My Diary

Leebertine

I have been browsing this website as a guest for some time, but now it is time for me to come face to face with my responsibilities.

I am going to become debt free within two years.

That is my goal, 2 years.


Lets see what we have here.

Credit Cards / £1400
Catalogs / £4000
Car Finance / £2500
Pay Day Loans / £1000

It is my goal to update this thread every time I pay something. Even if it is just a penny. I want to do this for my own piece of mind.

A bit of background information on me and my life.

I'm married to a wonderful woman, but unfortunately neither of us have a financial bone in our body. Our finances free fell out of control, we got in arrears (which I have now arrangements in place to pay back) with almost all of our creditors. Some even got referred to outside debt companies.

I woke up one morning a couple of weeks ago and hit rock bottom. I couldn't deal with the stress, I realized i'm going to have to take control and do something. I can't just ignore it.

I called every company we owe money to and explained we were not in a good financial position, that we wanted to repay but couldn't afford our minimum payments. To my surprise, they were understanding!!! and allowed us to reduce significantly our payments to pay back the arrears. They froze the fees and interest on the accounts until the arrears are cleared also.

To cut a long story short, I slept well that night.

I also feel more in control than I ever have in my entire life.

I'm only young, i'm still learning the way of the world.



As an additional point, I would like to say a big thank you to my mum and dad as without their help (and sometimes financial support) we wouldn't be able to pull ourselves out of this in the first place. I will be forever grateful.

Leebertine

Well im struggling today.

One of my payday loan creditors decided to take a card payment for the full balance of my loan, even though we had agreed a repayment plan and refuse to return it. That left me with around £80 for a weekly food shop and petrol. Ive had to phone other creditors and explain the situation.

Atleast they are of my back now. I will never deal with a payday company again. Lesson well an truely learnt.

My depression is skinking back in. Im in a bad place, my wife is upset at me for something I dont really want to discuss. She isnt happy, im not happy. Im not even sure why im fighting this anymore. Oh well. Lifes certainly a !!!!!.

Over and out.

LAM2011

Hi Leebertine and welcome to the forums. You have come to the right place. Second, its never going to be easy when you start BUT it will get easier. You have to be strong and remain focussed. The diary is a good place to come and vent and put your thoughts down, and receive some virtual comfort and advice.

When I first started my OH knew about my debt (previous relationships baggage debt) but not how much and I thought I would never get on top of it. I am now in my third year and can finally see a small glimmer of light at the end of the very long tunnel. It still has its difficult moments and I often just want to go out and shop but I have learnt to overcome the moment and return back to my spreadsheet and focus again.

Just take one step at a time - you have made the first step - the LBM and now you can move forwards.

beanielou

Keep going, you can do this.

Snagggles

Well done for taking the first step. It does sound like an absolute b*gger of a day, but don't give up. As mentioned, it's always a bumpy road at first, but keep posting. It's much easier with support.

Leebertine

Thanks for the replies guys.

I feel a tad better this morning, at work so I have some distraction around me. Got to make some calls to creditors tomorrow still, I can't face it today.

I still have a knot of anxiety in my stomach.

I'm getting there, very slowly. Agree'd to repay two creditors the full balance of my account and was very surprised at the low repayments.

My first was for the wifes catalog, £569.05 or 29.95 over 19 4 weekly payments.

The second was one of my catalogs, £595 or £31.31 over 19 4 weekly payments.

Then this is fully paid of for both accounts. Now just another two catalogs, two credit cards and a bank overdraft to finally sort out. The payday loan taking all my money meant I missed payments on somethings, so I need to ring them and explain what happened there.

Sigh. Life can be so complicated. I hope this fighting is worth it.

Snagggles

It will be worth it, I am sure. You are doing really well, and in the long term, getting rid of the payday loan will be a positive thing, hopefully, even if it means a lot of stress and hassle in the meantime. What did you miss payments on? Sometimes (depending on who it is), you can increase your monthly payments a bit to pay it back rather than find the money to catch up with a full payment at once. Better for things where you won't be charged interest for doing so though.

t2rry

Hi Leebertine

I am also a newbie to the thread but not so newbie to cutting down debts. In fact you sound very much like me three years ago.
It does get easier, I felt like there was a wall to break through before it started getting easier but if you stick with it the wall really does come down.

I have had to substantially re-think my goals at least 2 or 3 times, which can be disheartening like your re-think with the payday loan recoupment, those sorts of things mess plans up and can lead you to wonder why you bother. Don't let them!

Subscribed so looking forward to seeing your progress!

Leebertine

I just feel like i'm going backwards all the time. Getting further and further behind with things. Sigh. Its a stressful time.

Leebertine

Well, I made a mistake at work which resulted in me getting a little telling off - which made my bad mood turn even worse. I need to snap out of this before I get home as the wife is already sick of my temper and snappiness (as I would be too) and I doubt she will put up with it for much longer.

I'm getting there again. Contacted a creditor today, will contact another tomorrow and so forth until they are all contacted. Long road but i'm starting now. My main goal right now is to clear my arrears and then clear the accounts fully. I had to have a significant rethink of how my life has panned out and where it is going. I have tried to live outside of my means for too long now and am currently doing my best to catch back up - although it may not look like it to outsiders.

Tete_en_l'Air

Try not to let work stuff bother you too much, it's not surprising something slipped with the week you've had getting to grips with your debt.

Sometimes it can seem slow going when you first decide to start tackling your finances, and sometimes you seem to be taking one step forward and two steps back, but you'll soon gather momentum and you'll be firing on all cylinders. Until then, just try to keep your chin up and a smile on your face, remind yourself that you're making positive steps