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A long time coming, a dfd.
redkez2012
Posts: 47 Forumite
Monday 6th August 2012
A long time coming.
I’ve not been much good at keeping a diary, be it a personal one, a food diary or a spend diary, however I am going to give this a go as I really enjoy reading others diaries on here.
I discovered the MSE weekly email alert a couple of years ago, but only really discovered the forums a couple of days ago. What a wonderful community you have here, such a wealth of knowledge and support.
So who am I? I’m a full time working mother of two boys (12 and 10) wife and the financial director of our lives.
So the title of this here diary needs a touch of explanation I think…….to accrue our debt has taken 16 years, and with the exception of the mortgage, the aim is to be debt free by Dec 2016 (my DFD). We would like to move house but given the state of the credit history, a bit of housekeeping and tidying up is most definitely required in order for us to get to where we want to be.
Our situation isn’t extreme, more a bit uncomfortable, and makes having any fun days with the kids almost impossible as our cash is always tied up in bills and unnecessary outgoings. It’s going to remain that way for a while I’m afraid, but only because I have now had my LBM (light bulb moment). I’ve dusted off the trusty old spreadsheet budget planner and have mapped out where we are with most of it and how long it will take to clear.
I’ve finally seen the light and set up a Direct Debit for my Capital One card and have put it on ice, literally, I have put my card in a plastic bag and put it in the deep freeze. I can’t spend on it if it’s not in my purse, well that’s the theory anyway.
I have a catalogue debt that I have an agreement on and the interest has been frozen so I am making the payments regularly to the DCA (debt collection agency), I would like to increase the payments but for now, as there is a regular amount going out to them they are okay with it for now, although they have asked me to double it – which I haven’t done yet, but I will, once I have an account with interest accruing closed or cleared.
I have two mobile phone contracts that need to be sorted out as they are moving to a DCA too, I’ve been stupid, I know, it’s my own fault, I got me into this mess and with my DH’s help, I’ll get us out of it.
On the plus side, I have cleared some debts already and I can see a pin !!!!! of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
· Ruthbridge (DCA) for OH HBOS credit card – paid in full February 2012
· Welcome Car Finance for my car – paid in full March 2012 thanks to a £2250 PPI pay out – first success on PPI claims
· Littlewoods – paid in full Jan 2012 but had a small relapse as the vacuum cleaner broke down so we bought a new one through them
· Next – paid in full 2011
· Grattan – paid in full 2011
· Isme – paid in full 2011
· Amigo/FLM Loan – paid in full June 2012
I have my version of a SOA (statement of affairs) or a list of people/companies I still owe with original balance, current balance and the planned date of repayment.
· [STRIKE]Sister for flights £1900.00 – balance is £700 – will be paid off by 26.9.12 on target to be cleared. Revised cost £1683.35 as of 20.9.2012 - she gave us the wrong amount to work with, I am currently £293.35 away - will be gone on OH pay day!!!!!! This is now fully paid off!!![/STRIKE]
· Littlewoods £287.10 – balance is £287.10 – will be paid off by 26.10.12
· OH Cap 1 £222.22 – balance is £222.22 – will be paid off by 26.12.12
· A Overdraft £100.00 – will be paid off by Jan 15th 2013
· My Cap 1 £181.09 – balance is £181.09 – will be paid off by 15.4.13
· Creation - £2656.80 – balance £1107.00 – this has a 0% interest rate and a fixed term so will let this run to its conclusion – it was a 4 year deal deferred payment for 12 months and the first payment went out 30th November 2010 so 30th November 2014 as the end date I think.
· Car payments £9420.00 – balance is £6476.25 will be paid off by 18th April 2015
· Littlewoods DCA £1004.20 - £934.20 – will be paid off by 27.5.2020 – I don’t think so!!!! It’s been promoted to get cleared in the next 12 months!
· Link £10.00 – can’t remember what this was for and has one of those obscure end dates like 2025! – I solemnly swear, from this day forward, to find out what this account was for and what the current balance is and to increase the payment so that we can get rid of it! As promised I now know what this is and what it was for - the balance is currently £2400.00, will be added to my list and payments increased on it as soon as possible.
