Feeling so upset and deflated :(

LizD_2

Hi Mon1o.

I'm in a similar situation to you, though with smaller debts. Which creditors are being difficult? If it's HBOS, I can sympathise - they are extremely unhelpful and inflexible. Definitely worth asking your creditors to reduce interest (think there are template letters here), and you can go to the Ombudsman if they're not forthcoming.

Chin up x

[Deleted User]

mon1o wrote: »

Simple fact is if the lenders choose to carry on charging interest etc, I will never be debt free (or at least that's what it feels like now).

You are overlooking the snowball effect.

As the interest frozen debts are cleared, the money going to the non-interest frozen debts will increase, allowing them to be cleared quicker.

mon1o

Good Morning

Many thanks for your help and advice - this board is full of great people who always have some great words of encouragement.

LizD - its mainly Barclays/Mercers (one and the same I believe) and Vanquis who call me constantly until around 9pm every night from various different numbers. I used to answer the phone and refer them to stepchange and ask to be contacted in writing only. Neither of them have taken a spec of notice so now I just have my phone on silent and ignore them.

BedsitBob - I didnt consider the snowball effect (dont know much about it to be honest). At the moment my DF date is April 2019 which is just such a long way off.

Aesop

Hi mon1o

just want to say this debt will go away. You will find ways to pay it all off, it's just at the moment the horizon looks really far away.

There's great advice on these boards.

Do a spending diary, see what you spend your money on daily. I know I should bring my own packed lunch to work instead buying from the shop. It is the little odd things you don't realise that add up.

Get two purses. And on payday draw out the money you need for bills, food etc for the month and leave that all in one purse. Don't draw out any more money from your account.

Then when you go shopping only transfer the money you need for that day's/week's shopping into the other purse and only use that for shopping.

Go whoopsie buying - buying reduced items at reduced times in supermarkets. You can if you are lucky get joints of meat for ridiculous prices. Take home and freeze the same day. I have known people to be lucky enough to buy a whole chicken for 10p!!

If you have a freezer, buy stuff at whoopsie time that you can freeze. Then use what is in the freezer for meal planning.

Old style board has loads of ideas for meal planning, including the rubber chicken. If you can work out what you and your family are going to eat for the week, especially out of the freezer, you maybe able to cut down on your weekly shopping. The extra money saved can be used to be thrown at debt.

Try reading the OldStyle board for ideas on how to clean the house without having to buy lots of chemical laden overpriced stuff from the supermarkets. I like Stardrops. It is fab! and you can buy it really cheap.

Shop at some of the cheaper supermarkets like Lidl and Aldi. Shop at Band M if you have one near you for things like shower gels/toothpaste.

Try value items for washing with like bubble bath, shower gel. The family probably won't notice the difference but it helps save the pennies, which can be thrown at the debt.

Good luck with your journey. I wish you all the best.

mon1o

Thankyou Aesop ive been on here all morning, joined a few challenges and while i still feel down, i feel like there is so much help available to get things moving quicker in the right direction.

ive taken the first step and called stepchange for advice on how to get the creditors to stop further interest/charges. They have arranged a mid year review to see if there is any way i can increase my payments to them and apparantley this will increase the chances of an agreement being reached.

of course no one can guarantee that the lenders will agree but the lady i spoke to was very nice and said even if my payment amounts dont change, the fact im seeking to sort out the problem will help my cause. if all else fails then theres the FOS but I dont know if this will help at all (thankyou puzzcat for making me aware i could do this).

Bread is in the machine and smells lovely, the yoghurt is about to go on in the easiyo and this afternoon whilst the kids are keeping themselves busy (rubbish weather here!) i am going to take inventory of the freezer/fridge/cupboards and meal plan.

I already have envelopes in the house basically when I get paid, I draw out £200 per week (family of 5) and this is separated into £80 food shopping, £60 fuel and £60 any other spending for the week. If there is anything left over usually just a few coins at the end of the week this goes into a loose change jar. so far i have £24 in bags ready to pay into the bank and another £7 not bagged up. My plan is to save any amount I can and then every few months pay off a lump sum (clearly, with just over £30 since april this is going to take more effort!)

I dont think im doing anything wrong in terms of trying to reduce the amount I spend perhaps im just not being frugal enough?

Aesop

mon1o wrote: »

Bread is in the machine and smells lovely, the yoghurt is about to go on in the easiyo and this afternoon whilst the kids are keeping themselves busy (rubbish weather here!) i am going to take inventory of the freezer/fridge/cupboards and meal plan.

I already have envelopes in the house basically when I get paid, I draw out £200 per week (family of 5) and this is separated into £80 food shopping, £60 fuel and £60 any other spending for the week. If there is anything left over usually just a few coins at the end of the week this goes into a loose change jar. so far i have £24 in bags ready to pay into the bank and another £7 not bagged up. My plan is to save any amount I can and then every few months pay off a lump sum (clearly, with just over £30 since april this is going to take more effort!)

I dont think im doing anything wrong in terms of trying to reduce the amount I spend perhaps im just not being frugal enough?

:T:T well done this is a great start!

try and build a store cupboard, and you will be able to shop from home and reduce your food bill too.

also as I mentioned earlier, try to whoopsie shop, this will help bring down your food spendage as well.

You have made a great start. It will get easier, you have the right mind set to get there.

You will slowly find ways to make money/save money as you go on.

whitewing

One of the biggest things: not giving up!

mon1o

whitewing wrote: »

One of the biggest things: not giving up!

I am definitley not going to give up. I have felt like it over the past 18 months or so at times but I would much rather get through this the proper way. Today has been a good day which is a welcome surprise.

Wont_be_beaten

The other thing to consider is if you hadn't taken charge and started your dmp how much would you owe now.

Give yourself a pat on the back you have done the difficult bit, now you just need keep going!

rizla_king

Get on the DMP thread. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4437925

They have some letters somewhere on there for complaining to lenders and the FOS to get interest stopped.