Skint Dad's Debt Diary

SkintDadUK

BEAT_THE_DEBT wrote: »

Because you have defaulted already I would be inclined to let step for change help as opposed to self management the least they can offer is £5 per creditor but you don't have the hassle of ringing every 6 months to reset arrangement. Just some food for thought for you not pushing

If I did go to step change for help would that mean me having to the total amount of debt on my SOA? As I mentioned before, I was hoping to secure a discount by pay a lump sum on certain amounts once we build up a bit of a reserve.

I do see what you are saying though

SkintDadUK

MallyGirl wrote: »

TV license 29.1 ? Mine is 12.12 pcm

I would ditch Sky asap

Good luck in your journey

Hi MallyGirl,

It's £29.10 until Feb, it will then go back down to around £13. I think its because we moved into where we are living in June but didn't start paying it until August. We've not really on top of things have we

BEAT_THE_DEBT

You would have to tell them about all. But how likely is it that you are going to save these lump sums to pay off as a full and final and I am not sure but I think this may still be option on sfc(check) you still have to speak to creditors to get balances etc as step for change don't. My hubs has self dmp I am step for change. It's easier with step for change as like I said I am not having to do review every 6 months and ring them all they just do an annual budget review. There have been times where I have not had enough as I had a disaster of a car and I just rung them up and I paid less that month. Weigh up what will work for you better. Both will work and creditiors rather something thank nothing and I have found them very helpful.

SkintDadUK

MallyGirl

Forgot to also say. I looked into cancelling Sky today and it looks as if we've got another 8 months before our 12 months is up. Not sure what to do there? I certainly want to cut it out of our outgoings.

BEAT_THE_DEBT

With no entertainment in the budget you may be glad of sky esp over Christmas with children. We tried without and we gave in lol

SkintDadUK

BEAT_THE_DEBT wrote: »

With no entertainment in the budget you may be glad of sky esp over Christmas with children. We tried without and we gave in lol

I was thinking about that but I came to the conclusion that they would miss it at first but would soon get used to going without.

Also, they have lots of DVDs and I was thinking of joining the local library where you can also get out films.

Another option would be to ask one of my family members to give me their sky login details so we could watch stuff through sky go. (not sure if that would be a bit cheeky though?)

BEAT_THE_DEBT

Great thoughts and with the best will in the world I am not knocking it but debt journeys are long so don't suffer. I know going without sky is not suffering. I have been doing this for 4 years and I have come to know what I will and won't do without for the happiness of my family (not just sky ) . You will find what works with you. The temptation though is to cut everything in the beginning I did
Hope I don't sound preachy!

SkintDadUK

BEAT_THE_DEBT wrote: »

Great thoughts and with the best will in the world I am not knocking it but debt journeys are long so don't suffer. I know going without sky is not suffering. I have been doing this for 4 years and I have come to know what I will and won't do without for the happiness of my family (not just sky ) . You will find what works with you. The temptation though is to cut everything in the beginning I did
Hope I don't sound preachy!

You don't sound preachy at all and I really appreciate your advice. There definitely is a temptation to cut everything and I know if I do that it may backfire. The last thing I want is to fall off the wagon so to speak.

I suppose once I set up arrangements with the debts I can then see what works best in regards to cutting back.

Memory_Girl

HI Skint Dad - fancy meeting you here??

Its that mad Scots woman from MFin3 BTW!!

If you are going to just offer your creditors a minimum payment .... what I would do ............ is line up all the debts, smallest to largest.

Pay the minimum on them all - and after settling on a liveable budget between the two of you apply every penny you can to the smallest, then the next, then the next.

I get a feeling you are completely overwhelmed with the sheer number of people chasing you - and getting rid of some of the smaller ones will help you get some clarity (as well as some early wins)

Just my tuppence - but what do I know - Eh? LOL

Together you can do this - I know you can.

MG

SkintDadUK

Memory_Girl wrote: »

HI Skint Dad - fancy meeting you here??

Its that mad Scots woman from MFin3 BTW!!

If you are going to just offer your creditors a minimum payment .... what I would do ............ is line up all the debts, smallest to largest.

Pay the minimum on them all - and after settling on a liveable budget between the two of you apply every penny you can to the smallest, then the next, then the next.

I get a feeling you are completely overwhelmed with the sheer number of people chasing you - and getting rid of some of the smaller ones will help you get some clarity (as well as some early wins)

Just my tuppence - but what do I know - Eh? LOL

Together you can do this - I know you can.

MG

Hello MG, I had a feeling our paths would cross MSE

Thank you very much for your tuppence - you certainly do know a lot and are very knowledgeable when it come to matters of the dreaded D word!

You are spot on with your advice. Lining them up smallest to largest then hitting them one at a b****y time!

Looking at my SOA there are roughly 9/10 smaller ones which with a lot of hard work could be crossed off in a couple of months. The others need a bit more work.

I really find your site helpful and was actually on there this morning getting some recipe ideas. I absolutely love "curry in a hurry"

The crazy thing is all it took was no food in the cupboard, a few pounds in our pocket and a week until pay day to make us have one almighty LBM!

It was so hard getting through that last week but for us to come out the other side and have the fight and fire to deal with this situation well you can imagine how we feel.

Additionally this is not just about dealing with our debts. I want more than that, I want to create a future for ourselves and more so for our children. A future where debt isn't an issue. Maybe even go as far as an abundant life? I suppose anything is possible with the right determination.

Thank you again for your advice.

I look forward to reading your blog more in depth when time allows