How did you get into this debt?

idiot_3

transfer it to lower interest then! 0% cards are your friend. :beer: :beer:

trendytots

Mine is the "normal" story of being out of debt before having kids. Then I quit my job because I had twins and couldn't afford to work/send them to childcare because the childcare would cost more than I earned. So, we were one salary down but two mouths more to feed. Credit cards came into play and then consolidation loans to clear the credit cards, but of course we didn't cut them up, we continued to spend on them. Another consolidation loan, yet more spending on the credit cards, huge overdraft which resulted in the bank insisting we took out a loan to repay it. Currently am paying for 3 loans, 4 credit cards, store cards and have more overdrafts too. Have tried to get 0% deals but no-one will offer any more credit to do so, so am stuck with having to try and sort things out myself. Still no job 4 years on and so the total debt is roughly £55-60k without taking into account the mortgage aswell. The kids start school this September and I'm hoping I can find some part-time work to fit in with their school hours so that I can start repaying. Sheer stupidity is what got me where I am now. I just wish I could clear it sooner than it will be.

finnerty

I was in debt when i left uni but i managed to totally clear it and have a decent credit balance then i got pregnant and the father didn't want to know, as i lived with my parents at the time I had to find somewhere else to live and thats when the debt started as i had worked i was not entitled to any sure start grants and couldn't get any council grants towards furniture cooker etc so i had to use credit cards and over drafts to buy basics for my home and any thing my new born required the debt has just grown and grown in the 3 years since and as I still don't work they are continuing to grow....thing is i didn't go over board either i brought the cheapest i could find and loads of stuff in my house is secondhand :-(

I'm taking driving lessons at the moment in the hope that when my child starts school next year i have a better chance of getting a job....and boy are they expensive

shouldn't have posted on here really as all of you are on the road to debt free land and i ain't even near the slip road to get on it yet :-(

scaty

I had problems before the ex Hubby left - went out for dog food and didn't come back! He seemed to think that any money coming into the home was his to spend.

Then I got left with his debts, silly girl for signing those papers giving him another loan for a business going down the tubes.

Then after and expensive divorce, I had to find money to buy him out of the house.

Finally I am the only backup financial support for my children and grand child. While they both have jobs, not good wages or prospects. Father refuses to give any help, so it falls to me. What can you do when you look in their fridge and see it empty?

Anyway thanks to the site and the tips I have turned my own overspending around and have reduced the amount on my cc.

A few more years and I should not owe anyone any thing yipee!!

(probably until G/child reaches HE/FE education anyway)

roversbabe

Great thread. First time posting here.

My debt was my own stupidity. My wages increased by 50% and I increased my spending more than my wages could cover - credit cards, loans, store cards. All wasted money too. I'm 2k in personal debt on an interest free credit card then my partner & I have joint debts of 4k in finance for car, PC and washer. My personal debt will be clear by March 06 and our joint debts will be clear May 2008. The car will be clear in 10 months so once that's paid, we can then snowball our repayments. I have also cut up my other credit cards - I've not closed the accounts yet but I have reduced the credit limits that I was given so I cannot get into this situation again.

The hardest thing is facing debt, realising how much you owe and once you've faced it, its so much easier to deal with.

I'm getting there.

Gillby1

Hi All,

It's great to see so many people finding help and support here. This site has proven to be a huge inspiration to me, and clearly I'm not alone. Every post i read leaves me feeling almost excited about clearing my own debts - it's an enjoyable challenge! Do others feel the same? I'm becoming slightly evangelical about it... :j

Debt started at uni, 7 years ago, with a £1,500 student overdraft. It was interest free, so i never worried about it. I left uni and started working, and straight away treated myself to a brand new car on finance. I'd managed to save a fair deposit, and got a good part exchange deal, but still owed £5,000. As soon as I realised it was possible, i transfered the finance and overdraft to a cc on 0%, and kept moving it around. I always paid off more than the minimum, but then always spent on the cards by the end of the month!!! For me the main problem seemed to be my mood. I love shopping (don't we all!), and despite being really good and really careful all month, i'd suddenly get a huge urge to treat myself - and i grab the cc's and head to Lakeside!

