Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!

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  • 117pauline
    117pauline Posts: 743 Forumite
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    It's good to see you back. I have always followed your diary as I am another Georgiana fan.

    I am sorry for your loss. Bereavement knocks the stuffing out and it can take a while to return to a more normal life.

    So you have done the really hard part to come back. Have you got a plan to take back control and how is the studying going?

    Have a good week
    Pauline
    Don't get it perfect - Get it going
    Better Than Before
  • wishingthemortgaheaway
    wishingthemortgaheaway Posts: 2,536 Forumite
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    Nice to have you back.

    Sorry for your loss.

    Just think how much bigger the debt would have been had you not been debt busting prior to these events.

    Good luck with your journey

    Wish.
    Outstanding mortgage: £23,181 (December 19)
    MFW 2020 Challenge Member #10 0/£2318
  • GeorgianaCavendish
    GeorgianaCavendish Posts: 2,387 Forumite
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    Thank you so much everyone, its great to be back! :)
    Kittychick wrote: »
    Great to see you back! I know it must feel like a backwards step but I think there's a big difference between just spending wildly and not caring about the consequences and doing it as you have done.
    Good luck for the future x

    This is true, I was a bit white knuckled checking my balances yesterday and it does feel disappointing but I am feeling a lot more accepting of where I am at the moment knowing where we fell down (lack of emergency fund) and that I got the cheapest finance available to me at the time for the course fees.
    117pauline wrote: »
    It's good to see you back. I have always followed your diary as I am another Georgiana fan.

    I am sorry for your loss. Bereavement knocks the stuffing out and it can take a while to return to a more normal life.

    So you have done the really hard part to come back. Have you got a plan to take back control and how is the studying going?

    Have a good week
    Pauline

    Thank you Pauline, I really appreciate your kind words and it is nice to hear from another Georgiana fan!

    My take back control plan is to firstly update my spreadsheet with the balance breakdowns and work out the most expensive tranches of debt so I can adjust my repayment plans.
    Secondly, I will redo the budget. I need to reflect the higher debt repayments and build in Emergency Fund payments. And it won't do any harm to look at where I can trim back expenditure.
    I also need to get back onto survey sites and applying for focus groups as I did quite well with those earlier in the year. I've got to switch over summer and winter clothes too (currently layering to a ridiculous extent!) so I will have a look through my wardrobe again to see if there is anything that can be sold on ebay etc.

    The studying is going pretty well so far. I'm only a few weeks into the course so it has been a little bit overwhelming at times, but I'm going to sit down with my syllabus and books this weekend and make a plan for the next 9 months.
    wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »
    Nice to have you back.

    Sorry for your loss.

    Just think how much bigger the debt would have been had you not been debt busting prior to these events.

    Good luck with your journey

    Wish.

    Thank you Wish! Its true, the idea of my debt being even higher than it was when I started this diary makes me feel quite queasy!
  • redofromstart
    redofromstart Posts: 4,167 Forumite
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    Good to see you posting again, sounds like a highly stressful situation. We got into our original mess because my OHs contracting job got switched off with no notice so much sympathy from me.
    My mortgage free diary: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6498069/whoops-here-comes-the-cheese

  • GeorgianaCavendish
    GeorgianaCavendish Posts: 2,387 Forumite
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    redofromstart wrote: »
    Good to see you posting again, sounds like a highly stressful situation. We got into our original mess because my OHs contracting job got switched off with no notice so much sympathy from me.

    Thank you! It has been stressful and I'm still really angry at myself for the debt going back up (even though part of it is for a "good" reason and part of it was unavoidable).
  • GeorgianaCavendish
    GeorgianaCavendish Posts: 2,387 Forumite
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    Has anyone else experienced problems with TopCashBack payout recently? I keep getting stuck in a loop telling me that I need to provide payout details, but I have provided payout details (I've had about 20 payouts over the last year, all to the same bank account). I thought maybe a glitch with the records as I hadn't logged in for about a month, so I even re-entered my bank details & paypal details earlier this week, which took 72 hours to update on their system. Just tried to get a payout again but back to the "please add your payout details" error message.
    I have emailed them for more information .... Grr!
  • debtaghh
    debtaghh Posts: 1,794 Forumite
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    I had a similar issue but it worked after the 72 hours ( it felt longer though so could have been )
  • GeorgianaCavendish
    GeorgianaCavendish Posts: 2,387 Forumite
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    OK, I can't quite believe that I'm writing this before Halloween but what are you all doing to ensure that you have a MSE Christmas? :rudolf:

    For me, the biggest change this year is that I'm actually thinking about Christmas in advance and putting a budget in place! :eek:
    Had a chat with my husband today and we decided that we won't give each other big Christmas presents but instead will put a little bit of money towards doing something together after Christmas (like a nice meal in January or similar). I need to discuss something similar with my parents and the in-laws too but haven't got round to this yet.

    Anyway, I'd love to hear your MSE ideas on this! :)
  • GeorgianaCavendish
    GeorgianaCavendish Posts: 2,387 Forumite
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    debtaghh wrote: »
    I had a similar issue but it worked after the 72 hours ( it felt longer though so could have been )

    Hmm ... very strange! I wonder if their systems are having an overhaul or something. Really glad that it did work for you eventually :) I might try again tomorrow.
  • redofromstart
    redofromstart Posts: 4,167 Forumite
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    I am currently ignoring the event in question :p I infamously did all of mine in Boots one Christmas Eve, in the hours between changing train on the way home to my parents.

    Review your 'who do you normally buy for' list.
    Can you reduce or remove anyone? Can you change what you normally buy? Is there anyone who might like to agree a 'no presents' pact? I tried to reduce ours to only buy for children and only for those children who actually acknowledge receipt. I stop buying for them once they leave education.

    Better buying - so I know I need x bottles of wine, buy them now while MrS has 25% off 6 bottles. Hide them from myself. Need a NERF gun/lego set/baby toy - keep an eye on the amazon offers and buy what drops rather than focus on must buy 'X'

    My mum used to do stockings and a main present for me and my adult siblings, but a few years ago she just stopped. She says it was quite liberating to stop wasting money on things people probably didn't want anyway. I get her point but I do miss the surprise element, and the chocolate oranges. I wonder if my brothers have realised that you actually need to buy new socks every so often...

    I keep a present drawer - things I have seen on offer that might be useful for a short notice present. Always have a spare bottle of wine for the unexpected present giver.

    I hate secret santa at work - but they can be good for big families or groups if you could suggest it as a fun idea rather than a money saving one.
    My mortgage free diary: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6498069/whoops-here-comes-the-cheese

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