Have turned the corner, need to keep pushing

si_b

Hi there, or dear diary....

This diary is one of many recent steps to turn hack away at my debts but also to change my approach to money, saving and ultimately life.
A couple of years ago I was 15k in debt. Right now, it stands at £7549.27
I'm proud of what I've managed to pay back so far, but I know I've got a long way to go and I want to keep on track.

The beginning
I grew up with my mum and sister, on benefits and always feeling the pinch. My mum did amazingly on very little money, we were fed, clothed and had small treats when we could afford them (I'm talking Chinese takeout, not holidays or anything like that). Unfortunately, my mum has suffered from mental health problems throughout her life and when I was sixteen she was admitted to a mental hospital for 3 years. In that time, I lived with my sister who was a bit older than me. However, at 18 we were made homeless. I managed to get a housing association flat, but couldn't afford it and had very little financial knowledge or experience. I very quickly racked up rent, council tax and utilities arrears and felt like I was drowning, ignoring reminder letters.


The middle
For about 5 years, I was in denial. I was paying back debt when the letters arrived from DCAs but I was building that debt back on credit cards, with very little to show for it. In the past I've been depressed and anxious, and money worries seems to be the main thing that has got me down.

The Now & the future
Right now my debt stands at

£7549.27
That consists of
Thanks Water - 676.01
HMRC - 750
HSBC Credit Card (from years back) - 659.23
HSBC Overdraft (from years back) - 2266
Personal Loan from partner - 1254

Lot's has changed in my life in the last two years. I have stripped down my outgoings, switched providers and started treating debt as a priority. I think I reached I point where I was fed up of living miserably and feeling trapped by debt. It's not been a quick and seamless turnaround but I definitely feel I've built up some moment and want to use this blog to keep in check and get support from others.

That's me.

si_b

si_b

Today is a good day! I'm no longer in debt to HMRC. I made my last payment of £631 today.

At it's worst, I owed them £5400. Mainly from late tax returns and non-payment. At the start of the year, I called it a day on being self-employed and decided to get a full time job. I was lucky in that I found one very quickly. This new job I have is about £2k less than i use to make a year (on average) but it comes with good benefits: free cooked lunch every day, health insurance, pension contributions, AND sick pay! I might go bank to freelancing again in the future, but this job is good at the moment. I already feel calmer knowing what amount will be landing in my bank account at the end of the month.