DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

zenshi

Karen777 wrote: »

On another note - does anyone else get a bit twitchy waiting for their statements (on a self managed dmp) - it's the gap between being paid and making my payments to creditors

I'm on self managed and have never had statements?! Should I have?

Puzzcat

zenshi wrote: »

I'm on self managed and have never had statements?! Should I have?

How do you keep your balances up to date without statements, of course you may be ringing your creditors regularly or maybe you have online access? I get monthly statements for my 7 cc's and check the balance of my loan and overdraft on noddle.

zenshi

That's just it! I don't know how they're performing. I pay a token amount via standing order to the relevant DCA...tbh, never thought about it till today when I was going through them

Puzzcat

I only have one debt that was sold to a dca and spoke to them and they said no interest..I think that's the norm, but it would be worth your while ringing them to confirm balances, frozen interest etc.

zenshi

Hmm, I'm just going through paperwork now and it appears that my debt has gone despite them saying interest etc would frozen. Will ring them tomorrow

zenshi

I just rang one creditor that is still with the origina card to ask why no statements. The reply was because the minimum payment shows as £2,600 we don't issue them as it causes upset LOLOLOL

so_very_confused

Well.. A couple of years ago, if you had told me that I would be delighted that two of my accounts had been passed to DCAs and defaulted I would probably have fainted, as it is 19 months into a DMP I am positively delighted!
Only one more largish one £8000 ish to go the same way and I will be cooking on gas. These accounts were the ones who initially charged me £1000 of interest on £1300 of payments. I have been reluctant to cut my DMP to the bone as I knew this creditor would revert back to charging interest and I was therefore prepared to play the long game although paying fairly substantial amount each month. It was probably just as well as a number of unforeseen emergencies cut my emergency budget down to nought so starting again.
So joyously I am now 2/5 of my way into my DMP and hoping to speed things up further....just need one more default!
Having been inspired by all the self managed folk on here I am looking to this in the new year but I would really like that default before I do!

Kate_fixing_it

Good morning all. More bouncy positivity from me about to happen - if it's too early for you look away now

I'm up at 6am on my day off for the final leg of the Grand Vet School Tour of England with DD1. Tickets were booked 6 weeks ago before I had the itinerary and although we'll be in London before 8.15am the tour doesn't start until 12.15! (Oops!)

Still I'm loving the organisation and the fact that it's all paid up in cash so nothing to worry about other than getting to the station and on the right train - a skill that has evaded us every time so far we're both up with plenty of notice so all going well so far. I have coupons, Boots points and O2 priority moments app for food and yellow sticker Danish pastries for breakfast. Very MSE

Yesterday's bear hunt was a moderate success just a couple of glitches in the form of some pretty nasty leg pain after walking too much (must learn my limits), DD1 shutting DD2's head in a car door, me accidentally punching DS2 (pesky waist high little people) and a 99p jigsaw bought as a treat for a 5 year old taking DH and I 3 HOURS to complete after she gave up (3 years+ my !!!!!)

So without wishing to sound preachy my posts over the last few days are the ultimate proof that you can LIVE while debt busting. My life is infinitely more fun and interesting than it was pre LBM. It's taken a few months to settle into it. I've made mistakes and learned from them. I'm more organised than I've ever been but I'm also happier, wiser and stronger.

Kate x

Sazzie23

Monkeyballs wrote: »

Ha, I just got a follow up email from Moneyshop thanking me for replying to the email they sent to me asking for me to give them permission to email me using the email address I gave them to contact me on! They have said that if they need to contact me in future they will email me...

Perhaps business is slow and they're bored?

MB of G x

Maybe we should send them bananas and Haribo and a congratulatory letter. .....?

Must be some 'best practice' on authorised contact going on. We got a letter from Nemo (we have a joint secured loand with them :mad: consolidation but that's another story). Anyway the letter was on about can we send you emails or contact you by phone, unfortunately is was signed by mr x of the arrears and customer service dept which put the ex OH into panic mode thinking we were behind (we are not and never have been). Taken me all week to calm him down, in the end showed the noddle report which shows is up to date. Still not sure he's convinced. :eek:

Kate, I think what's so good is we can have a life spending (or not spending) our money, not adding debt we already can't pay, well that's how my life was pre-DMP.

Zenshi, spreadsheets are the way to go...you can watch those debts coming down, it's great motivation move you've set them up. Like others I check mine against statements or noddle to make sure the balances tally.

Blistering - balance coming down nicely now, did you ever think payment day would just slip by ...:T how things change :T

Mooglet71

Good Morning All
I haven't been here in ages! So no-one will actually know who I am ha ha. It's been three years since my LBM and when I set up my DMP with Stepchange and blimey what a mad three years it has been.

Nov 2011 -Set up DMP
Dec 2011 - DH got made redundant
Sep 2012 - DH started a PGCE
Nov 2012 - DH dropped out of PGCE with a view to returning the following year
Nov 2012 - found myself unexpectedly pregnant (told we couldn't have anymore kids, so had given up trying)
Feb 2013 - DH finds job as teaching assistant
June 2013 - Beautiful daughter born (already have 9 year old daughter)
Oct 2013 - DH returns to PGCE, two weeks later drops out again and goes back to being teaching assistant

Jan 2014 - I return to work PT (with extortionate childcare bills!)
Mar 2014 - DH gets made permanent as a teaching assistant
Oct 2014 - Work approves proposal for me to take voluntary redundancy (salary about to be cut meaning can't afford work and childcare, work been trying to get rid of me for years, youngest daughter requires additional support for mobility issues)
DH admits defeat and sets up a DMP.

Phew, talk about changes! So there you go. Obviously with my changes in circumstances my DMP monthly payment has gone down considerably, meaning my DFD has moved from Dec 2015 to the end of never. Have never been more broke! Still happy though, apart from the days when I have a stress.

We have cut all of our outgoings back and now I'm hoping we can make some additional savings on Food and Utilities.

I'm hoping to be on here a lot more as it has always inspired me and even when I've not been posting I always read