£121K debt payoff - challenge accepted

savvysarah

db2016 wrote: »

get rid of the money pit!

although i do think "her toxic chat" was a bit harsh to say, i mean you may have been the first person she had seen that day or saw you as someone to explain things to and reached out too.

if one thing being on these boards has shown me, its that finances have an impact on mental health and vice versa, so she could be struggling too! given her circumstances.

Fair point, I accept that. And I completely understand that behind the behaviour could be some mental health issues. She is definitely very anxious, which is part of the reason we have been so lenient over the late rent for the last few years (she's been in the house for 3 years). And why I ensure any issues are dealt with straight away. However, I stand by the words and I used them on purpose, to convey just how difficult it is to interact with her. Its hard to give more context on here as I feel it's inappropriate to list examples of her behaviours, but please know I understand the weight of my words and I chose them carefully.

As an aside, she didn't seem the least bit concerned about her lackadaisical approach to paying the rent.

savvysarah

Moneywhizz wrote: »

It sounds like you really need to work out a way of getting rid of the rental. No-one needs that extra stress in your life, especially when it is not actually making you any money. You are doing well bringing the debt down even while this is ongoing. You will have much better control over things once you do not have to meet the unexpected costs of the rental which seem to just go on and on.

Thank you - we are both trying really hard, all of the time to keep all spending to a complete minimum. And I completely agree, all I really want is to have control over our money, even though there will be very little of it going spare!

Buffythedebtslayer

Silver_Queen wrote: »

Not really Savvysarah's job to be her therapist, though.

No, it really isn't. You must remember this Sarah. It is not your job. And you have been kind to her and you can only do so much.

Really impressive debt total. That is outstanding!

xxx

savvysarah

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

No, it really isn't. You must remember this Sarah. It is not your job. And you have been kind to her and you can only do so much.

Really impressive debt total. That is outstanding!

xxx

Thanks so much Buffy. And yes I'm tentatively pleased with progress so far, trying to stay focused

savvysarah

Morning all.

I've just left a screaming 3 yr old at pre-school this morning, so I'm stuggling to concentrate and get anything done Mum guilt is real.

I'm going to try to list 3 items on ebay, and figure out how to make an appt on the My GP app. And make the tiniest of shopping lists for this aft, trying to make the food we have streeeeetch as far as it can go.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Homegrown0

Hi! New reader stopping by to say hello and well done for keeping on keeping on. You have a big task ahead but the sooner you start, the sooner you get to the end

I feel your pain on being a landlord - we are also accidental landlords and also have to subsidise the costs of the property because rent only just covers the mortgage and the agent fees. It doesn't cover the factor fees which are £200-300 per quarter. We are also not in a good position to sell and we ALSO bought just before the 2008/9 crash so paid premium. It sucks, but we are just thankful we have a tenant and it's ticking along ok for now, without too much grief. I hope you come to the right decision for your family about the whole thing.

Your tenant sounds draining and for what it's worth, i agree with SilverQueen. You have been patient and understanding for long enough - you'd considered her feelings and understood her behaviours but ultimately, her late payments are massively affecting your stress levels, your family's quality of life and your financial stability. It's not your job to be her therapist. Does she have a thought for your mental health or stress levels when she's complaining repeatedly and calling you 14 times in 5 minutes?

Anyway, i hope manage to make progress on it soon one way or another.

I'll keep cheering you on from the sidelines. You'll be sub £100k before you know it!

Working_Mum

Hi savvysarah,
Want to say a big well done for chipping away at your debt position and making some tough (but necessary) choices.

I repaid my mountain of debt by working my boring but simple plan every single day, paying what my budget allowed and then once I had done what I could I refused to stress about it - my kids were little and I prioritised being zen and in the moment with them as they only get once childhood. I would ask myself "have I done everything I can right now to sort this" and of the answer was a "yes" then I refused to worry. I knew my plan was solid but boring but I knew I would get there eventually.

I am self employed so pay myself weekly - this meant that if I was really skint I could make do until next Thursday/pay day! Being broke and eating out of cupboards was do-able for a few days at a time. I also gave (give) myself £150 FFF each week - this is my Food, Fuel and Fun money - by having a round figure I felt I had a bit of wriggle room and could flex the areas to have a social life etc

Thinking about the wall - is it something you could have a go at yourself?? I couldn't afford any outside trades etc when things went wrong in my 1920's home (and gosh did things go wrong!!) and I found YouTube to be an amazing source of knowledge etc - it has given me a set of skills which I still use today - up-cycled some drawers only yesterday to stage my spare room as I am trying to sell my house!!

Hey don't worry too much bout Mum Guilt!! My kids are 21 and 18 and I STILL feel guilty about working whilst they were little - they absolutely do not care!! They tell me time and time again how great their childhood was! NOT buying into the modern hype of everything being perfect is the MSE way to happiness I am sure.

Good luck with your journey, I am subscribed and will be cheering you on from the sidelines!!

april_hunt

I love sitting down and catching up with your diary
Well done with the debt clearing, every little helps so they say!
As for the property it is such a shame that your having to sell due to all this but like others have said it maybe good for you and you can finally breathe that little bit more. Would there be no way of ending the tenancy for you to go in and see what you can do to fix things and then letting it back out to someone else ( through a better letting agent obviously)

With the trainers are there none on the selling sites or charity shops?

Good Luck Savvysarah cannot wait to hear more
x

Eyebright

Hi SavvySarah, have just read your diary and considering everything that you've had going on you've been doing brilliantly!
Sorry about your troubles with your rental property. Even you do make a loss on it in the short term selling it, hopefully in the long term it will be much better for your finances, what with the amount of money it seems to be costing you.

I've just started my journey to debt freedom, so I'm subscribing and will follow along with you

savvysarah

Homegrown0 wrote: »

Hi! New reader stopping by to say hello and well done for keeping on keeping on. You have a big task ahead but the sooner you start, the sooner you get to the end

I feel your pain on being a landlord - we are also accidental landlords and also have to subsidise the costs of the property because rent only just covers the mortgage and the agent fees. It doesn't cover the factor fees which are £200-300 per quarter. We are also not in a good position to sell and we ALSO bought just before the 2008/9 crash so paid premium. It sucks, but we are just thankful we have a tenant and it's ticking along ok for now, without too much grief. I hope you come to the right decision for your family about the whole thing.

Your tenant sounds draining and for what it's worth, i agree with SilverQueen. You have been patient and understanding for long enough - you'd considered her feelings and understood her behaviours but ultimately, her late payments are massively affecting your stress levels, your family's quality of life and your financial stability. It's not your job to be her therapist. Does she have a thought for your mental health or stress levels when she's complaining repeatedly and calling you 14 times in 5 minutes?

Anyway, i hope manage to make progress on it soon one way or another.

I'll keep cheering you on from the sidelines. You'll be sub £100k before you know it!

Ahh thank you so much - and sub £100k is the DREAM right now!

I'm sorry you're caught in the accidental landlord situation too, how bad at timing were we?! It's like a slightly rubbish club that none of us are really loving being in :rotfl:

Thank so much for following along, this diary is really really helping with motivation so I really do appreciate it