My journey to a debt free life

Onebrokelady

Cherryfudge said:

Could you part-pay it? If you put say £100 towards the debt then you will still have a goodly chunk towards the floors, but just do the floors a little later. It won't be as satisfying as getting rid of the debt all at once but you will have brought it closer, and thus potentially brought the end date of all your debt closer.

I'm considering this idea,I was awake for ages last night trying to figure it out. I'm going to wait until payday on Wednesday to see how much I earn now my hours have been reduced and decide what to do then. The budget might be so tight I do t have a choice bit to plod along as I am but I will see 

Onebrokelady

milann said:

I think the feel good factor of living with your floors finished would do you the world of good...the debt will get paid in time as it’s on a plan but if you spend the money for your floors and your dd suddenly moves out it might be a long time until you can afford to do it again. It’s a tricky decision especially as you can’t talk it over with your dd.

Thanks Milann, I have been trying to get my floors sorted out for a couple of years so it would be good to finally get them done,I can only do them because DD is paying me rent,if she moves out the budget won't allow for anything big to be done which is why I'm trying to do it all this year, when she moves out I'm going to be on a very tight budget. I'm still thinking about it but in reality it will only knock £608 off my total debt so not a massive amount.

Sun_Addict

I think I’d rather have the floors while the money is there, especially if it doesn’t make much difference to the debt total. You can pay off the debt in small chunks. 

Onebrokelady

Today I was supposed to go into town for some shopping but I really didn't want to go so I didn't bother. I have things I can have for tea and enough for packed lunch for work tomorrow. It was so cold this morning so I decided just to take B for a lovely walk and then I've spent the day reading my book which I managed to finish. The only job I've done today was to sort the chickens
I have felt a bit low all day after visiting the SC website which has reminded me Im going to be paying my debt off for a  long long time, in fact it will be another 13 years so not until I'm 70 😟I just wish I could work full time and pay it off quicker 
In other more cheery news I only have 8 years left on my mortgage to pay which is actually less than my debt now. It would be nice to be able to use the mortgage money to put towards debt when it's finished but I will retired and living on a pension by then so won't have the money. I also will still have rent to pay because  of it being a shared ownership house
 God what a self pitying post this turned into. In the grand scheme of things I am lucky that I can still live while I'm paying this off. I won't get to realise my dream of owning another horse but that was unrealistic anyway . I have a roof over my head and money to put food on the table which is enough 

Willowtree222

I think getting your floors done will be great. It's difficult thinking about paying off debt. 
How strange they didn't contact you though. At least it will be sorted x

Sun_Addict

Is there any chance of making small overpayments on the debt just to try and get the term down? It’s horrible when it dawns on you that you won’t be able to realise a dream. Try not to think about it too much especially if there’s nothing you can do. You could still have the goal of regular riding as it’s more realistic. Do you have a horse sanctuary locally that would value your help and you’d get to spend time with horses? 

Humdinger1

@Onebrokelady not sure how you feel about this, but I've seen many posters going to self administered debt plans as it's normally easier to do full and final settlements than when going via a charity or even paid org.  They are normally a low % of the amount outstanding.   You work so hard, are so brave and didn't end up here because of decisions you made that I think it's justified esp bearing in mind how much interest you'll have paid, and if the debts have been sold on, how little they'll have cost to buy; the original creditor will already have written it off.  Apologies if you don't like the idea of this; I wouldn't suggest this to many people but do really think it's justified in your case.  Love your diary Humdinger x 

Onebrokelady

Sun_Addict said:

I think I’d rather have the floors while the money is there, especially if it doesn’t make much difference to the debt total. You can pay off the debt in small chunks. 

After mulling it over today I think I will stick with my plan to do my floors. The debt is being paid even if it's not as fast as I would like and if anything this year has taught me we don't know what might happen next,I'm seizing the opportunity while I can 😊

Onebrokelady

Nicnak said:

I think getting your floors done will be great. It's difficult thinking about paying off debt. 
How strange they didn't contact you though. At least it will be sorted x

It is a bit weird. I am terrible at checking my emails so I went through my email account and apart from two emails offering support over Christmas there was nothing. I also took the opportunity to delete everything that wasn't relevant as well so I now have a nice tidy inbox 😀

Onebrokelady

Sun_Addict said:

Is there any chance of making small overpayments on the debt just to try and get the term down? It’s horrible when it dawns on you that you won’t be able to realise a dream. Try not to think about it too much especially if there’s nothing you can do. You could still have the goal of regular riding as it’s more realistic. Do you have a horse sanctuary locally that would value your help and you’d get to spend time with horses? 

I've just seen my payslip for this month and with my reduced hours it's going to be tight, SC also don't have the facility to overpay, they like you to treat all your creditors the same. I could possibly contact  the debt agencies separately and do it that way but I'm not sure