"Simply not solvent!

(Land_of)_Maz

Hi Seaxeyn, Eliza went back to Henry Higgins!

Merry Christmas hun!

Seaxwyn

Thanks Maz - I feared as much - poor choice by Eliza!

Merry Christmas everyone! Amazingly it's 7.30 and three children are still asleep! I'm going to do the turkey now... hope you all have a lovely day.

hypno06

Happy christmas to you and yours x

Sea78

Happy Christmas Seaxwyn - hope you had a lovely day and are feeling better

Sea xxxx

Seaxwyn

It's a year since I started this diary. I remember sitting here a year ago writing the first post with no idea at all if we were going to go down the pan and would be forced to sell the house.

Things have gone much better than expected. I've proved I can earn enough with freelance writing to make ends meet. OH has had a total career change to teaching and is doing very well at it. We've paid off over £10k of unsecured debt.

But I haven't enjoyed the year very much. It's been tough, I've been bedevilled with distractability problems, making my work a real chore. The house is a mess, the kids are neglected, my relationship with OH is pretty dire. And I have only just started saving for tax and have a long way to go to escape having another big debt in July.

Thank goodness for another new year and the feeling of a fresh start. Once again I'm resolving to do better in every aspect of my life. On the financial side, I want to broaden my focus from just the unsecured debt to look at all the other things we need to sort out - pensions, savings for the kids' education, paying the mortgage instead of just the interest etc etc.

I want to get advice from a good IFA - one that understands our situation and isn't just pushing a particular set of products. How can I go about finding one of those?

In the short term, January will be a tight month as we have lots going out and little coming in. I put most of my December earnings into an ISA to finally start my tax savings, I'm chuffed to bits to have done that but it does mean January will be lean.

Sea78

Wow - big congrats for clearing so much hon. You've done brilliantly especially with all the other things considered - hugs for having a bad year as well though.

I am not sure about the IFA thing - only option is finding a friend to advise - do you know anyone that might be able to help? How about posting a wanted post on freecycle - perhaps post that you would be able to do something in return (whatever your talents!!). You never know? Also do any of the kind MSE IFA's live near you? might be worth searching about a bit?

Sea xxxx

hypno06

Happy New Year Seaxwyn.

Remember that Rome wasn't built in a day - we get frustrated because things aren't happening as quickly as we would like, but remember that in just one year, you reduced your debt by £10k, kept the house, and earnt enough to be worrying about the tax bill!

Hang on to the positives, make another change this year, and by the end of 2008 you will be well on your way to getting sorted.

xx

ZTD

Seaxwyn wrote: »

I want to get advice from a good IFA - one that understands our situation and isn't just pushing a particular set of products. How can I go about finding one of those?

A place to start is http://www.unbiased.co.uk/ . Just remember "independent" just means they aren't tied to any one vendors products, it doesn't mean they will act in what is strictly the best way for you. Remember to pay them for their time, rather than have them earn commission on your investments, this stops them recomending stuff based on commission, and should help you end up with something more suitable.

Also look at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/protect/best-financial-advisers

Sea78

How's it going Seaxwyn? Have you had a good 2008 so far ?:)

Sea xxx

Seaxwyn

Hi Sea, thanks for looking in. I haven't posted recently because not much is going on on the debt front. We have some big expenses coming up so I don't expect the debt total to fall much, if at all, for a while. On the other hand, we are both working so not in crisis either. It feels a bit boring after the thrills and spills of last year!

The main issue I'm facing is around work. I used to love my work but now I feel I'm going through the motions. Some of my contracts are ending over the coming months so I have an opportunity to look for something a bit different, but I don't know what.

It's my birthday today so I should be feeling full of optimism but I just feel a bit flat.