Should I be more worried?

mandi80 · 13 May 2018 at 10:56AM

Hi,

Since posting here for the first time a couple of months ago, I have found this forum to be a huge support, however I do wonder if my attitude towards my situation is problematic.

I see people posting on here with far less debt that me and they are worried, stressed, not sleeping etc. Despite owing in excess of 60K, I just don't feel worried about it to anywhere near this degree.

Don't get me wrong, I am committed to getting rid of the debt and having a plan in place is certainly a reassurance, but in terms of feeling stressed, or having sleepless nights.... no, I am afraid not!

I am certainly not bragging... in fact the only thing I am worried about it my lack of worry!!!!!

My husband is slightly more worried than I am, but he is more of a worrier in general. I just feel like we have a plan in place so it;ll all eventually be ok!

Do I need to change my attitude?

elsien · 13 May 2018 at 11:08AM

As long as you have a sensible plan you're both committed to, that's the important bit. If you've got a secure job (for example) then it is likely to be less stressful than for someone whose employment is more at risk.
The only concern would be if things started to slide and you found yourself spending a bit more on things not in the budget. Or you didn't have an emergency fund and the unexpected happened.
Good luck with your plan moving forwards.

sourcrates · 13 May 2018 at 12:29PM

No, your attitude is just fine, in fact I wish more people would approach there debt problems in such a practical way.

I think with a lot of people its a fear of the unknown, most have never missed payments before, and they simply do not know what to expect, they see a bailiff on the telly, and that's it, imagination goes into overdrive.

I, much like yourself, was not worried to that extent either, I try to be practical and research things I know little about, and so that`s what I did.

I`d get frantic calls from debt collectors, who talked so fast, and so loud, and were so rude, i swear they were on something, i just calmly asked them to put everything in writing and hung up.

There is always a solution to a debt problem, be it a DMP, DRO, IVA, or Bankruptcy, and once you know that, then what is there to fear ?

System · 13 May 2018 at 2:14PM

Ten years ago I worried myself enough to sell my house and go on a DMP. This time my attitude is so different , I have a budget , I save for things now . I still live and enjoy life , but all without a credit card( apart from tickets to Oz ) .

I wish I had been like you 10 years ago , I would probably have kept my house and I only had £15k of debt. As long as you have a plan and follow it through I think your attitude is right.

Good luck with clearing yours.

duskerwho · 13 May 2018 at 2:27PM

I think as long s your calmness doesn't translate to complacency there's no problem at all. If you're thinking about it rationally and have a plan that you stick to that works, that can only be a good thing.

Slytherin · 13 May 2018 at 6:53PM

I was BESIDE myself at one point but now I'm fairly chilled. It's mainly due to learning things from this forum and ultimately realising that panicking offers me NOTHING in terms of a solution to my problems. What's done is done, as long as you have a plan then everything's ok.

Larac · 13 May 2018 at 8:19PM

I have been on a DMP for the last 6 years, with about a year to go. I think early on, I focused very heavily 'on the debt' - but as the 'years' go on I treat it as 'another' DD from my account - I felt I needed to get a perspective on this as life goes on and having recently lost my last parent, this has brought this all very heavily into perspective. The whole DMP has been a very painful lesson but thankfully light at the end of the tunnel.

zippygeorgeandben · 13 May 2018 at 9:03PM

I think your attitude is fine. One word of caution though is what happens if something unexpected happens? Car breaks down? Washing machine needs replacing etc. Can you budget for that? Would it derail you? Would you both be able to cope with this emotionally/mentally as well as financially?

January2015 · 13 May 2018 at 9:43PM

As long as you know why you have that level of debt and it has not just built up on general living expenditure AND you have a sound plan in place to clear it over a reasonable period then your debt should not worry you.

The reason many people on this forum worry about their debt levels is that they have been using credit to live and to pay interest on other debts, i.e. borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.

mandi80 · 13 May 2018 at 11:34PM

Thanks for all of the responses.

I think that my husbands main source of worry is due to him wondering what other people would think if they knew about our debts.

I think differently about this. Whilst I don't share details of our finances with friends and family, I also think that it's none of their bl**dy business! I don't expect them to share details of their finances with me!!!

My husband thinks that we are in the minority regarding our level of debt. I agree that our debts are higher than most, however I'm sure that there must be thousands of other people owing 50K+

One-step-at-a-time · 15 May 2018 at 4:25PM

We have high levels of debt (at its worst it was equal to gross household income) and I've had a couple of very major wobbles, but for the most part I am now pretty calm and things are ticking along smoothly and in the right direction. Out of the pair of us, I'm definitely the worrier - my husband is incredibly chilled out about it all. Nobody knows our level of debt except us, and the sky is not falling on our heads. Things will be extra tight until the end of Feb when two major commitments come to an end; if we can get to that point without major disaster befalling us, then I will be able to breathe a lot more easily.

Should I be more worried?

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