Hello all

1_step_closer

Well like others I have been lurking for a long time before being brave and posting. I found this site by accident and it's one of the best things I have ever done.

I too, am massively in debt. At my lightbulb moment I was £46,000, which was July this year. I am now about £41,000 and have worked out that my debt free date will be Oct 2013, another 7 years. My husband has his own debts which he is dealing with.

I suppose most of it came from furnishing our house, sorting out what my dogs destroyed when they were pups and just spending on things we wanted. Could I account for every penny? No. But I do know that a lot of it was rebellion against my parents who, although meant well, had a funny way of doing things. They always said debt was bad and were disgusted with anyone who was in debt so I saw it as shameful and something to hide away.

However although I feel down today (got a pesky cc that I cannot change to 0%) and sometimes lie awake at night wondering what I am going to do, we have cut down an awful lot.

So keep up the good work all as your advice and life stories have helped immensly.

K

saubryn

Welcome

It sounds like you are already doing very well - £5000 in a few months is great progress!

Have you tried the calculator on here:

http://www.whatsthecost.co.uk/

To see if maybe you can reduce the intererst you're paying and speed it up even more?

Either way, nice to see you post, and well done on starting to sort things out!

halloweenqueen_2

Hi there! May be you could join the £1024 from nothing thread as a bit of light relief and it may work!

1_step_closer

You're right, £5000 is an achievement! I have used the snowball calculator and it gave that date. I have just drafted a letter to my cc company asking for a freeze on the interest so we'll see what happens there.

I'll have alook at that money for nothing thread. I did have a look at matched betting but it was waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy over my head!

CLAPTON

i would suggest you post a full SoA here before asking for a freeze on your interest unless of course you have already got advice form CCCS or Payplan

1_step_closer

Hello

I have done a SOA for myself several times, which is why I have managed to reduce my outgoings, and have taken on board so many of your helpful tips and advice.

Just out of interest, why would I need to go through CCS to ask for an interest freeze?

CLAPTON

you dont, but because you haven't said anything much about your financial situation and your purpose in asking for a freeze then i'm not sure its a good idea.
what i'm saying is that asking for a freeze is basicaly saying 'i'm in serious trouble with my finances'...now a CC company can react in several ways and without knowing any of your details maybe their response may be unhelpful to you.

1_step_closer

Ok thanks for that advice. My financial situation is bad but we are managing to meet the bills and payments, I'm just getting stuck with the cc payments. I have been a customer of theirs for years so am hoping for a small reprieve even for a short while.

K

chevalier

maybe you could ask for a reduction in your interest rate by saying that so and so credit card are offering x rate, and will they match it? There have been several people on here, who have tried this and met with success. I know that is not as good as 0% (ie if they freeze it), but it may give you enough of a breathing space, to continue to plod along.

I am assuming that you have done all the usual things, like change suppliers (preferably through a cash back site like quidco, or greasypalm?), and claimed back bank charges etc?
best of luck
chev

lynzpower

Claptons right. We cant really offer any proper advice without nowing your situation- do you want to post up a SOA? Are you dealing with your debts alone and your hubby dealing with his alone?

Welcome
Lynzx

Lydia.42

Hi
Lynz has asked what i was thinking. If you and your OH were to deal with your debts jointly, you may be able to bring your debt free date closer. If you both have cc's, you may have more flexibility if you combined everything.
My OH and have done that, and we have about 8-10 cards between us, which we play off each other. When one offer comes to an end, one of the cleared cards is usually willing to take our arm off to have our debt on their card. eg. A & L gave me 6 months 0%, so when it came to the end of the offer we shifted all of my debt to one of OH's cards. Then a month later, they offered me 0% again, as i had nothing on my card.

Also, it may be that one of you has a better credit rating than the other. Maybe your OH could get a 0% card for you to transfer to.

Of course i realise that not everyone's relationships are as open, so if this is the case, apologies for rambling.

But def post your SOA's for the guys here to have a look at. It's amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can spot.