I have come here to chew bubblegum and clear debt - and I'm all outta bubblegum AKA the £83,000 saga

Guybrush_Threepwood

Debt_buster wrote: »

Hi, amazing results and well done!! do you have a prediction on what you’ll pay off over the next few months?

I expect to pay off a further £5000 by April this year (going on my spreadsheet) and if my annual bonus at work meets expectations, I should be able to pay off another £2-3k in the same timeframe.

I'm also hoping that by the end of April to be approaching £9-10k in savings (current have around £4k saved). We have been building up a "rainy day" fund alongside repaying debts. I know some of the advice out there says that you should pay down debts before saving, but I think it's important to have a bit put away for those unexpected things that life sometimes throws at us (boiler breaking down, car repairs, job losses and so on).

Guybrush_Threepwood

Anyone here heard of Dave Ramsey? he's like an American version of Martin Lewis. I discovered him by accident on YouTube and have been listening to some of his radio shows. Worth a listen if you have the time: https://www.youtube.com/user/DaveRamseyShow. There's some unbelievable stories on there - people with $500,000-$1,000,000 in Student Loans! Crazy....

Guybrush_Threepwood

Hello! Thanks again to anybody following my story on here. Keeping a diary definitely helps me and I hope it helps others by showing that there's always light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how bad things have got (I'm still in my tunnel, but can at least see the light!).

A couple of updates....

I've had a few disappointing results from the Financial Ombudsman this week. These cases have been open for months but it appears I'm suddenly getting lots of decision come through all at once.

In one case, I complained because a Credit Card company approved a new card/account, despite the fact that I had maxed out another card from the same company and exceeded the limit on it in every one of the previous 6 months. The Ombudsman's view was that even though all that was demonstrably true, I still made the minimum payment each month on the original card (this is true - I did - but only to withdraw it almost instantly to continue gambling...) and so it was OK for the company in question to open a new account. I Feel a bit unhappy about this one, but other than appeal, there's not much I can do.

In another case, I applied for a loan with a company who had rejected no less than 7 applications from me in the preceding 12 months. Whilst my financial situation continued to worsen, they suddenly approved a loan of £10,000. In hindsight, I don't think they should have approved this, but the Ombudsman said that I told them my salary had increased. This is true, my salary had increased marginally, but not enough (in my opinion) to suddenly make me credit worthy. I may appeal this one, though I haven't decided yet.

I should note that I do take responsibility for my situation, but I do think that in some cases, lenders should bear at least some of the responsibility where clear examples irresponsible lending has taken place.

In more positive news...

Sometime last year I produced some digital artwork which I listed for sale on Etsy. I thought nothing more of it and it received ZERO interest for months. I forgot all about it until this week, when I received an email stating somebody had placed an order! It was only for £4, but the buyer messaged me and asked if I would take on a commission to produce some custom artwork for him. He offered £50 and I jumped at the chance. Everything has gone through and the money has hit my account - I may revisit Etsy and give this another go.....

Guybrush_Threepwood

Happy Thursday everyone!

Have been meaning to do this for a while but thought I would jot down some of my money saving tips (i.e. things I have learned since I started this journey!)

In no particular order...

If you're in work (and if you feel you might deserve it!), ask for a pay rise. What's the worst that can happen? They say no. Big deal. But if you don't ask, you don't get. I'm not saying this is right for everyone, but if you have been a loyal employee for a number of years in the same company, what do you have to lose?

Make use of 'pots' if your bank account allows. I bank with Monzo and everytime I use my debit card, it rounds up to the nearest pound and puts the extra in a separate pot (like a savings account). For example, if I spend £5.10, it will put 90p in the pot. If I spend £2.99, it will put 1p in the pot. It doesn't seem like much but it's a great way to save and builds up quicker than you might think.

Sign up to rewards schemes. I mainly use Quidco (for cashback) and Airtime Rewards (for money off my phone bill). It costs nothing and it all adds up!

Sell stuff: If you have items you don't use or need - get rid. Boot sales, eBay etc. Or, if you have the time and skills to make or produce something yourself, give Etsy a go. This is a new one for me, I just made my first £ on Etsy this week (see previous post...). I've also registered on Upwork and on PeoplePerHour, but no joy so far...

Complain! I don't mean complain just for the sake of it, but if you genuinely feel you have been 'wronged' by a company, let them know. As well as complaining directly, I use the Resolver website a fair bit. Although you'll more often than not just get an apology, sometimes you might find they are willing to pay compensation in one form or another. My mobile provider recently messed up an order - rather than do nothing, I complained and got £50 airtime credit which effectively means my phone bill is paid for for the next 3 months. In another case, my bank incorrectly applied a small charge to my account - as well as refunding the charge they provided £75 in compensation because I took the time to complain formally.

Travel off-peak. I work a 9-5 office job, but on occasion, I'll come in a bit later and leave a bit later. On these days, I'm working the same hours but my train and bus fares will be off-peak (in London this makes a HUGE difference). Obviously this will not work for everyone, but if you're boss is flexible and your work allows it, why not ask if you can give it a go.

Work from home! Similar to the above, if you work from home, you have no travel costs. I work from home one day per week with my company's blessing and that saves me over £15 on the day I don't travel into London. Again, this is dependent on your job and on company policy, but if you're in the position to... ask.

Packed lunches - speaks for itself :-)

And finally....

As mentioned on this thread previously - ditch Sainsburys/Tesco for Aldi/Lidl (if you have one near you). Genuinely saves a fortune on supermarket shopping.

Guybrush_Threepwood

Sitting here having a quiet night in. Thought I’d maybe do a Q&A if that’s something people might be interested in (no worries if not!). So if there’s anyone out there reading who wants to ask me anything about my debt situation, my gambling addiction, my recovery, finances, mental health or ANYTHING, ask away!

Guybrush_Threepwood

£63,179.95.

That’s my end of January 2019 figure.

By the end of 2019, with my regularly planned/committed payments, this should be down to £48,992.37.

What I’d really love to do is get this into the ‘30’s by then (i.e. under £40k). That means finding another £9k or so via other means somehow over the next 11 months. Some of that can come from a bonus I’m due to get from work around April time, the rest I’ll have to come up with via more creative means! It’s ambitious, but can (I hope!) be done!

anita55

Hi Guybrush_Threepwood have just read up to #9 and just felt I had to comment on your bravery and to read about your friends and family and your wife seems to me you must be a very special person that they want to support you can only say well done so far and your right every day is a new day and one to look forward to especially when you can see your debt reducing, will read the rest later today xx

anita55

Guybrush - your amazing just read through while the GS was asleep will subscribe if that's OK and I love Dave Ramsey as well as Martin x

DrSpendLittle

Really impressive stuff Guybrush.

Big supporter of Dave Ramsey here too (well, except for the guns). I watch his youtube videos nearly every day and he keeps me on the straight and narrow.

I have a good feeling you're going to smash this debt!

Keep on keeping on!

DSL

Guybrush_Threepwood

Thanks for the comments!

Need to make an amendment to my end of Jan figure as have just managed to settle one debt early at a discount (with the wife's permission of course!). The new end of Jan figure is..... £62,722.91.