My Debt Free Journey

LittleMissDetermined

It's certainly been a great start for you! That MBNA will be cleared in no time and my advice would be to leave as many cards clear as you can so that if you need to take advantage of 0% offers as your current ones expire they are likely to be available to you.  A few years ago I was pretty maxed on every card and all my promotional rates were over, it was terrifying but I was fortunate enough to be able to get one cleared and start switching for deals. 

I think you're being really sensible in selling your memorabilia, especially as they are such high value items.  As you said, you can replace later in life as an investment but not using credit

Is your wife aware of the financial situation? It was a great relief to me to have that frank and open discussion with my hubby and it really gave me a kick up the !!!!!! too.

Have you prepared an SOA?  It might be worth posting so that we can offer advice on where you may be able to save some money 

I wish you lots of luck. I know that the amount owed now feels daunting, but as you've already found - paying it down if you have the determination is more than achievable and a little bit addictive! 
LMD x

abaka

Having such a bad day today.  Had a lovely day with my daughter and wife and just feel so guilty that I have potentially ruined 3 lives with my selfish/wreckless spending and these two people mean the world to me.  If it wasn't for how much I love them and how much I'd miss them, I think to myself would it be easier for me to just to end it all and let the life insurance pay all my debts and give my family the financial long term security I can't give.

Sorry to get so dark.....I did go on another selling spree this evening and may have shifted another £400 worth of goods.  I believe I can clear the MBNA by the end of this month and whilst that's a huge achievement, it will inevitably slow down as I'm running out of assets to sell.  And all my other debts are so high that even if I go all in for 7-8 months I'll only have cleared one.

Weighing up all my options including the credit union loan which would consolidate a huge sum into one monthly payment which is half my current payment, I just don't see anyway how I'm going to get out of this mess....I even looked at options for borrowing against the mortgage....To clear all my debt would mean adding an additional 28,000, which if spread over 10 years would mean an additional £272 in mortgage payments which I would be able to pay all on my own, but there's no way that I should expect my wife to just lay herself in more mortgage debt.  

Hopefully tomorrow will be a more cheerful/optimisitc day!!

LittleMissDetermined

Please don't think that the situation you are in is insurmountable, in January 2021 I was still £25k in debt and terrified I wouldn't get my mortgage. It's going to be hard, I'm not going to lie... very hard at times. But you can do this, you really can! 

It also doesn't need to be fixed instantly, as long as you have a plan and a target debt free date you will get there if you maintain the momentum. 

I think it would be good for you to post your SOA if you're happy to, as there may be some areas you can save money.  £850 a month is a decent amount to reduce your debts and the great thing is that the majority of your cards are 0%. The key thing will be to clear 1-2 cards so you can then get 0% offers when your current ones expire.  I have a budget spreadsheet I can share if you want to drop me a PM.

I hope you're feeling a little bit brighter this morning!
LMD x

Squirrelz92

Dropping by to say welcome and well done on starting your debt free diary I've caught up to speed and I must say you have already made such an impact on your overall debt! Please don't feel disheartened or worried about your progress slowing down once you have sold your higher value items. We are all in the same boat chipping away each and every day. Take it one day at a time. So long as you show up, make a payment no matter how small then you WILL clear it and live debt free happy life with your family Keep positive and keep at it! The satisfaction of being able to clear some of that debt no matter how small is priceless! Shall be cheering you on! x

abaka

Thanks, today is a much better day.  Looking at my progress and knowing about what I have to sell over the next month....The payment I make when I get paid on 28 June WILL clear the MBNA, and there will likely be a added bonus to tackle the Lloyds (I'm still waiting to do my Balance Transfer as the card I'm transferring too is not in my wallet, I probably binned it months ago so had to reorder a new one).  I'll be posting a full breakdown on where the debt is tomorrow as I've paid my minimum payment on Halifax & Lloyds and my loan payment and the MBNA is shrinking by the day!!!! I need to have this in writing to remind me what I'm achieving!!

I had a lovely day with my daughter and wife doing work in the garden cutting hedges.  The debt awareness light bulb moment was a wake up call for a lot of issues....One of them is that I didn't pull my weight round the house and as part of my debt free journey, I'm promising to be a better person all round.  Truth be told....I actually enjoyed doing the hedges (but I'm not letting my wife know that detail!)

We then sat down to have a BBQ but unfortunately the little one has a nasty cold and wanted to sit indoors and watch Cocomelon with a blanket whilst we were outside!  That was a shame as this would have been her first proper BBQ as last summer she was still too young to really enjoy such an event!  Was planning on having a nice glass of wine, but my wife and I always like one of us to stay sober on the odd occasion when daughter is sick just in case we need a hospital trip or any trip for medication etc!!  So Coca Cola for me!!!!

I also spoke to my family about some of my situation (not the full extent as I don't need them worrying and asking me about it constantly)...But 3 years ago my uncle who was more like a father to me passed away (no will) and his estate has been held up due to original solicitor retiring before completing the work to recover his assets and then covid delaying everything else.  However, the estate is to be shared amongst my uncles siblings (My birth father being one of them)...Now me and my father have never had the strongest relationship but that is changed during Covid and thanks to the birth of my daughter.  Back in October my father told me and my brother that we would be getting the full share of his entitlement which was approx 10k between us....However, there was a further hold up and that hasn't came through yet.  This is also why I got so bad as I more or less spent that money before I got it....However I discussed today with my father and yes, the money is still coming to me eventually and it will make a big dent in my finances (I'll be putting some aside for savings).  I'm still continuing to plan my finances with the mindset that I'm not getting it and IF and WHEN I do get it....It'll be a huge bonus/surprise. 

