1st post and 1st step to clearing £19k in 18 month

MissF87 · 3 March 2018 at 10:53PM

Hello everyone,

New here, looking for support and advice I suppose. I haven’t spoken to anyone about the severity of my situation and I don’t think I want to, but this is the first step in opening up and pushing me to do what I need to do.
I’m a repeat offender with debts and every time I promise myself I won’t do it again, then I do. So annoyed with myself, but I’m in a really good place in terms of my income at the moment, I never dreamed I’d be paid what I am with the benefits I get as well so not all bad. Understandable got in debt at uni, paid it off within a year of graduating. Saved up and bought my first house when I was 23 with my then boyfriend (to later become husband, now ex husband) and we got into small debt then. He was a spoiled brat and didn’t understand what no meant. He wanted to best of everything on a lemonade budget. He also had a serious coke problem which over the years accumulated to over £10k in debts. We got divorced in 2015 (less than 2 years married). Despite the fact that I paid more for the deposit for our house and I consistently was paid more than him therefore contributed a lot more over the years I still agreed to go halves on the debts with him so I didn’t come out with much in then end. Started fresh with a few hiccups on the way but my finances were in control. I bought my first house alone in February last year - my parents lent me a 15% deposit which I’m slowly paying back. I took out numerous things on finance etc when I moved in, including all my furniture on 12 months interest free which has crippled me for the first year! That’s now paid so I’m trying to focus on everything else and get things sorted. I’m so annoyed with myself that I’m in this position again, I don’t know why I don’t just learn my lesson. I’ve made silly selfish and vein decisions in the past and I need to reach a turning point. Sacrifice stupid things like paying over the odds at the hairdressers because I’m too nice to say no to things I don’t need, no more acrylic nails every few weeks etc. I have so many clothes and shoes, I don’t need any more. We have a holiday booked in June which is paid for, just need about £500 for spending money and airport parking etc. With the exception of the money I owe my parents I have about £18,900 to pay on cards, finance, loan etc. Ridiculous, I know. Several are little ones less than £1000 for things like electricals for the house, home furnishings etc. I just got carried away. Moron. My mortgage term is 17 years, so 16 left, that’s a whole other story but I was told I could extend that term at any time. I currently live alone as my partner lives over 100 miles away but he is very actively looking for a job up here so he can move in. Hopefully by June at the latest. From then I’ve worked out I can pay between £1,200-£1,300 a month off my debts. My student loan will also be paid off by the end of this year so that frees up approximately £100 a month. This means I can be debt free in about 15/16 months which sounds sensible and doable, but I need support and encouragement to start living within my means and remembering that the short term sacrifice will be for a long term gain. The card which has the most in is interest free for another 30 months so I’m guessing it’s best I pay that last and Work my way down from the highest rate of interest or work out where I’m paying the highest £ a month in interest and pay that first?
This is where I am currently:
Loan 1: £7,000 / £180 a month
Loan 2: £2000 / £70 a month
Loan 3: £810 / £33 a month
Loan 4: £880 / £23 a month
Card 1: £1900 / £25 a month
Card 2: £5000 / £60 a month
Next Directory: £1,300 / £75 a month

I’ve been paying the minimum payments on my cards by DD then extra if I could later in the month, from next month those payments will increase.

I’m really keen to learn about coupons if anyone has any tips for savings on grocery shopping. In the past I’ve had my shopping delivered, i always thought it was cheaper because I can keep a check on what I’m spending and don’t get tempted. I make my lunch for work every day and I often work from home 1 or 2 days a week. I follow a pretty clean diet and plan all my meals so I know I could make my food shops much more cost effective that way too. Currently budget £160-250 a month (depending on other bills) and I don’t want that to increase with my boyfriend moves in really as water, gas (I’m on calor gas to which has pros and cons!), electric and council tax are all going to increase when he’s moves up. Council tax will go up about £30, electric probably £10-15 a month, currently with gas if I average it out it’s about a canister a month which is £57 so probably a canister and a half a month when he moves in.

So that’s everything in a nutshell. I’m currently signed off from work following an operation last week until next Friday so next week I’m going to be making calls and planning out my new budget.

Dobbibill · 3 March 2018 at 11:17PM

Hi MissF - welcome to the forum.

It looks like you have a basic idea of how you see things panning out over the next few months. You also look ready to tackle your debt head on.

To create a budget and and see where every penny goes you should complete a SOA.

If you post it here, you can get tailored suggestions for savings you can make to throw at your debts.

MalMonroe · 4 March 2018 at 1:28AM

My advice, and I've lived through a similar debt, is to go straight to one of the agencies, National Debtline, StepChange or there are others, you can just google. I used StepChange and it really changed my life. I was in a terrible state when I phoned them and broke down twice on the phone but they did help me so much. Just speaking to someone and not being criticised or made to feel I was stupid was a big relief. They can, and do, help. They are non-judgmental. You do need to get cracking on sorting your debts straightaway. In my experience, not doing so just increases your debt. Not wishing to be rude but instead of working things out and posting here, I would go straight to the people who really can help, one hundred percent. They can help you reduce your outgoings and advise you how to stay within budget. And with them sometimes acting on your behalf, creditors are more compliant. Please do call them. You have nothing to lose. Good luck.

Elliesmum · 4 March 2018 at 1:58AM

Hi MissF87

That's a long 'ol post you've got there and I didn't want to read and run without saying well done for facing the situation.

