Debt free by 40 -- 19 Months and counting

maddiemay

Hi Steph,
Great news on the swimming money, perhaps after a break, and when finances allow the children will want to go back with more enthusiasm, but for the moment, they have the ability to swim which is what matters.

Fantastic news on seeing that debt off, but as one of the other "voices from shoulder" I am sure that you must tuck this into savings for the time being, it can be paid off debt later if not needed. The emergency fund and getting the mortgage onto DD are much more important for the well being and security of your family and your peace of mind. You are doing great, don't talk yourself down just because you may have to revise your DF date a little:A

Spring is creeping a little nearer here too, but is is cold and frosty a lot of mornings, I was telling OH the other day that we are due a visit to Dorset, 2 years since we came back. I will have to wait up to 6 weeks for Gastro investigations and then it will be time for our Scotland tour, the time goes so quickly even through the Winter days:(
MM
xx

StressedSteph

Aaaaw you guys are so amazing. I loved reading your posts, and its so kind that you join me in the little bit of excitement from killing another debt.


I am finding it very frustrating to be putting any extra money into Savings but you are all so right that I will be really jeopardising our success if I do not get an emergency fund in place for Hubbys recovery time after the op and also getting the mortgage back on direct debit will then eventually help me negotiate a better deal.


I had an annual statement come through from the mortgage company last week and our rate is 4.74%. I am not a whizz at mortgaqe rates etc but I am pretty sure that is a high interest rate at the moment. I have tried calling them last year to see if I could negotiate a better deal but with my mortgage not being on Direct Debit they will not even consider it :mad:


I have to see getting these things sorted as just another Baby Step to get through.


I still have hubbys Tesco Credit card that is giving me a headache.


I also had a statement come through from them and read this


This years summary


Total you have spent £00.00
Total Interest Charged £824.55
Total fees and other charges £144.00 (Late payments)
How much you have paid back £1,531.55


:eek: Over half of what I paid back has gone back on in interest and charges :mad:


I have written to them countless times but they don't seem to take any notice of it and hubby won't speak to them on the phone :mad:. Really want to get this sorted somehow but don't know what I can do.


We still owe them Over 4k so not chance of any immediate solution.


Would be so much help if I could get the interest frozen on this account. Maybe I should try to have another word with hubby. I wondered if he went through the security procedure would they then let him pass the phone to me to do the Income and Expenditure process etc.


Oh well, got my little cleaning job this morning. Hate doing it with a passion, but that extra £20 is often useful and the old lady is so sweet.


Sorry for my morning moan. Feeling like I am making such good progress but there are still a few issues that I need to try to resolve.


Hope you all have a lovely Wednesday xxx

lhead123

StressedSteph wrote: »

Hi Lhead

Hubby has just put a quote in for what looks like about 3-4 weeks work. Fingers crossed he gets it

Haha so funny you looked me up on Google. On the updated streetview you can see hubbys van with a ladder on the top, but i think the overhead view is still of the previous owners cars etc.
Its a chalet bungalow with a large yard and then a big green barn.
Looks like a bomb site :rotfl:. Definitely a work in progress

No rush with the books. What was the verdict on the car??

xxx

Yep it was streetview I was looking on

Oh's brother came a couple of weeks ago Sunday to Wednesday and spent the whole time fixing the car! So it's now driveable It needed £400 worth of parts (2x Valves, Head gasket, Alternator, Timing belt, Pulley, Auxiliary belt, money for BIL towards petrol) It still has a problem with the Handbrake and there's a pipe in the engine with a big hole in it which makes it use more fuel but I can drive it again now! Hurrah! We'll fix the other bits as soon as OH has a day off work and we find out what the pipe is called!!

Hope your hubby gets the work xx

Eager_Elephant

StressedSteph wrote: »

I do feel quite bright in myself though and often when I feel down about something I have to do, I am managing to give myself a talking to, and tell myself that its not that bad and many people have a lot worse days than me. That is a turn around for me and I feel the Agnus Castus is working.

I am at this comment - I am so glad you are feeling the benefit.


