A wake up call

ScarletLady

I had a wake up call over the weekend in the form of a letter from the bank, asking for most of my overdraft back by next month. This sent me into a complete panic as the amount they were asking for was completely unattainable for me.

I was confiding in a colleague and she told me about these debt free diaries, and I thought I'd give it a go; bare my soul and my transgressions for all to see, as I need to take responsibility.

I'd always planned to start chipping away at my debt this year, but the bank has forced my hand, and in a way thats a positive.

Currently, I have a £2,000 overdraft which I live at the bottom of.
I have £2,000 on a 0% credit card
I have circa £1,500 on a credit card which has quickly accumulated as I use it to top myself up each month.

My bank have agreed a plan whereby I can reduce my overdraft facility by £150 a month, bringing it down to a more comfortable £500 facility within 10 months.

Then my plan is to chip away at the credit cards until I've stopped the overdraft reductions, or until I'm financially better off. I'll pay £25 off on each credit card each month, and if and when things change I can increase these payments.

In the meantime I need to make sure I don't use my credit cards on a regular basis. It's just very difficult, as I don't want to be the friend who can't buy a round of drinks at the pub, or who can't go out to dinner because they're poor. BUT I do need to accept that I got myself here so I need to make the adjustments and sacrifices in order to fix it. I think this accountability is what has been missing from my relationship with money, as I've been in a fortunate position and had either inheritance money, or very helpful parents, who would bail me out when I've got into difficulties before.

But now, I'll be 31 this year, and I need to stand on my own two feet. My hope is that by the end of the year, I'll have cleared £2,500 off of my debt minimum.

ScarletLady

I'm not sure how this process works, whether I need to "reply" my own message or write a new post, hence putting this here for now. Any advice gratefully received as I'm hoping to start diarising as I work on the debt payments.

I'm not currently making massive payments as I need to limit the amount of surplus that goes on a credit card each month. I think over the last two months this has been nearly £1,00. That includes a while bunch pf Christmas presents, but is also a lot of just going out because I can't seem to say no. If I can get to the point where I'm not using the credit card each month and am starting to make small payments while I stick to a new and strict budget, I'll feel like that is a small win. Then I can look at increasing the debt payments once I'm sticking within my means.

I'm worried that it'll take forever, but I know it will be worth it!

redofromstart

:hello: hello scarletlady and good luck with your diary. Its good to start by looking at what you have used your card for and why. Maybe think about leaving it at home, and taking it off any shopping accounts/paypal so that you cant 'just' use it?

ScarletLady

Thank you, Thats a good idea! I keep thinking I need to have No Spend Days, and leaving the card behind will help with that!

fatrab

Hi and welcome!

A few years ago I had £18000 on credit cards and a £3000 overdraft which I was at the bottom of every single month.

Here's the reality: You need to stop using the credit cards. Cut them up. You need to learn self control. You need to learn to say no to your friends for a little while until this is sorted out.

It sounds harsh but you need to sort out the root of the problem otherwise you'll just end up going round in circles.

Post up an SOA. It'll give you and us a better idea of what's going on. Here's the link:

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Be as brutally honest as possible.

Best of luck on your debt-free journey!