Starting Again... I can be debt free before 50

raldo · 14 July 2018 at 10:54PM

Hi

I have previously been a member on here before but have re-joined with a new name tonight as I need a complete fresh start.

A little bit about me... I am married but have recently separated from my husband so things are a bit up in the air at the moment with the house situation thankfully there are no kids involved. I am currently living in the house and can afford things for now but am unsure how things will stand if I try to get a mortgage on my own with my debt its looking highly unlikely. I have arranged an appointment with a financial adviser and a lawyer to find out what my options are. I think that I will be having to put the house on the market but I hope not but if it comes to it then that's what I will need to do. Trying not to worry about it just now tho!

My debts at today are as follows:

RBS £3400
MNBA £10582
TESCO £5270
BARCLAYCARD £13599
CREATION £2000
HUSBAND £600

Total Debts outstanding £35451

I have put everything into the snowball calculator tonight and paying £625 per month my debt free date is 118 months away which is just under 10 years away. I will be 50 in ten years so if I can be debt free by the time Im 50 then I will be happy with this.

I have got myself into this mess by buying things I didn't need and also through gambling which I really need to stop. I have a really supportive friend who is helping me work through this issue and I know I can stop cause I have done so before and I need to now as I only have my income to rely on to pay the bills and my debts.

I have enough money coming in to pay the household expenses and debts but nothing left over for food or petrol. I have emptied my savings pot and have £300 in £2 coins which is what im going to use for food and petrol for the next few months.

I have lots of stuff I don't use and need in the house so I think I need to start having a clearout and try and get some cash coming in.

I have entered my meter readings for my gas and electricity tonight and managed to bring my bill down by £5 a month so that's a start. I have the full sky package which I know I don't need so I will be phoning them in the morning to see what I can do to reduce my costs.

Thanks for listening

Raldo xx

raldo · 15 July 2018 at 8:34PM

Well I didn't do much today woke up with a banging sore head think sorting out everything last night left me feeling really drained.

I have made soup for my lunches this week just waiting on it cooling so I can put it in the fridge. Also used some things I had in the freezer for dinner tonight which cleared a bit of space.

I am a member of slimming world and am a target member but I don't always tend to stick to the plan so I have a lot of things that aren't slimming world friendly but I will be starting to use up what I have in the freezer and cupboards before I go shopping and spend any money.

I've been reading on some of the forums today trying to think of things I can do to get some extra money coming in but if im honest im just way too tired and not feeling very positive at the moment. I've been feeling rather down today and pretty alone but need to get used to things being like this.

I've got Friday and Monday booked off of work this coming week and Im looking forward to the break away from work. I hope that I will be feeling better so that I can try and sort out some of the house. My spare room is like a hoarders house so I want to try and sort that room out as I know that if I need to put the house on the market it will need to be in a sellable state and right now that's not the case so that should keep me busy.

Raldo xx

doingitanyway · 15 July 2018 at 8:44PM

This isn't an easy journey and you will have down days (as well as up days)
Just be kind to yourself.
You are on the right path.

beanielou · 15 July 2018 at 9:26PM

Happy shiny new diary

Keep posting!

raldo · 16 July 2018 at 10:11PM

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement nothing to post from today except it was actually a good day.
I had got my hair done at the weekend using a voucher Id received for my birthday and received a lot of nice comments which was a surprise.
No money saving as such just surviving getting through a Monday!
Quite a few of my direct debits came out the bank today which is good as if I have money in my account I want to spend it. Made a point of staying in the office at lunch today so I didn't spend any money. Hoping to do more of the same tomorrow.

Did get an avon order today (its my mum that does it but she always gives me any commission for orders I get) it's not a big order so might only be pennies but anything I do get im going to pay towards one of my debts just need to decide which one as the majority of them are charging interest.

Must take the time to update my diary with my debt % income and outgoings to see where you lovely people can help me out.

Still haven't phoned sky yet but think im putting it off as I might need to move and I don't want to agree to another contract if im not going to be keeping it in the long run. Not sure what to do with that at the moment it needs some more thinking about.

Raldo xx

raldo · 29 July 2018 at 2:32PM

Well an update on the house situation... I need to put it on the market. I spoke to a financial advisor and with my level of debt there is no way that I will be able to get a mortgage. So that's why I've not posted in a while its taken me a bit of time to try and get my head round it.

So as it stands today my debts are as follows:

RBS £3339.97
MNBA £10611.09
TESCO £5270
BARCLAYCARD £13571.58
CREATION £2000
HUSBAND £600

Total Debts outstanding £35392.64

I have started the mammoth task of clearing out the house. Ive given loads of things to my sister to put on ebay for me and my local facebook selling page as she has way more time than me and I really needed to get the stuff out of my house.

I have put somethings on facebook myself to sell and have managed to make about £40 over the last week. I am going to try and clear out a box or two every day at least so that I can get things cleared out and a bit of money in.

