Update on my self managed DMP

collinsona

hello! I don’t know if anyone remembers my posts about starting a self managed DMP but thought I would post an update. The credit card companies have been ringing me a lot but I don’t answer. They have sent lots of letters. Mbna has offered to put my interest rate to 0% but most of the others are just to tell me I am behind on payments and offering to “help”. My paypal credit account has said it will default me in 28 days if I dont get my account up to date. So I am
continuing to ignore everything until the default and then offer a small amount to each. Is anyone else at the same stage eg 3 to 4 months of not paying? I feel really down about money at the moment but im trying to take it one day at a time. Amy x

MissCarmen

Hi Amy,
I am new and was reading your posts from before last night.
I’m at a similar place in my journey.
Understand about feeling down about money, and I find for me reading these forums makes me feel a lot more positive, that there is a solution and a way forward.

I’ve been reading the diaries and debt free roll. It’s very inspiring.

I’m going to see what I can do at every stage.

As I said, I’m no expert, and I suspect at your stage it may be all about saving the emergency fund so you’re ready.

What positive steps can you take?

I’m right there with you! We can support each other. 

MC. X 

Rob5342

Don't feel down, you've made an immediate difference by stopping paying so now you can use the money you have to start building up an emergency fund while you wait for defaults. Once the defaults start to come you will feel a lot better as that will draw a line under everything and give you a date when you'll have a clean credit record. You can then move on and start repaying everything.

If it was a temporary blip while you were out of work then a 0% might be beneficial, but for a dmp you absolutely don't want any "help".

collinsona

MissCarmen said:

Hi Amy,
I am new and was reading your posts from before last night.
I’m at a similar place in my journey.
Understand about feeling down about money, and I find for me reading these forums makes me feel a lot more positive, that there is a solution and a way forward.

I’ve been reading the diaries and debt free roll. It’s very inspiring.

I’m going to see what I can do at every stage.

As I said, I’m no expert, and I suspect at your stage it may be all about saving the emergency fund so you’re ready.

What positive steps can you take?

I’m right there with you! We can support each other. 

MC. X 

Hi! Thank you for replying. Supporting each other would be great as i feel quite alone with it all. Amy x

exponential

collinsona said:

hello! I don’t know if anyone remembers my posts about starting a self managed DMP but thought I would post an update. The credit card companies have been ringing me a lot but I don’t answer. They have sent lots of letters. Mbna has offered to put my interest rate to 0% but most of the others are just to tell me I am behind on payments and offering to “help”. My paypal credit account has said it will default me in 28 days if I dont get my account up to date. So I am
continuing to ignore everything until the default and then offer a small amount to each. Is anyone else at the same stage eg 3 to 4 months of not paying? I feel really down about money at the moment but im trying to take it one day at a time. Amy x

Hi Amy.

I'm at the very beginning of the same journey as you and many others.

Like you, I'm nervous about the road I am taking (my family too of course) but somewhat relieved by the support and guidance received by the very knowledgeable folk on here.

I have just missed my first payment deliberately and intend to miss all payments for all creditors in the same way with the exception of my overdraft which I might have to send a letter to.
It seems really strange and morally wrong to do what I'm doing but it's either this or lose my home. 

I'm self employed and my income has dropped dramatically due to a couple of my clients falling in administration.
It's hard knowing your whole life has been affected by the financial situation of another.

It is what it is though and I am confident that, when they all default in 3-6 months, I'll be at a stage where I'll be able to deal with the collection agencies that'll want their piece of the pie.

You'll be well looked after on here Amy.

ashamedjelly

Hi Amy

I've been reading through your posts and just wanted to say hi. 

I too, am at the start of my self-managed DMP. I've only stopped paying this month, so I've had the odd text and email but nothing too much yet (although I'm prepared for when that will come!). 

I have over £100k of unsecured debt following years of overspending and using credit cards to fund our IVF journey. I'm lucky that I have a well paying job to dig myself out of it, but recognise it will be a hard 5-6 years while I do. 

In the meantime, I am fully set up and ready to tackle this head on. I've got a folder with separate sections for each debt so I can read and carefully file all the written correspondence I get. I have set up an excel spreadsheet so I can note the date of default and any important dates that occur, and I've set myself up with an income and expenditure spreadsheet that has become my new daily obsession and I am logging ALL of my expenditure. It still amazes me that I have managed to save into an emergency fund this month after spending all of my adult life never having any savings in case anything goes wrong!! 

What I have learned through the friendly folk on this forum has been invaluable. Everyone is here to help and will advise you as best they can. Plus I'll be with you every step of the way too. It's inevitable that throughout this process there'll be good days and bad days, but it's important to keep remembering that you've owned up to your problem and you are facing this head on. That's something to be incredibly proud of. 

x