Tips for reducing food bills can be found on the old style board. Tips for making extra money can be found on the boost your income board. I appreciate that you have a good wage, but every little helps.

Sell all that you can on eBay, don't think how much 'it's worth', think more, what can I get for it???

Not sure of your clothes situation, however, there are some amazing blogs on the internet on how to reduce your wardrobe. Kon Marie method (again on the old style board) - helps you de-clutter. It's nearly car-boot season so that could be a good way to make some money, especially if you 'price to sell', or eBay/gum tree/pre-loved.

How many pairs of shoes do you have. At my highest I had about 65 pairs, I think I've got that down to approx 30, which is still 25 too many according to my partner :rotfl:

Mortgage free wannabe and debt free wannabe boards have some great challenges, together with old style. Such as no spend days, grocery challenges and make do and mend.

I'm not in debt, but I am overpaying my mortgage and trying to save to go travelling, so have done all the above methods to earn some money. I've just started mystery shopping, again it depends upon your working circumstances, however, I've done quite well over the last three months and completed some quite fun assignments.

Keep going - can you get your partner to join in with the saving money. My partner and I are working towards a 'free Christmas' where we are completing surveys and getting vouchers for spending at Christmas. So far we have amassed £40 in two months.

HTH

EM x

MissF87 · 4 March 2018 at 12:47PM

Thanks for the the replies!!

I have too many pairs of shoes for sure, probably close to 100. I have a lot that I could sort and sell clothes and shoes wise I suspect, probably wouldn’t get a huge amount but every little helps. Plus I need to make room for my boyfriend as currently there is none :rotfl:

In terms of the SOA I do have a budget spreadsheet but need to amend it next week to fit the new plan.

I have thought of reaching out to an agency, this was my first step towards admitting what’s I’ve done and recognising that I need to do something about it. I’ve read some of the other threads and there seems to be a lot of support and encouragement which is what I think works best for me.

Lots to crack on with tomorrow.

sourcrates · 4 March 2018 at 12:58PM

MissF87 wrote: »

Thanks for the the replies!!

I have too many pairs of shoes for sure, probably close to 100. I have a lot that I could sort and sell clothes and shoes wise I suspect, probably wouldn’t get a huge amount but every little helps. Plus I need to make room for my boyfriend as currently there is none :rotfl:

In terms of the SOA I do have a budget spreadsheet but need to amend it next week to fit the new plan.

I have thought of reaching out to an agency, this was my first step towards admitting what’s I’ve done and recognising that I need to do something about it. I’ve read some of the other threads and there seems to be a lot of support and encouragement which is what I think works best for me.

Lots to crack on with tomorrow.

If you do choose to take advice, make sure its from a reputable company, such as those in my signature, there are a lot of debt advice companies out there, all with similar sounding names, not all offer free, impartial advice.

Karonher · 4 March 2018 at 1:12PM

If you do go to an agency and negotiate payment terms, remember that it will show on your files for 6 years.

If you go just for information that will be fine. At the moment it looks like you can do this without trashing your rating.

MissF87 · 4 March 2018 at 1:31PM

Thanks Karonher and sourcrates. I had thought the same in terms of just getting advice as I can do it without having to make any arrangements. I just need to stop being an idiot.

Elliesmum - the survey stuff and mystery shopping sounds good as I work in externa sales so I am actually quite flexible so that could work for me so I will definitely take a look into that.

Thanks everyone !!!55357;!!!56842;

anna_1977 · 5 March 2018 at 5:12PM

Hey,
well done for the long post

With regards to paying off the cards - hit the ones with interest first - the highest too. I notice you have £1300 with Next, their APR is pretty high from what I remember. Try to clear those first. It will make such a difference.

Like someone else has said, if you can do this without trashing your credit do so, sounds like you might manage.

Post your SOA up when you've got it totally accurate, the few quid here and there savings all help

Good luck
Anna

MissF87 · 6 March 2018 at 10:58AM

It really was long, sorry guys! I just wanted to get it all off my chest I think.

Yep, Next is pretty much first on the list. I!!!8217;m going to look at the SOA today as it has some bits on which aren!!!8217;t on my budget sheet which I should probably think about such as Home Emergency Fund. One of my first priorities when all this has cleared is to have £1k in my isa at all times for emergencies.

I spoke to Halifax yesterday and they!!!8217;ve extended my mortgage term which is great, it was so easy as well, so that has freed up £140 a month which will be a big help. This is NOT a long term plan, my deal is up in February and as my BF will have moved in by then as well I!!!8217;ll be reducing it again when I switch deals then.

I need to compose the message to my nail tech to tell her I won!!!8217;t be back until next year when all my debt is cleared. She!!!8217;s so lovely and we!!!8217;ve become real friend so I think I!!!8217;m just going to be honest with her so she understands it!!!8217;s definitely nothing against her.

I just can!!!8217;t wait to get back to work and get straight with this - it!!!8217;s year end and this is the key time for me to earn the most commission, I could be looking at a really nice sum of money on my May wage if I work hard enough for the last 3 weeks of the year, hopefully enough to clear 3 or even 4 of the items on my list.

Thank you for all the help and advice so far, I think it will be helpful for me just having somewhere to come and say what I!!!8217;ve done so far and how I!!!8217;m feeling etc, even if nobody else is reading or posting.

loken152 · 6 March 2018 at 2:11PM

I was in a simular position not long ago, heres my story if you want a read it may give you a few ideas? Good luck and keep your head up you will reach the end of the tunnel.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5664158

1st post and 1st step to clearing £19k in 18 month

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