DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Back_on_budget wrote: »

Hi all.

It's been a while since I've been on here, so thought I would update on things.

My father in law passed away suddenly in October, after a short illness.
Whilst he had very little in life, his employer provided a death In service policy, which was paid out to my wife, and has enabled us to clear our DMP.

Whilst I feel that we have cheated a little and been let off the hook, it is great to be able to say that we are now debt free.

Whilst it in no way detracts from the loss of a loved one, I believe he would be glad to know he has helped to get fully in control of our finances.

The two years we spent on a DMP were tough, but it is a process that I am glad we went though. It has changed our attitudes to money, and made us learn to properly budget. (especially the wife!). We are now in a position where we can save every month, safe in the knowledge that we are only spending the money we have earned, rather than using credit cards, loans and overdrafts.

This forum was a great resource for me, and helped me stay positive. The knowledge available here from people who have 'been there' is huge. It helped me to realise I could fight for a fairer deal from our creditors, which lead to the refund of a number of unfair charges.

I was also able to get f&f payment reductions on our 2 largest debts, saving £5k.

I would like to thank everyone who directly or indirectly helped me through my DMP, and hope that I have been able to help others along the way.

Anyone just starting out, or part way though - keep on going, keep on fighting. You are in control.

So very sorry to hear of your loss.

Lovely post and legacy too.

I hope 2015 continues to be bright for you all.

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Hi All

This is a link to one of the threads that really kept me going in the DMP

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/291326

I cant wait to see you all there too.

Am confident when I type I know month and month each of you in a better position.

Onwards and upwards

HHx

Sazzie23

Back_on_budget wrote: »

Hi all.

It's been a while since I've been on here, so thought I would update on things.

My father in law passed away suddenly in October, after a short illness.
Whilst he had very little in life, his employer provided a death In service policy, which was paid out to my wife, and has enabled us to clear our DMP.

Whilst I feel that we have cheated a little and been let off the hook, it is great to be able to say that we are now debt free.

Whilst it in no way detracts from the loss of a loved one, I believe he would be glad to know he has helped to get fully in control of our finances.

The two years we spent on a DMP were tough, but it is a process that I am glad we went though. It has changed our attitudes to money, and made us learn to properly budget. (especially the wife!). We are now in a position where we can save every month, safe in the knowledge that we are only spending the money we have earned, rather than using credit cards, loans and overdrafts.

This forum was a great resource for me, and helped me stay positive. The knowledge available here from people who have 'been there' is huge. It helped me to realise I could fight for a fairer deal from our creditors, which lead to the refund of a number of unfair charges.

I was also able to get f&f payment reductions on our 2 largest debts, saving £5k.

I would like to thank everyone who directly or indirectly helped me through my DMP, and hope that I have been able to help others along the way.

Anyone just starting out, or part way though - keep on going, keep on fighting. You are in control.

Thanks bank on budget, so sorry to hear of your loss, it's really positive that you recognise how DMP has benefitted you and put your finances in a position where the legacy was able to improve things for you.

Your post will be a great inspiration to others that things can turn round in surprising ways and never to give up.
Thank you, and enjoy your debtfreedom.

Don't forget to sign the role of honour if you haven't already.

Slothy88

Sorry to hear of your loss, Back On Budget - but so glad something positive was able to come of it. You're right - I'm sure he would have been over the moon to help you and your OH






Eeee, well it's all been busy busy over Christmas for everyone hasn't it? Debt busting doesn't sleep!!


No more ripples in my DMP land yet...just waiting for the onslaught of letters and phonecalls haha.


I am applying (hopefully) to be a student paramedic at the back end of this year, and to be eligible to apply I need to have a HGV driving licence. It is so expensive, around £1000 for the week-intensive course and test, but luckily I have a very supportive OH who is saying he'll pay for it as part of my Christmas/birthday present, because he knows how much I want this.


