Mr and Mrs K's New Journey to a Debt Free Life.

7roland8

Isn't keeping a few pens/watches and having your debts cleared a nicer thing to imagine than having stuff and being worried about money for years to come?

Also once debts are cleared and you are doing ok with money you will have room in your life to buy a few new ones.

heartbreak_star

AlexLK wrote: »

Are you a teacher?

This most likely sounds ridiculous but I can tell the difference.

I'm a scientific engineer, but I coach sports in my spare time...maybe I should replace "harsh hat" with "coach hat", no? :rotfl:

HBS x

AlexLK

Goldiegirl wrote: »

I know a lot of the advice on here for Alex is a 'tough love' kind of thing, but I think you are still doing well.

If you don't mind me saying, Alex, it's apparant you are from a monied background and are used to the finer things in life.

That obvious?

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Therefore, it's almost impossible to go almost overnight ( bearing in mind you only started your quest a few weeks ago) to a mentality where everything is cheap and cheerful. And maybe, you'll never get to the point where everything you get is the cheapest - maybe you'll reach a compromise and get middle of the range things, rather than the very finest quality. You'd still be saving money on that strategy, so it's something to think about.

Thank you. I have decided to hold on for things for a while longer before throwing them away in the case of clothes, for example as in all honesty I don't see me ever fully subscribing to everything being cheap and cheerful.

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Regarding the pens and things - maybe little and often is the answer, rather than wholesale selling - to me it'd be very tough to get rid of a cherished collection almost overnight. you might not achieve your aims as quickly, but you'd be working towards it by selling maybe one a week.

I'm not even managing that at the moment. We have started concentrating on this spare room, to clear it of junk as much as to make any money. Selling the things in there is almost soul destroying though as we are perhaps getting £30-100 per item so a lot has to go on (eBay) to actually make any money.

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Re your wifes lunches. When I worked full time, coffee out with the girls at lunchtime was vital for my sanity. However, I only bought coffee - I brought a packed lunch to eat at my desk before I went out. If she only had coffee, that would cut the expenditure a bit.

She has compromised by not buying any snacks from cafes.

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Just a few thoughts, after all, Rome wasn't built in a day, and if you are in it for the long haul, you need to find a lifestyle that is right for you to maintain a debt free life.

I'd struggle on a very basic life as I like treats, but I live moderately (not basically) most of the time, so I can splash out when I want to.

Thank you, yes we are trying not to slip back into old ways and so far I don't think I'm doing a too bad job. It is the long haul that remains to be seen, however.

7roland8 wrote: »

Isn't keeping a few pens/watches and having your debts cleared a nicer thing to imagine than having stuff and being worried about money for years to come?

Also once debts are cleared and you are doing ok with money you will have room in your life to buy a few new ones.

Roland, the rational part of my mind says exactly that. However, the other side can hardly face the possibility of getting rid of things.:mad::mad:

heartbreak_star wrote: »

I'm a scientific engineer, but I coach sports in my spare time...maybe I should replace "harsh hat" with "coach hat", no? :rotfl:

HBS x

Ah, I see and sorry, I remember you saying you were involved in science before now.

bess1234_2

Alex, when you have cleared your debts you can spend your plentiful income on whatever you like and enjoy and appreciate that you are well off. Providing you live within your budget. But for now you have to pay off the money you spent which you didn't have, and you can moan all you like, but you spent it.

Clear the spare room, whilst you are feeling low, then look at your preciousness again!:rotfl: the chesty bug has been going round like wildfire. You ll perk up eventually.

And green ink used to be mad scary anonymous letter writers! I hope it's changed, or you may have given a mistaken impression. I suspect part of your appeal is the poshness so reasonable posh reports would help the parents throw money your way for lessons. As a business expense

bess1234_2

Ouch and there you go getting me mad again. £30-£100 per item is a lot! People are spending years selling stuff for £2 to clear debts your size. You have it easy. Go get some excercise and realise feeling sorry for yourself when your are so lucky does offend .

