Compulsive borrower to compulsive saver?

Hillwalker17

Day 13 - Still on track

Just checking in. Hoping to pay off those 2 loans tomorrow or Thursday

I think I spoke too soon - my nice sunny and warm weather has turned to wind and rain. Oh well, it was never going to last anyway :rotfl:

Tomorrow marks 2 weeks!!! :j

HW17

Cherryfudge

Yay - you are doing so well! Nothing succeeds like success.

The emergency fund is getting healthier too.

Whoknowskt89

Just been reading through and good luck with your journey!
Mark Billingham is a genius! Also try Nikki French as their books are great too! (it's a husband and wife that write together)
Congrats on the 2 weeks!

On your note on bank accounts, I'm terrible...
1 account for yearly bills
1 current account
1 Christmas/January savings fund
1 save for event fund
1 emergency fund
Then I've got the 2 credit cards of which one is online shopping which is paid in full straight away (don't like using current accounts online and my PayPal is linked) and one which I used to money transfer a loan to stop the interest added.

With the amount of accounts, it's what works for you.
I keep things separate as this way I can balance and forecast my yearly bills accounts and I don't accidently dip into emergency fund when doing my Christmas shopping etc.

It does look like you've got a plan in place and good luck with the Mrs!

Hillwalker17

Well today marks 2 weeks away from gambling :beer:

Feeling much better and less stressed. God life improves so much when your not on the gambling band wagon :rotfl:

Anyway, more news, I phoned the two banks and paid off the 2 loans
The balance for loan 1 was about £475 and the balance for loan 2 was about £735. This is a bit higher than I hoped, but hey that's it done.

The only concerning point is that they are both sending out closure statements. I don't want or need this as the Mrs will see them and all hell will erupt. Hopefully I can get to the mail before her. I know that sounds absolutely mental and selfish, but once this is over, I should be ok until the end of the year. I will address the situation near the end of 2017 when I have saved up more money and at least I can look at my options of overpaying or not.

It leaves me with just shy of £400 in bank 1 and I've placed £150 in bank 2. Bank 2 is my everyday account, which i'll use for my spends. Hopefully bank 1 will increase by about £300 a month now.

Whoknowskt89 wrote: »

Just been reading through and good luck with your journey!
Mark Billingham is a genius! Also try Nikki French as their books are great too! (it's a husband and wife that write together)
Congrats on the 2 weeks!

Thank You, yes I find him fantastic. I've nearly finished another book. I'll have a look at her stuff. I'm not sure if I was a writer I would want to write with the Mrs :rotfl:

So I have a half day on Friday, can't wait to relax.

Whats everyone's plans this weekend :cool:

HW17

Whoknowskt89

Hillwalker17 wrote: »

Thank You, yes I find him fantastic. I've nearly finished another book. I'll have a look at her stuff. I'm not sure if I was a writer I would want to write with the Mrs :rotfl:

So I have a half day on Friday, can't wait to relax.

Whats everyone's plans this weekend :cool:

HW17

I can't ever seem to meet a man I'd want to date let alone anything more! Really cannot blame you!

Good luck on getting to the post first!

My plan is get through the next 2 days at work, clean the flat like mad as my sister has a hen do in the area Saturday and wants to crash here followed by driving her home and seeing family Sunday..... I hope you've got better plans than me!!!

Cherryfudge

It must be the weekend for hen do-s, I'm off to one too!

Well done for 2 weeks and 2 loans clear!

Nob0dy

Where you gambling only on phone apps or also going to their websites?

Having an app that prevents you from using them on your phone is a good start, but if you have a PC too I would suggest contacting their customer support and asking them to block your accounts due to gambling addiction issues.

I work in gambling, companies usually tend to be pretty good already as they don't want people ruining themselves, more than being good at heart they simply don't want bad publicity, on top of that in UK, due to UKGC regulations, companies must offer you a self-exclusion scheme.

Using the above, you log into the system, find the relevant self-exclusion page and block yourself, from that moment on your account is permanently blocked until you contact customer service, so even if you have a lapse your account simply won't allow you to login, nor you will be able to create a new one, as upon trying your new account will be linked to the old one and blocked on the spot.

If logging into the account for the purpose of self-exclusion doesn't sound like a good idea as it could be temping, you can try contacting their customer service and asking them to block your account due to being an addict.

IF you don't even want to go close to them there are people that could help you out and get in touch with them for you, you can find a lot more information here:
http://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-advice/what-can-you-do/self-exclusion


All my best to you mate, well done for recognising you have a problem, it's the first step to finding the solution.


One last bit, I don't know your missus and ultimately is up to you, however, personally I would risk the flares for being honest, she will go in flames and give you hell, but if she cares she will understand, stand by you and give you support, whereas lying to cover the problem could do worse if she was to find out on her own.

Hillwalker17

Day 15, it feels like I've been doing this diary forever but it's only 15 days.

No Hen do's for me :rotfl:

That's the dog walked and the house semi cleaned. Looks like it's going to be nice later so might pop down to my local canal with the dog.

I'm expecting the closing account statements in the mail either Saturday, Monday or Tuesday. Luckily the postman came before I left for work this morning or this could have all blown up. The company for loan 2 sent me a letter regarding my £2000 over-payment. I cant imagine what would of went through the Mrs mind if she had read this. I know the majority of readers will think "just tell her", but it isn't that easy. If I can get passed the mail this week, there should be no issues till nearer the end of the year, which is a lot of time to save money and make important decisions.

Nob0dy wrote: »

Where you gambling only on phone apps or also going to their websites?

Having an app that prevents you from using them on your phone is a good start, but if you have a PC too I would suggest contacting their customer support and asking them to block your accounts due to gambling addiction issues.

If logging into the account for the purpose of self-exclusion doesn't sound like a good idea as it could be temping, you can try contacting their customer service and asking them to block your account due to being an addict.

One last bit, I don't know your missus and ultimately is up to you, however, personally I would risk the flares for being honest, she will go in flames and give you hell, but if she cares she will understand, stand by you and give you support, whereas lying to cover the problem could do worse if she was to find out on her own.

Hello there and thanks for the comment. I mainly did it on my phone but I would also use the laptop. There is nothing on my laptop stopping me from using it, but i'm trusting myself at the moment. This is the most I've felt in control for a good while. To be honest I doubt I could open any further gambling accounts anyway as in the past 8 or so years, I opened and self excluded myself from almost all the know online gambling sites. If I were to use one, it would be some dodgy online bookie that no one had ever heard off (I won't - don't worry)

I've made a list of things i'm wanting to purchase before the summer and as each month I behave and don't gamble, i'm going to purchase one item for myself as a reward. I suppose this will be my incentive to carry on, in case I ever need one

WhoKnows - I love the word crash, it makes it sound like the flat will be trashed too. At least you will be able to catch up. She will probably be too hungover to go out and spend money

HW17

pozza_73

Hi Hillwalker
Been reading your thread and just wanted to congratulate you on abstaining from gambling. You CAN do this :beer:

I have started my own diary - it might help me stay focussed and once I get the debt snowball well and truly on the way it will become easier.

It's not easy is it but with the help of MSE we can ALL do this :j

Whoknowskt89

Oo what are you planning on treating yourself to?

Well... The last time my sister visited she complained about my flat a lot. It's not dirty and it's always tidied before family visit but it is cluttered. While she's off out enjoying herself I'm going to sit in front of the TV with chocolate or something. Only downfall I've got to drop her off and go pick her up at stupid o'clock... Surely getting the bad end of this deal!