The Diary of a Panicked Woman

lynnejr200

Hi everyone. I'm new to this posting business but thought that sharing my DFW diary might help to motivate/shame me into keeping on the right track when dealing with my debts.

Yesterday was my Lightbulb Moment. I sat down with my new Money package and entered all my account details. Scary! I knew I had debts but didn't realise just how bad it was. I found out that I'm over 20K in debt. :shocked: Argh! How did I do that??

I'm a mature (?) student in my second year and my only real income (apart from the money my partner pays towards household bills) is my student loan.

I used the snowball calculator and it says I wont be out of debt until 2014. 7 years!

I need to go for a lie down - thinking about this makes me feel sick and dizzy.

juliapenguin

Hello lynnejr200 and congratulations on your LBM - it's only the beginning but things will get better. I dealt with my debts several years ago and have never felt so alone in my life - if only I'd had MSE to help me then.

I'm sure lots of other people will be along today to comment and help - are you going to post an SOA?

Julia xx

tealady

Hi, dont worry too much, as a student you won't be earning much anyway. Can you work in the hols to bring in extra money? There are lots of temping agencies out there. Even a week or two would help.

lynnejr200

Thanks, I'm hoping to post an SOA soon - once I've plucked up the courage to let everyone see how bad it it. I know that compared to some others my debt seems small(ish) but it's kind of overwhelming for me right now.

I was working in the evenings but my course work suffered so I've had to quit that. I should hopefully get some work for the holidays but I'm not sure where to start looking.

I've also registered to do some Mystery Shopping - not a huge income but it's a start.

hypno06

Hi there, and welcome. What you have to remember is that now you have had your LBM, that debt free date (DFD) of December 2014 is just a starting point. You now have something to focus on and are very likely to bring that forward quite considerably. December 2014 is only if you pay the minimum amounts that presumably you are paying at the moment.

The snowball calculator is a great motivator in my opinion!!

lynnejr200

Thanks Hypno. Hopefully I'll get a permanent job when I graduate in 3 years and I should be able to drastically reduce my debt much quicker then. :j

Storm

What I would suggest as a student would be to get a Saturday job in a supermarket or large shop somewhere - 1 day a week is not going to drastically affect your coursework (in fact I found the opposite, it motivated me to get cracking with assignments earlier) - and in the holidays you can take on extra shifts.

Make sure you sign up to Pigsback, Quidco, Free Fivers etc for cashback on stuff, and also sign up for survey sites too. Even a couple of quid a week helps!

If you've got old textbooks you won't need again then make sure you flog them via uni notice boards etc, and keep an eye out there & on Ebay, Amazon, Green Metropolis for copies of new ones you need.

The best thing as a student is that no-one expects you to have much money though, so be ruthless in how much you spend on presents, clothes etc as you really won't be expected to be able to afford much!

lynnejr200

Well, it;s been a long and awful day but I think I've done quite well. I have managed to transfer a portion of my flexiloan with Cahoot to an existing CC with a 0% rate for 6 months. Had to pay a transfer fee but it still saves me a bit.

I went shopping with my sister earlier but resisted the urge to spend anything - a major achievement for me.

I've also registered with Quidco and Pigsback and have managed to get onto Consumer Pulse so I hope to use the money I gain from these to pay for a very modest Christmas this year.

Hopefully I'll feel a bit better tomorrow and take a few more little steps towards becoming debt free.

tealady

Its amazing once you start how good it feels. Look on the Old Style for loads of useful money saving tips. If you want put up your SOA for people to look at and dont forget to go on Pigsback daily for clicks and anything you buy check with a cash back site such as greasy palm or quidco.

lynnejr200

I just want to say thanks to everyone for all their help. I really think it's fantastic that people are prepared to give their time, advice and personal insights to a website such as this.

Having posted for the first time the other day I no longer feel as if I'm doing this on my own. I realise that only I can really sort out my mess but it's great to have people to turn to when things get tough.

Cheers everyone. Your support is much appreciated. :beer:

Karmacat

Hi Lynne
Just caught up with your thread, and well done on the steps you've taken so far. Like the others, I'll look forward to reading your soa when you stick it up - no pressure!

Bear in mind that everybody who posts here to help you was in exactly the situation that you're in now - some of them very recently, some last year. We all know what its like, espesh that sick feeling when you find out how bad it is. But there *are* people here - not very many at 1am, true (lol) but there are loads. Keep posting.