Hypno's kick up the backside debt diary....

evab_2

Hi Hypno :wave:

I haven't posted much recently but I've been keeping up with your 2 threads....WOW!

Anyway re your SOA, I noticed your life ins, we had this and were also paying £32 pm but we realized that we mainly wanted it to pay off the mortgage if anything happened to us. So we changed it to mortgage term ins and now pay £10 pm (i.e it reduces as the mortgage goes down). I know your paying int only mort. but if in similar circumstances this may be something for the future.

Also L&G do £80 cashback through Quidco at the mo, my cashback was £29.50!

I'll try and find some cartridges for you btw, and where oh where do you get the brilliant smillies from?

Best wishes Ev x

taxi73

Well done Hypno on posting your SOA...there are a couple of things that stick out gas and electric seriously want looking at!!!...your house insurance seems a little on the high side as well...and maybe your phone,mobile and BB could be looked at...and paying money for a bank account!!
I know you like your children to do loads of sports can they not give Karate a miss until you are better off financially as the skiing is also costing an arm and a leg...
Idon't know whether you've done this yet(you probably have)...when I first joined MSE I got every bill out and checked to see if I could save any money on it..some were only a couple of pounds a month others quite a lot...maybe it would be worth a try.
I do feel for you having a deficit each month and yet somehow you manage to struggle through...every credit to you

Karmacat

Absolutely! Just because its down in black and white doesn't mean that the past year of finding huge amounts of money hasn't happened. It has happened, you've paid off thousands of pounds from that supposedly unreliable money. Each individual source is, of course, as you describe it, but the reality is that you have so many sources - mb, ebay, mystery shop, student, self employment, employment, and so on, that they balance each other out. You'll do it, because you *have* been doing it.

taxi73

So true ...the income that you say is not guaranteed has helped you pay off more than £10k this year..and as Seaxwyn says if you do that every year then it will be done and dusted...you are an inspiration to everybody on here because you overcome everything that stands in your way and not only manage to make inroads into your debt but are also around to help others...you are doing fantasically

dreams_R_free

Sorry, not been around for a while hypno, but just caught up on the last few days of your diary. Wow, blink and there's another 20 pages to read! But it's all really interesting and I hate to miss finding out what you are up to.

I'm so glad you posted your SOA. I'm still too scared to do mine but maybe you've inspired me(as you have in so many other ways through your diary and your general approach to coping with all that life throws at you) to have a go sometime soon. So thanks:T

I feel you are a bit 'down' after doing it though, not from letting us all in on the extent of the problem but from actually seeing it for yourself there in black and white. Obviously you already knew the state of play but somehow seeing it all there starkly in front of you is a killer. Just remember how much we all look to you for wise advice, an encouraging word and sometimes a bit of 'silliness' when we are feeling bad. You're doing brilliantly so far, your ingenuity knows no bounds, and although it is draining for you knowing you've got to keep it up for the long-haul, no-one doubts you'll do it in style:beer:

Sorry this is turning into such a long post but could I just end by being really nosy:o ? Tell me to mind my own business if you want, I wouldn't mind:rotfl: .
You may have told us in an earlier post why you ended up in so much debt in the first place. I seem to recall it was something to do with property/moving house but I read a lot of diaries and that may not be you! We've all ended up in debt for a variety of reasons and I just wondered what your story is.

I hope your cold is now a thing of the past
Have a happy and successful week
Imp

OliveOyl_2

Hi Hypno et al :hello:

A couple of weeks back Martin took suggestions on a phone-in with J.Vine R2. and awarded good suggestions points out of ten. I didn't hear it all. But one suggestion thatMartin liked and Jeremy mocked was to read your meters daily. Helps you monitor how your usage is going, and spot sudden surges (tumble driers?) This caller could supply her leccy company with proof that when the price rose mid month, she should have x units at the old price!:T

Anyway I've got my fingers crossed that you have a faulty meter, and the gas/leccy company owe you compensation......

hypno06

When I started on the DFW trail in December I switched the providers I could - gas/electric and phones. I am tied into contract for the phone for a few more months but have had a look at Virgin on Quidco and when my time is up, I will prob switch to them and get a bit of cash back in the process.

I will be looking at the gas/electric. doing a comparison is quite easy because the kids go away on Saturday, so if I do one from 7pm tonight to 7pm on next Sunday, then do the following week, one will be with "normal" usage, one with me and OH, with a bit of effort and no kids!

I know Karate is an expense, but it is good for DD because she was very very ill for a few years, and it was karate that helped her recovery in some way - she was not eating, and karate helped her build herself up with its discipline and more "holistic" approach to sport. Complicated to explain but very good for her. Also, with the immense amount of fitness they need for skiing, it helps to achieve the strength elements of their training.......I know, I am making excuses! I have already cut out their swimming, music lessons, most school trips, pocket money, etc etc etc, so don't really want to cut this out too.

house insurance - sadly we had two unrelated floods a couple of years ago, so we are loaded for that. Have tried to reduce it but can't. It is up for renewal this month but we can't get cheaper, even when taking quidco into account.

Life insurance, I am shamed to say we only took this out about 6 months ago - I cut it out previously because I couldn't afford it, but OH rides a motor bike and I started having nightmares and got too anxious worrying about whether he would kill himself on the bike, leaving me in an even bigger pickle. The life insurance does cover enough to clear all debts, mortgage and everything else too, so it is not bad really. My Dad had no life insurance, but left debt, and it was a nightmare to sort out until we sold the house, which took well over a year. I would hate to put mine in that situation should the worse happen to me, and i would hate to be in that position myself if it were OH to go.......OMG how morbid do I sound!!

Seaxywn....yes 4 more years......4 tiny little years :rotfl:

Thanks guys x

atypicalblonde

keep at it hun you WILL get there x

hypno06

gosh you lot get loads of posts in while I am typing - can't keep up!!!

Imp, yes it is property related.....we bought a house in 1999 with 95% mortgage. Had a full structural survey done which just showed up a bit of damp around the shower. Nothing to worry about!

3 weeks after moving in, we found water running down the inside walls, further investigation and another engineer in showed that the house was sinking at the back, that there were NO foundations at the front, that the weight of the roof, which had been wrongly re-tiled had pushed away all the walls so they were at an angle, and as such the roof was not safely supported etc etc etc.

Of course as soon as we found this out, the value of the property plummeted because it was now a "builder's project" not a "family home with a bit of damp around the shower" and as such we were in significant negative equity. We had to re-build the house, but because we were now in negative equity, could not borrow the money on the mortgage. After threatening to hand the keys in and leave it (which I wish now we had done) they lent us a little of the money, we tried suing the surveyor which failed (bloody small print) and OH had a breakdown meaning he was off work for months.

The cost of the rebuild was funded on credit cards and loans mostly, at the high rates they come with. Of course that meant that every month, all our income went on debt repayment so to buy basic groceries etc we spent on the cards again. They never managed to reduce by much.

Even when we sold the house, because the value dropped so much first, we didn't recoup our costs so brought the debt with us.

Up until recently, skiing was not a problem, because it was funded by us working for free at the ski club - it is only since they got on the National level that it is becoming so much harder.

If I could consolidate (ooh that horrid word) then I would, just to take the pressure off! But we can't even do that, so we have to just keep ploughing on!

off to read my meter now, back in a mo........

benbenandme

Hypno ... really do think you should look into AQA ... you are a legend for squashing so much into your time, I'm sure you'd manage to find pockets of time to do some questions! 10 minutes here and there throughout the day / at the ski club etc would soon add up