Wow wee oh my - trying to hack away at my £54k debt (was even about to book a holiday)

MalMonroe

Hello,

Have you tried contacting one of the Debt Help agencies? Even if you are a lawyer and therefore unable to enter into bankrupcty, etc.

They can really give you some very sensible advice, certainly answer all the questions you are asking on here.

Don't, please, fill in an SOA and reproduce it on here. That really is just so the people who love to pry can have a good look at your outgoings. Doesn't serve any purpose whatsoever.

However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't produce an SOA - but for private discussions with one of the debt help people.

They really do help, my saviour was StepChange. They talk a lot of sense and they know their job. 

Rather than asking on this forum (most of us, myself included, are just amateurs!) you'd be far better off with StepChange or Citizens Advice or some other authorised debt help place. 

Oh, and DON'T be ashamed or embarrassed, the debt help places don't judge you, they don't go over your past, they just look forward and help you to do the same. I've been there. I'm not ashamed to admit it but I was helped and I'm sooooo much better now!! 

Rainbowtrousers

That is great advice. In all fairness my outgoings do make for fun reading but not when they are your own and have lead to this situation .... thanks again

amanda_p

Posting a SO A is not for people to pry. It is for people to help, people with lots of experience of where to cut corners and help with budgeting. People who have been in exactly the same position,worrying about paying back debt and the best way to go about it. Your remark was very disparaging, many on here have a wealth of information that can be passed on.Not called prying in my books!

One-step-at-a-time

An SOA is not for people to pry, and can be helpful to post *if* you want people to give ideas, but obviously whether you do that is optional! I chose to do mine for myself and not post it, as I didn't have any problems finding areas that could be cut! Many people figure it out on their own without contacting debt charities too - for some, the key is seeing in black and white where that money has gone.
The turning point for me was creating spreadsheets detailing my expenditure and debts, and spending time keeping a meticulous record of spending, finding bills and receipts and building up an overall picture of where the money leaks were, then setting a realistic budget and getting better deals on anything and everything I could. Travel is my weakness too, but I started planning and pricing up any trips that I wanted to take many months in advance, booking accommodation with free cancellation and only pulling the trigger on travel once all of the expenses were saved up, so I could cancel without penalty if I couldn't meet my target, and allocate any saved money either to a cheaper break or paying off more debt.  I also set targets of using ebay to make money for weekend breaks etc.
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(and thank you for the nice comment!)

MidsHollie

Welcome to the forum.
I also love my holidays! 

I am a huge advocate of housemates. If you have two spare rooms, why not just get a lodger for one of the rooms? Less people, but still a good chunk towards your debt. You are right, £7500 annually is tax free. Monday to Friday lodgers are hard to find at the moment. Even dead cert places like airports are difficult as people just aren’t working as much away from home any more. 

I would recommend posting an SOA. I did, and people gave some great advice. Some I followed and some I didn’t. But that which I didn’t, still regularly gets me thinking about whether I could live my life another way. 

enthusiasticsaver

An soa is a good start. There are links on the DFW sticky's at the top of this board. Use the lemon fool one and configure for MSE. If you have £750 spare you don't need step change or debt solutions especially as the credit cards are 0% and you have a good credit rating. You can easily sort this with a budget and financial discipline. Taking in housemates will help you sort this really quickly but be aware of the tax implications. Taking in lodgers is not for everyone so you have to do what is right for you. 

alt80

@Rainbowtrousers I have no advice really but I’m knocking on the door of 40 also always been in some kind of debt since 18. I’m in a profession which would potentially exclude me from practicing should I ever enter personal bankruptcy and I’m a company director. Currently got just under £40k credit cards, £120k car loans, a res mortgage and personal guarantees on investment property totally over 7 figures can’t stop spending though haha. You’re not alone and you head seems in a good place. 

Rainbowtrousers

alt80 said:

@Rainbowtrousers I have no advice really but I’m knocking on the door of 40 also always been in some kind of debt since 18. I’m in a profession which would potentially exclude me from practicing should I ever enter personal bankruptcy and I’m a company director. Currently got just under £40k credit cards, £120k car loans, a res mortgage and personal guarantees on investment property totally over 7 figures can’t stop spending though haha. You’re not alone and you head seems in a good place. 

Well let’s team up together and try to take it ? For me it’s been weird to even say no to things as I’ve never done that ... again that seems a bit crazy as ultimately I probably will enjoy things more ! 

Rainbowtrousers

Rainbowtrousers said:

alt80 said:

@Rainbowtrousers I have no advice really but I’m knocking on the door of 40 also always been in some kind of debt since 18. I’m in a profession which would potentially exclude me from practicing should I ever enter personal bankruptcy and I’m a company director. Currently got just under £40k credit cards, £120k car loans, a res mortgage and personal guarantees on investment property totally over 7 figures can’t stop spending though haha. You’re not alone and you head seems in a good place. 

Well let’s team up together and try to take it ? For me it’s been weird to even say no to things as I’ve never done that ... again that seems a bit crazy as ultimately I probably will enjoy things more ! 

*tackle 

warby68

Just to reiterate, an SoA is primarily for you but sharing is for genuine, experienced help and this usually comes from a variety of perspectives too. It is not for prying - if people wanted to pry it would be someone they know not anonymous forum posters.
You don't have to be ultra frugal, finding the right balance for you is what its all about. 
You can also keep an SoA private but ask for help on individual bits - whichever suits you.
Hundreds of reasons for debt, hundreds of solutions, no 2 budgets the same - but the themes are VERY common.
Just preparing an accurate one is an eye opener for most.