· OH Aqua £600 – OH takes care of this one
· OH Vanquis £200 – OH takes care of this one
· B Overdraft £600.00 – OH says he will sort this out himself
· Vanquis/CARS/DCA £1650.00 – need to set up an arrangement
· Orange £750.00 - need to set up an arrangement
· Vodafone £750.00 - need to set up an arrangement
· C Overdraft £1500.00 – I really don’t know when I will get this one sorted out so will pay it back once all the other ones are cleared down.
· Dad loan £4000.00 – not accruing interest so once all the others are paid off and funds are released I will sort this out.
Total debt excluding Link (the total figure will be updated when I get this amount) and the Mortgage is [STRIKE]£20907.86[/STRIKE] It's now £23307.86!!!!
I had no idea it was this much and I am in shock. Seeing it in black and white has floored me.
Right O (picks self up and dusts self down). Well I’m here. I’ve made my first steps. I’ve got a plan.
As well as making payments regularly to those mentioned above from both my salary and my OH’s I have applied for a copy of my credit history from Experian. With the success of the PPI claim for my car (which took 9 months’ worth of payments and gave me back £3330) I have decided to investigate if we had any PPI in any of our accounts that are now closed/settled and with MSE’s advice I am going back to our very first mortgage (14 years ago) which was the first credit agreement we ever had, it should only cost me the cost of stamps and the worst they can do is say ‘No, there was no PPI in your account’.
Anything that we do get back from PPI will be a bonus and will go towards clearing those items that haven’t got a payment plan in place for or to finish off some that are close to their end or are low value.
Before I sign off I feel I must explain a bit on two of the items above, 1. Sister for flights, she works for an airline and graciously let us use her concessions to have a family holiday, she has the cost of these flights deducted from her salary each month until they are paid for in full, so we agreed to pay her a set amount each month so that she could still manage her own commitments. The second one, 2. Loan from a Friend, I promised to pay it by back Christmas this year and so it will be, I know that neither of these are accounts that are accruing interest but these people both have commitments and I made a promise so that’s why they are high on the priority list.
I’m also putting some money into savings each month for Christmas, birthdays, a holiday next year and also for emergencies that may occur and I have increased my home grocery allowance slightly (I am also trying to lose some weight and fresh fruit, veg, fish and meat are the key to my previous successes so I’m going back to what I know works).
I’m going to try and do a SOA or as much as possible with the figures I have at the moment, just to see if there is anything I have missed off. I’m also going to have a look at the snowball calculator just to be sure that I am paying the right ones off.
Thank you for joining me, I hope I haven’t bored you to tears and I hope to be able to update the diary as frequently as possible with a full time job and two boys bouncing round the house!
RK2012 x
A long time coming.
I’ve not been much good at keeping a diary, be it a personal one, a food diary or a spend diary, however I am going to give this a go as I really enjoy reading others diaries on here.
I discovered the MSE weekly email alert a couple of years ago, but only really discovered the forums a couple of days ago. What a wonderful community you have here, such a wealth of knowledge and support.
So who am I? I’m a full time working mother of two boys (12 and 10) wife and the financial director of our lives.
So the title of this here diary needs a touch of explanation I think…….to accrue our debt has taken 16 years, and with the exception of the mortgage, the aim is to be debt free by Dec 2016 (my DFD). We would like to move house but given the state of the credit history, a bit of housekeeping and tidying up is most definitely required in order for us to get to where we want to be.
Our situation isn’t extreme, more a bit uncomfortable, and makes having any fun days with the kids almost impossible as our cash is always tied up in bills and unnecessary outgoings. It’s going to remain that way for a while I’m afraid, but only because I have now had my LBM (light bulb moment). I’ve dusted off the trusty old spreadsheet budget planner and have mapped out where we are with most of it and how long it will take to clear.
I’ve finally seen the light and set up a Direct Debit for my Capital One card and have put it on ice, literally, I have put my card in a plastic bag and put it in the deep freeze. I can’t spend on it if it’s not in my purse, well that’s the theory anyway.
I have a catalogue debt that I have an agreement on and the interest has been frozen so I am making the payments regularly to the DCA (debt collection agency), I would like to increase the payments but for now, as there is a regular amount going out to them they are okay with it for now, although they have asked me to double it – which I haven’t done yet, but I will, once I have an account with interest accruing closed or cleared.
