My journey to a debt free life

Onebrokelady · 16 February 2018 at 10:58AM

Thanks Ploppy,I’m phoning them today to rearrange the DD,I also pay £75 a month but I have used my heating a lot this winter and also I have a tumble dryer that was using a lot at the beginning of winter,however now I’m in money saving mode I’m trying to cut that down,I normally only use it to dry bedding and towels,I try to put as much stuff out side to dry as I can but this year it’s just been constantly wet here so have probably used it more than I would normally,this is the shocking and embarrassing part of all this .....I have not sent a meter reading for at least a year so my bills are estimated an Im now scared I will owe them even more,this all ties in with my lack of responsibility and pro activity when it comes to my house and finances, I just leave it to look after itself....the saying “look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves” is so true and is now my new mantra:)

Onebrokelady · 16 February 2018 at 11:12AM

Right I;ve woke up this morning in a proactive mood, I have had a lie in because I was shattered after going back to work yesterday but Im pleased to report that I havent had relapse in the night,my chest is still wheezy but the cough is more like a normal cough now and I think Im benefitting from getting a couple of good nights sleep

Money wise I am sort of pleased to say that I got an email to say my DMP is up and running and the first payment will come out on March the 1st,so I am now going to be on my way to paying back my debts,I have to say that although Impleased Im also still very nervous about what my creditors are going to do but Im just going to have to roll with the punches and deal with it along the way,I must say after plucking up the courage to actually phone them to let them know I was in trouble and starting with SC ;m not worried about having to speak to them if I need to anymore.
When I started this I realised how out of touch with my finances I actually am,I havent managed anything in my house for a long time,its just been managing itself but having got to this stage Im now realising that I need to be proactive and stop ignoring things until they become a massive problem
Ive made a start by starting my DMP,now Im going to be looking at everything to make sure Im in control of my money instead of my money being in control of me

System · 16 February 2018 at 11:56AM

Onebrokelady wrote: »

Right I;ve woke up this morning in a proactive mood, I have had a lie in because I was shattered after going back to work yesterday but Im pleased to report that I havent had relapse in the night,my chest is still wheezy but the cough is more like a normal cough now and I think Im benefitting from getting a couple of good nights sleep

Money wise I am sort of pleased to say that I got an email to say my DMP is up and running and the first payment will come out on March the 1st,so I am now going to be on my way to paying back my debts,I have to say that although Impleased Im also still very nervous about what my creditors are going to do but Im just going to have to roll with the punches and deal with it along the way,I must say after plucking up the courage to actually phone them to let them know I was in trouble and starting with SC ;m not worried about having to speak to them if I need to anymore.
When I started this I realised how out of touch with my finances I actually am,I havent managed anything in my house for a long time,its just been managing itself but having got to this stage Im now realising that I need to be proactive and stop ignoring things until they become a massive problem
Ive made a start by starting my DMP,now Im going to be looking at everything to make sure Im in control of my money instead of my money being in control of me

We found that once the DMP was up and running, we stopped worrying about things. Another tip is to write to all your creditors and tell them all communications MUST be in writing only. That way...a) you don't have to speak to them and ....b) you have a record of everything you both say. Also that means when you need to contact them you can re read your letter before you send it and make sure its exactly what you want to say and you who get in a muddle. Remember to always quote your SC ref in your letters. And remember if they default you....that is actually good and if they pass debt on to a DCA, remember to inform SC as there will be different ref numbers etc.

With regard to the EDF, just take a reading and send them so at least you can get an accurate bill. Remember you will always use less once the weather improves. Also if you are not locked into a tarrif with them, do a search to see if you can get cheaper elsewhere.

