Debt-Free Wannabe ASAP

Reb2016

Sorry to hear about the dental treatment, just try to remember it's a necessary spend and it will be worth it.
Reb

AleMrsT

Hi Tempus. Been reading your diary with interest, I will subscribe.

Just a few things I've picked up on. Will the gym let you downgrade your membership until it expires in January?

Your rent: yes its high, but factoring in fees, moving costs, finding another deposit upfront, is this feasible by March? The letting agent/landlord wont release your deposit until you've vacated the property, so don't rely on getting the £900 back in time to pay for your next deposit/first months rent if you do decide to move. (of course, if you move in with your partner, all of that is irrelevant!)

I signed up to a DMP when I had to cut my hours at work and my income dropped by over £400 per month. Its chipping away slowly at the balances, I now have a new job with a wage equivalent to what I was getting before I reduced my hours, but I still make the same DMP payment, (although I probably should increase it). My credit rating is now terrible and I can't get a joint account with my husband, or a phone contract etc until the defaults have fallen off my account.

For me it was worth it as I had no other option, I already had a default for missing a payment and my overdraft was ridiculous because I had to increase it to meet a rent payment.

I am much much happier with no credit and no overdraft. I HAVE to know how much is in my bank account down to the last penny because I dont have the option to over spend. For me its the best thing I did, but if you are meeting the payments ok and are planning on moving house soon, I wouldn't recommend it, as the DMP will affect your ability to pass the referencing checks for any new place you rent (unless it is a private arrangement and they dont do reference checks).

I might be contradicting the others here, but personally I would use any spare money you have over the next couple of months to put into an emergency fund, (enough to cover a months rent is what I kept aside when I lived alone), then once you have that in place, use any surplus towards the debt.

Well done on your progress so far, and definitely don't be afraid to let your new partner 'treat' you occasionally, and you should also try and explain to him the situation you are in, especially as he is in a position to be able to help you (I don't mean pay your debts, I mean support you and be on board). A partnership doesn't always mean splitting everything 50/50, for example I do the lions share of the cooking and the house work, he does the driving, the gardening, the cleaning when I'm too tired, and we decide who pays for any meals/events/fun stuff based on who has the most spare cash in their account at the time (usually him, but thats because I actually check my balance :rotfl:!)

Its great that you can get overtime at your current place of work, thats a great way to get extra money without too much hassle.

Also, have you ever had an account/loan/credit card/ store card with PPI? If you have and you haven't already claimed, definitely put in a claim! I persuaded my husband to claim his back recently, he's had one payment of £330 and is waiting to hear back about his other claims, so its definitely something worth looking into.

Hope that all makes sense and sorry I've rambled on

Tempus01

Thanks everyone for your latest responses. I have been MIA for most of the week. I've had a tough week -
financially and emotionally. I've had a couple of days where I haven't been able to settle my emotions, for various reasons. I guess the financial situation doesn't help with my emotional/mental state. I'm quite the positive thinker but just haven't been able to pick myself up from this low this week. Hoping this week will be a better one

Reb2016

Sorry to hear you have had such a tough week, hoping this week is a really good one for you.
I think finances can really affect emotions, and it's often something people find difficult to discuss with friends and family etc, which is why I think these diarys are so useful. So don't be afraid to post on here people on here really don't judge.

Reb

HairyHandofDartmoor

Hope you feel better soon Tempus. Debt makes everything else seem worse and money, or lack of it, is quite an emotional subject. Hang in there and your low mood will pass.

Tempus01

Hi everyone.... gosh it's been a while - is anyone still listening..?
My last post here was in August/September and I guess some things have changed since then but some haven!!!8217;t. I have moved in with my partner and things are great.
I guess my finances haven!!!8217;t seen the benefit of that just yet. When I went to update my signature I couldn!!!8217;t believe that I got myself into more debt and more to the point I couldn!!!8217;t even remember what for!!!
My OH has been a great support to me, he doesn!!!8217;t the full extent of my debt but I guess I need to open up to him about that. Every month I waiver between !!!8220;treat yourself!!!8221; and !!!8220;save!!!8221; Although I haven!!!8217;t made a dint in my credit card repayments !!!8211; I have managed to reduce the interest by a third on one of my credit cards which I should see the benefit of in the coming months. I also save a little each month for upcoming events which before I would have just put on a credit card.
I am feeling really determined (again) and hoping to make improvements between now and Christmas.
Since I!!!8217;ve moved in with my OH this has given me some money back but as I said before I put this away for Christmas, birthday, weddings etc I am more organised when booking travel so that I can get the cheapest train tickets so I guess that helps. My OH pays the rent and we split the bills. I guess I should do an SOA to see where I am up to. I do a monthly budget (I have the most extreme spreadsheet you have ever seen) and I tend to allocate any leftover money to anywhere other than CC!!!8217;s.
I called my bank today to see if I can refinance my loan to reduce the interest rate but my credit score hasn!!!8217;t improved since I took out the loan so I have signed up the MSE credit file to make sure everything is up to date and look at ways of increasing my score.
Would love to hear from you all if you!!!8217;re still there J

onedaysomeday

Hi Tempus new to your diary but just had a read through!

It is easy to add to your debt and not realise it until you sit down and look at it properly, I've just had similar but mine was things I thought I'd got on top of years ago or forgotten about!

Great news on moving in with your OH your rent must be so much cheaper! Have you worked out how much you can put towards debt now?

Tempus01

onedaysomeday wrote: »

Hi Tempus new to your diary but just had a read through!

It is easy to add to your debt and not realise it until you sit down and look at it properly, I've just had similar but mine was things I thought I'd got on top of years ago or forgotten about!

Great news on moving in with your OH your rent must be so much cheaper! Have you worked out how much you can put towards debt now?

Hello onedaysomeday and thanks for the post.

My OH currently pays for the rent. At the moment I am paying out:
£230 for loan
£30 NatWest card
£100 Tesco Card
£70 Barclaycard

Which leaves me with circa £700 a 4 week period
I pay £400 towards bills and food. Leaving me with £300 which goes on:
£40 for Christmas pot
£40 birthday pot
£120 holiday 2019 (sisters 30th)
£45 phone bill
£40 Littlewoods
Leaving circa £15 for any additional expenses.

So I haven’t yet been able to make a massive difference in reducing the balances, although I have upped my payments instead of paying the minimum each month so hopefully should see an impact on the CC's in the coming months.

I have restricted getting my hair done to every 3 or 4 months, I’m as grey as a badger, and I have found a cheaper hairdresser who comes to the house

If you have any other tips then please send them my way.

I’ve had a read through one or two of your threads, you’re doing so good!!!

onedaysomeday

I'm not one to give tips I muddle my way through at the best of times :rotfl: but I do like to cheer people on from the side