LBM 4 years into DMP...Time to get real

cllola

Hi! 
I'll confess I am a lurker, I don't post often but I do have a good old nosey around posts across loads of different boards. 
A bit about me...I have been in a DMP with stepchange since 2014. My (soon to be ex) husband stopped working and we had to rely on my income alone, this meant defaulting on a number of debts built over several years, some for genuine reasons but a lot just because it was easy to get credit when I was too young and naive to know better. 
4 years on and we are soon to be divorced,  I am a single parent of two children with a fairly decent job, I am also studying for a business management degree so life is hectic. 

Anyway, over the last few months I have become very motivated to paying off my debts, saving money on childcare during lockdown has enabled me to build a small emergency fund and also start some negotiations for F&F payments on some smaller debts. I am motivated by the fact that defaults will drop off my file next year, I really want to get rid of these debts so I can begin to think about getting a mortgage...which is huge! 

I have gone through all the guides to cut expenditure and have plans to further cut my outgoings once contracts ends etc. As of today I have £13,516 of debt which includes 2 mobile phone contracts not in the DMP and not in arrears etc. 

In Jan I was able to get a horrendous APR credit card which I use for everyday spending/groceries/petrol and pay off IN FULL every month to build up some reliable credit history over the next few years. 

I am not expecting anyone to read this but I feel putting this out there makes me accountable. It's time to do this and I am excited about seeing the numbers go down every month! 

Thanks for reading if you got this far.

cllola

So today I have created a spread sheet for income and expenditure to track the little bits of money that trickle out of my account. Why have I never done this before?! 
I have called Moorcroft and offered a partial settlement of 39% of the debt (£300 of £764 debt. I have received a small inheritence of £1000 and want to use this to pay off a couple of the smaller debts with reduced settlement offers. They need to pass the offer onto INTRUM and they will get back to me, the chap was very nice on the phone. 

cllola

6 days till payday and another month I’ve managed to save £500 into the EF/F&F fund. Should I separate these? I’m just moving the money into an instant access saver I have with my current account. 

I only need to buy lightbulbs and milk this weekend, we have one bulb working in the kitchen so will be cooking by candlelight if that one goes too. I’m glad it’s so light all the time. I hate going to the shops with the kids but I don’t have much choice, I sometimes leave them in the car if I know I’m only nipping in somewhere. 

Offered a F&F to Robinson way of 40% of the debt, they did an E&I over the phone but turned down my offer, said they would only accept £520 from a debt of £690. So annoying, I don’t know whether to try again with £400, pay the offered amount or just leave it for now. 

I’ve listed a load of things on eBay over the last few weeks and have used the proceeds to buy the kids winter coats and some uniform bits for September. Feels like free clothes!