The long haul supporters thread...

recurrent-ostrich

thevinternet wrote: »

No more ostrich for me

Oy!

Well done at getting sub £47K :T

millionaire_in_training

Wannabefree1 wrote: »

That must have been some bottle of vodka if it cost over £200!!! I presume you bought food too

/QUOTE]


Hmm I bought mixers :rotfl:and crisps

In_Search_Of_Me

Duckie (294) Welcome! Tell us a bit about you if you feel comfortable.
Can totally understand about the car costs...other than my mort its my biggest expense...I get some of it back but have to pay it out first and if Ive got a busy month its hard going!
As for people starting at the beginning you WILL get there in the end! I know that seems hard to believe but one day....there will be ups and downs and you will learn things about yourself along the way. I think I have learned more about myself than with any other time. Im by no means a perfect example and have definately chosen the scenic route but it works for me! I think its about finding out what works for you and then trying to challenge yourself....which is a challenge in itself!

thevinternet

recurrent-ostrich wrote: »

Oy!

Well done at getting sub £47K :T

LOL! Thanks matey reckon it'll be about 47 years before I pay it all off! :rotfl:

Standingtall

So, tomorrow I go overseas without the security of a credit card for the first time! I travel with work and we are issued an American Express charge card for expenses (not a credit card - the account is closed within 3 months if not paid in full). Unfortunately our unit's business is often in developing countries which are frequently not fans of Amex. This could get interesting! If you do not hear from me again within 2 weeks will someone please send out a search party:rotfl:

julie2011

Hello

I'm a newbie and have just done my SOA. I am currently 20k in debt ... ahh feel better just saying that. My outgoings at the moment are more than my incomings by £160. I have taken advise on here and went onto the cccs webste who say I should go on a dmp. Have read the threads on here though and can see that you all work so hard trying to reduct your debt and some of you are owing the same amount of me. Are you all just working your backsides off trying to reduce it yourself or are you on a DMP?

Would really like to steer cleer of the DMP if I have to because of all the stuff that comes with it. Like the sound of being in a community that provide motivation and help eachother reduce their debt by doing little challenges.

At the moment my credit cards are charging high interest, so am paying very little off of the balance itself, if I keep paying the minimum it's not going to go down anytime soon so what do you guys do to get it down?

Look forward to working with you on our quest for freedom

Standingtall

Hi Julie 2011. Welcome to the forum and this thread. Well done for making a decision to start clearing your debts.

I personally am on a DMP but that is because I did not have any choice if I wanted to keep my home. The only other realistic option would have been to sell up, pay my debts with the equity and then rent. Maybe I should have done that as it would have protected my credit rating I suppose. On the other hand there is no guarantee the house would have sold since the others for sale in my cul de sac have just sat unsold for the last two years!

I do not think everyone on this thread is in a DMP though so I am sure you will be welcome:money:

recurrent-ostrich

Standingtall wrote: »

Hi Julie 2011. Welcome to the forum and this thread. Well done for making a decision to start clearing your debts.

I personally am on a DMP but that is because I did not have any choice if I wanted to keep my home. The only other realistic option would have been to sell up, pay my debts with the equity and then rent. Maybe I should have done that as it would have protected my credit rating I suppose. On the other hand there is no guarantee the house would have sold since the others for sale in my cul de sac have just sat unsold for the last two years!

I do not think everyone on this thread is in a DMP though so I am sure you will be welcome:money:

We're not on a DMP, we've not got any defaults and can cover our minimums and a bit more. My problem was overspending and shopping too much, so I'm hoping that by keeping a tight control on our spending we can clear our considerable debts (see signature :eek:) ourselves, and within 4 years or so. We are lucky that we both have reasonably wellpaid jobs, although lot of our debt was run up when I was a very bored stay at home Mum!

lucielle

No DMP here, just a long hard slog and as In Search of Me says lots of peaks and troughs. For inspiration start at the beginning of Hypnos diaries as she has cleared 100k with sheer bloody mindedness.
L

In_Search_Of_Me

Julie2011 (295)
Welcome!
As for how to clear it that's a very good question and can be quite overwhelming at the start as the mountain peak looks a very long way away! When I started it made me feel physically sick and I cried for 3 days when I totted it all up. So here are a few bits that may help...go through DDM's, bills etc and see what is a need and what is a want; for example I had loads of magasines that I got each month so they all got cancelled. its the day to day things that really add up - so while painful and a bit of a revelation I would start a spending diary and I guarantee that you will be shocked at how much goes on little bits - coffee's out, lunch, parking etc...you can then look at what can be reduced and save money that way and it can really add up. Checking gas/elec (that you are getting the best deal), your council tax banding, checking cc's etc, tax code etc can get extra money in a reduce outgoings.
One thing I have learned is that its best to get a card with life of balance than 0% as its cost to do balance xfers so you need to be savvy at realistically what you can pay off in the 0% timescale....
The main area for me is food budget and its still something I struggle with and am seriously considering an online shop because I always end up getting extra bits in when I enter!!
Flogging stuff on ebay is good to get extra money as well as car boot sales, babysitting etc.
Hope that helps a bit?