Holy moly!!

Crikey123

I've decided to start a diary. I started reading these forums a few months ago but never joined in, just used it to try and get some motivation. That didn't work, I'd tell myself I wanted to deal with my debts but would then see a nice dress or want a takeaway on a Friday night so the credit card would come out, but something has finally kicked my butt into gear.

Basically I was a hair thread away from losing my job. The company I work for had some quite serious cashflow problems, so the Directors were considering closing down. Luckily they've decided to put some money into it to get through the short term issue and I know that with the cash injection, the company can work through this (I work in accounts so know that much at least).

Anyway, this made me go into a blind panic because I have massive debts and no savings. I'm almost 40 now so am slightly ashamed that I'm still in this position, but no point in looking back is there. Time to look forward and plan ahead.

I'll do my SOA later. I use YNAB, have used it for a few years after my friend introduced me to it. My problem is I do my budgets on YNAB, but then spend money & then adjust everything in YNAB after spending which means I end up having less money to pay towards my debts because I've spent the 'spare' money on other things instead. I have to stop doing this, start sticking to my budget. I do pay more than the minimum on all the cards and most of them are on 0% balance transfer deals, but I know I'll struggle to get any more deals so if any of these run out & start having interest added on that will be even tougher on the budget.

My total debts are £26481.12! Honestly I have nothing to show for it. We've had some amazing holidays, our children have the latest gadgets, toys crammed in every corner of our house and we have wardrobes stuffed full of nice clothes, but I've realised that means nothing when my debts are so high.

I'm determined to deal with this. I have a decent salary and regular overtime. My biggest fear is losing my job and having to rely on one wage. If I get rid of the debts that won't be a problem.

So, here I go.

another_casualty

Howdy!

That’s a fair amount of debt there. You’d probably be best to do a statement of affairs , which would help you get the best advice possible on this thread . Don’t worry too much though, as in time it will be fixed .

You have children , a partner etc. Do you have a mortgage ?
What about your partner ? Has he any debt ?
You’ll probably be advised to go on a dmp/ Iva .

What about possible redundancy ? Would you be entitled to anything ,should the worst happen ?

Those are probably the key questions .

Best of luck

Crikey123

Thank you for your reply. I have done an SOA already but am working through it myself first to see what cuts I can make. I have been reading these forums for a few months so already have an idea of what people will suggest. Once I've done it myself I will then seek advice from others.

2 children and a partner. We do have a mortgage with a lot of equity in our home also. Partner has no debt in his name, but spending has been both of us, so both in it to clear all of this. I don't want to go on a DMP or IVA because I have calculated that with the income we earn per month, we do have quite a lot of money available for overpayments so should be able to clear the debt in 18 months, 24 if we give ourselves a bit of wiggle room. This is what makes me mad at myself because we clearly have enough money between us to spare, so have no excuse for getting into so much debt, apart from the fact that we just decide to buy things straight away instead of saving for them.

Redundancy - I would be entitled to redundancy which would help and I also would be able to afford to take a paycut if I needed to. If the worst happened I'd rather take a job at a lower salary than to sit around waiting for a job with the same salary and end up digging myself a deeper hole.

Thank you. I'm determined to do this so going to try and update here as much as possible, not necessarily expecting people to read along but it will be a motivator for me to read back & see what progress I'm making.

Crikey123

Sorry, realised some mistakes on it so editing.

117pauline

Hi Crikey

Welcome to Diaryland. We are a friendly bunch here.

OK..... so you have an impulse shopping problem. You have identified that yourself.

I think if you were to put some strategies into place it will help you. Start small by changing habits a couple at a time.

For example: Friday Takeaway
Reason: tired, end of the week, you deserve a treat
New Habit : cook in advance so meal is cooked/prepared when you walk through the door
Or: have a supermarket takeaway in the fridge or freezer

Both these options work although one of them will save more than the other. It's all about putting something in place to stop the temptation.

I am a firm advocate of meal planning and advance preparation. Is that something you do? I prepare tomorrow's meal today whilst finishing off cooking today's food. In the winter I use a slow cooker a lot and I batch cook some things.

You describe being in a blind panic and that isn't a good place to be. Once you start making a few positive steps, you will feel more in control and you can build on your successes.

An SAO is a work in progress. Check through YNAB, bank and credit card statements for the last four months to see where the money is really going.

Keep a spending diary and note each spend: how much, when, why and how you are feeling. Yes, a pain but I promise it will help you spot the problem areas.

Starting a new diary and doing your SOA is a great start.

Keep posting and we will keep making suggestions
Good luck
Pauline

Chrystal

Popping in to say 'hello' and wish you luck.

You'll get help and encouragement on here, (and nudges to change your mindset) :rotfl:

If you really want to make a change have you thought about paying some of the 'extra' money of the debts as soon as it comes in? That way you know there's less 'spare' to spend on things.

Talking about changine mind sets, how about seeing debt busting as a 'challenge/adventure' rather than a chore. You're competing with yourself and you CAN win! X

DaringToDream_2

Just popping in to say good luck! We're terrible at getting a takeaway or a bottle of wine because 'we've been busy so deserve a treat', so will join you in having the supermarket takeaway in the fridge- great idea!

Crikey123

Hello all, thank you for the words of encouragement.

Pauline - you are 100% spot on. Takeaway every Friday because we are usually so worn out after working all week. My plan is to cut takeaways down to every other week, then when we have managed that I will cut it to once a month. I am going to start meal planning with my mums help, she is an expert.

Chrystal - Yes what I have done this week is all my budgets are set in YNAB and I had 'spare' money once all bills were paid, so I allocated them to the credit card that is incurring interest and have paid that across today, so that money is now gone. My OH gets paid weekly so when that money becomes available I will do the same every week.

Daringtodream - Isn't it hard!! We are truly terrible for it but I am determined to do this. I can be quite obsessive about things sometimes, so now that this is on my mind it will become my number one focus and I will probably bore everybody rigid, so it's good to have this diary to sound off and ramble.

Things I did yesterday:
Called Sky and got our package reduced.
Took meter readings. Both were lower than what the estimated readings are so I hope this should adjust the bill and bring us into a bit of credit. Not sure whether I should request for the credit to be paid back to me or just left on the account to cover the winter??
Used a gift voucher that I received as a birthday gift to buy somebody's Christmas present. It was for a shop that I don't really shop in for myself, so would have gone to waste.
Recovered some money from an old savings account that I don't pay into anymore. It was only £123 but it will all help.

Chrystal

Well done Crikey!

Sounds as though you've really got your head into gear. Personally if there's any credit available from your supplier I'd get it and pay it off the CC that's charging the most interest... every little helps, and it's doing nothing for you sitting in their accounts. X

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary

Crikey123

Thanks Chrystal, I think I will do that. I have submitted the readings so waiting now for a new bill to be generated and then I will give them a call.

I did much better than I expected to this weekend. I didn't order a takeaway on Friday night like I usually do. Instead I took out some food from the freezer and made fajitas, they were so good & I'm glad I chose to have them instead of just ordering the same curry that I always have. I also opted against going out for Sunday dinner and made the sensible decision to take food out of the freezer again on Sunday morning, so that it was defrosted in time for us to have dinner in the evening and I've brought lunch to work with me today.