£62,000 in unsecured debt!

10past6

mpusssm wrote: »

spent NO money today!!

Hi Sabs :hello:

It's amazing what effect 24 hours has on us, yesterday you were feeling quite low, I now feel you are able to face the challenges ahead.

Good luck to you :beer:

mpusssm

10past6 wrote: »

Hi Sabs :hello:

It's amazing what effect 24 hours has on us, yesterday you were feeling quite low, I now feel you are able to face the challenges ahead.

Good luck to you :beer:

I know, its crazy, huh? Just having others to talk to about my debt problems has been a massive lift. Contemplating getting a part time job that would also help with my debts - what do you think? Problem is I work mon - fri in london then look after my son at the weekends when the wife is at work. It would have to be an evening job that are not alway easy to find and dont pay very well - especially since i'm already in the 40% tax band so would it actually be worth it?

Anyway, hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend!

Sabs

whatamummy

Hi....
Use happytalk for your phone calls to tunisia you get 1 hour for just 30p and that is to a mobile or land line from a land line or mobile... very good connection and it will really cut down your phone bill 1 hour for the cost of 2 minutes with other companys... will cut you off after 1 hour but you can just redial... has saved me sooooo much money...
hope this helps xx

Poosmate

Oooh Sabs part time jobs are notoriously low paid and as you say you are already in the 40% tax bracket so it could get very demoralising for you.

There are lots of ways you can earn cash and high street vouchers online, maybe it's something your wife could do whilst you are at work and you could take over at the weekend.

If you take a look at the forum entitled "Up Your Income" it'll give you some ideas. Also as you look through the replies you can see how others are making money by what they have in their signatures. A few I've seen are Pigsback, Slicethepie (I've only just started these and haven't got the hang of them yet), MutualPoints is one I do regularly and get £20 cheque every now and then. Also there are loads of survey sites which pay out in cash or high street vouchers. I've nearly got Christmas 08 sorted!

Every little helps!

Good luck

Poo

DRS1ONE

Welcome Sabs,
I am a very similar state as yourself. In fact we owe roughly the same in unsecured debt. Not that I am proud.
I thought I was on my own!
Also..with me every pay rise came another loan.

You can turn it around if you really accept that you need to change. Every little cut back helps. Me and the Wife are making the effort. It is and needs to be a joint acceptance.

I am making every effort to keep my credit rating in good order, as I am due for a re-mortgage in Feb 09.

good luck.

shopaholic2008

Hello just read through the thread, a couple of things stand out the food bill is high. With a bit of effort and some meal planning you can get the cost right down.

Also i really think you should try ebay and amazon. Anything that is no longer used or needed, sell! You would be surprised at what goes on ebay and anything extra you can use to pay off a debt. Quidco and other cashback sites are great for raising a bit of extra cash.

Good luck with the spending diary thats my aim for next week, keep us posted.

Tirian

Curious_Moose wrote: »

Could your wife talk to her family using Skype?

Was going to say this. Not sure what the charges are to Tunisia, but Skype are generally v. cheap ... and if you are paying for broadband already, you might as well use it to its fullest extent.

mpusssm

DRS1ONE wrote: »

Welcome Sabs,
I am a very similar state as yourself. In fact we owe roughly the same in unsecured debt. Not that I am proud.
I thought I was on my own!
Also..with me every pay rise came another loan.

You can turn it around if you really accept that you need to change. Every little cut back helps. Me and the Wife are making the effort. It is and needs to be a joint acceptance.

I am making every effort to keep my credit rating in good order, as I am due for a re-mortgage in Feb 09.

good luck.

Thanks for the post! - It was a real help when I found out i was not alone with my debt problems. I am slowly getting things sorted out. Good luck with your debts and please keep me posted on your situation. Sabs

mpusssm

Hi all,

Just thought I would post a quick update on my situation. I am glad to report that I am getting things in order.

1) I have renegoitated my contract with VirginMedia and instead of paying £99 per month it is now £50! Instant saving of £49 per month. (I only had to give up sky sports and took a slower internet package - but don't even notice the difference)

2) I managed to get cheaper Home Insurance. I was paying £33 per month with Directline so called them up to see if they could lower the premiums and to my surprise we got it lowered to £15 per month for exactly that same cover rates. Another £18 per month saved!

3) We have just started to do some of our shopping at Aldi. We used to spend £100 a week in tesco for the weekly shop but managed to get nearly everything we wanted (except baby food, drinks, nappies etc) for £39. Even when we get the rest of the stuff for my son from Tesco the weekly bill will get to a maximum of £60. That would mean another £40 per week saving!

4) and finally, I decided to take out another loan with my bank (hold on, hear me out). I borrowed exactly enough to clear one of my outstanding loans for a better interest rate. I also took the loan out over 2 years instead of the current one that still had another 8 years to go. It will obviously costs me more every month but will save in long term with interest and it will be clear in 6 years quicker than originally planned.

Thank you to everyone that has helped me and continues to help!!

Sabs

Bayblue

Just wanted to say well done for making all of those savings. It's funny isn't it, that we sometimes end up paying far less for the same goods and services by making a few phones calls or shopping around somewhere else? It's great, and as you said, often you don't even notice the change except in your wallet or bank account. I've only just managed to persuade my mum to change her house insurance, she's been with the same company for years, she and she was astounded to find that she saved £130! Now she's just annoyed that she didn't do it sooner!

Well done and good luck with your debtbusting.