just a thank you

CTT_2

What a fighter. I admire you greatly. It would have been so easy to declare yourself bankrupt. Its good to see you are taking responsibility and with a spirit like yours you will succeed.
I was in a similar situation about 25 years ago and owed about 5k. My first thought was bankruptsy. Even went along to the court and did declare myself bankrupt for 1 day. Then thought this is not the way and the judge cancelled the order and I paid off my debts in 2 years.
One of my creditors was fantastic. I went along explained my situation and they froze the interest and and debt was about 1k. I told them I could only pay them back at about £5.00 a month and they accepted it. When I was back on my feet and paid the amount off they then gave me my account card back and since then have been fine.
As long as you keep your creditors informed they will be fine.

Good luck

James240

Thefunkygibbons wrote:

Posts like that explain why this board exists

Just keep going

totally agree!! :T :T :T

pink_fairy_7

Well Done

:j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j

Keep going

pink fairy x

klare_2

:grouphug: :T i also couldnt read this post without saying huge well done and sending you a big hug you have been very brave and are now being inspirational to others.

aliasojo

I wanted to say well done too, and also thank you for coming back to post about what steps you've taken. Although the nature of the site means we get a lot of posts asking for help, sometimes there's not as many that have a positive reply as a result of the advice that was offered.

I'm really pleased you feel a bit more positive about things now. Give yourself a pat on the back!

DownInTheDumps_4

I'm so pleased you are feeling a bit better now. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we understand exactly how you feel (re the balcony thing). I know when I got into a deep pile of the brown stuff I felt exactly the same way, I used to curse every morning that I woke up. I don't know if this board existed at the time but wish it had!

I was on a dmp for 7.5 years I and although I'll never be called Scrooge (nearly got myself in a bit of a pickle again recently although this time it really was circumstances beyond my control and nowhere near as bad as before) but having gone through it all before I'd now rather make do on a fiver for a week (it's surprising how resourceful you learn to be!) and at least have a good night's sleep.

If you feel a bit p'd off from time to time with being on a dmp (I found birthdays/Xmas particularly difficult as I come from a big family and always used to love to buy them nice pressies!) have a chat on here and from what I've read I know there will always be someone to help.

good luck and well done. x

brokenwings

thank you everyone

this sounds silly perhaps, but being more frugal has turned into a hobby and challenge for me - and yes i know its a novelty at the moment as its new - but i have just managed to get a weeks shopping - which was £100 before - down to £28

feel pretty optimistic

hard to believe that its only a week since i found this board - only a week since i stopped and really took in what my situation was - and a week since i honesly thought there was only one way out - someone was watching over me and i thank heavens for the internet!!

havent started the dmp yet - but at least i know i can do it and that im not the only person its ever happened to - which is how i felt before

youre all fab
x

juliag

you are fantastic, i wish i knew you, sometimes it is good to talk to someone who is inspirational i find this web site great have sorted out my own debts but now need to start on uncooperative husbands . well done i think your great

DownInTheDumps_4

Hi, me again!

Sounds like you're well on the way to sorting things out and congratulations on the shopping savings! All the major supermarkets do these 'buy one get one free' and 'buy all this for a fiver' thingy (Iceland are great for that) and it's amazing how much you can save if you look around.

It's strange how good can come out of bad but have to say that being on the dmp really improved my cooking skills (which I assure you needed much improvement!) Rather than being the connoisseur of ready meals and take-aways that I always was (I've always worked full-time and live on my own so it was the easy option!) I started to make meals at home, e.g. a nice spag bol/curry/casserole - made a huge pan of it, divided it into meals to freeze and then I had home-made ready meals for when I got in from work! Obviously initially I have to spend a few hours cooking, which p'd me off no end in the beginning but at the end of the day I've probably ended up with a healthier diet too!

Believe me, even now I am certainly not a Delia or Nigella but I'm still here after more than 7 years and that is a LONG way ahead at the beginning of the dmp!

and btw... my total debt at the beginning of the dmp was £26k (credit cards and personal loans) some of which accrued because I took them out when with ex-hubby but most of which accrued when I overspent because I was fed up, wanted to treat myself and yes ok, because I always thought I could 'sort it'. I didn't earn anything near £26k a year, so was basically insolvent and when I finally admitted it to my family, they washed their hands of me on the basis that they considered me to be irresponsible (which I guess I was).

but it happens, so stick with us on here and keep up the good work!

x

thaylock

brokenwings wrote:

havent started the dmp yet - but at least i know i can do it and that im not the only person its ever happened to - which is how i felt before

I have been recently helping my 73 yr old mum who amassed debt with 15 creditors, I phoned a debt management company who said they could take care of the debts, I asked if they would charge a fee & they said yes they charge 17% which they is say is better than 30% my mum is paying. Well, for one my mum isn't paying 30%, second - I obtained the 'dealing with your debts' publication available from the Money Advice Trust (or CAB) which tells you pretty much how to prepare a income/expenditure balance sheet, prepare letters for making token payments, pro-rata payments, freeze interest, e.t.c, i.e. all the things I think a dmp does (but I don't know for sure). With a little effort you could save yourself some money if you did everything yourself, it takes some effort but I did it for my mum. Out of the 15 creditors I have been able to agree reduced payments, freeze interest with 11 of them, still waiting to hear from the other 3, one of them just wouldn't budge but I came to an arrangement with them after talking to them on the phone for 10 minutes. Took me 3 weeks to sort this mess out, I am on top of it now & my mum is no longer distressed by the situation she got herself into, for her there is light at the end of the tunnel & she is feeling happier.