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kaznelson

Hi, Until summer last year I used to spend £60 every six weeks having blonde highlights & cut/blow but decided to go for a drastic change and go back to my normal dark brown hair colour. Yes they can do it in one go and yes your hair will go green !!! BUT they put the new colour straight on after the green stage!!

I now dye my hair myself and just go for a trim every couple of months which saves me a huge amount of cash!!

louisesfreedom

Hi Again, and thanks for continuing with the tips. There's so much enthusiasm and support on here, it's quite amazing.

I've had a busy week, focusing on this debt business and trying to move forward with everything. Thought I'd post a quick run-down of what I've done since my first post (less than a week ago, unbelievably!):

• Told my partner the basics - not enough for him to worry madly, but enough for him to know that there's something I need support with. It was really traumatic for me to tell him because I wasn't sure how he'd be, but he was wonderful and very supportive. I'm worried that he'll get bothered about it in time, but he seems committed to helping me where he can (mostly in helping me live carefully & lots of hugs!). The day after I told him, he trooped me round Asda on a bargain-hunting trip. Found three fresh loaves for 18p each - very exciting!
  
• Had packed lunches and home-cooked meals every day, and feel as though I'm eating better than I have done for a long, long time!
  
• Cancelled my lottery direct debit subs!
  
• Written to ERNIE in the hope that my single premium bond might have 'come up' - asked to change address etc!
  
• Cancelled three standing orders (more to do, but I'm trying to get everything in order first).
  
• Joined pigsback (800 points in about 24 hours)!
  
• And, probably most importantly, I've 'joined' CCCS and completed my details online. The resulting plan estimates me being able to clear everything in six and a half years. They've been quite firm about me needing to cut back on some of the areas of my spending, but I'm happy with things as they stand so have gone forward with their suggested Debt Management Plan and am now just waiting for the paperwork to come through.

More to do, particularly on getting better deals on phone/internet/mobile, utility bills and insurance, but I'm still feeling very positive. It seems to be impacting on other areas of my life, too. I feel generally more 'bothered' about the house and looking after myself. I think the debt has been getting in the way of a lot of things without me really realising.

Thanks again to everyone who's been supportive.

x

angchris

well done you!:T sounds like you are really starting to get to grips with things and making positive steps towards your future. i find that all the small changes in lifestyle that you probably wouldnt of bothered about before really do add up, keep up the good work, we are with you all the way...you can do it!

Dumyat

well done sounds like you have made a lot of progress.

charl8888

Well done and glad you've told your partner and got such a good reaction. What a great guy. Proves hes not after your money anyhow!

When you get time, try and put together a signature. I find it very encouraging to be able to alter the total debt each month, and hopefully watch it going down!

Shame theres no Asda around here or I'd be popping in for some bread!

Have you guys been on MSE all night?!

Jnelhams

You could always make your own bread!! A lot tastier and far better for you than the supermarket stuff, remember Cottage Loaves? A few Sultanas and you can make a yummy fruit loaf, a few chives and dried onion and some cheese on top and you can make some yummy rolls for lunch....

charl8888

Hi
Out of interest, which are the areas CCCS insist you cut back on your spending?

Jnelhams - do you mean making bread in a breadmaker? Are they worth buying?

scholt

Hi Louise

I have to echo dogrose thoughts here. You can make your own bread, go back to your natural hair colour etc etc but when it boils down to it you have just £228 left from your salary once you have paid the minimum from your debts.

Can anyone survive on £228 a month? (rent/food/bills etc) I don't think so. Please seek financial help as soon as poss, because it is only going to get worse if you don't take drastic action.

Jnelhams

charl8888 wrote:

Hi
Out of interest, which are the areas CCCS insist you cut back on your spending?

Jnelhams - do you mean making bread in a breadmaker? Are they worth buying?

Breadmakers, do work but unless you are given one, you are better off doing it by hand.

louisesfreedom

I've had a bit of a lull with things as was hesitating over sending the stuff off about my DMP. Stupid, I know, and it's done now.

I thought I'd do an update on the situation with my spending and what CCCS have advised should be OK.

Rent - £550.00 - I'm still pondering on the possibility of moving and getting my debts paid off quicker. I want to get the DMP in action, and then start to look around properly (looked half-heartedly, but haven't found anything suitable).

Council Tax - £65.00 - this is with the single person's discount.

Gas - £38.00 - could possibly get something cheaper, but I'm not allowed to change without the landlord's agreement.
Electric - £30.00 - same as gas
Water Rates - £55.00 I've registered for a meter (via pigsback/Uswitch, and hopefully that will be OK with the landlord.

TV License - £11

Orange Mobile - £75.00
BT Phone - £28.00
BT Internet - £26.98
CCCS have said that it should be possible to get all three for £70, and that's the maximum they will allow for that. USwitch, here I come!

Contents Insurance - £24.18 think I can get this cheaper. Current one's up in May, so that needs sorting around March/April time.

Food & Housekeeping - £170 That's the max that CCCS would allow. At first, I thought that would be a huge challenge, but it's amazing how cheap things can be now I'm keeping an eye on what I'm spending

& £12 for meals at work just for occasions when i'm working late unexpectedly, in a rush or whatever

Prescriptions - £7 allowed by CCCS
& £13 for dentist and opticians, which I'd not thought of (dumbo!).

Clothing - £20
Hairdressing - £15
Laundry and Dry Cleaning - £20
I'm hoping that I won't need all that, and am planning to sell on ebay and use my paypal account for buying new clothes wherever possible. Still need to take the plunge with finding a cheaper hairdresser though!

Travel - £74.00 This is much higher than I'd estimated at the start.

Smoking - £165.00

Lottery - £0 Cancelled my direct debit. Daren't look at tonight's results - after playing with the same numbers since the first draw, I'm sure they're going to come up now I'm not in it!

Pocket Money - £0 But I now have something set aside for newspapers and magazines (£18), sports, hobbies and entertainment (£20) and sundries and emergencies (£15)


That all leaves me able to pay off £825 towards my debt each month, managed by CCCS. Going through the process with them was really helpful, particularly as it made me think of things that I ought to have allowed for. I called them a couple of days ago, and the guy I spoke to said that that was a very good offer and all of my creditors are people they deal with regularly. He couldn't tell me definitely whether they'd accept the proposal, but it did seem quite positive. I think there's some room to make some cuts if they don't, but I want this to work and I don't want to stretch myself to the point of becoming ill and depressed over it. We'll see!

Woman from M&S phoned this morning to ask why I'd cancelled my Direct Debit for the loan I have with them. When I told her that I'd sent them a CCCS Debt Management Plan letter, she was wonderful - very reassuring, and said she'd put a note on the account to stop any more contact until March. I could have cried when I put the phone down - I expected to have really horrible and challenging calls once all this started.

So that's where I'm at. I can't believe that it's less than a month since I started working on this. I know I have lots more to do (particularly with the internet/mobile/phone thing, which is going to take some to-ing and fro-ing), but I have felt like a different person since I started.

One of the strangest things is to actually be aware of the value of money again, looking for bargains and not buying things that I don't really need. Plus it's amazing to feel in control of my finances after what seems like forever.