I've taken a big step

JenL

I've taken a big step towards dealing with my almost £7000 of debt. I contacted step change a few weeks ago and today I filled out the paperwork and sent it back to them. I also got in touch with the council about my council tax debt and that is in the process of being sorted. Tomorrow I'm sorting out my water payments and seeing if I can reduce my internet bill. 

Step change have said that I can pay back all my debt in two years and two months. It will mean sticking to a tight and strict budget but I am determined to do it. Other than my internet bill I am going to go through my other bills and see where I can reduce them. When I started combing through my bank statements I found a mobile phone insurance payment for a phone I don't even own now.

I will get there but it will probably be hard.

DawnW

Well done on starting to tackle your debts. Good luck with it, you seem focused!

Moneyminded

Well done on taking the first steps towards debt freedom. 

SuperFrank88

Well done.

You should start a diary on here to log your journey. The people on here are fantastic and very knowledgeable if you had any questions. 

Good luck with it all.

Frank

On_my_way

You can do it!!!!!

craftingmad

Well done on your fabulous progress already. You can do this xxx

To_be_Free

Well done stick with it! It will be worth it in the end, the feeling of being debt free is such a wonderful feeling.

Fireflyaway

It feels good taking control doesn't it! There are some colouring sheets you can download online. Colour in a section each time you pay a bit off. Put it on the fridge so you are reminded of your progress. 

Singlespeeder

Ambivalence and ignorance are the devil .... I went on FOR YEARS wrongly thinking that loyalty to a supplier would reap rewards.... it doesn't.  Sadly the AA ended up being one of the worst , and Co-op energy were awful. I started off getting my head out of the sand and taking control. Get a few months of bank statements out and a bunch of highlighters and categorise EVERY payment. It's a real eyeopener as to where your money goes. Then analyse each payment. I found all sorts of stuff. Double paying building insurance was a bad one.  Way overpaying for fuel, car insurance, house insurance especially. Just saving a bit on a lot of things suddenly adds up.
My best thing was sorting out an "Annuals" account. Work out what you have to buy every year, car insurance, car tax, MOT, breakdown cover, birthdays, christmas, etc.... mine came to about £1500 ... so I divided that by 12 ... £125 a month then rounded it up a bit to £150 and I now put £150 away every month in a separate account so when car insurance comes around I KNOW I already have the money put aside to pay it in a single payment, not monthly. This has been a revelation to me !!
Good luck with getting rid of debt.

Bluebell90

Good luck!