Finally worked up the courage to write it all down...

LaughingLorna

Thank you! had a meds review couple of weeks ago and its actually been worse since then but i think thats because ive been worrying about all this after being turned down for new balance transfer. i know how lucky i am compared to loads of people on here which is another reason im so grateful people have taken the time to offer their support to me!

doing all the survey sites i can find. springboard is one ive used over a year that i havent seen mentioned in the forums. ive had two payouts from them but takes so long to build up credit with them...

LaughingLorna

Pugzy thank you! and im determined to be able to start crossing off numbers on my own signature sooner rather than later. feel like a big weights been lifted tonight-thank you to all of you

LaughingLorna

Thanks again to everyone who posted yesterday. slept like a baby for the first time since i reduced my meds. It makes such a difference and having read loads of info on these boards last night am all psyched up to generate some more cash and keep doing the right thing on current spending. plus ive gone from feeling like cutting back is a chore to feeling quite upbeat about it-have a feeling it might be more addictive than first thought!

finally feeling like i have a way out of this :-)

TakingControl

Firstly well done on your LBM, this is the first step on being debt free. I just wanted to post some words of encouragement. Have a look at my signature, LBM for me was £45K, DFD seemed so long away and I am now only £4K in debt, nearly paid off 2 years early.

You done the first step, its going to be a hard slug at times but seeing your balances coming down makes it all worth while.

The one thing I would suggest is speak to your other half, a worry shared is a worry halfed and he might be initially angry or upset but like most on here who were in the same situation like you, their other halfs were after the initial shock very supportive.

I have no other half so I confined to my mum who was a rock for me.

Good luck on your DFW journey :T:T

GreenSaints

Hey,

Just found your diary and wanted to say good luck and you've come to the right place for help

edgex

LaughingLorna wrote: »

Thank you sista! You don't know how much it means to hear that - was so scared people would instantly judge!

Having read a few people's diaries I know there will prob be holes picked in the SOA but the 700 does cover everything like mortgage/ utilities/ groceries/ half the loan we took out for house renovations/ Vets bills/ food etc for the dogs...

Feels like DFD is never gonna happen at the mo and I really need to do it without anyone finding out

its still useful to do a full breakdown of this spending, see if there are any areas where savings can be made

[Deleted User]

LaughingLorna wrote: »

Well done on facing up to it all and dealing with it once and for all. Many people on here have said that getting to this point where it is all in black and white is the hardest part, so well done.

You can tell your OH if and when you are ready. It helps some people, but it's a very individual thing.

As for your contribution to the household pot - just go over utilities etc every 6-12 months to check that you are still on the cheapest tariff for your usage/area.

If you are on regular prescriptions check if a pre-paid certificate would be cheaper.

Once you have cancelled the available credit that you are not using, and in a few months when you have paid down some of the debt, you might be in a better position to try for another balance transfer. But check your credit reports first.

Monthly income after tax...........1333Is there any opportunity for overtime?
Other income............................ 0Take a look at the "up your income" board here for inspiration and advice here. You have mentioned that you are doing surveys, also try cash back sites, neither are quick money but they will help for things like vouchers for Christmas etc
Total monthly income.................... 1333

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 700
Mobile phone............................ 22Are you in a contract? If so can you ask for it to be reduced - some will let you reduce one or two tariffs while still locked in. If/when you are out of contract take a look at SIM only and PAYG deals - I cannot recommend GiffGaff enough (and you can keep your number) - I have saved a fortune!
Petrol/diesel........................... 30
Road tax................................ 2
Car Insurance........................... 30
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 12Do you save this somewhere for when it is needed?
Other travel............................ 67What does this cover? Would a season, weekly, monthly ticket make any savings? Would walking or cycling be an option either all or part of the way
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10Check if a pre-paid certificate would be cheaper
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10do you save this somewhere for when it is needed? Vouchers from surveys should help here once you have been doing them a while
Haircuts................................ 0never?
Entertainment........................... 0never? Or is this budgeted in the household spends?
Emergency fund.......................... 0might be worthwhile saving a little here - even £5 a month in case something unexpected crops up
Total monthly expenses.................. 883


Assets
Cash.................................... 0need to start saving non monthly spends here - eg presents, and MOT
Car(s).................................. 0??Could selling or downgrading your car be an option?
Total Assets............................ 0[/b]


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(700)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 0.........-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................11756.....210.......9.3
Halifax cc.....................2845.76...30........0This is the one that ends in Sept? Do you know what the interest rate will revert to then?
PO cc..........................3947.16...100.......0When will the 0% end on this one? Is the £100 the minimum payment?
Total unsecured debts..........18548.92..340.......-

In addition to continuing to pay your loan as normal, make sure that you pay the minimum towards both CC's (minimum only as they are both 0%). Then with any surplus pay it towards the CC that the 0% will be ending soonest.


