The long haul supporters thread...

In_Search_Of_Me

flumpkin (309)

Welcome flumpkin!

The long haul can be depressing as its so looong! People have different ways of dealing with it, I suspect linked to personality type. Ive been here for quite a while and despite sometimes feeling that not much has changed I have paid off a fair bit and my shopping habits arent like they used to be.
People have different approaches to debtbusting and it takes a while to find your debtbusting personality! Some find being frugal all the time helps while others build in treats; over time I have tried both and the latter works for me...if i am frugal all the time then I end up having a blow out that costs more than the odd treat would!
Lifestyle also makes a difference; ie could you do a meal for friends at home rather than going out? Much cheaper and often more relaxed plus you dont have to get new outfits! Also finding a hobby that is cheap helps as well as thinking about why you overspent in the first place?
A good place to start is to do a spending diary which details every penny spent and you can then see what was a need and what was a want and can understand where you can save money. Also looking at your outgoings (DDM'setc) is a good idea...I used to have a load of magasine subs on mine and just cancelling those saved me hundreds! Plus looking at your bills and seeing if you can get it cheaper...reclaiming overpaid council tax, payment protection etc...
With weekly shopping start trying the non branded things and see what you can shift down to...ie I am quite happy with own brand sweetcorn etc but heinz tom ketchup is a necessity!
Most of all come and chat on here about the highs and lows; if nothing else you will know that you are not alone...keep asking questions; there will be lots of different choices depending on peoples experiences!

flumpkin

Hello and thankyou for adding me

Wow what a lot of good suggestions. I am really looking forward to payday (not for the usual splurge) but want to look at my monthly money properly. I have an inkling (sp) where most of my money goes... apart from the obvious debt repayments ;-) I spend far too much at the supermarket and shamefully some gets wasted. I need to cut back on groceries and start to meal plan. Besides an expensive 'big shop' there are too many top-up shops that involve too many impulsive 'bargains'. The spending diary is a good idea!

I never had any PPI apart from one old Egg loan and I have already claimed that back, so not an option for me. One big prob is we have a lot of high interest cards and with such a high level of debt I doubt we'd get other cards on balance transfer. All are maxed out too so not sure when we could try to lower any of these. Majority are around 20-25% :eek: Any suggestions welcome ... for now I think snowball is our best option to just focus on getting the balances down.

Look forward to chatting with you all on my DFW journey xx

millionaire_in_training

Flumpkin. Go through the list of CC deals that Martin has and have a go at one of them. Barclaycard do a life of balance 6.9%. I have been on and off with Barclaycard for years and keep getting this deal with them. It's a good one to keep ticking away in the background whilst you get the high ones gone. Fingers crossed you manage. I thought I had no chance either and I recently got a 12 month 0%, a 17 month 0% and a 6.9% LOB so go for it.I've more than halved my monthly interest

flumpkin

Thanks for the advice. I think lowering my interest rates is a key thing I need to do but I am worried I'll be rejected and mess up my credit rating which probably isn't great anyway. I did bite the bullet and apply for creation card last Nov after reading a post on MSE. I was amazed to get accepted for £2k at 0% for 12 months but I think this was because I have a well managed LW and VERY account and I think they use same credit check Equifax?

I already have 1 closed BC that I am paying back (about 6K) and 2 other closed ones for my OH. None were BC originally and we opted to close when the interest rates were going to rise further.

I have closed the cc with my bank HSBC (again due to a proposed hike) and have CAP1, Sains, MBNA... not sure I have many options left?

Well done on your transfer MIT :T cutting interest must make such a difference.

How long should I wait before applying for say Virgin, Halifax or Tesco? Or shall I just sit tight? If I do apply and get rejected I guess I need to wait 6 months?

millionaire_in_training

I would try now. Nothing to lose and all to gain. If your credit is shot just now then an application and rejection will be irrelevant. I got turned down a number of times and in November my bank asked me if I was interested in a balance transfer. I laughed at the guy and said why not try. To my utter shock he said I had one of the best credit ratings he had ever seen :eek:. Now considering I had been turned down many times for balance transfers I was s tunned at this but can only assume it is because I am decreasing my debts and never ever miss any payments. Now this is only what has worked for me I'm not sure whether it is the right thing for everyone. Good luck

flumpkin

Thank you for the push... Agreed nothing to lose and so applied for marriott this afternoon. Computer said YES. Have 7k bt for 12 months so will move a 24.9 and close it, pay minimum on it and plough diff between min payments onto my next highest. Thanks MIT. With 2 BT in 6 months will leave now for a bit. How long is recommended?

lucielle

If it was me applying, I would try for anything and everything in one/two days rather than leaving it for 6 months. You are going to be on your debt free journey for a couple of years and by the end of it (if you're anything like me) you won't want to be in debt ever again, so your credit rating should be good and you'll never want to use it.

If that does really bother you can sign up through Quidco to get a copy of your credit report, just remember to cancel it before they start charging. HTH
L

flumpkin

Thanks Lucielle, I am tempted to apply for others but my main concern is that I'll get rejected for applying for too much credit in a short space of time especially when my debt level to income is so high. We owe more than we earn in a year!:eek: Our car is getting old and more creaky and I need one to get to work. At some point I am expecting a blip on my dfw journey as we will have to apply for as loan to get a replacement (hopefully not for a while yet). Wouldn't be getting an expensive new car but a reasonable one as our one fam hol a year is camping and I have to travel 30 mile round trip to work and due to hours worked could not do it on public transport. Won't replace until have to but need to know I'd stand a chance at getting the loan (prob through bank) when I do need it.

Have thought about contacting some existing cards to say I have this balance transfer option but wondered if they could offer anything before I transfer? Bit off a bluff though as transferring a high one in OH name. Has anyone done this and been successful?

millionaire_in_training

I agree with lucielle. I would keep going and get as much as I could transferred to 0%. I would deal withthe car issue when it arises as it could keep going for a good while and you will still be paying mega interest. You've no idea of the psychological lift it gives you when you realise that more or less every penny you're paying out is actually paying off the debt rather than being eaten up by interest. See my signature for proof of this. Fabulous that you got so much moved over.

I'm doing things a bit differently from you though. I am trying to pay off my accounts that have the 0% deals on them so that they will not go on to interest bearing due to the rates being quite high when the 0% ends. I'm following the advice of my snowball.

flumpkin

Well just tried Virgin and got a NO

It says they check Experian and the other two I had success with were Equifax.

Will just have to keep going with snowball and paying anything extra I can. This time yesterday I had 7k at 24.9 and now it is at 0% for 12 months so not all bad...:)

I suppose I should check my credit file really and see what is on there. As I said before obviously I am heavily committed, but never missed a payment and can't remember being late. I have however gone slighly over a few times in the past 12 months ...