Ironically, my uncle who passed away was someone who bailed out a lot of the family in the past when they needed financial help....and in his life I never once borrowed a penny for him so it's sad to think that I'm depending on his money whilst he's no longer with us to bail me out....However, I don't think I could live with the shame of admitting to him how much I messed up if he were still alive.  No matter what I pay out to debts from any money I get will be paid back....So basically when I get debt free....I'lll have debt to myself to repay!

jwil

I've just read through your diary - congratulations on the dent you've already made in the cards, that's a great start!  Selling stuff made a huge difference to me too and I don't miss the stuff I sold at all!  Even though, like you, I planned on buying some of it back.  Sell the stuff you are not that bothered about and can get back some day.  I didn't sell anything that meant loads to me.  Unless it's essential, then keep the things you love.

I know you had a low mood the other day, and your presence in your wife and daughter's life is far more valuable than any debt.  You say your debt is manageable for now, and you have a plan to pay it off.  Your daughter is still young, so focus these few years on clearing the debt and you'll be able to spend time doing things when she's older enough to enjoy it and remember it, and you won't have that cloud over your head.

Can I just say from experience as well - forget about consolidating.  It's all too easy to increase the debt again - as you have already experienced.  I was like you and thought I had it under control and it would never happen again, but then something goes wrong and soon enough I had doubled the debt.  Honestly, it makes no difference whether you have one creditor or 10.  By snowballing you just focus on one anyway, and set up dds for the minimum payments for the others so you can essentially forget about them while you concentrate on one.  Carry on transferring the 0% deals where you can, and close surplus accounts as soon as you can. 

Please, please NEVER put your unsecured debt on to your mortgage.  If you stopped paying all these credit cards tomorrow, the worst that can happen is you get a CCJ or something.  If something happens and you've put it all on your mortgage, the worst that can happen is losing your house.  There is a massive difference and it's not worth it.

Good luck, you've made a great start!

abaka

Out of all the things I've sold I'm only really disappointed to have lost one item.  In fact, three of the items I sold, I was probably going to sell (Ghostbusters costumes) anyway as the fit was a bit off on me....I am making a list of what I would want to buy back and working out how I'll do it.  I will use credit cards for S75 protection on things like this, but only if I have the money set aside.  

Although, this is a fair way away from happening but it's good to have something that I can look forward to as that will help me maintain my focus to eradicate this problem ASAP.

I'm not keen on consolidating for the reason you've said although I'm certain I'll never be repeating the mistakes I've made this time.  Once I'm clear of this, I will be only leaving one credit card open and asking the limit to be reduced drastically!!  However, the advantage of the Credit Union is they will also mandate I make a contribution to my savings each month as part of the loan repayment....and I will get a percentage back of any interest as per the members benefits so in a roundabout way I'll be saving money also....But I don't think I'll look into that unless I can't get any 0% offers within 6 months....Or by the time I reduce the credit card debt to around half...I may look into the Credit Union Loan to consolidate it all but all that feels like a world away!

Sewn

I've just read your diary I hope you're not feeling too despondent, I'm working my socks off at the moment to pay down my debt, majority is mine not my husbands even though a lot of it was in his name, I'm a high earner and lucky I'm able to pay this down quickly but I am working 60-70 hr weeks to do this.

One thing I would say having been working at this rate for 4 months now is don't go for the consolidation loan, we have done this in the past but in all honesty, you need to put in the work and learn to adjust, becoming debtfree is one thing, staying that way is quite another but i truly believe now after being in this kind of level of debt before, taking out loans, new cards, even an IVA, we learned, I learned nothing, week after week throwing everything I've got at debt is the only way that is teaching me the value of money, I'll be honest I'm sick of all my disposable income going at debt repayments right now, but it's teaching me something and it's making me determined to never put myself in this situation again, a consolidation loan won't do that

Tiredbutdetermined

I have just had a read of your diary and you are doing brilliantly.

Don’t feel despondent about the idea of your momentum slowing as you have sold everything you are willing to part with. The selling looks as though it is the greatest impact but it really isn’t, your mindset is the greatest change and it looks as though you have changed that. Once you stop adding to your debt and become debt adverse things can only go in one direction. The impact of your selling will continue its butterfly effect on your interest, repayment time and more importantly your impulse spending.

looking forward to watching your journey

abaka

Another mixed day.  Just looking at the balances of everything and working out where I can find a little extra to pay in. 

It’s very true, that my mindset has changed.  I spend all of my time now focusing on not what I can buy but what level of debt I can wipe out! 

A shame it didn’t happen 8 months ago!!!  I’m taking it easy on the selling for the rest of this month, I do have a few other pieces I can list but I’m getting sellers fatigue keeping track of listings and going to the post office.

I did find some assets I didn’t realise I had.  I have £150 in my top cash back account, I will cash this out and apply to debt…I also have 340 worth of Bitcoin I bought last October, the value is around £100 less than I sold for.  I’m going to keep an eye on it over the coming weeks.  I will probably have a loss on it as I don’t have the patience to wait for it to rebound to price I paid.  So that’s £390 I can cash in anytime to put towards my debts!!

I was hoping to update with a look at my debts now that most of my payments have been made, but a payment I made to MBNA on Friday isn’t showing in my account yet.  And I’d rather my updates be a true reflection on my accounts as they appear at the moment I post!