Slowly slipping off debt free journey..need support!

Everhopeful09

Hi,

I've been paying my debt back for a while, but for the last few months have felt myself slipping, my budget is shot to pieces, put things on my credit card (I pay if off in full every month) but then end up in my o/draft by mid month! I just a bit disappointed in myself as was doing so well and now i'm not and I dont seem to care which I know I should!

Please can I have some help and advice to get me back on track and to get me off the slippery slope as don't want to end up where i was a couple years back again. : (


Many Thanks
EH x

rdchick

Get yourself a little spending diary and write down EVERYTHING!! That'll help, plus get your SOA on here too and see what we can hack out of it xxx

sickasachip13

It's easily done. I know very well and that's one of the reasons that when I was made redundant the cack really hit the fan.

I had to shred all our credit cards to stop us spending on them. Then we went down the DMP route which effectively shut off our credit supply.

Can you cancel your OD and shred your cards? I know it is a scary thing and for the first month or two you'd probably be feeling the pinch, but you would get used to it.

Good luck!

elsiepac

Hi EH,

Get an SOA up and let us take a look - can't do any harm right? Also, what are you spending the extra money on, have you identified what it is? Because if you haven't you will need to do what rdchick said and keep a spending diary for the next month. It sounds like you are living as though you don't have the debts to pay off, which as we all know, is not going to be sustainable long-term - you really need to get your SOA up ...

Good luck! LC x

loopy.magic

It happens, we're only human. There are times you don't care about the debt burden and simply want to ignore it.

I think you need to a) Review your SOA/spending and b) focus on motivating yourself. There's a thread that started up recently about what you would do when you're debt free, find and read it or simply make up your own list. I set a target every month or 2 months to pay off a certain amount, then treat myself or the whole family to something small like a meal out (nothing extravagent mind). You do need to live a little otherwise you'll feel like you're in a depressing deep hole of debt, just be disciplined, remember why you want to be debt free and don't go crazy. Good luck and keep up the good work reducing your debt :T

Pauper1

Following on from the last post..

Sometimes you just need to feel alive again, and not as if your whole life is about paying off debt. I agree with loopy.magic, it helps to set mini goals and reward yourself. I look at my finances, set a plan & then don't look at it for a few months (unless I'm struggling), set a date to review it, and if I am doing well, I reward myself.
It's also a good idea to make a list of things that make you happy or you like doing, that don't cost much, or any, money, and then every time you get a bit downhearted with it all, choose something from the list to do. Then, at least you are ignoring the debt for a while (hour, afternoon, day..) but not harming your progress.
I really hope you get back on track x

Everhopeful09

Thanks to all the responses and suggestions, in work at mo, so when get a minute tonight will read through and see how I can make your suggestions work for me! : ) Will also revisit the SOA and get that posted up, time to be brutually honest with myself I think!

EH xx

foxgloves

It helped me to think that there aren't any situations in life that are improved by being in debt, so I could either stick to our budgets & clear it OR I could go back to overspending. But, I was very honest with myself that if I chose the latter option, that would be me actively choosing to stay in debt. When you put it as baldly as that, who in their right mind would consciously say 'Oh yes, I choose debt...that's the right choice for me'. Nobody! The other thing that helped was sitting down with a cup of coffee & making a list of all the things that mean the most to me.......the list can be relationships, things you like doing, anything. When I went through the list, I found that the things I value the most were actually free or nearly free. When I was overspending, some of my biggest weaknesses were boots, shoes, expensive skincare, buying whatever I fancied eating from Waitrose with no hint of a budget in place, buying new stuff for the house, etc, & yet none of this stuff even made it onto the list of my favourite things. As of last month, we are debt-free (after over 20 years!)....I don't think we will go back to how we used to be, but something that helps is that we now both think of spending on overdraft, credit cards or loans as 'Someone Else's Money'....not ours.....so if what we are wanting to do means using Someone Else's Money, then we obviously can't afford it. the journey to get debt-free can sometimes feel tedious, especially if you are inwardly beating yourself up for getting in to debt in the first place, but I can tell you from experience that seeing it through & getting that last bit paid off does make it all absolutely worth it in the end. When all the money coming in is yours, instead of being wasted on servicing past debts, you will be so pleased that you stuck with it.

Pauper1

I love that post Foxgloves. Inspirational thinking.

foxgloves

Thanks Pauper1. If anyone had told me a few years back that I'd be in a position to inspire ANYONE to pay down their debts & live within their means, I'd have laughed in their face! My bad habits (& partner's) started as a student....first debt at age 19........then no LBM for over 20 years! I'm finding it absolutely liberating to live within my means. It's not a 'new' concept......my parents & grandparents would have done it because they had no choice....there simply wasn't this easy access to credit that we've seen over the last couple of decades. Stick with it.....don't be suckered in by a system that makes merchant bankers richer at the expense of everyone else. Power to the people!!

Everhopeful09

Well been paid today and have spent over and above that already! Argh what to do!

Was already 271.73 o/d from last month (don't ask)
Pay £1047.04, I'm already down to £775.31 to last the month, could be doable if not tight, except for my credit card bill!

Outgoings:
Rent £340
Loan £221.21
Mobile:£22.32
Gym: £29 and yes I do go a 3/4 times a week.
Credit Card bill - £597.91 had a bit of a shock when I opened this! £300 was on a new bike I cycle to work everyday and have used it for past 3 weeks. The rest I'm not sure, I'm heading into denial again and need to stop it now!
Total Outgoings £1,210.34 Oh S**t!

Not sure how I'm going to last the month and whats reasonable to budget for food, entertainment etc etc and how I'm going to reduce my overdraft again! Stressing right now but need to be logical and reason I will sort it out somehow, though not exactly sure how yet! : (