Does a leopard ever change his spots?

pukkamum

Hi i was extremely foolish with money in my youth and didn't sort myself out until my son was born 6 yrs ago (my hubby and i basically never paid anything on time and ended up with ccj's etc) now however i am pleased to say we are debt free and live with cash only. The thing is at the moment we live in a council house which is great as it means i get to stay at home with the liitle ones whilst my hubby works. However once i go back to work we would like to buy a house so i am looking at rebuilding our credit, i have just applied for a catalogue account (littlewoods with interest free payments) i have been accepted but i am terrified of using it in case i revert to the old days and get myself in trouble again. Has anyone else come out of debt and gone on to be able to use credit sensibly? Any tips???

OberonSH

I think there's only you that can answer that one. You need to work out WHY you never paid the bills on time, and then work out a solution. Was it organisation? If so, pay the bill the day it comes in, or set it up on Direct Debit. Work out the day the bill will come, and have the cash ready near the door to take to the bank.

That was always my problem - I'll pay this tomorrow, and that cash never go to where it was supposed to go.

immoral_angeluk

My husband was AWFUL with money before got together. When he opened up to me it turned out he had a CCJ, DCA's all over the place, had written cheques he knew would bounce and has basically had his head in the sand for a long long time. But now he's a changed man....admittedly with help from me he's sorted himself out and we're now on our way to being debt free.

So in asnwer to your question.. yes.... but it doesn't happen overnight... it takes a lot of hardwork and a nagging wife!! :rotfl:

Shineyhappy

I would have thought one of the best things to do is to get a credit card that has a great internet banking facility. Personally I like Egg for this reason, that and you can get 35 quid if you get accepted through Quidco. Maybe think about applying for an Egg card and as soon as you get it, make sure that you select the pay in full option. Then pay for one thing a month on it, ie one small food shop and make a note that your main account will always need to have that much left in it at anytime on top of bill money.

I assume you are on the electoral roll as that is also very important in rebuilding your credit.

Personally I would be wary of catalogues as they always seem very expensive to me and a lot of people seem to have problems with them.

Whatever you do, only run up a very small amount on credit and ALWAYS pay it off in full at the end of the month!

Best wishes!

pukkamum

Well i have done it i have ordered a waterproof coat (desperately needed to pick son up from school) i am actually shaking!!!!!! It was £22 and i have had it spread interest free over 20 weeks so will be putting my £1.25 a week in my jar ready to pay at the post office every month!!!!

OberonSH

Good girl! Don't forget to add it to the budget and make a note to put the money in every week.

Kevicho

Everyone has lapses, its what makes us human.

Its how we prepare for these lapses (we save money?), and what we do after that makes the difference (we pay the debt or continue spending?).

lynsayjane

well done and good luck with it!

personally I don't think I've changed that much. got debt free a couple of months ago and am back to old-ish ways, buying things I don't strictly NEED, the good part is that it's all payed cash so I'm not getting into debt. Keep saying I'm going to sort myself out, but it keeps getting in the way of other things.

floss2

I'm a bit like that Lynsayjane, but really need to cut down on the unecessary stuff, as both DS's are at Uni as of Monday, so have to cough up £250pm for next 32 months (total of £8k) just to keep them there :eek:

lynsayjane

floss2 wrote: »

I'm a bit like that Lynsayjane, but really need to cut down on the unecessary stuff, as both DS's are at Uni as of Monday, so have to cough up £250pm for next 32 months (total of £8k) just to keep them there :eek:

I hope your sons realise how inconsiderate it is of them

Are they planning on working through uni? If I could have my time again thats the one thing I'd do, I didn't work until midway through my second year and if I had done it sooner I'd possibly not have been in debt at all.

floss2

oh yes, they realise - I've told them our retirement plans require their financial support! :rotfl:

Older DS isn't working yet (but has just worked all summer to start new term with no O/D!), younger DS is off to London Uni tomorrow with a transfer from his current Cafe Nero job lined up.

I haven't had to support them before, only since moving in with DF who's income is off the top level of the scale, even without my salary. Hey ho, I guess that's life - get debt free, then end up financially worse off but blissfully happy!