Debt Update - Jan '12

cockbul2

Well after all the Christmas festivities, turning 25 (older but no wiser!) I thought it was about time I did an update on how I’m doing. My debt hit it’s worst in September when I finally plucked up the courage to sit down and work out how much I owed. Things were much worse than I had imagined….. £12k debt and not a lot to show for it (apart from a mountain of unopened CC & bank statements!) I was struggling to make re-payments and it was affecting my sleep. My relationship felt strained as I wasn’t being honest with my partner about how much I owed.

I’m not a stupid person, but when it came to money…. I was naive (obviously since I didn’t even know how much debt I was in!) I thought I could carry on spending and only paying back the minimum payments. My head was well and truly in the sand. My turning point came when I told my partner (he was gutted) and I felt ashamed.

He’s been the catalyst for everything good that’s happened since. I moved debt onto 0% CC, closed store cards and thankfully put together a budget (which I’ve stuck to). For the first time since I started working when I was 18, Christmas was bought and paid for in November and I haven’t spent January dreading a CC bill the length of my arm hitting the door mat! I only have a loan, a 0% credit card and overdraft left to clear and although the balances are high, it’s much easier to deal with (at my worst I had a loan, overdraft, 5 CC’s and 2 storecards!!) The best feeling was phoning vanquis and telling them to close my account and cutting the card up! (In your face rip-off merchants!!)

I’m no way out of the woods yet, not by a long shot but I am so much happier and I’ve managed to reduced my debt by £1200 in 4 months. My partner & I are getting married in March and it’s all paid for, which is a massive relief. I’ve even managed to save some extra money every month for my hen night and any little extra bits I need for the wedding.

I wish I’d got my head screwed on and done this years ago. Taking out loans and credit cards to fund a lifestyle I could neither afford nor maintain, is one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made. But I’ve learnt from it and I’d never make the same mistake again.

Good luck to everyone else in the same boat…. If I can do it, you can too .