DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

zenshi

My new budget has run for one month now and all going well. I've not really changed allocated amounts, just taking from different areas meaning I have set myself limits!

I have new 'pots' too.....one for my roof fund and one for extra mortgage op. These can be dipped into in an emergency as I only started my emergency fund pot this month too :T

And....... My debt excluding mortgage now stands at sub £20k :j :j :beer: a whopping 27.2% Well happy with that

bertman

I haven't posted for a long time now but I do have a quick look at the site from time to time. We are about half way through our DMP now, we started after a business failure with debts of nearly £70k. The worst time of our lives, we were scared, depressed with the situation that we found ourselves in, we only wanted to better our lives but for a number of reasons it didn't work out. The DMP was organised through Stepchange. From the moment that they got involved we felt like we had a real chance. The creditors backed off, we did get numerous computer generated letters but over time we we just scan through them and shred them, most of them don't mean much to be honest. We have had a number of the debts sold off now and the ones that remain are getting lower. We have paid off some debts now completely.
Its not easy, we have to rely on cash and no credit so you really have to budget and plan your days, weeks and months. We are coming to the stage now though that we have some major expenses that need to be sorted out. Our windows are starting to rot and need replacing, we have patched them up over the last 2 years as best we can, our boiler is also going to need replacing soon, its been repaired quite a bit now. In a normal world these major expenses would be put on a loan account due to the size of the expense but with a DMP you can't do that. I will speak to SC and see what they say, not sure what can be done. But I keep looking at the debts coming down and know that in a few years we will be free of all the debts which will be fantastic!!

Anyone at the start of the journey or anyone who is scared after a light bulb moment, take the jump and speak to SC or one of the other charity companies. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck!

[Deleted User]

Well done, bertman:T. You've come such a long way. Here's to your continued success:beer:

I can empathise totally with the situation you are in with major items that need to be replaced. I was in exactly that position early this year when my washing machine died (pretty old and had had far too much money spent on repairs already:(), even the kettle and toaster refused to work. My glasses prescription urgently needed upgrading (the optician told me the specs I was using were far too weak and I was 'illegal' for driving:eek:) so I had the expense of new glasses. Plus, living in a rural area with no public transport a car is a lifeline. Mine is 14 years old and reasonably reliable but suddenly lots of expensive bits seemed to wear out all at once.

Panic stations here as without any lines of credit I was desperate:o. My DMP started at just under £57000 and I was 3 years in (practically halfway) but to get it paid off asap I'd opted for pretty uncomfortable payments of £732 a month. A realistic emergency fund was an impossibility on such a pared-down budget.

It went against the grain to contact Stepchange to ask for reduced payments (tokens of £5 per creditor) for a couple of months but they couldn't have been more helpful. They even suggested I take 4 months in order to accrue a bit of surplus cash over and above what I actually needed for the repairs/replacements etc:j.

Things are now back on an even keel again and I rejigged my budget (at their suggestion) to give myself a tad more leeway. I'm still paying off £680 a month and all it means is that my DMP will take about 6 months longer. I can live with that;). After tomorrow's payment I'll be under £30000 in debt. I know it's still massive but I feel so chuffed with myself:o

All I can advise, bertman, is speak to Stepchange, they'll probably suggest the same solution for you that they did for me. Please let us know how you get on.

Good Luck with the rest of your 'journey':beer:

cmcavon

I finally got round to doing the annual review a few days ago with Stepchange. As I started work just before Christmas I knew we'd be able to make higher payments. So now our debt-free date is 7 years closer than it was when we started out!

I have also been stashing money away over the last 6 months building up to paying another debt off in full. I have enough now to pay off the next smallest debt which is £1200 but holding off until after we move house, think we may need that for fees etc.

Feeling more positive but still itching to be debt-free!

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere

Welshie28 wrote: »

Hi again,

When I log on to my online dmp account and try to tweak a few figures it says 'the amount is outside of the amount we would recommend' even though I'm entering £60 and underneath it says they recommend £104+. I'm worried that they won't lower my payment so I'll have to struggle for the next 3 years. I thought the whole point of being in a dmp was being able to live more comfortably.

Thank you for your advice

Yep, definitely agree with Puzz - put in the amount they recommend. If you do that, even for that one figure, upping it from £60 to £104 will already bring your DMP monthly payment down by £44. Add a bit more onto a couple of other areas and you can make up the £100 difference that you need

Take care,

BDFSH x

System

Hello Fellow DMPers.
Having problems getting any response from T@sco Loans - have sent 2 letters now, and no response. Both CC's came back to me immediately and have stopped interest and charges etc.
I didn't send either of the letters recorded delivery.
What do I do now? - I am paying them the reduced amount I have told them I can afford.If they keep not responding to me, can I complain? I want to make sure they are not charging me and that the debt is going down and not up.
Thanks Ramble x

Welshie28

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere wrote: »

Yep, definitely agree with Puzz - put in the amount they recommend. If you do that, even for that one figure, upping it from £60 to £104 will already bring your DMP monthly payment down by £44. Add a bit more onto a couple of other areas and you can make up the £100 difference that you need

Take care,

BDFSH x

I took that advice and it did let me progress to the next page but then said they want to discuss a few things with me first. Scary!

I have to give them a ring tomorrow.

[Deleted User]

Just dropping in to say that my debt has now dipped under £30000 (£29607 actually) after today's payment to Stepchange:j:j:j

I know it's still a massive amount but when I remember that I started at £56804:o in February 2013 and over £27000 has been paid off already I feel quite giddy:rotfl:. A couple more payments and I'll have hit the halfway mark, a milestone that seemed so distant when I first started.

Keep at it everyone. We WILL all get there in the end:beer:

Puzzcat

ramblehan wrote: »

Hello Fellow DMPers.
Having problems getting any response from T@sco Loans - have sent 2 letters now, and no response. Both CC's came back to me immediately and have stopped interest and charges etc.
I didn't send either of the letters recorded delivery.
What do I do now? - I am paying them the reduced amount I have told them I can afford.If they keep not responding to me, can I complain? I want to make sure they are not charging me and that the debt is going down and not up.
Thanks Ramble x

Hi Ramble,

Sorry I have forgotten if you were with sc and now self managing hence writing letters to creditors. My loan was front loaded with interest so when I went into my dmp it just remained the same balance as the interest had been included all along. Not sure if your loans are the same? Have you had any statements from them so you can check? And it could be worth giving them a call for an up to date balance and be brave and discuss your current situation?? I found the creditors didn't all read the letters I sent so ended up speaking to at least 4 of them, all were fine and accepted what I offered.
Puzz.x

Puzzcat

carbootcrazy wrote: »

Just dropping in to say that my debt has now dipped under £30000 (£29607 actually) after today's payment to Stepchange:j:j:j

I know it's still a massive amount but when I remember that I started at £56804:o in February 2013 and over £27000 has been paid off already I feel quite giddy:rotfl:. A couple more payments and I'll have hit the halfway mark, a milestone that seemed so distant when I first started.

Keep at it everyone. We WILL all get there in the end:beer:

:T:T:T Well done cbc, that light at the end of the tunnel must be shining brighter every month...

Love Puzz. x