The start of a debt free life..........

[Deleted User]

Oh god I'm in nearly £12k worth of debt & I really really want to start getting it sorted out.

At the moment I am paying the minimum payments for all of them but come September I am determined to get my act together & start just paying it off in larger chunks.

My problem is my attitude to spending I get credit cards catalogues & stuff on interest free credit & just dont think of it as real money cos I'm not actually handing over any £££.

I am determined that this is going to be the start of my journey - I am 28 & I want to be completely debt free by the time I am 30!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the first step for me so I shall keep you all posted

Dolly x x x

rdchick

Well done Dolly for coming here!!

If you wanted we could see where you could save a few more pennies by posting your statement of affairs (you can find it in the last stickie at the top of the debt free wannabe board) and we will see where you could save.

Also how about selling some of the stuff you've bought so you can repay them back quicker?

xxx

Tixy

Hi Dolly and welcome
This post is quite a good useful starting point -Help for First Time Posters & SOA Calculator and The Big Guide to Becoming Debt Free

It sounds like you perhaps can meet your mininimum payments, which is a good starting point, so now its a case of controlling your spending and being disciplined to pay back your debts. Are you ready to cut up your credit cards yet? If not then at least take them out of your wallet and don't carry them around.

Once you have done a statement of affairs you can then look at the snowball calculator and calculate a debt free date to see if being debt free by 30 is manageable, if its not then we'll hopefully find places you can change things to bring your debt free date forward.

And perhaps a read of this Stop Spending: Tips & tools to help you fight yourself

foxgloves

Well done for wanting to get it sorted out. Wish we'd had our light bulb moments as early as you!! We started overspending age 19 as students and continued for over 20 years!!! Finally cleared it all this year, apart from the mortgage, and it's a great feeling that I know you will love when you get there! One of the things that helped me once I'd had my LBM around 3 or 4 years ago, was to stop thinking about 0% credit as something good and instead to see it as still adding to my debts. Even now, if we go in a shop & I see a piece of furniture which says 'Sofa £1200 on interest free credit' I mentally rewrite it & see it as an additional £1200 of debt. In fact i think shops should actually HAVE to use the words 'Interest free debt'! we had to change our attitude to spending entirely. It was hard at first but we got better at it and now, the mantra that helps me the most is 'If I have to go into overdraft to buy it, put it on a credit card or take out a loan to buy it, then that's not my money, it's somebody else's, so I obviously can't afford it'. I would have to say that one of THE most useful lifeskills I have learned is how to budget....wish it hadn't taken me 20 years to discover it but better now than never. It all hinges on being able to set & stick to a realistic and often tough budget, but it's worth it. Good luck!

[Deleted User]

I've been like this since I was 18 so 10 years!

I know I need to make the decision now or I will be constantly chasing my tail forever I want to be able to have a nice relaxed older age without worrying about who I owe money too.

I have been lurking on here for a while & just decided that I am not the only one in this situation & people will be able to offer me advice as they have been there themselves.

I just need to change my whole way of thinking - 0% Free Credit = 0% More Debt - I like that one think I may use that.

I am going to have an ebay clearout this weekend & get some of the stuff that is lying about sold to try & pay some of my debt back a bit quicker - I'm on the way already!

Dolly x x x

edinburgher

I know I need to make the decision now or I will be constantly chasing my tail forever I want to be able to have a nice relaxed older age without worrying about who I owe money too.

Hey! You're my age, we're still young

May I ask why you're hoping to pay more from September? New job? Some debts paid off by then?

Getting a SOA written up is a great idea, you'll have a crack team of money nerds offering helpful tips before you know it (money nerds is a compliment)

[Deleted User]

I'm goin to be goin full time in work so more £££!
Yippeeeeeee

I think I'm gonna get one of those sorted out as soon as I know what my full time wage is gonna be.

Have you found that being on here has helped then?

D x x x

jellybean39

Deleted_User wrote: »

I'm goin to be goin full time in work so more £££!
Yippeeeeeee

I think I'm gonna get one of those sorted out as soon as I know what my full time wage is gonna be.

Have you found that being on here has helped then?

D x x x

Hi dolly welcome to sthe site.

i joined few days ago and the peeps on here have been amazingly helpful. The statement of affairs is a good way to start and the snowball is bril shows u how to pay your debt off the best way.

Good luck u have the support of everyone here x

edinburgher

Have you found that being on here has helped then?

I'll say. When I first started lurking on these boards in 2005, I owed £8-10k on credit cards and overdrafts from my time as a student, lived week to week and was a lost cause.

I'm now completely debt free, getting married in September (without using any credit to do so) and looking to buy a home with my OH next year.

MSE is epic

Edit: I should say that while my debts didn't sound so bad, they were nearly 300% of my annual (part-time) wage at the time!

[Deleted User]

I feel better already!!

You have all been so welcoming I think this is gonna be a big massive help for me & cant wait to be debt free already - yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

D x x x

Pixiethecat

I'm just a bit younger, with just a bit less debt.. but on the same mission!

I'm starting with an ebay clearout this week too.


Go Dolly Go!