The long haul supporters thread...

Keeping_Positive

As stated on my post not great for me. Trying to pay minimums whilst not increasing debt let alone extra payments. Will aim to be good and hopefuly after the holiday next month Ill get a new lease of life in the debt busting front.

Welcome RC01 :wave:

black_taxi_2

i think my debt is better than uk gov

In_Search_Of_Me

nah black taxi not that bad...mines my debt but doesent include mort...if I had mort in there it would be 110,000...+
Off for church w/e so back on Sunday if people need new numbers!

fedupandskint

Tumpty tum tum, feel a bit low today, this road is a long uphill one at the moment. I'm trying hard to cut back in all areas and have done so in:

mobile phone contract - sim only £14.78 pm
TV/broadband/phone - £34 pm (locked in until Oct)
gym membership cancelled
using more basics range at supermarket and more dried pulses etc and reducing amount of meat eaten
trying to have NSDs aiming for 15 this month
paid of AA loan (at long last)
making more food from scratch to save money
doing 100 day challenge to overcome skincare and toilettries buying addiction (hard work but getting there)
having Alcohol Free Days in the month aiming for 30 this month
£100 on clothes in a year - coping fine with not spending on clothes for the sake of it!

Can't find what else to cut back on, still think it is food really as I find it difficult to stick to the budget I set for myself

Ho hum feel a bit better now I've posted, road has levelled out a bit now

black_taxi_2

ISOM---your 37k too 23k is impressive

---

looking weekly/monthly sometimes you cant see results.thats why im thinking yearly

Lois_and_CK

Hello everyone

I've not ventured into this thread before today and have just spent an hour reading some of the inspirational posts. I'm fooling myself if I think I'll be debt-free any day soon - I'm definitely a long-hauler


Things I hate about being in debt:

1. Sleepless nights. Things always seem so much worse in the middle of the night. I've lost count of the amount of times I've woken up feeling exhausted, hopeless, emotional and hating myself for my situation.
2. Tears. Trying to have adult conversations with my husband (CK) and being unable to speak because of crying. Again, I've lost count of the amount of times we've had debt discussions and I've been unable to contribute sensibly because I end up a blubbering wreck, feeling like a child and wanting him to make it all go away.
3. Dreading the postman. I've left so many letters from my bank unopened because I hate the fear that grips me when I read those horrible words 'failed direct debit'. I've even shredded letters from the bank unopened so I don't have to read them.
4. Listening to the phone ringing knowing it's yet another credit card company wanting to know when they're going to get some money. There's nothing worse. CK and I have sat in our lounge in silence, both of us listening to the incessant ringing, willing it to stop.
5. Shame. My parents are so good with money - they drilled it into me and I can't believe I've let myself get into this situation.

Things I like about being in debt:

1. It's been the single, biggest most important life lesson EVER. I never ever ever want to be in this miserable situation again. Ever ever ever.
2. I've learnt loads about money saving through this website, and even when I'm debt free I won't go back to the way I used to be.
3. I rather enjoy making extra little payments towards my debts, even if it's only £1 or £2 here and there. I like seeing statements come through with lots of payments made - it's satisfying. I also like seeing statements with no spending on them - that's even more satisfying.

My debt:

£31,000 (not including mortgage).

I did try to go down the self-managed DMP route earlier this year, but it was soul destroying. I found the endless letters back and forth and the threats all too stressful, so I've given up and I'm back to making minimum payments plus extra when I can save money in other areas and when I do overtime (I work for myself and can take on extra work at weekends sometimes).

Debt free date:

Hard to say really: because I work for myself the amount we pay off our debts varies month to month. We think five years at most, assuming we can remain strong during that time. We're not that good with encouraging each other with money saving - if one of us wants a takeaway for example, the other one is very easily persuaded. We need to constantly remind ourselves of our debt levels. We'd like to be debt free before we hit age 40, then the goal after that is to be mortgage free. We also need to build up a decent pension pot too. God, it's never ending!

Thanks for reading my very long post (if you got this far!)

ramblingtree

Hello!
Lots to catch up on since I was last on here. Hello to new people!!
No news from me really, just plodding along. This month there are no overpayments as OH and I are going camping for a few days the end of the month in the Lakes so spare money going on that. But it will be paid for out of money we have and not cards! So thats good.
Lois&CK, I like your lists! I agree with your positives, I see friends with plenty of money and they waste so much! I'm glad I have learnt (albeit it the hard way) to not waste a single penny. And people are always surprised by my financial knowledge, and I say those with the least have to be the most knowledgeable!!

OH and I are off out to dinner tonight using vouchers redeemed from clubcard points!

Hope everyone has a good weekend, keep up with the debt busting!
x

poorbabe

black_taxi wrote: »

same situation as me--retire in 19 years---no savings--debt---time flys by---just think--the film jaws was 35 years ago

and there was I managing to feel good about the laughter lines I can now (admit) to seeing around my mouth. Surely you meant to say 25 years....................................:D:D:mad:

poorbabe

LoisandCK

What about a little 'visual' motivation to help you both stay on track?

On your bedroom wall, or anywhere suitable, write down the current total and update each month. Large text mind, so you can't miss the figures. Forget about the DF date for now as we all know that can get us down at times.

I've got family with me at the minute so I'm not about to put mine up but will do as soon as my place is my own

In_Search_Of_Me

louis and ck (167) welcome...
If things are that stressful for you why not ring one of the free debt agencies (cccs or debt plan I think) and get them to sort it. You can also write and ask them to communicate by letter only...main thing is that youre deling with it and thats better than trying to pretend its not happening.
hugs for you fedupand skint...we all get days like that...main thing is keep plodding. My gb is the worst offender and will try to so as much storecup as possible in next couple of months...can then defrost freezer too!
thanks black taxi...its taken a while but in loan terms I'm halfway there! Its the cc that needs focus! Problem is that life gets in the way...car tax, mot and service due and dotty cat needs her teeth taking out (not as bad as it sounds - the bill is biggest ouch!)..