A Thread for After Debt?

JulieGeorgiana

Hello everyone

MSE hasn't been emailing me to tell me there have been new posts!!!

The Christening went well, and my friend from Norway is here safe

I will try and post a picture of Eliza in her gown very soon... she looked so cute in it... very victorian with the bonnet

It was DS gown

Hope you are all well x

LealeaV

Well I am fear that one of you will cart me off to the loony bin once you have read the following panic attack I had today......

After a fair bit of research over this weekend, I decided to open my new 2012/13 cash ISA with Cheshire BS - 3.5% till Oct 2013......

I already have the money set aside to place into the ISA, (I have been working to get my funds ready to be moved once the new ISA year kicked in!) So I filled the forms in online and all I have to do now to open the account is send a cheque!

This is where my panic attack reared its ugly head.....

I have to write a £5640 cheque to myself!!!!!

I know that my head is thinking that is a logical thing to do and the cheque and money will all be safe and sound....

BUT - it is really hard for me to physically write that cheque! It is such a HUGE amount of money and I am petrified that something is gonna go wrong or that I am gonna make some stupid mistake and loose all the money!!!!!

I was NEVER this nervous before when I was in debt and spent £10k on a car... but now its MY money, I feel so much more panicked and worried about it!

Anyway I think that is enough of an insight into Lealea's crazy mind!

JG - I am so pleased that the Christening went all ok and I am really looking forward to seeing cute Christening photos of Eliza!

b_girl - good luck for the viewing!

BiB - That is awful news on the car! It must have been so stressful for you! Good luck with the car insurance! Fingers crossed that they are humans and understand that it was a genuine mistake!

SOT - Insurance companies have a habit of harassing you to take out their policy, but never bother to ring at all when you are processing a claim!

I trust you all have enjoyed the long Easter weekend!

I do feel less barmy now that I have sat and typed this to you lovely lot! x

loving-my-baxters

Hello all

I like the sound of this thread as it gives hope to everyone that there is a way out and you will finally get there......

I was in debt for a few years - long story - relationship breakdown/credit cards/car loan/mortagage and financial naivity played a huge part. I have nearly made my way out, I have a loan which I pay 95.00 each month to with 3 years to go, but this is the last of it and I am finally saving!!! Yay!!!

I like to read sucess stories as it reminds me I need to keep focused... also I am remainded how easily it would be to slip a few bills onto the dreaded plastic and be back at stage one.....

Good luck to all

rising_from_the_ashes

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

The Christening went well, and my friend from Norway is here safe

I will try and post a picture of Eliza in her gown very soon... she looked so cute in it... very victorian with the bonnet

Awwww so pleased it went well JG.....

LealeaV wrote: »

I know that my head is thinking that is a logical thing to do and the cheque and money will all be safe and sound....

BUT - it is really hard for me to physically write that cheque! It is such a HUGE amount of money and I am petrified that something is gonna go wrong or that I am gonna make some stupid mistake and loose all the money!!!!!

:rotfl:Sorry, I'm chuckling away here ..... when I had money to transfer to my ISA a couple of months ago (:shhh: you can't tell anyone this :lipsrseal....) I had to do it by online transfer and I was sooooo paranoid that I would put in the wrong account number that I transferred it in £50 batches:o several times until I was sure it was right & then did the rest - and then spent the next 3 days panicking until I could check online that it had all reached the right account!:rotfl:

Well, have just taken the big step of phoning the bank and closing 4 pots :eek::o - still have 4 so hope that will be a more manageable number.:)

09Kgal

I believe that sometimes it is difficult to maintain the concept of actual money when dealing with cc and online banking. For some people it is a lot harder to spend actual bills than to just hand over a cc. Budgeting in my opinion is a lot more easily done with bills and envelopes/jars. But I did find one great budgeting tool (I've tried Excel spreadsheets, but I just couldn't maintain it as well) is Mvelopes. It lets you budget your expected income and then when you receive your paycheck you split it up and the program sticks it in "envelopes" and as you record what you spent you immediately see if you are in the red or still have money budgeted for it. I also find that the little expenditures where we say, "It realy isn't that much," add up really quick and can become a large and unexpected expenditure.

rising_from_the_ashes

09Kgal wrote: »

I believe that sometimes it is difficult to maintain the concept of actual money when dealing with cc and online banking. For some people it is a lot harder to spend actual bills than to just hand over a cc.

Hi 09Kgal, I seem to be an oddity in that if I'm much better paying everything on the cc and paying in full each month - I know exactly how much I've put on there as all spends are recorded in my spreadsheet and I don't spend more than I can afford to pay off that month.

Now - cash on the other hand :eek: I just can't be trusted with it at all and it literally slips through my fingers like water.:(

Another useful tool for budgeting / envelopes if that helps is EBBA
https://www.eebacanhelp.com/login.php you can put it on an android phone so it's always with you.:)

seaniesson - welcome (sorry meant to say earlier:o) and congrats on your DF status:T. Love my baxters - great to see you and wishing you the best in your DF quest ..... although 3 years seems like a long time, believe me, it'll pass in no time!:)

LianneH

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Now - cash on the other hand :eek: I just can't be trusted with it at all and it literally slips through my fingers like water.:(

thats me too Rising! It literally just disappears out of my purse, whereas because i record every card transaction I have to face up to it!!

rising_from_the_ashes

LianneH wrote: »

thats me too Rising! It literally just disappears out of my purse, whereas because i record every card transaction I have to face up to it!!

:j So glad it's not just me Li!:D

SOT2011

At the moment it seems to be less how I spend the money and more what I spend it on

I can be very good about conserving petrol, but I haven't really got my food spends really under control, eating from the freezer more just seems to have resulted in the need for more nice things to make up for it

Even worse is my DIY spends. I have spent loads more than I should recently on paint and brushes and other bits. That has a lot to do with making the house feel like my own.

I seriously have to get a grip when the hall etc is done next weekend as I am using the emergency fund for these spends and that isn't really what it is there for and I am spending way faster than I am replenishing it which is a sure recipe for debt if I don't curb it soon.

Glad I have you guys to confess to as left to my own devices I would probably be even worse! Actually in some ways being on my own is also why I am finding it tough I think. I only need to make the excuses to myself, and at times I can be a real push over

SOT x

backinbusiness

09Kgal wrote: »

I believe that sometimes it is difficult to maintain the concept of actual money when dealing with cc and online banking. For some people it is a lot harder to spend actual bills than to just hand over a cc.

I agree with this to a certain extent, but I also believe that until you have your very own Light Bulb Moment and realise that spending on the credit cards is not free money, or to be ignored or kept lurking unattended in the background you can't move forward.

In three years I've gone from happily ignoring any cc balances (as long as the min payment was going out they were under control!), to actually feeling physically uncomfortable putting anything on the cc - a total 180 degree change in attitude.

BiB