£23,690 to clear 7 February 2021 at 3:53PM edited 2 March 2021 at 8:51AM in Debt free diaries 45 replies 4.2K views

sudonum-mum

Welcome to my new diary, I've been around years but starting afresh.
This username was an account I set up to post for support so my husband wouldn't know, I had permission in 2008 to have 2 accounts on here. I just re-read my posts from 2008 + 2009 and all the bad times came flooding back and make me feel sick.
I am finally free of my husband, I finally managed to end things and we are divorced - it wasn't smooth sailing but then life never is but if you want something badly you will keep fighting for it.

After we seperated I went a bit spendy with the finances and ran up some debt, most of the previous debt was from living with my ex and not having enough to cover bills except the bare essentials plus he had a spending problem so money was tight and it fell to me to sort things out and I relied on credit to get the family through.
But enough is enough and I am ready to get rid of the debt once and for all, I have been in debt for 22 years and that has to stop. 
I haven't used a credit card for over a year and I don't intend to unless in a dire emergency.

My debts are as follows:
Debt 1: £6911.11
Debt 2: £3027.15
Debt 3: £1850.00
Debt 4: £1076.74
Debt 5: £1823.88
Debt 6: £1515.96
Debt 7: £1850.00
Debt 8: £1094.74
Debt 9: £3940.94
Debt 10: £600.00
Total: £23690.55

All debts have no interest being charged except Debt 7 & 8. 
Debts 1 - 6 are five defaulted credit cards and a benefit overpayment from years ago, most have been sold to debt agencies and I pay £1pm to them all.
Debt 7 is a credit card which charges interest, I think its 32% but will check.
Debt 8 is my overdraft with my current bank.
Debts 9 + 10 are to family and I pay when I can.

I'll do another post about my current situation and also post a financial statement as soon as I can. 

CL21

Good luck @sudonum-mum - glad you have got out of a toxic relationship. The only way is up!! Look forward to seeing your journey to debt freedom! 

MrFrugalFever

Hi,

sorry to hear of your circumstance but it seems like you are poised to grab it with both hands and get shot. 

If creditors allow, I personally would pay debt back to family and friends first as an overriding priority unless they are fully aware of your situation and have agreed for you to pay what you can when you can.

i hope things go well....there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how dark times get.

sudonum-mum

Thanks for popping in to see me - the support is much appreciated.
I just realised I got Debt 7 & 8 in the wrong way round, Debt 7 is the overdraft and Debt 8 is the credit card.

So I live in a rented house with my adult children, my son graduated from Uni last year and is looking for a job and my daughter is at college and going to Uni in September.
I work full time and also have a small part time job, my son also pays board. I don't get Child Benefit for my daughter, her dad gets it and gives it to her as spending money as I did when I used to get it for her.
I have 2 dogs and loads of chickens and geese with the occasional pigs also.

My plan is to use my wages from my main job to cover all my bills which are on DD, petrol, food and animal food.
Then to use the wages from my part time job to pay the £1pm to my debts and save up for the non frequent stuff like xmas, birthdays, car repairs, car replacement etc
The board my son gives me I am currently splitting between the credit card, my LISA and paying one of the family debts.

I have only recently changed jobs and now earn £300pm more than I did so life is going to be much easier and not so much juggling as my income now covers my outgoings. In a few months I have to start paying into a pension so I will only be about £200pm better off but its still much better than before.

I am hoping to buy the house I live in at some point and so ideally I need to put the maximum in my LISA so I get the maximum bonus, I only got it last year just within the age limit and I have £225 in their currently - some of that is my savings and some is bonus. The limit is £4k so unless I win the lottery between now and April I won't be filling it this year but want to chuck as much in as possible.

Honeysucklelou2

Sounds like it’s been a long journey to get to where you are now. ( I say that with sympathy as I’m still waiting to get consent order sorted 4 years after separation). Re finances, are you able to sell eggs at the garden gate, if not for profit, then to help with the cost of feed? Hatching eggs by post as an income idea?

flapflop

Hi @sudonum-mum, I didn't want to read and run. It takes such strength to leave a toxic relationship but it also takes great strength to stay in one knowing how unhappy and mistreated you are. I think you're amazing. 

sudonum-mum

Honeysucklelou2 said:

Sounds like it’s been a long journey to get to where you are now. ( I say that with sympathy as I’m still waiting to get consent order sorted 4 years after separation). Re finances, are you able to sell eggs at the garden gate, if not for profit, then to help with the cost of feed? Hatching eggs by post as an income idea?

Thanks for commenting Honeysucklelou2, I follow your diary with my other account. You are my hero with all you put up with from your ex.
I do sell eggs at the gate, I can't actually keep up with demand. Obviously at the moment the chickens are not laying well but as soon as its warms up I will sell at the gate again and of course it is nearly time for the geese to start laying again and their eggs sell for a lot more.
The money usually sits in a pot and when change is required we raid it although in October & November I did transfer money from my account to my LISA every time I sold eggs and then kept the change hidden in a drawer to use for Xmas presents so I might go back to doing that to try and boost my LISA.
I have sold hatching eggs in the distant past but currently have no cockerels.

sudonum-mum

Thanks for commenting flapflop, living with my husband definitely took strength I never knew I had, I knew I would leave one day, it was just a matter of when. I don't like to have regrets so I try not to dwell on the fact I stayed for far too long.
I'll go and see if you have a diary.

sudonum-mum

Just a quick update to say that I am redoing my budget still and am nearly ready to post it.
I need to set up some standing orders ready for savings of various things so that it leaves my account automatically on pay day.

I have just been doing the surveys which have come in today including a PA one for £5 - lets hope the payment is approved.
I have been doing surveys for years but never consistently, I have gradually whittled them down to about 5 or 6 from over 10.
I try to complete some surveys each evening and then have a catch up over the weekend of any stragglers, I have a list of survey sites in priority order so I tend to work my way down the list checking if any surveys have appeared during the day.
I recently cashed out £25 from a site and I stuck that in a saver account while I ponder what to do with it, it probably makes sense to send it to my LISA as then I will get a £6.25 bonus the following month - no where else pays 'interest' of that much.
The same survey site is nearly back at £25 so I will hopefully cash out within the next few weeks (I haven't done hundreds of surveys in a month, I had been growing my total and was trying to reach £50 pay out but they reduced the level recently so I was able to cash out after 2/3 years)

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary 
Would be great if you could concentrate on one of your high interest debts & chuck all you can it.
Every little bit helps.

sudonum-mum

Thanks beanielou for popping on.
I really want to start paying to my highest interest debt but I also really need to pay money into my Lifetime ISA so I get as much bonus as possible so the plan is to pay all my spare money into the L-ISA until 6/4/21 and then from 7/4/21 focus on the highest interest debt (while also putting something in my L-ISA each month) and then as I get closed to April 2022 throw as much in to the L-ISA again to try and get my maximum bonus (unlikely as the maximum amount to save is £4000 per year and the maximum bonus is £1000 per year). 

I need someone to work out whether saving at an interest rate of 0.8% but with one off bonuses of 25% of what I save is better or worse than clearing my credit card which is at 32%......goes off to ponder.

As a start I have just paid £40 in to my L-ISA which is 2 lots of survey money and will mean in March I get a bonus of £10 paid into my account.