My journey to a better debt free life

moneyman_34

So, Christmas is by with, Time to focus on me and the debt. I don't get paid for another 2 weeks and am kind of low on funds. I have £1600 of debt that I want at LEAST half-cleared by December this year. It would be too ambitious of me to say all of it cleared as I don't earn enough to pay out more than £100 per month.

The debt is running my life, I managed to get presents for my daughters Christmas without too much of an issue this is because I started in October. I am in debt due to paying for my divorce and debt my now ex-wife has left me with. I should have the divorce paid off in the next 3 months which will leave me with just the one debt remaining. 
I cant pay more out on the debt due to working part-time and having to give my ex-wife maintenance money for my daughter who I see three days a week.
It also pains me to see that my ex-wife who left me in this position is living it up now that her new partner is earning a good bit and they already booked a holiday for the summer where I can just about get by each month too. Whatever I do my ex-wife wins from it. If I increase my hours at work I pay more child maintenance and this would mean that I am not that much better off.

Here goes the rest of January and then there will be a clearer more concise plan in my head of what I can do.

moneyman_34

Since my last post, I've not been able to pay off anything or even make a part payment to any of them. However, I have got a plan for what is to be paid out when I get paid in two weeks. One of the people I have debt with have agreed to let me pay the Januarys payment when I get paid. I only have till March till that's paid off and I've never missed a payment before with them. So onwards and upwards. It might be a tough few weeks ahead.

Dorisd

Hello @moneyman_34 welcome. Just wanted to wish you well on your journey and to say post you statement of affairs here and I’m sure the good people of the Debt free wannabe forum will be able to advise and help you with your budget. 

I would also suggest you check your maintenance calculations on the government website as it should be calculated based on how many days the child is with ex partner. I know this as my DH has a similar issue. You could also check on Money saving dads board for some advice.
Don't measure your life by what your ex is doing. If she racked up debt with you she maybe be doing the same thing again and you are working to make your situation better.
Good luck.

moneyman_34

Dorisd said:

Hello @moneyman_34 welcome. Just wanted to wish you well on your journey and to say post you statement of affairs here and I’m sure the good people of the Debt free wannabe forum will be able to advise and help you with your budget. 

I would also suggest you check your maintenance calculations on the government website as it should be calculated based on how many days the child is with ex partner. I know this as my DH has a similar issue. You could also check on Money saving dads board for some advice.
Don't measure your life by what your ex is doing. If she racked up debt with you she maybe be doing the same thing again and you are working to make your situation better.
Good luck.

Yeah, I know ii shouldn't base my life on what her mum can give her but I would be able to do the same if it wasn't for the fact that the position I am in is due to her. I had to sell my car to pay off the other debt and now she's got a partner with a car and they can go much further away for days out than I can now.
she has to remember that she was in a bad position before I even met her.

I don't think I need to post a SOA as I have two debts left and will be down to one by end of March. It's just going to take a while to clear it with the monthly payments. 

rugbymadfamily

Welcome, getting in here is a good first step so well done. Have you posted a SOA as people might be able to help? Have you got anything that you dont use that you could sell? Youd be surprised what people will buy from things like Facebk marketplace.

If you want to take your daughter away have you looked at something like The Sun £9.50 holidays? We did them when i was a kid as we didnt have much money and they were always lots of fun! They do work out at more than £9.50 but you can keep them cheap if you spend enough time researching the options, so might be able to put a few pounds a week away for something like this?

moneyman_34

Just an update, I've managed to do something today that I was not expecting to be able to do until the end of March. I've paid off another debt. I now only have one left to pay off. Now, this admittedly is a big debt but now I can focus on other things too.