I nearly had a stress out last night and then stopped myself when I realised I had not taken mine that morning so I quickly took it and must not forget again!!


for paying off Littlewoods - you are doing brilliantly.
I do agree that the snowball needs to go to savings and the Co-op card can wait a bit longer.

Eager_Elephant

StressedSteph wrote: »

I still have hubbys Tesco Credit card that is giving me a headache.

I also had a statement come through from them and read this

This years summary

Total you have spent £00.00
Total Interest Charged £824.55
Total fees and other charges £144.00 (Late payments)
How much you have paid back £1,531.55

:eek: Over half of what I paid back has gone back on in interest and charges :mad:

I have written to them countless times but they don't seem to take any notice of it and hubby won't speak to them on the phone :mad:. Really want to get this sorted somehow but don't know what I can do.

We still owe them Over 4k so not chance of any immediate solution.

Would be so much help if I could get the interest frozen on this account. Maybe I should try to have another word with hubby. I wondered if he went through the security procedure would they then let him pass the phone to me to do the Income and Expenditure process etc.

What are you actually writing in the letters to them? If you are just asking them to freeze interest then they are not likely to do that while you can maintain your minimum payments.


You need to send them a letter to say that unfortunately due to financial difficulties with being self-employed you can no longer make the required minimum payments.


You need to enclose a financial statement and offer them £10pm (or less) - make sure the FS shows that you don't have more than the offer left after all expenses.


Then just send them the payment you have offered each month.


Wait 4 weeks for a reply - if they accept it's all good and the difference in the payment can go to savings or if it is not accepted then write again explaining the same thing.


My DH was paying Tesco's quite a bit per month and I typed a letter which he signed and they accepted £1pm within a few weeks - he has been paying this for over 2 years now and they still haven't passed it to a debt agency.


If you need any help with a letter then give me a shout or look up Martin's article on dealing with debt and if you need help with what expenses are acceptable let me know.

clearmydebts

I am thrilled for you Steph. It must be such a weight from your mind to have the Littlewoods paid off. And under 10k too, you are flying through the debt!

We stared YNAB today thanks to you inspiring us. DH loves it and so do I. I am really looking forward to being in control of a budget and my money.

StressedSteph

lhead123 wrote: »

Yep it was streetview I was looking on

Oh's brother came a couple of weeks ago Sunday to Wednesday and spent the whole time fixing the car! So it's now driveable It needed £400 worth of parts (2x Valves, Head gasket, Alternator, Timing belt, Pulley, Auxiliary belt, money for BIL towards petrol) It still has a problem with the Handbrake and there's a pipe in the engine with a big hole in it which makes it use more fuel but I can drive it again now! Hurrah! We'll fix the other bits as soon as OH has a day off work and we find out what the pipe is called!!

Hope your hubby gets the work xx

Hi Lhead,


Sooo pleased your BIL managed to get the car going. Most of the time it is much better to deal with the car you have rather than buying another banger with its own new set of problems.


Maybe you can work on get one or two of those items fixed per month. Fantastic :T


xxx

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

I am at this comment - I am so glad you are feeling the benefit.

I nearly had a stress out last night and then stopped myself when I realised I had not taken mine that morning so I quickly took it and must not forget again!!
for paying off Littlewoods - you are doing brilliantly.
I do agree that the snowball needs to go to savings and the Co-op card can wait a bit longer.

You know EE, It is really weird. I find it really hard to understand how a tablet of dried berries can be making such a difference to me.
It may well be psycho-somatic, but who the hell cares. I feel its working, I haven't felt this calm and settled for years.

The Anti-depressants worked, but I felt very odd indeed and the side effect were too unsettling to be of any benefit.

It is really hard to explain for but the first time in a VERY long time, I now feel like I enjoy all the little things that I have to do during the day, rather than enduring them trying to get to some place where I will be happy and I could never get there. Not sure if that makes sense, I always wondered what I was waiting for, and that I needed to be content with my life but couldn't see a way through.


I almost can't wait for Aunt Flo to arrive so I can see what a difference I feel.