So I was in £6,500 debt this time last year. In October I decided I wanted to clear my debts for good, so i cut up my cards and created a budgeting spreadsheet. I'm only able to pay off £200 a month, but I'm getting there. I still owe £5,000 - which at this rate means a debt free date of July 2007 (I hadn't worked that out before now!). Using this site I've managed to save a fortune on car insurance, phone line and internet. I'm even considering giving up my shoe habit to increase my repayments! Thanks Martin, and thanks everyone who's made such an amazing difference to my finances (...and cooking.....water consumption.....internet provider.....weekly shop).

It's odd seeing all your debts in writing, isn't it!?

Louise20000

Well I've never been in debt until about 3 years ago when I started to plan my wedding - after going to all the wedding shows I got carried away and just had to have this and had to have that - a cinderella carriage with 2 grey horses - a snip at 1k - then found out that hubbys intended best man was travelling the world so we paid for him to return home for a few days and then paid to send him back again - another 1.5k - not to mention all the normal things - a cake £750. Demands from family and friends about what I should have etc etc then I thought I was going mad and 'needed a break from it all' so went to the Canaries for a week to chill out - even with my family paying for the reception we walked away over 20k in debt - I know I'm not supposed to look back on my big day with regret - BUT I wish I knew then what I know now - the debt is so restricting and its made me miserable but after looking on sites like these and that tv program Moneyspinners - its made me buck my idea's up and sit down and work out a plan - I cancelled the £103 a month gym membership (that we never used) and various other things - swopped all the debts to 0% interest cards and worked out how much we would need each week and every Friday the day we both get paid I withdraw the cash of how much we will need each week to get through it - then the remainder goes on the debt. I make packed lunches for us both to take into the office - sometimes its just adjusting the little things that can really help. I'm now about 5 weeks away from being debt free and thats a wonderful feeling seeing as I'm just 10 weeks away from having our first baby - see we even had to delay starting a family because we would not be able to afford it. Once this debt has gone I can honestly swear that we will never get in debt again (apart from the mortgage) - its been a big lesson to us both that we weren't millionaires leading up to our wedding - just 2 ordinary people with access the multiple credit cards. Its going to be a case of if we haven't got the cash we don't have it - we save for it instead. And while I thought that I may be tempted to go mad and spend like crazy on the baby I've been extremely good and found that a large grocery store (think blue and white stripes store) does wonderful baby clothes at a fraction of your usual high street shops.

Its been intersting to read how we all got ourselves into debt and how we are all trying so hard to get out of it too. I wish everyone the very best

Undercovercarrot

idiot wrote:

transfer it to lower interest then! 0% cards are your friend. :beer: :beer:

It aint credit card debt mainly. This is debt I have ALREADY accrued as well.

roversbabe

Gillby1 wrote:

Hi All,

It's great to see so many people finding help and support here. This site has proven to be a huge inspiration to me, and clearly I'm not alone. Every post i read leaves me feeling almost excited about clearing my own debts - it's an enjoyable challenge! Do others feel the same? I'm becoming slightly evangelical about it... :j


Thats exactly how I feel - every month I can see my debt reducing and its great.

rb

Bubba

I started to get into debt about 2 years ago. I was on maternity leave and found an internet gaming site. I started to gamble which £15-£20 but this soon increased.

I won a few times but then I lost £9,500 - just about to give up and confess all to my husband when I won £9,200 in one night on routlette!!

I know I should have stopped then and I did for a few months, but I had a new debit card and before I knew it I was regularly gambling again. By now I had had my baby but everytime she had a sleep I was gambling.

It became an addiction and couldn't wait to gamble and had several credit cards and different accounts. The credit cards didn't do proper checks, and Egg actually gave me £15,000 of credit. In February this year I had accrued £45,000 in debt, I was so depressed and it was making me ill so I told a friend who told my husband. It was touch and go, but he has stood by me and I have just agreed an IVA. We had to remortgage to raise a lump sum to pay my creditors but I shall be debt free in 1 year.

It was only 4 months ago but the relief to be debt free is so good.