Keeping up appearances.......

wendfd

Hi Happynow
Just found your post on the forum and although I've not yet read it through, I wanted to post something on here so that I can find it again when I get home from work.
My situation is very similar to you. I look after the finances in our family and we have been in this situation two or three times before. We have remortgaged each time and always end up running up the debts again. My husband and I are now 60, we have to try to sort things out as we cant keep working forever.
We have around £40,000 unsecured debt, a mortgage of £165,000 on our house which could sell for £250,000. We have a half share of a second house (that has a mortgage of £165,000 and is worth around the same).
I was looking through the forum as nobody seemed to be in such a mess as us. Until I found you:beer:.

Wendfd

poohbear59

Hi wendfd, you have come to the right place. There are a few of us in a similar situation to you. And everyone who visits Happy is very friendly. You will see as they pop in.

HappyNow

Honey_Bear wrote: »

When Wickes closed and moved to another location locally, they left a huge pile of pallets outside with a note on offering them to anyone who wanted them. They were in a tiny retail park in the city centre, but I bet if you lived anywhere near an industrial estate or retail park piles of pallets would appear on an intermittent basis. It's a bit like Whoopsie hunting, I think - it's worth checking if you're in the neighbourhood. Happy hunting!

poohbear59 wrote: »

Thank you for the suggestion of pallets Happy and Mara. Mr Pooh has got some from a local farmer so we have a huge pile outside.He had spotted them piled up in a field so he asked and they were delighted to get rid of them. DD said to look on ebay as free firewood is offered on there too.

Hmmm, it seems pallets are where it's at! I'm on it.......

HappyNow

NewLeaf wrote: »

hi Happy.. those unexpected expenses are a nightmare. I hope you are all well and keeping warm x

Too right NewLeaf, they are a nightmare of the worst sort. And we are all well thanks (well not Mr Happy actually, but I will tell you about that in my next post!) but sadly NOT keeping warm. It is freezing here and tonight I am seriously going to bed in a polo neck jumper. And socks. And a hat.

HappyNow

wendfd wrote: »

Hi Happynow
Just found your post on the forum and although I've not yet read it through, I wanted to post something on here so that I can find it again when I get home from work.
My situation is very similar to you. I look after the finances in our family and we have been in this situation two or three times before. We have remortgaged each time and always end up running up the debts again. My husband and I are now 60, we have to try to sort things out as we cant keep working forever.
We have around £40,000 unsecured debt, a mortgage of £165,000 on our house which could sell for £250,000. We have a half share of a second house (that has a mortgage of £165,000 and is worth around the same).
I was looking through the forum as nobody seemed to be in such a mess as us. Until I found you:beer:.

Wendfd

Hello Wendfd, thanks for posting . I'm genuinely pleased if my sorry state makes people feel better . Somewhere on these diaries I have seen a signature quote - sadly I can't remember whose - along the lines of 'I wanted to be a shining example, but instead I'm just a horrible warning'. Well that's me, that is! :rotfl:.

My ambition is to be debt free by retirement age. Realistically it's looking more and more unlikely (unless the government continues to raise retirement age!) but I am absolutely determined that my debt won't spoil my enjoyment of life! I hope you feel the same and there are a few of us on here who are in it for the long-haul - you are very welcome to join us

poohbear59 wrote: »

Hi wendfd, you have come to the right place. There are a few of us in a similar situation to you. And everyone who visits Happy is very friendly. You will see as they pop in.

Very true Pooh. I love my diary! It's been a bit mad around here recently ( I will post the details tonight) so I've not been around as much as I would like, but I honestly think that my light bulb moment would have flickered and died without the support from here :)

wendfd

Thanks for your welcome Happy now, I didn't mean to be rude about you making me feel better, it was just good to find someone in a similar boat (I think my boat is in a bit of a worse state).
You have inspired me though to get a grip, and you are doing amazingly well. I will follow your progress with interest.

Mummy_Moo

Hello HappyNow,

I've just discovered your diary and have been reading with interest, although I'm sorry to say that I got to page 6 and had to skip to the last page otherwise I would have been here all night!

I hate to admit it but my initial reaction to your first few posts was something along the lines of "what's your problem? You've got a good income, plenty of assets, and are in a position to pay off all of your debt and still live comfortably if you chose to." But then of course I gave it a bit of thought and things are never that simple are they? (So apologies for that instinctive reaction). Well done for sitting down and taking a good look at your situation, it can be hard for anyone, and must be daunting if you have been getting into trouble for quite a while without realising it. It doesn't matter how you got the debt, just that your working towards paying it off, and from the looks of your signature, well done on your progress so far :j:j:j.

