it can be done!

coldcazzie

Hi all, I'm fairly new here, but I just wanted to post a bit of a topic on here to perhaps offer some encouragement to those who are on their debt-free wannabe journey.

My husband and I have been struggling with debt for several years. It started with a mistake by the bank when we opened our joint account that resulted in us needing a small overdraft (£150). My husband also took out a loan to buy a motorbike and help pay for our wedding. Overtime these grew, and with the addition of a £2k CC each and some benefit overpayments after a period of joblessness we ended up, at the worst of it, owing roughly £14k, and being charged £100 pcm by the bank for going overdrawn (you know where they take the charges, which leaves you with no money, and then when your bills come out you go overdrawn again, so they charge you again!) That was about 4 years ago.

We paid the benefits back to the council on a weekly/monthly basis, and cleared the CCs with a £3k legacy I inherited and a small loan from my parents. We also borrowed a larger sum from my parents to clear the unsecured loan in my husband's name, and we paid that back to them just last month upon receipt of a personal injury claim after a traffic accident.

We are now the proud owners of a 3 bed semi with a large garden, having previously been living in a rented 2 bed terrace with no heating and damp problems that were making me ill, and I can honestly say that I have never felt better!

The turning point for us was after doing our tax credits renewal one year. They sent us out several award notices, but when the payment date came only £85 went into our account instead of the £300+ that was on the award notice. When I rang them and asked why it didn't match up they said the notice I had was out of date and another was on it's way to me. I then asked how I was supposed to buy food for 4 for a month on £85, and was told that "it's a credit, not a benefit, so you shouldn't rely on it to buy things". :eek:

After that phone call I rang my mum in tears and she told me to ring Christians Against Poverty. While noone was available for an appointment for at least the next 2 months they did send me a debt payment pack out and it really opened my eyes as to how I should be prioritising my outgoings. I made myself a promise then that we would never again go overdrawn. I have a spreadsheet with several sheets on it which I use to keep track of every penny we earn and spend, and we haven't been overdrawn since that day! We even now have an emergency buffer in our current account of £1k, about £1.5k in a fixed monthly saver and we use a cashback card which we clear the balance of every month. Next year we plan to dripfeed our savings from an instant access account to another fixed monthly saver.

This has turned into rather a long story, but the point of it is, if we can do it, then everyone else can do. Sometimes it takes crafty thinking, very precise payments, and some serious belt tightening, but it is definitely possible, and I know that everyone here who is working hard to clear their debts WILL get there eventually! And it is such a wonderful feeling when you're done!:rotfl::D

Caz x

27col

Great things, spreadsheets. If you religiously keep them up to date. I'm glad that you appear to be getting it all under control.