In debt all my life time to face up to responsibilities

dprovan

thanks guys,
2joanne, I will look at your thread and follow (is there a way to do that without manually searching). I agree with you about not cutting back in all luxuries. I think our journey involves us re configuring what constitutes a luxury and we had a chat about that this morning. Now recognise that a trip out with the kids or a take away is a luxury as opposed to a major purchase.

2joanne

Try this link I hope it works for u...if not the diary is called For my DDs

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4004695

dprovan

A little flat today.
First disapointment was when DW was told that the original commitment she had to increase her work from a 3-4 day week was no longer available. This would have meant an extra £550 per month for a minimum of 6 months. Oh well I guess that was too simple an option.

Then, I reaise that 3 of my credit cards on 0% are due to end Aug/Sept/Oct. The Tesco one which I was unsure of ends in Sept.

We have managed to get a barclaycard in my wifes name with 0% for 22 months which is a relief. This has taken care of the halifax one cc. So have transferred the balance of this over and will close the halifax one cc on Friday. We tried to apply for another cc in wifes name but were refused, so I guess we are unsurprisingly right on the limit. I am hoping when we close the halifa one cc (also in wifes name) she will be viewed more favourably.

I applied for barclaycard cc and was given 3.5k but i still need another 7.5 k between now and Oct to cover the other 2 which will go. I am thinking about a loan and see sainsburys are offering 5.9% but whether we would be accepted is another matter.

I need to try and watch credit rating and the effect of applications so will need to think this over before i do anything else. I have another 4 weeks or so before I need to make my next move.

The debt is so tiring but so is all the juggling and planning...

On a positive. A huge positive, we get paid tomorrow and we have managed to save an extra £144 to add to our emergency fund of £175 so our emergency fund stands at £319 and for the first time in years we have money in our account on the last day before pay day.

I think i am finally getting my head around what needs to be done, i don't feel as daunted just now as I thought i would. I think mainly because i know that my previous spending was so out of control and this is in fact reality, but I do know it will be a long journey and just hope nothing major goes wrong in the short term. My DW on the other hand I suspect is in a slightly different place. Her spending is so much better than me but I think she feels more exhausted by the length of the journey. She is more involved now than she was ever before and I think the emotional aspect of balancing it all and moving things around is taking its toll. DW suggested we downsize, but the downsize was in reality so little that we would have built more debt with the house move...

Before I go I am pleased to report that I have not had a drink this week, 3 days when I would have been drinking every night. I am going to try and treat the drink as a treat for the weekends. I wont lie, I would have liked a beer or two this evening when considering the task at hand...

wantabetterlife

Hi Dprovan...wishing you all the best, you sound really focused and motivated. Ru from N.Ireland?..me too

never_too_old

Morning

I dont have an emergency fund either,its something i would like to have but i do throw all money at debts. This time 2 years ago we had our £3000 overdraft taken away from us.I then had to open another bank account overwise every penny paid in would be swallowed up.The overdraft had to be paid off asap(did it by Christmas 2010)
We have never had credit cards which is lucky as we would spend because we could.Im a firm believer in snowballing and a payment a day.I have been known to send £1 to people i owe money to every day, drives them crazy but who cares.I now only owe about £4500 listed in my sig , gone down from a figure in the 20.s.Its hard we rarely do anything but the thought of being debt free is more appealing. I save my clubcard points for rewards so we can go out for meals for special occasions.I do lots of different things to try and save money.(have a read of my diary its not light reading as being in debt is depressing):)

2joanne

dprovan wrote: »

A little flat today.
First disapointment was when DW was told that the original commitment she had to increase her work from a 3-4 day week was no longer available. This would have meant an extra £550 per month for a minimum of 6 months. Oh well I guess that was too simple an option.

Then, I reaise that 3 of my credit cards on 0% are due to end Aug/Sept/Oct. The Tesco one which I was unsure of ends in Sept.

We have managed to get a barclaycard in my wifes name with 0% for 22 months which is a relief. This has taken care of the halifax one cc. So have transferred the balance of this over and will close the halifax one cc on Friday. We tried to apply for another cc in wifes name but were refused, so I guess we are unsurprisingly right on the limit. I am hoping when we close the halifa one cc (also in wifes name) she will be viewed more favourably.

I applied for barclaycard cc and was given 3.5k but i still need another 7.5 k between now and Oct to cover the other 2 which will go. I am thinking about a loan and see sainsburys are offering 5.9% but whether we would be accepted is another matter.

I need to try and watch credit rating and the effect of applications so will need to think this over before i do anything else. I have another 4 weeks or so before I need to make my next move.

The debt is so tiring but so is all the juggling and planning...

On a positive. A huge positive, we get paid tomorrow and we have managed to save an extra £144 to add to our emergency fund of £175 so our emergency fund stands at £319 and for the first time in years we have money in our account on the last day before pay day.