I only joined the MSE forums a few months ago but have fallen completely in love, and have even become slightly addicted. Keeping my own diary has really given me a kick in the right direction and I can't believe the difference it has made. I hope I'm still updating my diary regularly this time next year, it's really inspirational to read the stories of the people who have been doing this for a while, and see just how much progress they have made.

Well done for everything you've achieved so far, and good luck for the future .

HappyNow

wendfd wrote: »

Thanks for your welcome Happy now, I didn't mean to be rude about you making me feel better, it was just good to find someone in a similar boat (I think my boat is in a bit of a worse state).

A problem shared and all that! Debt is so difficult to discuss with real-life friends and sometimes I used to feel I was the only one in this position. It's a relief to be able to talk about it openly on here .

Mummy_Moo wrote: »

Hello HappyNow,

I've just discovered your diary and have been reading with interest, although I'm sorry to say that I got to page 6 and had to skip to the last page otherwise I would have been here all night!

I hate to admit it but my initial reaction to your first few posts was something along the lines of "what's your problem? You've got a good income, plenty of assets, and are in a position to pay off all of your debt and still live comfortably if you chose to." But then of course I gave it a bit of thought and things are never that simple are they? (So apologies for that instinctive reaction). Well done for sitting down and taking a good look at your situation, it can be hard for anyone, and must be daunting if you have been getting into trouble for quite a while without realising it. It doesn't matter how you got the debt, just that your working towards paying it off, and from the looks of your signature, well done on your progress so far :j:j:j.

I only joined the MSE forums a few months ago but have fallen completely in love, and have even become slightly addicted. Keeping my own diary has really given me a kick in the right direction and I can't believe the difference it has made. I hope I'm still updating my diary regularly this time next year, it's really inspirational to read the stories of the people who have been doing this for a while, and see just how much progress they have made.

Well done for everything you've achieved so far, and good luck for the future .

Hi Mummy Moo, thanks for posting . Your initial thoughts of ""what's your problem? You've got a good income, plenty of assets, and are in a position to pay off all of your debt and still live comfortably if you chose to." really struck a chord with me because that's the way I had been viewing my life for a few years before my light bulb moment! There is absolutely no need for you to apologise for that reaction .

I knew the debts were rising, although I didn't keep good enough records to know the figures, but it was always something I was going to tackle 'tomorrow'! The minimum repayments were increasing as the debt rose, and I would have soon reached a crisis point where we would have had to look into selling either our home or the house we rent out, just to eat each month. Either option would have taken a bit of explaining to Mr Happy who was blissfully unaware .

I will have a look for your diary now, and I really recommend keeping it up. Not only does it help you stay motivated when times get rough, but it is also great to look back on it and see that you ARE making progress, even if it sometimes doesn't feel like it. Good luck x

NewLeaf_2

Hi HN. Hope you had a nice weekend and that more people are stopping by here to greet you is nice x

HappyNow

Well what a lot of snow we had. It took our internet out for four days, and today is the first time in over a week we've been able to get the cars down to the house.

This month the mortgage has reduced by £92 a month to £356 because our tied-in deal has ended. That will help.

The dog insurance is due for renewal and I have opted for Argos at £16.07 per month with £35 back from Quidco. Last year was £22 per month. We have six animals and only the dog is insured, so what's the betting she's the only one not needing a vet this year!

Mr Happy's mobile contract was up. His phone had developed all sorts of weird habits so had to be upgraded. He loves his iphone but was content to go for the cheaper 4S rather than a 5 and the contract is £4 per month cheaper than last time. It's £26 a month for unlimited everything so there won't be any nasty surprises on the bills. We had to pay £70 up-front, but I have sold his old one via Tesco recycling (having compared all the options via MSE) for £86 which more than offset it. He's compromising on a lot nowadays so I don't begrudge him the new phone.

One item listed on ebay but it's on its 3rd cycle so I'm not expecting it to sell, and even if it does it will only be a few quid.

That all looks like good news, but January being January I am completely skint and everything spent between now and 15th Feb will be borrowed. As I mentioned last week, I will not be borrowing on a credit card, I will use money that Little Miss Happy has put into my spare account to cover her term's uni accomodation fees. I'll put it back in Feb and she won't know!

February should be better because there's no council tax, but there will still be the hangover from this month to pay. March is also council taxless, but both car insurances will be due. It all gets a bit wearing doesn't it............... :)