Champagne supernova’s debt free to savaholic diary

ChampagneSupernova36

@Lonelygambler whoop whoop , that was a nice notification to wake up ton

ChampagneSupernova36

Happy bank holiday weekend , folks !

well … for some , I will be working throughout but hey ho. Feeling more uplifted and positive today. 

I have been watching old episodes of ‘spendaholics’ on YouTube. I’m not sure if anyone remembers that show ? It’s from around 2006-2008 kinda era and follows around people in debt and tries to assist them and get them out of it. It’s mad to look at all the thousands they have spent on shoes , handbags, clothes etc and they look totally naff in retrospect. 

It makes me think about what I have spent (or bloody wasted) my money on , out of the £16k ish I have paid off across my DMPs … I don’t think I have a THING to show for it… and imagine what I could have got with the actual £16,000 in cash   

I know it’s a pointless train of thought but the programme definitely got me thinking about how I was buying things to make me happy but it obviously doesn’t work. It’s a tough lesson to learn but I do think had I just had some  kinda of windfall or generous donation half way through my DMP, I’d never have learnt that valuable lesson.

I think the episodes are worth a watch, the music and fashion is quite nostalgic but it is a bit out of date (like paying with cheques lol) but I found my myself relating so much to the depressive spending!

just some musings for this Sunday afternoon,

E x

Mortgage_Minimiser

De-lurking to say well done on your progress!

Also yes, i watched Spendaholics again a few months back - plus Bank of Mum and Dad! Love those shows.

Best of luck
MM
x

Prodigal50

Congratulations on reaching your goal!

I suppose it's a bit like reaching any challenge - the question can be, "where do I go from here?" Attacking debt maybe feels like you are in a battle - once the battle is over we might find that life just goes back to what it was. 

How about applying the same focus and energy to building up savings and staying strong in not returning to bad old spending habits? Although your budget is really tight, are you happier now than you were before?

I find myself thinking about this sort of thing myself a lot. Do I miss anything about my old lifestyle? Not really. It still feels like a grind at times but i don't think overspending made me happy at all. 

Again congrats on your achievement and good luck with your plan going forward :-)

ChampagneSupernova36

Mortgage_Minimiser said:

De-lurking to say well done on your progress!

Also yes, i watched Spendaholics again a few months back - plus Bank of Mum and Dad! Love those shows.

Best of luck
MM
x

Very much appreciated, thank you ! Bank of mum and dad, that’s another blast from the past eh x

Prodigal50 said:

Congratulations on reaching your goal!

I suppose it's a bit like reaching any challenge - the question can be, "where do I go from here?" Attacking debt maybe feels like you are in a battle - once the battle is over we might find that life just goes back to what it was. 

How about applying the same focus and energy to building up savings and staying strong in not returning to bad old spending habits? Although your budget is really tight, are you happier now than you were before?

I find myself thinking about this sort of thing myself a lot. Do I miss anything about my old lifestyle? Not really. It still feels like a grind at times but i don't think overspending made me happy at all. 

Again congrats on your achievement and good luck with your plan going forward :-)

Thank you for this ! Yes, I was really focussed (and quite frankly hell bent) on clearing the debts, now that they’re gone I don’t know what to do with myself almost.

I am , however, so much happier than I was before in every sense. It’s a millstone gone from around my neck , I was plodding along just fine with my DMP paying £300 odd a month but it most wasn’t going down so that’s why in Jan and doubled the payments and some… I feel way better than I did when I was getting myself into the debt in the first place. I’m glad I’m not in that place anymore, that debt was the only reminder in that time of my life and I didn’t like being reminded of it. Now I can really , properly focus on going forwards. Next month will be much better and financially much more free

I have already set up standing orders into all of my pots on monzo for June, every penny has a job and I’m now going to be hell bent on saving. I want an emergency fund first and then some savings for the future , I opened a new bank account too with Lloyds just so I can really separate my savings from my everyday spends.

Overspending didn’t make me happy at all either , it was just masking something else but boy did I pay the price. Hey ho we can only move forwards.

Regards
E  

ChampagneSupernova36

Afternoon everyone ,

Well , we’re about half way through May aren’t we ? It feels like this month is going in slow motion. June is the start of my financial freedom so I think I am wishing my life away …

Ive taken the advice of the forumites on here and booked some things to keep me going. Luckily , work has taken me to Rio de Janeiro this week and I was a bit naughty and booked a flight on a helicopter over the city, in terms of budget: my last trip was standby so just sat around waiting , very little spends and my next trip is to the USA to a city I’ve been hundreds of times before so will just chill… so all my work budget went on Rio and I’ve got to share a pic (can you spot the redeemer).:

I appreciate this position I am in with my job and spent the best part of last year feeling guiltily if I even spent a penny on an excursion. The guilt ate me up and so this year , I made my budget to clear my DMP but included a section on work trips so I could try and enjoy some of the world without guilt. I specifically picked trips that I have never been to before to have something to look forward to and to explore on a budget.

i still feel a little bit meh on May budget but like I say , June is the start of my year and so I am hopeful I will feel better then. I think it’s more of a reflection of how much money I have wasted and where I could be now had I not got myself into debt… I look at where some of my friends are etc (then again , they could be in debt , what do I know?). However , I am trying to look at the positives and appreciate all the things I DO have as opposed to the things that I don’t….