To get the provisional licence, you need to have a medical done which is classed as a private service and not available on the NHS. My docs wantd £100 for the privilege of filling in a ruddy form!!! :eek: Luckily I hunted around and my local council offers them through their Occupational health department for £50! So glad I looked elsewhere!


Also going for a free eye test at Tescos on Friday, and (assuming my prescription has changed) I'm going to hunt around and find a place that will just replace lenses in old frames for cheap. I have some lovely Calvin Klein frames that have not seen enough of the daylight to warrant a new pair yet!


In other news, I was volunteering for my local ambulance service on New Years day, and after 8 months of volunteering I got called to my first ever cardiac arrest!!! That was scary. The crew was already there, but I spent ages doing compressions and giving oxygen. So pleased to say we managed to get a pulse Pretty amazing considering she was 91 years old! It was a happy NY day for her family

Rooster01

First dmp payment sent.........All creditors have agreed payment plan but Springcoin(Avante Credit) still insist no documentation received from Stepchange dispite them posting twice. All have frozen interest apart from Barclaycard but have reduced interest to 3%. So far so good..........does it really run this smoothly?

neiljmuk

Hi all, hopw xmas and NY were all good!

Getting closer to starting my DMP. I've a slight concern tho and wondered if you had any ideas. I think I'm being extreme, but, my wife has a debt with Barclaycard, and HP type car finance with Barclays Partner Finance (the car is theirs until paid in full). I know that if she had a bank account or savings with Barclays, they could offset, but is there any possibility that the request to enter the Barclayard payments into a DMP could allow Barclays to do something detrimental in regards to the HP on the car via Barclays Partner Finance? Theres no danger of the HP repayments not being paid in full outside of the DMP...

Any advice appreciated

jubilee14

Hi All hope you've all had a good festive break. was working through but enjoyed the days off i had.

All fine on DMP front have been playing about with my spreadsheets trying to bring the DFD little bit further. Going to set up my payment pots and be more planned this year as there is still alot of money frittering away that could go on debt.

just wondering if i wanted to make add on payments to one off does anyone do it while with SC. i know its not strictly the way to go but dont know if i am disciplined enough for self managed. mmm thoughts thoughts.

going to write to BC again to see if i can get the interest frozen as its pushed DFD back about 6mnths. can but try as i dont htink i have had to officially complain yet on this so could well go to FOS if they fail to co-operate.

Have a good Monday

Ellieseleven

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

Hi All

This is a link to one of the threads that really kept me going in the DMP

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/291326

I cant wait to see you all there too.

Am confident when I type I know month and month each of you in a better position.

Onwards and upwards

HHx

I love this thread HH and I visit it often as you say it keeps you going whilst on a DMP. It's my ultimate goal to post on the Debt Free Roll of Honour;)

Take care
Ellie xx

Ellieseleven

Rooster01 wrote: »

First dmp payment sent.........All creditors have agreed payment plan but Springcoin(Avante Credit) still insist no documentation received from Stepchange dispite them posting twice. All have frozen interest apart from Barclaycard but have reduced interest to 3%. So far so good..........does it really run this smoothly?

It can be a rollercoaster ride and everyone's experiences vary...here's hoping that you have a smooth ride;)

Ellie xx

Student_Mrs

Hello, just tentatively saying hello! We've finally started earning enough to be allowed on a DMP after being on a token payment plan with StepChange for 12 months. We're still only doing minimum for now at 5 to each creditor, so £25 on 10th Jan will be first payment and the DFD of 2041 is a bit scary!! Not a lot of debt, £7814 ish and my husband starts a job in January so hoping we'll be paid off a lot before 2041!!

Looking forward to getting some tips from you and also scared of the income increase - we've been on 6k a year for the last 18 months with a now 2 year old so it has not been easy. We'll now earn a combined 24k pre tax until Oct when I return to finish a part time Masters course that will hopefully make me a bit better paid in the future but who knows...!