Taking control of our future

abbylou

So, I believe the time has come for me to start a diary.
Dh and I have been struggling with debt for a while now and I guess we had our first LBM in January 2010. We started a DMP with Debtline - we had no idea there were companies out there that did it for free. I wish we had.
Anyway, fast forward to now. We have paid a considerable amount of our debts but have also paid £60 a month in management fees every month for nearly 4 years. We decided this has to stop. This week we took the bull by the horns and cancelled our agreement with Debtline. We have been ringing round all our creditors and all bar one have agreed to let us pay them direct. We have increased the payments to them all using the extra from the management fee and the interest is now frozen on all but one. Only one company is left. I have to write to them as they are not contactable by phone! Dh and I now feel so much better about our debt. Although the amount we owe is still the same as it was last week, we feel so much more in control of our own finances and future.
We have vowed to try and save money wherever we can to throw more and more at the debt. Obviously we want to have a life and we already live pretty frugally but I think we can cut back even more on things like groceries.
So, this is me. I am feeling positive and hopeful.

Puzzcat

Good luck and well done at ditching the fee paying dmp service. I am just starting out with Stepchange, the journey starts here...:D

TRAVELBUG_2

Good Luck with your journey, I'm just starting myself so will be following your diary with interest!!
TB

abbylou

Thanks, it feels great to be totally in control now. With Debtline it felt as though our DFD was getting further and further away. Now we can make it nearer ourselves. We will be throwing every spare penny at this debt. In February, dh will finish paying a debt off to his dad from when he lent us money for a new boiler. This will free up an extra £300 a month! We have decided to put £200 extra into the debts and save £100 a month. At the moment we have no savings whatsoever and when those unexpected things come along we have no way of paying for them. This would give us at least a bit of a buffer for tackling such things. We are off to my parents later today for a couple of days so I may not be able to get on.
It doesn't mean I've deserted you all!

HOK3Y

Best of luck to you abbylou! Sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns. I think you really needed someone to set you on the right path but now you have grown and have enough confidence to take it on yourself. Well done! Hope you hammer that debt free date into oblivion!

abbylou

Thanks Hok3y. It certainly feels better to be facing it ourselves. Dh worked out a projected DFD today with the info we have got and it's about 4 years away. However, we plan to be debt-free before Christmas 2013. We've been away for a few days to my parents which was lovely and have come back to letters from most of our creditors confirming that they are accepting our proposals. I still have one company dlc concerning me though. They don't have a phone number you can ring and ask to be contacted via letter. I have done this and sent a letter on 28.10 but I haven't heard anything from them. I expect I will hear from them quick enough on 17.11 when their money from our old DMP doesn't go in!