Confessions of a 26 year old in £38'000 worth of debt !!! Please help me !

OnwardAndUpward81

smudgemanc26 wrote: »

Hi and welcome dont panic your in the right place there are lots of people on this board that will be able to help you.

So your total debts are: £37993.86

Your Incomings are: £1150.00

Your monthly expenditure is: £983.38

Money Left: £166.62 (what do you do with this extra money?)

Have you accounted for everything on this SOA?

Things that stand out to me are your food bill do you all pay £100 per month? Its seems quite high you can check out the OS (old style) board for ways to make home cooked meals and freeze things.

House phone and tv - Reduce this to freeview as you've said or go on a lower deal with sky or virgin

Why do you have a car and pay travel money for the tube?

Reduce your mobile to pay as you go or get on a cheaper tariff.

Thank you so much for your reply. I think the reason why I’ve got into so much debt is because I’m so laid back about things.

So what do I do with the extra money? Spent it on rubbish and I’ve been living a life I can’t afford. Going on loads of holidays, dining at the finest restaurants, spending money on designer gear and going out. In addition to this, I’ve spent a lot of money on my family like holidays, tv, beds washing machine, allsorts. I guess I’m the sole provider for my house which doesn’t help.

The food bill is shared between me and my mum and I’ve already made cut backs. If I make more she’ll figure somethings up and I really don’t want my worry on her shoulders.

The freeview is definitely a brilliant idea and I will be doing that definitely.

I’m going to change my tariff when the upgrade is due next month. If I do it now I can reduce it to £35 but if I wait till next month they’ll say I can have a free phone or 25% discount of tariff so it makes sense to go with the latter.

As for the car, I’ve explained to Steve 007 and will definitely downgrade but not sure I can not have a car just yet.

Thanks so much for your advice

climbgirl

Miss_Debt wrote: »

I’m going to change my tariff when the upgrade is due next month. If I do it now I can reduce it to £35 but if I wait till next month they’ll say I can have a free phone or 25% discount of tariff so it makes sense to go with the latter.

£35 is still a very high monthly phone bill! I'm sorry, but you just can't afford this right now. What's wrong with PAYG?

OnwardAndUpward81

hypno06 wrote: »

Hi there!

Also, apart from cutting back, have you addressed the reasons why you got into so much debt originally - was it through continuing overspending, a one off disaster, an addiction of some sort etc?

The cutting back will only work if the spending has stopped and the temptation to spend has been addressed.

But you have taken the first step on your journey to becoming debt free. Keep posting and you will benefit from lots of support on this site.

Yes, I know exactly why I'm in debt and I'm desperately trying to resist all temptations and I am doing well so far. I can't tell you how much of a relief is it to receive advice and get this all of my chest but the next step for me is taking all advice on board. I'm taking some but taking it all is to drastic for me but atleast I'm being honest.

I'm about to cancel my lottery S/O everyone.

steve700

Miss_Debt wrote: »

I'm about to cancel my lottery S/O everyone.

It makes sense Miss Debt

(but can you PM me the numbers as the returns have been WAY WAY above my Lottery Wins v costs..........:rolleyes: )

OnwardAndUpward81

climbgirl wrote: »

£35 is still a very high monthly phone bill! I'm sorry, but you just can't afford this right now. What's wrong with PAYG?

I know what your saying but I know I'll end up spending more, I just know I will.

I guess kinda of like someone who smokes gives up but know they'll go back.

steve700

Miss_Debt wrote: »

I know what your saying but I know I'll end up spending more, I just know I will.

I guess kinda of like someone who smokes gives up but know they'll go back.

WILLPOWER, my girl...............:D

OnwardAndUpward81

steve700 wrote: »

It makes sense Miss Debt

(but can you PM me the numbers as the returns have been WAY WAY above my Lottery Wins v costs..........:rolleyes: )

I've just cancelled it online. I really hope they don't win the jackpot next month, lol. There was 20 of us as my old workplace who had a line of numbers and the same numbers would be played wed and sat which i guess is why we kept winning a tenner here, a grand there, etc. But then when you split it I guess it's not worth it.

OnwardAndUpward81

steve700 wrote: »

WILLPOWER, my girl...............:D

I know I know Steve but when it comes to talking I have none. I'm a chatterbox.

climbgirl

Miss_Debt wrote: »

I'm taking some but taking it all is to drastic for me but atleast I'm being honest.

It's a lot to take in for sure! There's so much valuable info on this site and it takes so long to absorb it all fully. The biggest mental adjustment will be stopping the frivolous spending from what you've been saying. It sounds to me like you've been living a bit of a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget - just buying things and holidays when you want, without a thought to how you're actually going to pay for them.

But you've simply got to stop. And this will be an enormous adjustment. It's not about cutting the mobile from £50 to £35 - it's about cutting it from £50 to the absolute bare minimum you can manage. I think you can go a lot lower than that, frankly.

Remove temptation in terms of spending - don't go into shops or go onto sites like ebay (unless you're selling only!). If you use spending to kill time, find other ways of distracting yourself that don't cost anything. Watch tv, read a book, cook meals from scratch, go for a walk. Be creative with this.

Every time you go to spend on anything, anything at all, think to yourself "do I absolutely NEED this? Can I survive without it?". If you do have to buy it, ask yourself if you're getting it for the best price possible.

Start thinking about every single penny you spend.

ollyshaw

I think it is a shame that you have had to start your adult life £10k down due to getting an education.

Good luck with your efforts to clear it.

Olly