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,333
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 883
Available for debt repayments........... 450
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 340
Amount left after debt repayments....... 110okay, this is good that you have a surplus here. Make sure that your SOA is accurate though. Do you really spend nothing on entertainment? And never get your hair cut? If you have this available, then I would overpay it towards the CC that is ending soonest.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -18,548.92
Net Assets.............................. -18,548.92

It seems that there are perhaps a few areas where you could reduce spending - mobile, travel [it will depend on circumstances though], but do make sure that the SOA is accurate (entertainment, clothes, etc). I know that you have said that you have already started with e-bay and done very well already, if you can then continue with this, or have a car boot, look at amazon or gumtree as well as alternative forums to sell on

Good luck, and well done on getting this far,

D9

LaughingLorna

Thanks guys, really grateful for all the useful advice that keeps on coming been feeling really positive since I started this thread and every time I have a little wobble and start to obsess I come on here and it really bucks me up so thank you!!!!

Am thinking after reading all the suggestions on SOA that I need to think about my car. The other travel cost is fixed for my rail season ticket which I have an interest free season ticket for through work but it comes out after tax so have included it separately. At the moment I use my car to get to railway station but will look into whether bus would be cheaper than car costs in which case I could sell it. Train is deff cheapest commute with petrol and parking considered. Did mega amounts of research when working out whether I could afford to take this job

The payments on the cards are the minimum - i was surprised it was so high on the PO card but it goes down the more I pay and that one is good till next year so hoping to up my payments on halifax and get that paid off as soon as possible - Thanks for the plan on that D9 - makes a lot of sense to do it that way.

We have netflix paid for out of joint account so thats pretty much my entertainment at the mo and me and DH do a lot of cheap outdoors things. Only get my hair cut a couple of times a year even when I have money and only a cheap trim (£10 ish at training college) so just plan to take out of my surplus in those months. Don't really live that crazy when i'm happy. Just spent a lot when I was struggling to get through in old job and topping up basic bills and buying presents on cc/ stuff we needed when we bought house etc all added up. Am reasonably confident I can avoid falling into trap again once i've paid all this crap off! (But most of us think that right?!)

I'll look at the mobile - i'm locked in but hadnt thought about asking to drop tarriffs - great idea!

No overtime offered at my work (again DH does loads so I don't have to pay as much into joint costs - I had to lie about how much my new salary was so he wouldnt wonder why I have no money when there's over 300 pound debt repayments a month - hate the lying ) but I have been volunteering for everything going at work in the hope they'll consider me for payrise/promotion within next year. Had good feedback from everyone but it depends on economy etc and how much money the place has. In the meantime I'm doing all the survey stuff and I think i'm gonna try amazon for books and DVDs since ppl on these boards reckon thats better than ebay.

All the monthly car costs go in a separate account on dd that I dont touch except to pay car bills but the presents etc was just me guesstimating how much i need to allow per month - need to sort out a dd for that too really

Such a relief to get some ideas and not having it knock around just in my head! feeling so motivated to get it sorted now and want to get a signature sorted when I've made some headway to show everyone how much it helps being on here. Really so grateful!

Barbeduk

Really glad you feel a lot more positive today. Have you joined any of the challenges on here yet? Can totally recommend the lovely people on the 'pay off all my debt by Christmas' thread (it's on debt free diaries, usually page 1 or 2 as it's so chatty). A lot of posters on there have dfd in 2013 or beyond but it's just the encouragement and motivation of chatting to other people who feel like you do!

Thanks so much for your kind words, that really meant a lot. I had an awful time at the start, felt like such an idiot. Had had the debt building up for 6 years and just ignored it. Such a relief that it's gone.

LaughingLorna

Barbeduk and everyone who has posted here I just want you to know that there must be loads of people like me who just spent months reading all the unconditional support you gave to people like us. It took all those months to feel ready to post myself but I really did feel better even by reading and not being actively involved so don't underestimate how much good you do for even more people than are posting here!

Not joined any challenges yet but am feeling my way around - have started my own sealed pot so will get around to joining that one. As I tend to sell in fits and starts I was thinking of doing a 'generate 2k by September' challenge so I don't need to think about it every day but that would pay off a lot of my Halifax card and I might be able to move the rest to the PO card so I don't have to pay interest and i feel psychologically better the more consolidated it is if that makes sense. (less bills to hide for one thing). Not thinking about it everyday would be more manageable. This whole DFW process has helped soooooooo much but am still mindful of needing to make this job work and i'm still getting anxiety/paranoia/ esteem problems to deal with that i feel are holding me back and want to feel like i deserve my pay rise when I go in to ask for it!

And barbeduk it means a lot to hear that someone who's come so far also felt like an idiot at the beginning - gives me so much hope!