Thank you sooooo Much for suggesting it. You guys don't just solve financial problems :T xxx

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

What are you actually writing in the letters to them? If you are just asking them to freeze interest then they are not likely to do that while you can maintain your minimum payments.


You need to send them a letter to say that unfortunately due to financial difficulties with being self-employed you can no longer make the required minimum payments.


You need to enclose a financial statement and offer them £10pm (or less) - make sure the FS shows that you don't have more than the offer left after all expenses.


Then just send them the payment you have offered each month.


Wait 4 weeks for a reply - if they accept it's all good and the difference in the payment can go to savings or if it is not accepted then write again explaining the same thing.


My DH was paying Tesco's quite a bit per month and I typed a letter which he signed and they accepted £1pm within a few weeks - he has been paying this for over 2 years now and they still haven't passed it to a debt agency.


If you need any help with a letter then give me a shout or look up Martin's article on dealing with debt and if you need help with what expenses are acceptable let me know.

Hi


I think when I last wrote which was last Autumn, I just explained that we were struggling to make the payments and if they could freeze the interest.

I haven't been paying as much as they would want for a long time so hopefully they will now believe that we REALLY can't manage.

I will write again and fill in a Financial form.

Last time they starting ringing us after I sent the letter and if I am totally honest I was too scared to answer the phone.

I was embarrassed that, as the person in control of our finances, I let it get into such a mess. I think I wanted to avoid hubby speaking to them on the phone.

I feel a lot stronger with that now, especially as I have halved the debt, and telling hubby we owe 9k is a lot better than having to say we owe over 20k .

I will draft up another one this afternoon, and this time I will answer the bloomin phone. I really have to get this sorted as the Tesco card is last on my snowball, and if I could get that horrible interest frozen then that will make such a difference to our debt free date.


Thank you EE AGAIN!!!, I will put pen to paper today xxxx

StressedSteph

clearmydebts wrote: »

I am thrilled for you Steph. It must be such a weight from your mind to have the Littlewoods paid off. And under 10k too, you are flying through the debt!

We stared YNAB today thanks to you inspiring us. DH loves it and so do I. I am really looking forward to being in control of a budget and my money.

Hi Clearmydebts

Thanks for the congrats of the Littlewoods catalogue. I was so addicted to that before my lightbulb moment. I will NEVER EVER go back to it, as its far too easy and before you know it, you have racked up another big bill you can't pay. Horrible.

So pleased you are giving YNAB a try. I have been using it for exactly 1 year now and its fab.

I am sure that it has greatly contributed to my success in halving the debt last year.

How are you setting yours up?
Are you weekly or monthly paid?

We are weekly which does make it a little more fiddly to get set up.

I have ours set up with master categories , Week 1, Week 2 etc.
Then I list all the bills below that come out within that week. I also include a Groceries and fuel category in each week.

So as soon as our money comes in on a Friday, I allocate money to all of the next weeks bills and any other misc stuff I know is happening. Then anything over and above that can go to debt busting or savings etc.

We also have a weekly FUN money pot. We allow ourselves £20 per week for hobbies or cinema etc. That saves us from feeling too resentful for having to be so frugal.

Will be interesting to hear how you are setting yours up.

I dream of hubby being monthly paid. It would be sooo lovely to be able to allocate it to all the months expenses and know exactly what is left over.

If you struggle make sure you listen to their webinars and tutorials, they REALLY helped me make sense of it.

Once it clicks you will be well away.

xxxxx

mfmaybe

I'm not an expert on dealing with creditors, but can't you tell them you only want to communicate in writing? Seems to be recommended by a lot of people on here, from the diaries I have read. That way you can do all the correspondence, just get DH to sign the things!

StressedSteph

mfmaybe wrote: »

I'm not an expert on dealing with creditors, but can't you tell them you only want to communicate in writing? Seems to be recommended by a lot of people on here, from the diaries I have read. That way you can do all the correspondence, just get DH to sign the things!

Hi mfmaybe


I did add that to the bottom of my letter but it never seemed to work.


I will try to be more forceful in my next letter


xxxx