Facing Up To Facts

sams247

This time last year my partner was the vicitm of a serious sexual assualt, and it nearly broke us. It also showed us that we had spent years arguing about debt, too many hours worked, too little time together etc etc etc. Just before Christmas we had a civil partnership adn we are looking ahead with clearer vision.

I have always looked with great admiration at all the peopel joininh in on the make £10 a day, and save this much and make that much etc., and I always intedned to join in...... but I never quite got around to committing to it all. Anyway, New Year, New Start. But now with my new determination I am going to start with the key word - Honest. I am goign to be honest and start with what I can achieve in reality. If I fail at a higher goal I tend to give up, so I am going to set myself real goals. With all respect to anyone doing more and making more my targets are this -

Being honest with where I am :

I am a loooonnng haul debtor - over £50k and no mortgage, change of life, change of work, change of health, many reasons but my debt it is, and I am working on it.
I am 6 stone overweight.

So I will commit to

Make an extra £1 a day
Pay off three debts this year as a minimum
Lose one stone, and keep it off by December
Never again allow myself to be bullied or makde to feel less by someone just because I owe them money
Never put debt worry before my life/relationship again

On the pound a day front - today so far = 10p! But a start is a start.

Little_Pickle

sams247,

Happy New Year to you and your partner!!

You know you can achive your goals, I think you can and I know that everyone here will think the same!

go saaaammm, go saaammmm, go saaammm...!!! *LP does a little dance*

Good luck sweetpea!
LP
xox

hitback

Happy New Year!

I second LP! You CAN DO IT!! We can all do it, and we will!!!

Good luck!!

yellowmonkey

WOW.Inspiraitonal post :T :T :T :T

Well done and good luck to you

ym

embarrassed_about_my_debt

congratulations on getting through such a hard period and well done for confronting your debts. I've just started myself and this place has been a real help.

My diary helps me see what i have acheived and that is without peoples support and comments!

Good luck with your targets!

Mupeteer

Good on you sams, and best of luck.:T

If you have an off day and feel like giving up on any of your goals just post on here and you'll get all the support you could possibly need to hep you keep going.

RAS

Welcome

Well done for getting your priorities right. Your relationship is the most important thing.

And well done to both of you for getting through last year's trauma together. It is very very hard for those who have not been there to understand the stuff that that sort of experience throws up.

The money diet is like any other though. If you do not make £1 today or lose 2lb this month, it is not the end of the world. It is the getting to £360 ish and one stone ish by the end of the year. There will be times when you do much better than your target and times when it is harder. People will be here when it goes well and when you need a bit of encouragement.

One thing you can do is to post your SOA, then folk can advise you where to get things cheaper and how to pay off your debts most effectively.

doodledo_2

Hi and welcome to the board.

Congratulations on your civil partnership and for getting those your partners awful assault. I think both these things show you are strong people.

Well done for facing your debts, you have definately come to the right place to get advice and support.

sams247

Well, I always want to justify the 'How...." but basically here are the "What..."

M&S Chargecard - owe 1220, paying £30 per month on 0% agreement
M& S Visa - owe 4145, paying £40 per month on 0% agreement
Moorcroft for Abbey owe 6045, paying £40 on 0% agreement
Capital One - owe 1300, paying £36 on 0% agreement
Waitrose - owe 425, pay £25 per month
Creation - owe 516, pay £20 per month
MBNA - owe 1023, pay £18 per month
Egg (mine) - owe 13,663, pay £60 per month 0% agreement
HSBC - 1151 overdrawn, paying off at £20 per month 0% agreement
BT 177, paying £20 per month
HSBC - (partners) - owe 11109 paying £40 per month 0% agreement
Egg (partners) owe 6345 paying £40 per month 0% agreement
Family - owe 2500, pay what we can each month (£100 for parents no choice per month)

Rent 850
Gas 40
Electric 30
Virgin package 30
Phone bill 30
Water 20
Council Tax 140 (in arrears)
Tax bill (arrears) £40
Car Insurance 28
Contents Ins 14
TV licence 18
Petrol £60
Trains (commute) 176

Jointly we have an income just under 2k a month, if I get overtime or if my partner gets freelance work we make extra some months, on good months this can be as much as £200 which makes all the difference. Our rent is high as we live in a very high cost area near London. My partner commutes to London 3 or 4 days a week. We have been to CCCS and they helped us get the 0% on the above items, the others wouldn't budge (so far..... thats the being bullied bit I guess!) We went back again to CCCS but they say the next step would be an IVA which we want to avoid. The most fun of it all is that I work in a payroll department, handling wages, cash flow etc etc and it is part of my contractual agreement not to have bad debt, as obviously this would make it seemingly dodgy for me to be with all the wages (??!!). So all my debt is undisclosed to my employer, and an attachment of earnings would find me very quickly demoted I think, or out of a job.

It is lovely to find non judgemnetal support, thank you to all

MissKJ

Well done sams. Starting is hard, but keeping going doesn't need to be. If i were you I would be more specific with your targets. Which debts are you going to clear, and what order? What date will you clear it by? I think it will keep you more focused. And what little change will you make today to make losing weight easier long term, and improve your relationship?

Just a thought. Well done for being so honest.

Mappygirl

Hi Sams,

Just wanted to say good luck for your challenges! I also would not have a hope in hell's chance of making £10 a day and think it's great you've been honest enough to set realistic goals. I found £1.03 in the bottom of my bag toady, does that count?!?

Good luck with the weight loss to, I'm aiming to lose 2 stone, today's the first day and I've already had some chocolate, ooops!!!! Hope your doing better than me lol