I think i am finally getting my head around what needs to be done, i don't feel as daunted just now as I thought i would. I think mainly because i know that my previous spending was so out of control and this is in fact reality, but I do know it will be a long journey and just hope nothing major goes wrong in the short term. My DW on the other hand I suspect is in a slightly different place. Her spending is so much better than me but I think she feels more exhausted by the length of the journey. She is more involved now than she was ever before and I think the emotional aspect of balancing it all and moving things around is taking its toll. DW suggested we downsize, but the downsize was in reality so little that we would have built more debt with the house move...

Before I go I am pleased to report that I have not had a drink this week, 3 days when I would have been drinking every night. I am going to try and treat the drink as a treat for the weekends. I wont lie, I would have liked a beer or two this evening when considering the task at hand...

You're doing really well...The first time I had money left at the end of the month and hadn't used the credit card I had the best night sleep I'd had in years...that feeling just gets better every single day that passes.

It's a shame about your wife's extra hours...but there are other ways to make extra cash or cut back....


I've been ebayng everything the isn't stapled or nailed down and have made hundreds of pounds...kids toys and clothes are a real hit..also look over the old style thread for cheap meals I've saved £20 per week on shopping bills but I'm working on bring this down further...

Keep ur chin up...it's tough going but you can do it!

2joanne

It's been ages since you posted...is everything ok? don't lose sight of your goals now...you can do it!!!

dprovan

Hi 2joanne and anyone else who is reading. Sorry I have not been very good at posting lately. I won't make excuses I just haven't been good in terms of getting on.

I am pleased to say that we are still on track. 2joanne you are so right... My wife and I were just discussing this the other day. The previous 2 months have been the first months in, I don't know how long, that we have had money in our account for the end of the month. The feeling of relief is wonderful, knowing that we can cover the outgoings and I dont have to run around switching things about or adding to ccs is such a relief.

We have had a challenging month with quite a few overheads entertaining the kids over the summer and getting uniforms etc but despite this we should have another £150 or so to add to the emergency pot.

On the negative front I tried applying for new 0% ccs in wifes name and own. My wife has clearly reached the limit of what she is going to be given. I did one of the checks on a site that doesnt affect credit rating and it identified a number of cc they thought i have a very good chance of getting. I applied for one was accepted but said they had given a balance of £500! Not quite the £7700 i need for the two ccs that the 0% balance ends in Sept 21st and 11th Oct!!! So it looks like i am going to have this on ccs with high interest rates. I wont lie that this has taken the wind out of my sails.. We will still be able to pay them but it hampers our efforts.

On a positive, it has helped to ground us completely, we realise we need to really get those balances down asap, so now that the emergency fund will be at £500 we will throw everything at the debt. I haven't sold anything around the house on ebay and will look at this also.

I need to confess, I was thinking of getting a dog, having looked after a friends for 2 weeks... This reality check has shown me that I cant be taking on any other expense/responsibilities now..

I am not sure why the ccs have been refused as our debt is actually coming down for the first time in years. I guess it is either a sign of the times or maybe the banks are saying time to get this sorted, either way we are where we are...

See, I don't write often but when I do I ramble on.

AppleMatt

dprovan wrote: »

I need to confess, I was thinking of getting a dog, having looked after a friends for 2 weeks... This reality check has shown me that I cant be taking on any other expense/responsibilities now..

I am not sure why the ccs have been refused as our debt is actually coming down for the first time in years. I guess it is either a sign of the times or maybe the banks are saying time to get this sorted, either way we are where we are...

Hi dprovan :j

I've read your story and can see how far you've come already - without trying to sound condescending it sounds like you have more drive than maybe you realised :beer:

Maybe save the dog until you know it won't add any more pressures, something to look forward to, and then you can get all the treats the fella would deserve :rotfl:

Did the attraction to get a dog feel like the old attractions to buy things? I and many others here must know that feeling very well... it's great when you have that feeling about paying off debts or saving, excited to not spend money! :rotfl:

I'll be subscribed to your thread to keep in touch, best of luck :T

dprovan

AppleMatt: thanks. You are spot on. When I really focus on it the dog was about the thrill of getting something extra maybe even having a little bit of excitement having a different focus. Old habits die hard! On a plus I am not sitting here with a dog at my lap, a new lead, dog bed, toys and a vet bill like I would be had it been 12 months ago.....

I awoke this morning relieved that I had a great nights sleep last night. I went to be a bit flat about the 0% credit card issue and thought it would keep me awake. As I said yesterday it will mean more interest and less going to the debt, but on the other hand i'll save on the balance transfer fees and it will give me the kick on the !!! to really escalate getting the debt down. For years we su-conciously looked at the cc debt and overdraft as not really a debt, it was just a responsibility that we moved from one 0% deal to another.

My wife continyes to be the stronger focussed one. She has the odd bad day, tends to be instigated by a tiny spend when she feels guilty or feels angry at feeling guilty but on the whole her spending is tiny and she is the voice often saying we dont need a or b. I am the big dreamer type who likes to talk about what it will be like in 3 years, 5 years etc etc but struggles to keep focussed day on day. I know that I need to work more in the now and use my energy to get the debt down and get my rush from that as AppleMatt so rightly says.

Off to work now, have a nice day everyone and thanks