Living in absolute DENIAL

foxgloves

Lucy, we both lived like that from the age of about 19 until LBM struck & we started debt-busting around age 40!!! We both earned a good salary, were always able to get credit & as we could always service the debt repayments, it was never a problem......until it dawned on us we never had enough money to do some of the bigger things we wanted to. My LBM struck first & I added up every debt repayment each month & was horrified at the total. It was sufficient to build up a decent emergency fund (which we have subsequently done). Partner's LBM came a couple of months later when he saw that my debts were starting to come down & he wanted in on the action! Now if we want something we budget & save for it. You need to change your mindset so that you automatically think of overdraft/loan/credit cards as using someone else's money, not your own. it really can be done. Since LBM & paying off debts, we have had a redundancy (me) & had this happened before I discovered budgeting & had all those debt repayments each month, I know we'd be in a proper mess now. You CAN do it. I feel sick at the amount of money I used to squander in 2 decades of overspending. If we can change, I honestly believe that anyone can. All the best with it x

Curr946

ohhh, now you have me thinking. Ive a loan that that was taken to clear mine and my mrs debt in order to get a mortgage, we've now built up some small debts here and there.... think i might have a rethink this year about our position.

TakingControl

Michelin wrote: »

Did you do this by going onto a DMP?

I started off with a DMP with a fee paying company (didn't know better at the time) and then self managed. I managed one F&F with a creditor and was then able to revert back to minimum payments on most. My original DFD was 2015 but by rigerous budgeting (to the extend of being OCD about it :rotfl: ) and really just buy things that I needed not wanted and selling anything that I didn't need, I managed to be debt free 2 years early.

If you truly had your LBM, you will become just as obsessive as I am about budgeting and spending and you will be suprised how much you can pay off :T

Michelin

TakingControl wrote: »

I started off with a DMP with a fee paying company (didn't know better at the time) and then self managed. I managed one F&F with a creditor and was then able to revert back to minimum payments on most. My original DFD was 2015 but by rigerous budgeting (to the extend of being OCD about it :rotfl: ) and really just buy things that I needed not wanted and selling anything that I didn't need, I managed to be debt free 2 years early.

If you truly had your LBM, you will become just as obsessive as I am about budgeting and spending and you will be suprised how much you can pay off :T

Thanks for the reply. I am very impressed by posts like yours where you have paid off large amounts of debts in a relatively short period of time - appreciate that this is no easy task and you have to make sacrifices to do this which it seems you really have done - well done! Oh, I have had my LBM - just working out the best way forward at the moment to finaly get debt free.

TakingControl

Michelin wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I am very impressed by posts like yours where you have paid off large amounts of debts in a relatively short period of time - appreciate that this is no easy task and you have to make sacrifices to do this which it seems you really have done - well done! Oh, I have had my LBM - just working out the best way forward at the moment to finaly get debt free.

Thank you for your kind words :beer: My mantra became 'Living frugal for shorter rather than living more comfortably but in debt for longer'

Lucy1010

Michelin wrote: »

I am very impressed by posts like yours where you have paid off large amounts of debts in a relatively short period of time

Ditto :-) I am feeling much more positive reading these responses, thank you all

Michelin

Lucy1010 wrote: »

Ditto :-) I am feeling much more positive reading these responses, thank you all

Have you started a DMP Lucy1010?

Lucy1010

Michelin wrote: »

Have you started a DMP Lucy1010?

Hi Michelin

No, I haven't started a DMP, (I'm too frightened by it as it will affect my credit rating right?). I don't even know they work?

I'm trying to clear balances on 3 credit cards as fast as I can by cutting out everything I've been used to buying each month. Once I'm in a manageble situation I'd like for my partner and I to buy a house together (we both have and live in our own houses).

If I was to enter into a DMP this would affect my chances of getting another mortgage right? Also my partner thinks I have £6,000 of debt and I'm not about to tell him the ugly truth anytime soon... I am hoping by the time we start living together my debts will have dramatically reduced and telling him I still have £5/6K is much better than admitting to £11k now! Plus we are not married or co habiting so it's not like he HAS to know these details, it's my problem and I can fix it... I just need to stop spending.

I have £600 per month available to throw at my debts (sickens me, that's £600 I could be SAVING) I feel like such an idiot...

Lucy x

suze1_2

Hi Lucy1010, I have been reading your posts with great interest - it sounds like we are soul sisters!!! I am in almost exactly the same situation!! I have been burying me head for about 2 years, but am SO fed up with hiding letters and feeling sick over my spending that I am absolutely determined to sort it out!!!! Like you say, I have some nice clothes, nice memories and that's about it???!!!! Also, recently I have been getting fed up as I'm running out of space for the nice clothes, so everywhere is getting cluttered!! TIME TO CHANGE! I have used the snowball thingy too and whilst I refuse to be paying my debts off until 2016 (!!!!) it was good to have everything down in black and white once and for all. This will be a tough journey for all of us, but I would really value your updates/support/shoulder to cry on.

Good Luck

Lucy1010

Bless you suze1

Thanks for your reply, I absolutely know how you feel, it's really worrying when you realise you owe double than what you think and the feeling of guilt for having nothing major to show for it!

Do you owe a big sum? How are you planning to tackle your situation? I'm using the snowball but obviously if there is anything left over from my monthly living budget it will be going straight to the cards. I must beat the Sept 2014 debt free date :-)