Onebrokelady · 16 February 2018 at 4:27PM

Well this morning started off on a positive and rapidly went downhill fromthere,I contacted EDF to set up my new DD and also to give them a new meter reading,it turns out I wasnt paying nearly enough and with the new reading I now owe them £500.46 so my DD has now gone up from £75 a month to £116 a month,this is partly my fault for not supplying meter readings,but they already had me at a deficit before then so why dont they let you know your DD isnt covering what you are using before you get so in debt,they had me down as owing £313 and I thought that was just the bill I was paying with my old DD but no that is the excess fuel Im not covering with the payment I was paying, I had no idea I thought they were charging me for the amount I was using but it wasnt even close,Im now on the cheapest tariff they do as I was on the standard variable tariff, apparently they wrote and told me that my tariff was ending but I honestly cant remember getting a letter or anything,but I cant rely on my memory so they probably did and I was probably going to sort it out and probably forgot as usual
I really dont do myself any favours at all,I phoned SC and told them my budget has changed so they have amended the amount I have spare each month to take the new DD into account and my debt free date has gone from being 8years away to 11 years away,the lady I spoke to told me not to worry as the fuel debt will drop off in 2years so that will alter things again,she did put my mind at rest at least,I just feel so angry aat myself and just really stupid that I didntt realise I wasnt paying enough
I also got letters from MBNA today thinking me for letting them know about my situation,the letter said they had previously sent me an IE form and would wait for that to be filled out and sent back,but they have never sent me anything ,the form was in with the letters I got today, Im just presuming it!s a standard letter but I’m also wondering if I have to fill this form out and send it to them because they will be getting the info they need from SC
The more positive part of today has been that I managed to clean the house,it was looking very dusty but its all done now and looks s much better,I was supposed to go into town today to get ingredients for a meal Im going to be eating for the next for days but I didnt have the energy to do it,Im going to make a pasta sauce and have pasta for today and tomorrow at work and then make the other dish on Sunday
Im just having a coffee then I must go out and sort the chickens out

Onebrokelady · 16 February 2018 at 4:50PM

ploppy57 wrote: »

We found that once the DMP was up and running, we stopped worrying about things. Another tip is to write to all your creditors and tell them all communications MUST be in writing only. That way...a) you don't have to speak to them and ....b) you have a record of everything you both say. Also that means when you need to contact them you can re read your letter before you send it and make sure its exactly what you want to say and you who get in a muddle. Remember to always quote your SC ref in your letters. And remember if they default you....that is actually good and if they pass debt on to a DCA, remember to inform SC as there will be different ref numbers etc.

With regard to the EDF, just take a reading and send them so at least you can get an accurate bill. Remember you will always use less once the weather improves. Also if you are not locked into a tarrif with them, do a search to see if you can get cheaper elsewhere.

Hi Ploppy,I just wanted to say thanks so much for your patience and advice over the last few weeks,I really appreciate it,I must seem like a hopeless case at times ,but I am getting there slowly,I think I will calm down once the DMP gets going and I know everyone is being paid and exactly how much money I will have each month,I am going to take your advice and write to my creditors as I really could do without them phoning me,that will be my next job
March the 1st is going to be the start of my journey to being debt free and I cant wait for it to arrive,and I know this is a bit silly as I still owe the OD debt to my old bank but it’s a nice feeling knowing that my current bank account will not be overdrawn ever,I will be cutting my cloth accordingly and when my wages are paid in I will know exactly how much money I have each month and will be able to get going with my new budget
My daughter also told me today that she will be able to contribute some keep during the summer months because she has now saved up enough for her placement and because she wont be commuting each day she will have the train fare spare so I will have some extra money coming in even if its only for a couple of months,Im not sure what to do with it yet,part of me wants to put it towards the debt but another bit of me is saying to add it to my emergency fund or Xmas savings as its these things that get me into trouble in the first place,I will have to think about it,i very nearly blew my emergency budget today to pay off EDF but that would be all of it and I would still owe them £100, then if I have an actual emergency I would be in trouble because of not being able to get credit any more,so I decided that was a silly thing to do and to keep on my present course,it will get paid and I will keep on top of my account now

System · 16 February 2018 at 5:12PM

Onebrokelady wrote: »

Hi Ploppy,I just wanted to say thanks so much for your patience and advice over the last few weeks,I really appreciate it,I must seem like a hopeless case at times ,but I am getting there slowly,I think I will calm down once the DMP gets going and I know everyone is being paid and exactly how much money I will have each month,I am going to take your advice and write to my creditors as I really could do without them phoning me,that will be my next job
March the 1st is going to be the start of my journey to being debt free and I cant wait for it to arrive,and I know this is a bit silly as I still owe the OD debt to my old bank but it’s a nice feeling knowing that my current bank account will not be overdrawn ever,I will be cutting my cloth accordingly and when my wages are paid in I will know exactly how much money I have each month and will be able to get going with my new budget
My daughter also told me today that she will be able to contribute some keep during the summer months because she has now saved up enough for her placement and because she wont be commuting each day she will have the train fare spare so I will have some extra money coming in even if its only for a couple of months,Im not sure what to do with it yet,part of me wants to put it towards the debt but another bit of me is saying to add it to my emergency fund or Xmas savings as its these things that get me into trouble in the first place,I will have to think about it,i very nearly blew my emergency budget today to pay off EDF but that would be all of it and I would still owe them £100, then if I have an actual emergency I would be in trouble because of not being able to get credit any more,so I decided that was a silly thing to do and to keep on my present course,it will get paid and I will keep on top of my account now

You're more than welcome. So many people helped me out when we first started our DMP. I think it helps to know others have been through similar experiences.
With regard to the extra money from your daughter...keep it for emergency fund. SC and your creditors do not need to know you have got it and as it is only a sort of casual arrangement, its not worth the hassle of changing all your I&E form, just to find you need to change it again if your daughter's circumstances change.

