LBM, Long journey ahead assurance needed.

looking_forward_not_back

Hi all

Fairly new to all of this so appologies in advance.

Been tackling debt for a while now £26,000 and for some stupid reason We haven't taken it as seriously as we should have done.(signed up to challenges and never kept up with them :mad:
We manage to make all payments and keep up to date with Rent Council Tax etc. (that's something I suppose)
However our CCs are eating up all of our spare cash and it has to be dealt with. 0% deals have all been used.
I have done a snowball calculator and it certainly looks like it can be solved.
To be honest if someone was to ask me where it all went I wouldn't have an answer.
My husband and I both work and contribute jointly to all bills etc.
I just need some assurance that we will succeed once and for all.
I've decided to stop smoking and pay the money daily into my savings account and pay it off a CC at the end of the month or week.
Please someone tell me we are not alone and can do this.

Appologies for the long winded, feeling sorry for myself post but this time I mean business

financialdisease

Hia swns you some sympathy, you are definitely not alone

I discovered on Friday we are in a similar situation (the debt is more) ans I am confident that it can be fixed with commitment and organisation.

looking_forward_not_back

Hi and thank you
Am totally embarrassed but can see that I am not alone on my journey.
Good luck me and everyone else on the same path.

sourcrates

Certainly not alone chap, there are probably thousands of folk in similar situations, I suppose it was the allure of easy credit in the past, but we seem to be reliant nowadays on credit cards etc. to live on, in a lot of cases, bills going up, wages staying stagnant, familiar story, since the bubble burst many more people are finding it harder to cope, im lucky in many ways now as six years ago I had twice the debt you have now, I am now debt free, so it can be done, its not an easy journey but it can be done.:beer:

looking_forward_not_back

sourcrates Thank you for you reply

The fact that you are now debt free after having double my debt shows that it is definitely possible. Reading success stories like yours makes me even more determined.

I WILL get there and hopefully will be on here saying I am debt free too.
Thank you again

daydream_believer_2

You are definately not alone...lots of us have long journeys, just take a look at my signature!!

You said in your post you don't know where the moneys gone. Can I sugest to you keeping a spending diary.

I know how our debt accummalated (bad property investment), but before my LBM was burying my head in the sand hoping it would just all go away, which of course it doesn't!

Since getting our asses in gear, and starting to sort this mess out, I have kept a spending diary...every penny in and out is recorded and acconted for. I find it a great way to budget, and also, I get a real kick out of seeing how little we've spent when I tot it up every Sunday. It may be a way to help you see where money goes, and help you get on track.
Good luck with your journey.

looking_forward_not_back

Hi daydream believer
I can see by looking at your signature that you are already making progress. Good for you
I am quite looking forward to the challenge to be honest. I am normally such a strong willed person. But for some reason I have been very weak when it comes to money. (NOT ANY MORE)
I will look at setting up a spending diary and I bet its quite an eye opener thinking about money we waste.
Its pay day for me this week so I will be itching to set things in motion and slowly start chipping away. I intend to use my snowball calculations to tackle one card at a time.

Feeling very positive at the moment

NHS_worker_bee

Hi, I've found the YNAB (You Need A Budget) free software trial very helpful. It takes some getting used to the format but it's got some great ideas underpinning it. Whether that's for you or whether you prefer a more traditional pen and paper spending diary is completely up to you, but either way, start tracking everything! I found it such an eye opener, I made some changes straight away (cancelling direct debits etc) and have been so much better with money this month.

The snowball calculator is great, it's helped me focus and prioritise effectively.

And putting my debts in my signature on here provides additional motivation for me - now I enjoy editing my signature to show how I've reduced my debt, rather than spending more on my CC. The fact you are itching to set things in motion is a good sign!

Keep up the positivity, we can do this.

looking_forward_not_back

Thank you for your advice

seeing peoples debt coming down in their signatures is very inspiring.

At first I thought it wasn't possible but after reading all day and lots of coffee I have read some very inspirational posts.
Hopefully one day I too will be writing positive things.

Fingers crossed

NHS_worker_bee

You will soon be writing positive things. I'm impatient for payday not because I want to buy anything but because I want to clear another chunk off my debt.

It's good that you are up to date with your payments, you say your 0% balance transfer deals are all up but have you considered contacting your existing credit card companies and just asking for a better interest rate ? I had success doing this with Barclaycard - I didn't get a lower interest rate but they offered me one month interest free and refunded the previous months payment. My colleague also contacted Barclaycard and was offered a lower APR for the life of the existing balance so there is opportunity to lower the interest you pay your debts without needing to take out new cards or balance transfers. Just a thought

looking_forward_not_back

I will certainly look into ringing Card companies, the worst they can say is no I suppose.

I too am looking forward to pay day. Expecting over time money this month and also have listed stuff on ebay.
Onwards and upwards