I have two mobile phone contracts that need to be sorted out as they are moving to a DCA too, I’ve been stupid, I know, it’s my own fault, I got me into this mess and with my DH’s help, I’ll get us out of it.
On the plus side, I have cleared some debts already and I can see a pin !!!!! of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
· Ruthbridge (DCA) for OH HBOS credit card – paid in full February 2012
· Welcome Car Finance for my car – paid in full March 2012 thanks to a £2250 PPI pay out – first success on PPI claims
· Littlewoods – paid in full Jan 2012 but had a small relapse as the vacuum cleaner broke down so we bought a new one through them
· Next – paid in full 2011
· Grattan – paid in full 2011
· Isme – paid in full 2011
· Amigo/FLM Loan – paid in full June 2012
I have my version of a SOA (statement of affairs) or a list of people/companies I still owe with original balance, current balance and the planned date of repayment.
· [STRIKE]Sister for flights £1900.00 – balance is £700 – will be paid off by 26.9.12 on target to be cleared. Revised cost £1683.35 as of 20.9.2012 - she gave us the wrong amount to work with, I am currently £293.35 away - will be gone on OH pay day!!!!!! This is now fully paid off!!![/STRIKE]
· Littlewoods £287.10 – balance is £287.10 – will be paid off by 26.10.12
· OH Cap 1 £222.22 – balance is £222.22 – will be paid off by 26.12.12
· A Overdraft £100.00 – will be paid off by Jan 15th 2013
· My Cap 1 £181.09 – balance is £181.09 – will be paid off by 15.4.13
· Creation - £2656.80 – balance £1107.00 – this has a 0% interest rate and a fixed term so will let this run to its conclusion – it was a 4 year deal deferred payment for 12 months and the first payment went out 30th November 2010 so 30th November 2014 as the end date I think.
· Car payments £9420.00 – balance is £6476.25 will be paid off by 18th April 2015
· Littlewoods DCA £1004.20 - £934.20 – will be paid off by 27.5.2020 – I don’t think so!!!! It’s been promoted to get cleared in the next 12 months!
· Link £10.00 – can’t remember what this was for and has one of those obscure end dates like 2025! – I solemnly swear, from this day forward, to find out what this account was for and what the current balance is and to increase the payment so that we can get rid of it! As promised I now know what this is and what it was for - the balance is currently £2400.00, will be added to my list and payments increased on it as soon as possible.
· OH Aqua £600 – OH takes care of this one
· OH Vanquis £200 – OH takes care of this one
· B Overdraft £600.00 – OH says he will sort this out himself
· Vanquis/CARS/DCA £1650.00 – need to set up an arrangement
· Orange £750.00 - need to set up an arrangement
· Vodafone £750.00 - need to set up an arrangement
· C Overdraft £1500.00 – I really don’t know when I will get this one sorted out so will pay it back once all the other ones are cleared down.
· Dad loan £4000.00 – not accruing interest so once all the others are paid off and funds are released I will sort this out.
Total debt excluding Link (the total figure will be updated when I get this amount) and the Mortgage is [STRIKE]£20907.86[/STRIKE] It's now £23307.86!!!!
I had no idea it was this much and I am in shock. Seeing it in black and white has floored me.
Right O (picks self up and dusts self down). Well I’m here. I’ve made my first steps. I’ve got a plan.
As well as making payments regularly to those mentioned above from both my salary and my OH’s I have applied for a copy of my credit history from Experian. With the success of the PPI claim for my car (which took 9 months’ worth of payments and gave me back £3330) I have decided to investigate if we had any PPI in any of our accounts that are now closed/settled and with MSE’s advice I am going back to our very first mortgage (14 years ago) which was the first credit agreement we ever had, it should only cost me the cost of stamps and the worst they can do is say ‘No, there was no PPI in your account’.
Anything that we do get back from PPI will be a bonus and will go towards clearing those items that haven’t got a payment plan in place for or to finish off some that are close to their end or are low value.
Before I sign off I feel I must explain a bit on two of the items above, 1. Sister for flights, she works for an airline and graciously let us use her concessions to have a family holiday, she has the cost of these flights deducted from her salary each month until they are paid for in full, so we agreed to pay her a set amount each month so that she could still manage her own commitments. The second one, 2. Loan from a Friend, I promised to pay it by back Christmas this year and so it will be, I know that neither of these are accounts that are accruing interest but these people both have commitments and I made a promise so that’s why they are high on the priority list.