Onebrokelady · 16 February 2018 at 8:45PM

Thats what I was thinking,emergency fund it is then ,Im quite enjoying saving some money for a change and planning where my funds are going,I have always wanted to save for Xmas but have never managed it,but I now have a plan and an amount in place to save up a good chunk so I dont end up short next January
It definitely helps to know others have been there before me and im not alone in this,its such a weight off my mind, next step is to open a savings account for my emergency fund and Xmas savings then it won!!!8217;t be in the house where I!!!8217;m tempted to dip into it

Onebrokelady · 17 February 2018 at 11:19PM

Phew that was a busy day at work,Im so glad Im home now and can relax for a bit,feeling loads better now but still a bit wheezy and needed my inhaler twice today,Im hoping this will settle down soon,I did have an excellent nights sleep last night which is highly unusual for me,its definitely helping though
Money wise today was an NSD so all good there,I havent been shopping apart from food shopping for ages,I dont need anything and definitely don!t want anything,I keep looking at things in my house that Ive bought over the term of me acquiring this debt and I just feel so annoyed with myself that at the moment its putting me off,I have a gift card in my purse for Next that I got for Xmas and I havent even got the will to go and spend that at the moment mainly because I dont want to waste it on things I dont actually need,I might need some new tops by the summer because of losing weight so Im going to save it for then
Im off tomorrow so can have a bit of a lie in and then Im not sure what Im going to be doing,I know I need to clean out the chicken run so that is on the list but apart from that I have nothing planned,I might do some more sewing we will see

Cherryfudge · 18 February 2018 at 1:02AM

It's good to see you are so much better and coping with work again!

I must have been a shock coming to terms with the energy bills but winter is always the worst time for those and with your new reformed ways you are already on the way to sorting it out.

I expect the Old Style board has some good tips on energy saving, and I noticed the MSE newsletter headlines with whether or not to keep the heating on low, this week.

It's nice your daughter is able to make some contribution. I agree with using it for the EF. That way you really do have a buffer and if for any reason she has to stop paying, you won't have committed it to any debt repayment.

I know how you mean about not wanting to spend. I was desperate to get out of the house yesterday and normally I'd have had a wander down to the village and bought chocolate or something but instead I went on a nice healthy walk which was not only free but also enjoyable. Why not save the gift card until it's sale time or there's something you specifically need (or even something you really fall for, seeing as it's a gift!).

Onebrokelady · 18 February 2018 at 11:43AM

Cherryfudge wrote: »

It's good to see you are so much better and coping with work again!

I must have been a shock coming to terms with the energy bills but winter is always the worst time for those and with your new reformed ways you are already on the way to sorting it out. I expect the Old Style board has some good tips on energy saving, and I noticed the MSE newsletter headlines with whether or not to keep the heating on low, this week.

It's nice your daughter is able to make some contribution. I agree with using it for the EF. That way you really do have a buffer and if for any reason she has to stop paying, you won't have committed it to any debt repayment.

I know how you mean about not wanting to spend. I was desperate to get out of the house yesterday and normally I'd have had a wander down to the village and bought chocolate or something but instead I went on a nice healthy walk which was not only free but also enjoyable. Why not save the gift card until it's sale time or there's something you specifically need (or even something you really fall for, seeing as it's a gift!).

Hi,I just so relieved that I’m starting to feel normal again,I I hate not being able to do things and I had lots of plans for the weeks I’ve been ill, but never mind it will all get done eventually
As far as the energy bills are concerned I am being pragmatic and chalking it up to a lesson learned,it’s my fault that I have not bothered to be proactive in managing things like this,but that was the old me the lesson has been learned and I will now be checking EVERYTHING with a fine tooth comb:rotfl
I love going for nice walks and also have a dog so no excuses really, I can’t wait for the nice weather to arrive ,me and DD often go on a long walk along our local river that about 3 hours there and back we started taking a picnic last summer,there is lovely pub at the end of the walk and we used to always buy food but now we take our own food to eat along the way but in the summer we have half a cold cider each and in the winter a lovely hot chocolate
Good idea re the gift card I’m going to hang onto it for a while I think

My journey to a debt free life

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