Here we go with sorting my debts out!

roomtobreathe

Evening all.

I ( myself and Mrs roomtobreathe ) have slowly become enmired in the debt swamp over the past couple of years. It's been hard work but we've finally reached a place where we can't spend any more cos nobody will lend us any!

So we had out lightbulb moment and have just paid the first payment on our CCCS DMP. The second payment will be significantly less as we've just had a temporary drop in income but hopefully that will be sorted within a few weeks.

Here's what we owe, singularly or joint:

Barlclaycard 1 £12.5k
Barclaycard 2 £3k
Egg Visa £11k
BOS Mastercard £8k
Nationwide Visa £8k
Halifax Card £6.8k
Nationwide overdraft £3k
Alliance & Leicester personal loan £2.4k
Clode Retail Finance £0.5k

They're all sharing in our excess income of about £530 for the next 8 years. Although in October it'll be a fiver for each until we get our income back up!

CCCS have been excellent in their support and getting us to a stage where we can happily accept the inevitability of dealing with our creditors. Thankfully we weren't in arrears with any of them, just realised we couldn't go on.

Communication with the creditors has been minimal, in some cases good ( Clode thanked us for going with CCCS as they'd have been peeved if we had gone to a commercial outfit. They still say they're going to default me though. ). Nationwide staff have been helpful when I've rung in although they have refused the DMP and they've already sent me a default notice which I'll have to look into to see if it's legal.

It's a good feeling knowing that the debts are finally being taken care of, although I'm not expecting a fantastically smooth ride.

Reading boards like MSE and others is a real eye-opener and certainly helps in making me feel prepared to deal with whatever gets thrown at me. Spoiling for a fight almost! Well certainly with some of the credit card companies as they've been hitting me with +30% interest over the past few months :mad: Egg should be interesting as this is a card I've had for perhaps 15 years so who knows what state their CCA is in should they get nasty.

I'll post more as things happen, as I'm sure they will over the next few months.

Sessie

Welcome aboard the good ship MSE!!

You'll get plenty of support here!

Onwards and upwards my friend!

x

roomtobreathe

Thanks for the welcome!

As to support, I think I'm going to need it with my debts.

roomtobreathe

Just an update of things that I've been doing to reduce my outgoings over the past year in preparation for the big day!

Two car family is now a one car family. If my wife has the car then I get public transport to work. Cheap but does turn a 25 minute drive into a 90 minute adventure. Still, reading more books than ever on the trains and saving a fortune not running that second car.

Changing bank accounts gave me the opportunity to strip out any unnecessary direct debits. Dental insurance, accident insurance and others, all gone!

Online grocery shopping. Asda all the way! Online means no compulsion buying and I can stick to a strict budget. Afternoon delivery charge is also reduced to £3

Comparison site / discount vouchers, always check if I have to buy something.

Contract phone to payg. Mrs RTB has ended her contract and mine ends next Jan so payg for me then.

TV/Internet/phone - Never watched those movies anyways, same for the sports channels. All gone. Personally I'd get rid of the telly as well but the rest of the family seems strangely reticent to back me up on this

Bread, cakes, puddings etc are all home-made now. Better for me as you know what's going in there!

Meat etc, there's a million and one different cuts of meat, some significantly cheaper but still tasty. Gristle never hurt anyone. I keep repeating that.

Holidays, what are they? Invested in a tent with a good waterproof rating. Who needs those foreign climes and guaranteed sunshine.

I'm sure there's more we're doing, just can't remember right now.