I’m also putting some money into savings each month for Christmas, birthdays, a holiday next year and also for emergencies that may occur and I have increased my home grocery allowance slightly (I am also trying to lose some weight and fresh fruit, veg, fish and meat are the key to my previous successes so I’m going back to what I know works).
I’m going to try and do a SOA or as much as possible with the figures I have at the moment, just to see if there is anything I have missed off. I’m also going to have a look at the snowball calculator just to be sure that I am paying the right ones off.
Thank you for joining me, I hope I haven’t bored you to tears and I hope to be able to update the diary as frequently as possible with a full time job and two boys bouncing round the house!
RK2012 x
LBM 6/8/2012:T. Debts to clear: :eek: CCs x 5, OD x 3, Loans x 2, Mob phones x 2, Home shopping x 2 = Total £ to follow. Debts cleared 2012: Amigo/FLM, Sister. Total cost £2783.35. Xmas 2012 savings wanted: £970/£130 saved so far. Debts cleared 2011: Home shopping x 3, DCA x 1. Total cost £ to follow. Official DFW #1435.
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Comments
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Saturday 11th August 2012
Morning all,
I’ve been eagerly anticipating the arrival of a certain pass key for access to my Experian credit report. It’s arrived this morning and I was so excited, however that excitement quickly turned to fear as I imagined the worst and the awful state of affairs that I was going to find there.
I did what any insane person would do, I went and did something else and then came back to it later.
On Friday, I made a list of jobs that need to be done around the house, we want to move house and I feel we can’t until a, the credit file is nice and tidy and b, so is the house we live in. So DH had emptied a cupboard stuffed full of junk, that really should be utilised for our DS2’s clothes, so decided I would vacuum it out and paint it up nice and clean and white and then start rubbing the wood work back to wood from dark brown wood stain – oh my word, I was at the sanding for 2 hours and still have loads to do. Well I’m off work in a weeks time for 2 weeks so I will crack on with the sanding then.
I eventually took a deep breath and downloaded the credit report. It wasn’t as awful as I was expecting, it was pretty bad and there are still many things that need to be tidied up and gotten rid of, and it is showing the stuff that I have cleared down. I’m so glad that the lightening bolt I was expecting didn’t actually hit me. Right O – off to do some dinner.
For now, RK2012 xLBM 6/8/2012:T. Debts to clear: :eek: CCs x 5, OD x 3, Loans x 2, Mob phones x 2, Home shopping x 2 = Total £ to follow. Debts cleared 2012: Amigo/FLM, Sister. Total cost £2783.35. Xmas 2012 savings wanted: £970/£130 saved so far. Debts cleared 2011: Home shopping x 3, DCA x 1. Total cost £ to follow. Official DFW #1435.
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Sunday 12th August
Hello
Felt a bit ropey today (from the painting and sanding – my own fault) so finished off the ironing and then tried to sort through some ancient paperwork to see if I have any credit agreements with PPI on. I have found one, but the potential is there for more, however, I’m not so sure that GE Finance (who now own First National Bank) will actually honour my claim. I’ve read on here that they have been very unhelpful so I’m not holding out much hope.
I’m finally getting round to posting my diary entries on the DFD of MSE whilst settling down to watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics, it’s been very good, these last two weeks of non stop sport, I wonder what the BBC will show now, I can’t remember what TV on the BBC was like just a few weeks ago! Oh dear!
Right O, off to watch the Beeb,
For now, RK 2012 xLBM 6/8/2012:T. Debts to clear: :eek: CCs x 5, OD x 3, Loans x 2, Mob phones x 2, Home shopping x 2 = Total £ to follow. Debts cleared 2012: Amigo/FLM, Sister. Total cost £2783.35. Xmas 2012 savings wanted: £970/£130 saved so far. Debts cleared 2011: Home shopping x 3, DCA x 1. Total cost £ to follow. Official DFW #1435.
