to get my life in order and get debt free!!!!!!!

bigt1888

i dont have them at hand but i will phone around them all tomorrow and post them asap

RAS

Great, edit this last SOA when you find them out. They should be on your statement by the way.

WASHER

I agree with most people on here. sell the caravan if you can.

You are £500 + short each month, you need to consider selling a car or downgrading.

I also would consider selling my home and using the equity to repay some of the debts and moving into rented.

The above is not pleasant reading, you may not like it, but you have to take action, and sooner the better.

WASHER.x.

bigt1888

thanks washer


i appreciate all that you have said but its been such a fast moving evening i need to take some time to digest it all....

im not so sure that selling up is such a great option in todays housing market but again i will need time to weigh up all the options....


the caravan is the big stumbling block as my kids enjoy it so much and it is such a big part of our lives.. i hope to go for option of hiring it out so that it will at least cover the costs but again lets wait and see!!

i think i have to look at the option of bringing n more income as well as cutting any costs that i can and hope that the books balance a little better

WASHER

bigt, repaying debt is never easy and I for one know that, I had to make loads of sacifices in order to repay them, and tell your children the truth if they are old enough to understand, (withhold some of the info, you don't want to frighten them).

Can you change your mortgage to interest only for a while?

You have had lots of advice on here tonight and very useful too, take a little time to digest it, things always seem better in the morning.

Can you EBay/carboot your clutter? Every little does really help.

You need to get the other half on board, and reduce your groceries, don't try and reduce from £400 per month to £200 in one go, otherwise you are likely to fail, but set yourself a challenge, reduce by £50 this month and so on.

If you children are old enough, old fashion board games (buy cheaply from a charity shop) will keep them amused and can have some quality time with the children at the same time for free.

I wish you a peaceful nights sleep, don't lie awake thinking about your debts, you need to be wide awake for the challenge ahead.

WASHER.x.

richardvc

bigt1888 wrote: »

The caravan is the big stumbling block as my kids enjoy it so much and it is such a big part of our lives.. i hope to go for option of hiring it out so that it will at least cover the costs but again lets wait and see!!

Apologies Bigt but this is going to come across as harsh and I can understand that on your first evening on MSE it can be a bit overwhelming BUT you cannot afford to run the caravan.

You are operating at a loss so certain choices are now not open to you. As Washer said, repaying debt does come at a price.

Sacrifices have to be made and the journey is not easy, simple or short.

I have just had five years of it with no special treats, holidays, nothing - why ? Because I wanted to be debt free.

Unfortunately, it is far harder work repaying the money than it was spending it in the first place.

You have been living a lifestyle beyond your means so what you do now is not a true reflection of what you can afford - I hate saying it but one lesson that I am sure you will learn is that you need to get really honest with yourself.

Keep posting. We will all support you.

bigt1888

thanks richard


i take on board what you have said and deep down i know you are probably spot on but as i said it is alot to take in and i really need time to digest it all but once again thanks very much for all your contributions and i will post as much further information as i can as soon as i can!!!

but meantime im sure i will sleep well for the first time in a while knowing that at last i have challenged the issue head on!!!!!!!!!

richardvc

bigt1888 wrote: »

thanks richard


i take on board what you have said and deep down i know you are probably spot on but as i said it is alot to take in and i really need time to digest it all but once again thanks very much for all your contributions and i will post as much further information as i can as soon as i can!!!

but meantime im sure i will sleep well for the first time in a while knowing that at last i have challenged the issue head on!!!!!!!!!

Yes it is all quite overwhelming - I remember feeling the same after digging out all the unopened envelopes (sound familiar ?) and seeing that I owed money to 18 different companies !!!

I think the fact that you have hit it head on is good as the reality will sink in and so will your desire to sort it out !

Raggs_2

The caravan holidays are costing you 256 pounds a month. Over 3000 a year spent on holidays.

Does where you have the caravan also have a campsite? Because you could just go camping to the same place. I assume it is the area and the activities you and your family enjoy, as opposed to actually having the caravan? You could also probably massively save money on costs by switching, most campsites don't charge much more than a tenner a night for a pitch. If you go for one night, thats 40 pound a month, and no repayments on the caravan. Saving you over 200 pounds a month. Plus camping is more fun!

dentonemma

Hi,
I also have a caravan, we do rent it out, the money we get in rent willn't cover the costs involved -site fees, gas & ele, draindown, water rates, insurance, elect & gas testing, advertise, cleaning, key handover, bedding, general repair, ontop of this you have monthly loan fees. Work out your figures.
Good luck on your journery ahead.