Just  some Thursday musings , I hope everyone is well 

E x

vampirotoothus

This is exactly the sort of thing you should be spending your money on. What a way to celebrate being debt free! Congratulations. Hoping your feelings will settle down soon V x

ChampagneSupernova36

vampirotoothus said:

This is exactly the sort of thing you should be spending your money on. What a way to celebrate being debt free! Congratulations. Hoping your feelings will settle down soon V x

Thank you , you’re right and I’m trying to be kinder to myself and celebrate and focus on the positive xx

ChampagneSupernova36

Good evening, everyone ! Happy Thursday 

it’s been a little while since my last entry and I am glad to say that my feelings have regulated and settled down. I’ve realised that my final debt repayment really was the closing of my depression chapter that has taken me 4 years to fully get over. It’s crazy how quickly things can build up but how slowly it has taken to recover and repay. 

Now I am through the other side, I weirdly feel glad that it all happened. I know that’s an odd thing to say but, overall, I think the whole experience has made me a stronger person. I have learnt to be patient, how to handle my emotions, how to talk about my feelings and it has built my character. It was also very humbling but has made me appreciate my job and made me realise that, in general, I am a fortunate person. Most importantly, it’s taught me to be proud of myself and be much kinder to myself.

it has been my birthday this week and I have been lucky to go out for a few meals with friends and family & it definitely makes you realise how loved and cared for you are by loved ones.

i know all of this sounds like I am blowing my own trumpet but I am feeling reflective and I’m in a position now to appreciate all the things I DO have as opposed to pining over things that I don’t. I think with the latter mindset, you’ll just never ever have enough… 

I posted a few months ago about referring my creditors to the financial ombudsman regarding unaffordable lending. All but one of my creditors have now been assigned to a case handler and are being investigated there. I do, and I’ve said this in previous posts, take responsibility for taking on so much credit but the truth is … I quite simply couldn’t afford it and ended up spiralling out of control. 

I do often wonder what I would have done had I not been able to get my hands on anymore money ? Part of me wishes I found this forum back then BEFORE I turned to the cards and loans but I am not dwelling, I do often just think about it …

I’m trying to be motivated to save, but with my birthday this week I have allowed myself a few treats… I am determined to be on track in July.

watch this space 

E x

ChampagneSupernova36

turn up for the books from the ombudsman 

Good evening all, happy Wednesday!

hope everyone is doing well. I’m just back from a work trip from LA, I did a hike over the wisdom tree trail. It was quite challenging , I was on my hands and knees climbing up a rock face at some points  it was also boiling but so rewarding once we made the top !

In my previous post, I mention how all of my creditors have been allocated to case handlers at the ombudsman…

lendable and capital one, I have sent some more evidence as requested and so I await their response. Lendable offered me £25 compensation for the time it has taken them to respond to me , I sent my case to the ombudsman at the 8 week mark.

For my fluid credit card (owned by newday) I had no response after 8 weeks so referred my case on, I did eventually get a response and they upheld my complaint ! They agree that I should not have had my credit limit increased as I could not afford it. The ombudsman agreed with this but did establish that the original card limit I received was affordable. I will get a refund in proportionate funds and interest as well as any adverse information from the credit increase to be removed from my credit file. I’ll get about £50 in total but I think it’s the removal of the default that is a real win. 

My 118 118 money credit card and loan was under one complaint. The credit card is still being investigated but the case handler has established that she doesn’t think they have acted fairly in terms of the loan !! My loan was £4000 and I owed £7894.80 in total that’s an APR of 35.9% …. I’ve said this before on my diary but I can’t believe I even considered a loan with this much interest I feel like such a fool for going for it. The ombudsman recommends that I pay back the £4000 that I borrowed but shouldn’t be charged for any interest or charges on the loan … that means a recommended refund of about £4000!!! I was gobsmacked when I read the letter , but out of all my creditors, I do believe this loan was what really made me struggle with repayments… I was entering into my DMP about six months after this.

Now , I have to wait for 118 to respond to these recommendations but I do believe this is a positive response and what a nice windfall! It'll go right into my savings and that means I’d have reached my savings goals for the year. The difference in my mindset is crazy , the old me would have a shopping list as long as my arm but now I’m more focussed on the future. Part of me wishes AGAIN that I found this forum much earlier because I could have enquired about affordability much earlier but as I said , I’m looking to the future now.

I do feel slightly less guilty about the position I was on before knowing that the ombudsman believe it was unfair. I have spent an awful long time feeling guilty and ashamed about my debt but now I feel like owning it and it is very much part of my journey and growth! 

Onwards and upwards. 

E x