Uhtred goes Viking against his debt

Uhtred_Ragnarsson

You aren't wrong PSL. . However, I am just going to keep on telling them the same thing and carry on my merry way. I keep hoping they will eventually understand it - they are really kind and decent folk but they have never been short of money never mind been in debt.

Onward and upwards I suppose

Poor_Single_lady

I told my best friend that he was making my battle twice as hard. He gave me a bit more support after that but it still is hard. I hope you can get there.
On top of everything else you don't want to be fighting your friends but even people fully informed with all of the facts of the situation still continue to be unhelpful. I think this concept is one that a lot of people just cant get their heads round.

System

Waving hello.
I think you should pocket your ebay sales for an emergency fund. Sometimes that emergency might be a well deserved treat.
Hope you are feeling brighter and well done for slaying Argos - all moving in the right direction.
Ramble

Uhtred_Ragnarsson

Poor_Single_lady wrote: »

I told my best friend that he was making my battle twice as hard. He gave me a bit more support after that but it still is hard. I hope you can get there.
On top of everything else you don't want to be fighting your friends but even people fully informed with all of the facts of the situation still continue to be unhelpful. I think this concept is one that a lot of people just cant get their heads round.

I'll get there in the end I think but it would be so much easier if it wasn't a battle. You are absolutely spot on about people not being able to get their heads round it despite being in possession of the facts. I've pondered on this for a long, long time and I'm convinced that it's similar in a way to how people (me included) ignore debt and poor spending choices right up until they have their light-bulb moment. I'm convinced it's the same psychology at work - a head in the sand by proxy if you like. The only difference is I can't see them having the light-bulb moment because they will never personally be at the point of paying bills or eating .

I'll keep plugging away though - never give up

Uhtred_Ragnarsson

ramblehan wrote: »

Waving hello.
I think you should pocket your ebay sales for an emergency fund. Sometimes that emergency might be a well deserved treat.
Hope you are feeling brighter and well done for slaying Argos - all moving in the right direction.
Ramble

:T Good idea for eBay sales - that's the one thing that always plays on my mind - no emergency fund. Even a very small one would make it easier. So that's decided, the cash will be withdrawn and put in a tin in the cupboard, just in case. I could of course bury it with the rest of my silver and gold but that's too much like hard work for this Viking .

I am so relived that ARGOS has been slayed - it wasn't a lot of money but I was really ashamed of myself for ever doing something like that. Seriously, it was ridiculous :eek:. However, it's gone and I won't be doing that again in a hurry so lesson learned I think.

Onward and upwards

Uhtred

Scott_Chegg

Great diary - I didn't want to read and run. Good luck on your journey....
you are doing brilliantly.....

Cheers
Scott

Uhtred_Ragnarsson

Thanks Scott - I need all the encouragement I can get

Uhtred

Lauralozzle

Good luck - great diary so far! Here to subscribe.

Uhtred_Ragnarsson

Thanks Lauralozzle . I'm thinking that the diary and support from the good people on these boards, will make all the difference to me.

Uhtred

Uhtred_Ragnarsson

There's been a slight development; in all honesty I'm a bit knocked for six at the moment.

I was at my parent's house last night and for better or for worse I decided to fess up about my debt. It was really strange but the way it happened was like I wasn't really in control of myself - I just told them.

What a huge weight off my chest - I can't begin to tell you how relieved I felt. I've hidden it for so long, a bit ashamed and worried about their reaction and they weren't in the least bit ashamed of me. Dad was a bit annoyed I hadn't mentioned it sooner but not in an angry way, if you see what I mean.

The upshot was, my lovely mum and dad offered to pay off my credit card for me - not as a loan but as a gift. They will be giving my sister the same amount to keep the balance and said it was an early inheritance. To say I'm stunned is an understatement. My dad made it quite clear they could pay all my debt off (no way I could take this as I would be mortified) but that it probably wouldn't help me longer term. He's totally right. Both of them also made me promise not to spend on the card again and dad went through a quick SOA with me to see that I was really going to be able to manage (which I am).

So today I'm not quite sure what to do. My two other loans, which can take overpayments, will take care of themselves naturally and I think I plan to let them do just that until the turn of the year. I have virtually no emergency fund for anything at all and Christmas is on the horizon. My best plan, I think, is to keep some cash and build a small emergency fund and deal with Christmas as a cash buyer for the first time in a very, very long time. Is this a good idea or not? I'm not sure, but I have time to think about it - perhaps along the lines of, if in doubt, do nowt!

I don't know how I can ever repay my mum and dad. Seriously, I don't. What they have given me is breathing space and a real chance to sort out my spending habits once and for all. Which brings me to this diary. I will keep updating my diary as my goal hasn't changed - I need to be debt free. I will use it to record all my efforts in making those loan overpayments but it will probably veer towards changing my relationship with money and spending and keeping my costs low and my chin up.

For the first time in years I feel I have turned a corner.

Onward and upwards chums

Oh, one more thing, a question. I really, really want to close my credit card account but I'm scared to do it as it would leave me with nowhere to gin in a dire emergency. In saying that, I feel sick at the thought of having it open. Any advice?

Uhtred