Hi I am new and a silly spender and want to be debt free...feel sick of money daily

sillyspendy

Hi Guys

I am 31, a wife and mother. My husband earns good money around 34k a year and I am on 17k a year.

BUT....we are 15k in debt. We meet our minimum payments each month and had considered a loan to pay it all off so all we had to pay each month was the loan.

The lack of money is not really my issue (although we do just scrape by) it is the guilt of the debt I have racked up with absolutely NOTHING to show for it.

I hope no one judges me.

I am here for money saving tips as would like to make more than the minimum payments each month to chip away on those debts.

Hi anyway x:mad:

Poonah

Hi,

When you say you're meeting your minimum repayments does that suggest the bulk of the debt is in credit cards?
The minimum repayments usually cover the interest only so in effect you aren't making any progress.
I had this issue with a £1500 debt on mine. I found a different bank offering 0% on payments for 15months and transferred the balance over.
After putting aside £100 a month come december the CC will be paid off complete.

On_my_way

Hi,

You have done the hardest thing...admitted the debts!

You need to agree a few things with your husband including a realistic budget. This forum will help you so much!

going_nowhere_fast

Whats done is done so let the guilt go and focus your energies on paying the debt off and managing money better in future.

jodles16

Hello and welcome, Im a fellow newbie and have found some of the challenges really useful! Might be worth having a look at some of the money making and saving advice! I have joined the overpay every week challenge, and am currently skimming my bank account once a week to bring it down to the nearest £5 or £0 eg £224.56 I would move £4.56 to another account or use it to overpay a little. There are lots of challenges about making money, I do some surveys now! Making a realistic budget is probably the best start, one thing I have learnt on here is how every little bit makes a difference!!

Good luck, and no judgement!

Jodles

BirdSeed

Hi there
Part of your opening thread could have been written by me!


There are quite a good number of threads on here with people in similar situations. Have you thought of joining the 'pay off all your debts by xmas' thread? You can choose a target amount and work towards paying it off. There are over 200 people in that thread, so motivation is high.
Some people focus on one debt at a time - usually the one with the highest interest. Go an have a look.... you could even join now with a realistic target for the rest of the year.


Good luck with the debt busting - debt freedom is on the horizon.....somewhere!!

BirdSeed

Oh, and I would think very hard about getting a (consolidation) loan. I did this for a £17k debt - ended up paying over £28k back, could barely afford the repayments, no payment holidays and it really messed up my credit score. Took over 8 years to pay off. If you break your debts down into small chunks and pay to them all each month but focus specifically on paying one off at a time I bet you would be out of debt much sooner than with a loan.


I use the 'save the change' facility from my bank and pay this money towards one debt. Once that's gone I'll pay it to debt 2 and so on.


Have a good read through the threads for tips, ideas and motivation.


Best wishes

mavvymoo

You need to do a statement of affairs so you can see where your money is going. and where you are wasting it.It is a complete eye opener :eek: Or it was for me. Start there and work forward you will be amazed at how quickly you can be in control of your money rather than it being in control of you.
I was in this position a few years ago and have come a long way since then.
Well done for posting as that is the first step and good luck on your journey.

Mav x