A New House For Her , A Rugby Shirt For Me

beanielou

So pleased that you are nearly there.
Love reading your diary

andy1886

Thank you as ever beanielou for your support especially through those dark days when the end seems impossible and so far away . I am certain I wouldnot have got to the end without doing this diary regularly and your comments have kept me on target when I couid easily have taken a different direction .

beanielou

andy1886 wrote: »

Thank you as ever beanielou for your support especially through those dark days when the end seems impossible and so far away . I am certain I wouldnot have got to the end without doing this diary regularly and your comments have kept me on target when I couid easily have taken a different direction .

What a very lovely thing to say

andy1886

Statements through and checked for July and my penultimate debt has been cleared , one to go and Augusts direct debit has gone to Stepchange for the final debt to be cleared so hopefully I have now cleared £19 000 worth of debt . I am going to wait until the end of the month to check this has happened and then write a post with my feelings on the past 5+ years and plans for the future .

LastFewSteps

I just wanted to say very well done to you, your diary was the first one I read and it motivated me to get on with tackling my last bit of debt (although it is now temporarily on hold for a house move) nevertheless your diary has been inspirational,
wishing you the very best of luck for your debt free future

andy1886

LastFewSteps wrote: »

I just wanted to say very well done to you, your diary was the first one I read and it motivated me to get on with tackling my last bit of debt (although it is now temporarily on hold for a house move) nevertheless your diary has been inspirational,
wishing you the very best of luck for your debt free future

Thank you very much . I will have to bombard you with info about moving house as I feel that will be the next target although with all the programmes on tv at the moment we want everything from building our own to renovating what we've got !!! Once debt free I will examine the credit report for a date for a mortgage and seriously plan what or where we will move to .

beanielou

So chuffed for you :j :j :j
You have worked so hard for this & so deserve it.

andy1886

Well confirmed with my last creditor that my balance is now zero and Stepchange have been in touch to confirm cancellation of my direct debit . For the first time in 5 and a half years I have money in my account and what is the beginnings of a savings account .
My feelings of the last years are that there is no shame in being in debt and even being on a dmp , in fact it is a positive thing because it is the acknowledgement of a problem , putting a plan of action into place and then being able to resolve the problem and look forward to life afterwards with the chance to turn dreams into reality . I have had to be very disciplined to reach where I am at today , little things like not buying lunch or snacks at work , if I couldnot be bothered to prepare any food I went hungry all day , cutting right back on household bills , no sky tv , excessive mobile tariffs etc . Takeaways became a wedding anniversary treat or birthday treat not weekly day off can't be bothered to cook etc . Varying shopping experiences and buying what was needed and not what appealed or fancied . Through doing all this I have become debt free and with a totally different outlook to life .
So what to the future , well we don't need Sky or excessive mobile tariffs or take aways regularly so they won't be returning . I won't buy my lunch for work , if I can't be bothered to prepare it I will still be hungry . We do though want holidays but these will be budget concious as it was last year when I needed to do something as the end was so near but so far and a break gave us a taste of the future but concentrated us on getting there . We will be renting cottages etc in the UK in the cheap months feeding ourselves like we do at home with the occasional treat like afternoon tea or farm shop produce . A couple of months savings will get us 5 days away , fed and activities for the week , so that is all we need . I have ordered brochures for ideas for next May for our first debt free break .
Our house has been neglected whilst on the dmp and this is our big decision for the future . Having checked my credit report last week I have 4 defaults with 18 months to run adnd 1 AP marker which has been in place for 2 years so will remain for another 4 . In February we went onto a 5 year fixed deal with our mortgage provider . So our options are to commit to remaining in this house and totally renovating it , doing every room and having our house as we want it for the next 20 years plus . This provides security for the kids in there is no pressure to move on into the big wide world although it is obviously what we want them to do , and it provides me with an excuse to visit the Ideal Home Show , Grand Designs Live etc for ideas of what we could do if we want to . Or we could patch the house up inthe next 3-5 years with a plan to sell it , downsize to a property for the 2 of us in a nicer area but at least we can choose where this is . This would mean trying to get the kids there own places and getting them to cope with adult life on their own and also would put us on a newer higher mortgage potentially at the top of our borrowing limit and all costs of moving etc . At the moment we are thinking of what we could do to this house compared to what we could buy via Rightmove and this place wins hands down apart from utility bills so I think a visit to the Grand Designs Show in October is in order to whet our appetite . We don't need to make a final decision until the first project is planned and saved for .
Finally a big thank you to everyone who has read this diary and offered words of advice either directly here or on other forum sections relating to debt problems . I plan to read other diaries and offer support as well as answering any questions on other sections where appropriate and I wish anyone attempting to follow the path I have taken the very best of luck . I have to mention beanielou who kindly took time to comment every month which made me realise somebody was travelling with me and this support and encouragement really meant so much and helped me get here through the tough months , thank you very much beanielou and I wish you all the best in the future .

Moneywhizz

Congratulations on being debt free. It's a wonderful feeling. You have worked so hard and been so disciplined to get where you are today. Lovely of you to thank beanielou for her constant encouragement. Best wishes for your future plans.

beanielou

andy~~It has been my absolute pleasure to comment on your diary.
You have done so very well.
I too wish you well.