I'm off to earn minimum wage now . £6 per hour of hard labour

AlexLK

bess1234 wrote: »

Alex, when you have cleared your debts you can spend your plentiful income on whatever you like and enjoy and appreciate that you are well off. Providing you live within your budget. But for now you have to pay off the money you spent which you didn't have, and you can moan all you like, but you spent it.

Clear the spare room, whilst you are feeling low, then look at your preciousness again!:rotfl: the chesty bug has been going round like wildfire. You ll perk up eventually.

And green ink used to be mad scary anonymous letter writers! I hope it's changed, or you may have given a mistaken impression. I suspect part of your appeal is the poshness so reasonable posh reports would help the parents throw money your way for lessons. As a business expense

Budget really is the key, even now we both find sticking to it incredibly difficult at times.

I don't know about me equaling "poshness" :rotfl:, I'm rather afraid to say I'm middle class at absolute best. My old violin teacher was a real old money eccentric with inherited land which he called "a modest plot", he used to write in either green or dark purple ink all the time and joke to my father there was nothing more vulgar than a Jaguar car, as he had an aging Daimler variant.

AlexLK

bess1234 wrote: »

Ouch and there you go getting me mad again. £30-£100 per item is a lot! People are spending years selling stuff for £2 to clear debts your size. You have it easy. Go get some excercise and realise feeling sorry for yourself when your are so lucky does offend .

I'm off to earn minimum wage now . £6 per hour of hard labour

I haven't meant to offend anybody, sorry.

Personally, I do not think I "have it easy" but I can see how one may think such things, especially if they are in a worse position than myself.

wegle

Every thing is relative, and how you feel will be relative to your own situation. However Alex, I'm not going to say you have it easy but I am going to say that you have many more options at your disposal than most.

You are a third of the way to paying your debt and it's taken you 8 weeks (or thereabouts). You have a spare room full of £30-£100 items. It's fairly feasible to me that you will be able to raise the further £20,000 you need within a few months, and certainly within a year at the worst. It's hard to feel sympathy for someone when they don't seem to want to tighten the belt for such a short amount of time to get themselves out of trouble. Remember there are people on here in DMPs that will last longer than 20 years, these people will not have the option to buy £20 worth of stationary because they notice the difference.

Try to remember the difference between need and want. You needed some paper and ink. You wanted some expensive paper and ink. For 1 year anyone can do this. Once your year is done you are going to be in the enviable position of having a relatively high income so will be in a position to fulfill some of those wants instead of focusing on the needs.

Come on Alex, stop the feeling sorry for yourself and focus on the positives of your situation.

Mara_uk7

Alex, Compared to an awful lot of folks on here, You do have it easy. You have the means at your fingertips of clearing your debts in full, just by selling a few of the luxury items you have lying around the house.

Some people on here are scrimping and scraping by week to week, buying reduced food in the supermarkets, Walking to work because they cant afford petrol, Juggling which bills to pay first, Selling things for 99p on Ebay or facebook to try and eke out their money further. Yet they are PROUD of how much they are achieving in repaying the debts.

You can be debt free in days if you set your mind to whats important in your life. But wheres the point in getting yourself debt free, if the minute you are clear you are going to go straight back into your old ways. And not just you ... Mrs K as well .

Im being tough on you ? Well maybe, but your negativity irks me today.

I want you to beat the debt trap, Want for you & your little family to be happy again .. I really prefer happy endings.

LannieDuck

You need to get some perspective.

In no way do you have a 'very low income'. The average wage of full-time workers in the UK in 2012 was £26500. I believe your wife earns more than that. That means that you're better off than at least half the population before taking your business / music earnings into account.

£30-£100 per item is excellent for ebay. I hope to get £3-£5 when I ebay, and it's still worth doing.

Lastly, you have lots and lots of things you can sell if you have to. You might not want to... but you owe money to people. You're in debt, Alex. Once you clear that debt, you can horde as much as you want (within budget :P).

The way you're going, you could clear the debt before Christmas. Then you just need to balance your incomes/outgoings. You'll need to budget a bit more carefully than you have been, but you're certainly not badly off. Maybe take a read of some of the other DFW diaries?