What a mess...

Florence_J

You're doing great, you're making such great headway. I like how proactive you have been. You'll get there in no time.

enthusiasticsaver

Selling off high value items like your iPhone will really help with debt reduction, after all they were probably bought on a card. Soon have that credit card paid off.

stvn1

Apple products are very easy to sell. I'm sitting here with £710 in my pocket. I've spoken to my wife and we're going to clear the Capital One card tomorrow morning.

Debt two done and dusted. I should be happy at this but I'm gutted. Maybe sleeping on it will help put things in perspective.

MrsSave

If they're items you really want (I'm a big Apple fan!!) then once you're debt free you will be able to save up and pay for them. No credit cards, no increasing debt. You could make that a target for once you're debt free.

You're doing such a brilliant job. Just keep the enthusiasm going. It will be more difficult once the big items are sold, but just remember why you're doing it and how fantastic you're doing. Well done!

stvn1

Definitely. No credit cards, no debt and no expensive mobile contract.

stvn1

Well, that's it done. My Capital One credit card has been paid off. My current debt total is now £7759.89.

Today I plan on chasing up Cabot to see if they will agree to my proposed payment plan.

stvn1

Cabot - they won't accept my payment proposal. They will only allow a discount if the debt is paid over 12 months. Time to email up the food chain a bit.

stvn1

Remember I said that I won't let this get me down and I was usually a positive person? I'm not feeling that right now. I'm never really thought about my debt too much until the last week or so and I thought I could sort it with minimal fuss but I'm finding that it's starting to get me down.

I'm starting to obsess about it, I have a spreadsheet drawn up and I'm finding myself looking at it trying to find a way to decrease what I owe. Selling the Apple stuff has got to me as well. I know it's temporary but I really didn't expect this reaction. Cabot knocking back my offer this morning has annoyed me as well.

I've been reading other diaries to see how people cope with this. I need to stay positive.

enthusiasticsaver

Reducing the debt by £4404.60 should make you feel good especially as it has been done in such a short time. I am not sure how long it took you to accrue the debt but paying it off takes so much longer. Resolve to never get in this mess again and buy yourself the new apple products debt free once all this is gone. In the meantime a cheap sim only phone will do the trick as a reminder to not be silly with money in the future.

Re Cabot, just move on and try the others on your list of outstanding debtors and come back to them later. As I understand it you have agreements now with Rob Way and Lowell which amount to around £150 a month so you have £50 a month leeway to tackle another one. It might be tricky to continue to sell stuff now as I assume the big ticket items have now been sold.

stvn1

Thank you, and yes, I know I've made a good start in a short period of time.

I'm not usually in the habit of feeling sorry for myself and I know this will pass.

Anything of real value has now been sold, so I'll be focusing on getting the most out of my monthly repayments. I have agreements with Lowell, SLL and Rob Way totalling £170 so I do have a little room to play with. I've emailed the Cabot Finance CEO office so I'll see if they get back to me.