Finally done it and will be clear in 5yrs

wanttobethrifty · 13 June 2018 at 11:42AM

After struggling for the past year, robbing one to pay another, i have finally taken the plunge and contacted STEPCHANGE. I have been in aprox 19k in debt for the past few years, and basically burying my head in the sand. Things eventually came to a head when i got paid last month, and after ALL bills (except food and petrol) and debt payments (minimums), i was left with £2.49. Now i am about to start a DMP and will have cleared everything in just over 5yrs. It's going to be a long journey, and a difficult one, but my mental health already has taken a turn for the better. Stepchange are so easy to deal with, and very understanding, helping me go through everything, and sorting everything out. Just have to send the completed forms in the post today, and the journey begins. I have already opened a new bank account, and when i get paid this month (15th), i can put £760 away as a start to an emergency fund, which would have been used on debt repayments. Just reading the success stories on here have given me the positive outlook that i CAN and WILL do this. THANK YOU STEPCHANGE

Griffin70 · 13 June 2018 at 11:52AM

Good luck! I'm in the position where I've buried my head and used credit because I had it. Now I'm in s***! But after reading posts here, I'm determined to get sorted. I will be contacting Step Change tonight after work and getting my finances under control for the first time (only 24)!

Austin0710 · 13 June 2018 at 2:03PM

Good luck! I was in 42k debt when I contacted Stepchange. They were brilliant and I should be debt free by August next year after 5 years on the plan.
It will be a difficult journey for you, but certainly manageable, and you'll look back thinking why did you ever spend money on stupid things that you didn't need!

beanielou · 13 June 2018 at 2:14PM

Well done

tealady · 13 June 2018 at 6:24PM

Hi
If you want inspiration the read the opening post in "Eleven years a slave" even though I am no longer in debt I still got something from the post (facing a problem which the teaspoon analogy fits)

Ogden · 13 June 2018 at 7:10PM

Well done on taking step 1.

I understand how you’ve been feeling - it took me about a year from the idea of a DMP being put to me, to me actually being in one. I thought it was admitting failure, I thought if I struggled on it would all come good at some point, I thought my creditors would shout at me and I thought that all my friends and family would know I was on a DMP and would think less of me.

None of that happened.

What actually happened was that the letters and phone calls stopped.

What actually happened was that I made one payment to SC on pay day, and then I didn’t have to worry about where was I going to get £x from by the 15th of the month to pay the minimum payment for this card and will there be space in my overdraft by the 28th so that I can pay the minimum payment on that card by the 30th etc etc etc. I do not miss the sleepless nights while all that ran round my head!!

I was clearing out a load of old papers at the weekend actually, and I found my old notebook where I had listed all my debts and how I was juggling payments. At July 2013 my debt stood at £39,000. Crikey

I’m happy to report that the last of it is going to be paid off on 31 July 2018.

Woopeeee!

StepChange_Rachael · 14 June 2018 at 1:21PM

Hi

It's lovely coming across posts like this, it’s great to hear that you’ve taken your first steps to dealing with the problem debt head on and are now on your way to becoming debt free.

If you need any further support then StepChange are only a phone call or email away.

Take care,
Rachael

Gemsy81 · 18 June 2018 at 2:41PM

Good luck, this will be the best decision you have ever made....keep posting on here, and go over to the challenges page, there are some great things on there!

Suseka97 · 18 June 2018 at 3:33PM

Good for you, and any others just starting out. Whilst 5 years might sound like a long time, you'll find in DMP land time flies

Once everything is set up the calls will stop and letters will eventually die down to the odd annual statement or two. You'll then settle into your DMP stride and will find that you no longer really think too much about it, beyond the annual review. You get your life back, no more sleepless nights, no more 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' and seeing as you've managed to delay the start - you can put together a nice emergency fund.

Good luck.

whattodo1967 · 19 June 2018 at 12:40PM

Good luck on your journey, best thing I ever did without a doubt, on the final stretch of mine, cannot wait to be debt free.

National_Debtline · 19 June 2018 at 3:53PM

Hi wanttobethrifty

Congrats on having your lightbulb moment. I'm pleased to hear you are feeling confident about the journey ahead and I'm sure it will be great motivation to see what you owe start to come down.

Dennis
@natdebtline

Finally done it and will be clear in 5yrs

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