The long haul supporters thread...

dubgirl

ISOM - I have not told my family the extent of my debts, they know that we dont have a great deal of money and that we owe money as well but not the full extent. I dont want to shock them any more, I have spoke more to my sister about things. I always pass on suggestions that I pick up from OS to my mum and last night she was talking about the recessions in the 70's and the late 80's which I remember, particularly how close we came to losing our home. I think at the moment they are ok, but of course as pensioners their income is static and I worried with the rising prices how it will be for them in a couple of years.

In_Search_Of_Me

Thats ok dubgirl...just a suggestion. How you doing with that crossstitch?!! I also worry about my mum long term although she is ok for now but I know in years to come that I will be supporting her - which I dont mind at all as she has been a pillar of strength for me. She coming for an impromptu visit ad chilling for us both is in order!

Happytogetdebtfree

good morning good day, i am back from my holidays refreshed and not spent a penny however overdrawn by 3 quid how did that happen :P never mind anyway oh is getting a new job yaaaaaaaaaaay :d with better money which means we can comfortable save for our wedding and throw a little extra at debts...everyone is talking about the credit crunch and wow it makes me feel bloody great finally more people are waking up and smelling the coffee..... we can all help each other i was thinking of ways to help people out particularly on here and i thought well rather naieve of me.... if everybody gave a £1 people could get a little sum each month for how long till everyone on here on the list recived a golden handshake, i certainley wouldnt miss a pound if i knew i was helping i mean i dont think it fair to expect people to give more maybe that was me been too caring but i thought maybe we could think of something ligit one can dream, maybe im rambling and watched too many feel good films.... evryone has problems and its scary finding out you too have them but of late me and oh decided with this credit crunch im not killing myself to get debt free i said we would half our surplus half on debt half on living of course to a reasonable amount obviously more on debt otherwise it becomes a drag and we hate it..... we were thinking of gettinga wi fit we almost convinced ourselves we could do it but alas we will wait till we have saved for it our main priority is minimum payments and savings for wedding hope everyone is keeping well xxx

Keeping_Positive

Mixed month here

Overspent on bits and had some money back elsewhere. Bodyshop starting to reap some rewards. Tax code screwed up and thankfully mitigated by payroll messing up and overpaying. So I have one month to get tax code sorted or it will not be nice becasue the overpayment will be taken back next month. My xmas reserve will be eaten up :eek:

Welcome new members hope your journey is as smooth as possible. Good to see you back Dubgirl like you trying the PMA thought as much as possible.

dubgirl

Hi everyone, ISOM, I have about 4 cross stitches on the go at any one time, so I dont get bored! Although tonight got wire in the blood on, nothing like a bit of blood and gore! Happy, I agree with your OH about not busting a gut to get debt free at the mo. Our debt free journey has slowed down even more, as OH got his credit card bill today, his CC debt is not in the DMP. Anyway he recently got his credit increased by £900 and he has spent over a further £700 on the cc. Granted did know he was doing some of uit, as some things are car MOT, new tyres, however he has also bought a number of tools. Looks like it has got even further away from us. OH then got extremely upset about it, but acknowledged that it was his own fault. Guess he is having his own mini- lightbulb moment. Told him to put the card in the drawer and will be grateful for suggestions as to how we can pay this off sooner.

Toffee_Penny

Great idea Happy Can I be first on the list to receive everyone's £1's though? :rotfl:

I think its hard to switch off when you are starting out on a DMP arrangement, since I have been on here I have done nothing but eat, sleep and ':p' debt! But I know it's the best step we have ever taken, god knows what kind of mess we would be in if we had just continued to pay like we did. It is a stress but nothing like before when I was crying at night worried about paying this and that and getting frustrated over meeting minimum payments now it will feel like another direct debit payment, just one monthly payment to find and that's it.

Even the £1 shops have been hit by the credit crunch :eek: One in our town has now resulted in selling 3 rolls of christmas paper for a £1 instead of a £1 each like previous years, that was my bargain of the day today 3 rolls of mitmas paper just got to think of what to put inside it now. I dread buying presents for family and lose count over the amount of Lynx body spray sets I wrap up each year for smelly teenaged nephews:rotfl:

I think about the value of money even more now, before it was just a tenner now it's like 'mmm do we really need this, can I get it cheaper?' I am on a bargain hunt this christmas for presents as I haven't got the cards or overdraft to go mad on but I will have a much more relaxed time this year because there will be less of a worry and come January I know I won't have dreaded bills to face. :j

too_much_debt

Hi. Could I join please, am definitely going to be a long hauler. I owe just over £17,000 on credit cards, the only income I have to pay it off at the moment is Ebay earnings (Business Account selling new stuff and Personal Account selling second hand stuff) and Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits which isn't a lot.

I got into this much debt through 1) buying stock for my Ebay business 2) doing 0% balance transfers with 3% handling fees (they all add up when you are swapping every 6 months), 3) having to buy things on credit card when I didn't have any money ie food, nappies, other necessities. 4) having to buy Xmas and Birthday presents on credit card.

Thanks

In_Search_Of_Me

too_much_debt (147)

Welcome tmd! Have you contacted any of the free debt agencies for advice? With limited income I wonder whether it would be worth considering a dmp? Just a thought. Mind you when I started the journey I was told that I should so one and that scared me into action lol!!

What x-stitches are you doing dubgirl? Doing ok here but its going to be an expensive month...60 for a new wing mirror yesterday after a kid kicked it off and will prob have to pay to insulate my sitting room and that will cost about 500 but I am hoping will reap dividends in the long term...two steps forward and one back but at least we are moving forward eh!!
Hugs for you all. Hope you have a good w/e - have been to library and got lots of christmasy books to give some gifty ideas!

Happytogetdebtfree

Morning all, toffee penny yes you can be first on the list lol !! if only it could work, me and jon was thinking we would find ten very close friends who we can trust and each put a 100 quid pm away and each year one of the friends would get a golden handshake id probably ask my family i think its a fab idea although it would take 10 years for some people to get there 12k haha i was trying to think of alsorts of ideas we all need a little help from time to time.... oh has gone for an informal job review he this afters i may know if hes getting a good job offer so either way an increase in monthly surplus all good stuff ...... ive told immediate family id not be buying plush gifts for xmas ive seen a few ideas on here about secret santas lol that would be much easier im working nights this weekend i should have been working early sat and sun but someone phoned in so ive opted for the 2 nights better cash for me xx

dubgirl

ISOM re x stitch, aside from yours, I am stitching a tulip flower onto a small shopping bag made of jute, I also have a x stitch which is a view to a harbour through a window, reminds me of a typical cornish harbour ( I love Cornwall and would love to live in a little fishing village by the sea). Also got one on the go of an Arab mare and her foal with greyhounds in the background, it is of a famous painting called the Arab tent by Landseer ( Arabs and greyhounds another two of my great loves) and finally a japanse lady in a japanase garden. i got this at the big x stitch show in Olympia in March, my MIL and SIL are both into x stitch and MIL treated me to a ticket and a day out, very generous of her. If you are into x stitch would throughly recommend the show.