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Just wanted to drop by and say hi and wish you all the best for the journey ahead and to say i may not be the font of all knowledge but i can offer support:)MAKE £2022 in 2022 no 29 £2022/£434.10
Mortgage@ 1/1/2022 £17540 / £1601.39
pay all your debts by xmas 2022 £15000/ £1865.29
https://www.facebook.com/groups/680889456637403
you tube channel never too old0 -
Hello Never Too Old,
Thank you for dropping by, I'm so glad someone has stopped to say hello, I feared I was just talking to myself, although sometimes, I think that I'm the only one I get any sense out of, lol! Well especially in this house!
Today has been a bit stressful, there has been a meeting with the senior mangers and redundancies are afoot, a friend has gone today and I'm upset for her, I just hope that this is the last of it.
I'm a few days away from a couple of weeks holidays and boy I can't wait for them, I feel like I am on a hamster wheel!
I'm also a whole 24 hours from pay day and I can't wait for that either, there will be another payment off the debts and I will feel like I am doing something constructive rather than just saying I'll do something about it when I get paid. I've also joined a survey website that pays out in £10 vouchers, so knowing about how much my boys like stuff on Amazon I have elected to have my first voucher from them. I'm just waiting now for some more surveys to come in.
Right O, it's bed time and I need to get organised - birthdays tomorrow, big day. Night all.
For now, RK2012 x
I've also sent off a PPI claim to First National Bank today, I just hope that GE Capital honour my claim as it was taken out in August 2000. Heres hoping they do.LBM 6/8/2012:T. Debts to clear: :eek: CCs x 5, OD x 3, Loans x 2, Mob phones x 2, Home shopping x 2 = Total £ to follow. Debts cleared 2012: Amigo/FLM, Sister. Total cost £2783.35. Xmas 2012 savings wanted: £970/£130 saved so far. Debts cleared 2011: Home shopping x 3, DCA x 1. Total cost £ to follow. Official DFW #1435.
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Hi redkez2012,
Just dropping in to say hi and well done on starting your diary and taking control :T. I am off to subscribe and hope I can support you along the way
Mari0 -
Morning redkez2012
Payday is closer,i have to warn you debtbusting becomes addictive as is saving money on things.I talked to myself for a long time too on my blog but i found it helped to put it all down in writing.I must get ready for work now i cant be asked really but if i dont go i dont earn and those debts will never be paid:)MAKE £2022 in 2022 no 29 £2022/£434.10
Mortgage@ 1/1/2022 £17540 / £1601.39
pay all your debts by xmas 2022 £15000/ £1865.29
https://www.facebook.com/groups/680889456637403
you tube channel never too old0 -
Hi Mari, Hi NTO,
Thank you for stopping by, I'm looking forward to tomorrow and chipping away at another debt. Am having a sneaky two mins at work checking in on here jut before I go and make my next cuppa tea, lol. I'm hoping today is a NSD as I have brought lunch with me and I did spend yesterday as today is my DS1's birthday. I made tonights dinner last night (is it just me or does home made spaghetti bolognaise taste better 24 hours after it's been made?) Right O, back to work I go - proper update tonight I think.
For now, RK2012 xLBM 6/8/2012:T. Debts to clear: :eek: CCs x 5, OD x 3, Loans x 2, Mob phones x 2, Home shopping x 2 = Total £ to follow. Debts cleared 2012: Amigo/FLM, Sister. Total cost £2783.35. Xmas 2012 savings wanted: £970/£130 saved so far. Debts cleared 2011: Home shopping x 3, DCA x 1. Total cost £ to follow. Official DFW #1435.
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Hi RK2012,
Good luck on your new diary - it's quite daunting starting out but the more you post and the more you see the balance coming down the more inspiring it is.
And you're right it does taste better the day after! I find that with most meals
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well done on your lbm! You will soon find debt busting addictive! Can i ask with experian report when i did it, i didnt seen a comprehensive report just a point system telling me my credit ratng was excellent but not who i owe debts too? maybe i missed it, i didnt fancy paying £12.99 a month, i did the free one but then renewed it and got charged .Compers challenge 27/70
£1805/20180 -
redkez2012 - very best wishes with your quest. Do let us know if you need any help with your credit report along the way.
mummy2threeboys - you must have missed your credit report details. The credit score bit is just a guide for you based on your credit report data. You can also get this data via a £2 statutory report of course.
James Jones“Official Company Representative
I am an official company representative of Experian. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"
Posts by James Jones, Neil Stone, Stuart Storey & Joe Standen0
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