I have had a look locally for somewhere to rent and for the same money as im paying for the mortgage just now I can get a grotty one bedroom flat in a rough part of the town. Which wouldn't have enough room for all my stuff and to be honest I don't think I would be safe there so Im having to look at things that are a bit more expensive.

I have seen a gorgeous two bedroom cottage in a quiet estate which is £600 per month so that's £150 more than what im paying for my mortgage. Its not available yet but is coming onto the rental market soon. It seems silly to me to be paying out more than I am at the moment but it is lovely and it could be the fresh start that I need away from here. I just don't know what to do for the best....

If I did take on the cottage it would leave me with hardly anything extra to pay to the debts ( I would still be able to pay the minimum payments to the debts) it would also leave me without much to buy food or petrol but I may be able to car share to work with someone that lives close by which could cut down on my costs. I think that I would be happy there and if it means living on beans on toast then I think for the sake of my mental health it would be worth it.

Ive quite a few things I need to sell from the house that are jointly owned so know I will get half of the money from the sale of those items so am going to put a few on the local fb page this afternoon and see if there is any interest.

I've got 30 small jars labelled up for all the things that I think I may need for my fresh start and the luxurys I would like to have along with some of the essential things I will need to pay out. My intention is to get as much money in these jars as possible before I need to move so that I have enough to keep me going for as long as possible... I know some of these things might seem frivolous but they are things that I would like obviously the essentials come first but if I can save even a few pence for certain things then eventually I will be able to afford them. I've also split them into categories

Luxury Items

1. Nails usually get these done every 4 weeks at a cost of £25 but wont be feasible now
2. Hair usually once every two months at cost of £40
3. Eyebrows £7 a time only usually get them done when I get a hair cut
4. Clothes
8. Dentist
9. Opticians
16. Takeaways
29. Holidays
30. Holiday Spending

Car Items

20. Road Tax £10 per month
21. Car Repairs £25 per month
22. Car Insurance £30 per month

House Items

10. TV Licence £12.60 per month
23. House Insurance £22 per month
24. House Items (replacements)

Gifts \ Occassions (now I know the amounts for these might seem excessive its just based on what I was currently saving prior to separation)

17. Pressies £120 for year
25. Morrisons (savings stamps for xmas) £97 for year
26. Asda (savings card for xmas) £144 for year
27. Park Christmas vouchers £250 for year
28. Christmas £25 per month

New Cottage Items

5. Gas - this will be included in normal budget but no idea how much it will be
6. Electric - this will be included in normal budget but no idea how much it will be
7. Water - this will be included in normal budget but no idea how much it will be
11. TV - husband is taking tv so I need to buy a new one (I have a small one in bedroom that I can use until I can afford a new one so its non essential)
12. Food
13. Petrol
14. Bedside Table - husband is taking his (I have one so know its not essential)
15. Wardrobe - not sure if cottage has hanging space so might need this (again not essential)

Others

18. Emergency Fund
19. Debts

Now I know some of these might seem stupid, excessive and frivolous but I think I've covered everything. Unless there is anything I have forgotten.

I appreciate any comments or suggestions that anyone has

Raldo xx

Pollie · 29 July 2018 at 3:20PM

Eyebrows, nails and hair can all be done for considerably less cost at local colleges. Treatments given by students under supervision. Good luck for the future.

doingitanyway · 29 July 2018 at 7:50PM

I agree re beauty colleges...

raldo · 29 July 2018 at 11:07PM

Thanks for the replies re the hair, nails and eyebrows... I will look into seeing what I can find from local colleges. I suppose what im worried about is that it's only been the last year that I've actually started to make an effort with myself and am scared that I begin to let myself revert back to the old me who didn't care what she looked like... Ive noticed that ive started to put some of the weight back on that id lost so am going to need to try hard to get back into my slimming world diet and eating healthier again. Its just been so hard the last few weeks ive been relying on my comfort food to keep me going. I tried on 4 different outfits for work tomorrow and I feel awful in all of them... I have managed to find a longer skirt that hides my stomach so that will have to do.

It all stops from tomorrow.... no more junk... im going to start going back to my running club this week as well. It doesn't cost anything at the moment so I will go until they start to charge. I think this will help to clear my mind aswell as I haven't exercised in quite a while.

Ive managed to sell £47 worth of stuff today and the majority of it is being collected tomorrow so I will have some money to pop into my jars.

Im going to empty my jars at the end of each month and transfer the money into envelopes so thatI can see at the end of each month what I've managed to save. This month's totals won't be anything great but they are better than if I hadn't started at all.

I was thinking about waiting till id moved before I started sorting out my money and debts but am so glad that I've made a start. I've also had a small victory here this weekend as its the first full weekend that I haven't gambled which is a big thing for me as usually I would have spent at least £100 that I don't have... Im hoping that this is the start of me not gambling... I've done it before and I know I can do it again I just need to stay focused on the end goal which is being able to afford to get this cottage if it becomes available as I really want a complete fresh start away from everything I know.

Trying to stay positive... it's just so hard

Raldo xx

raldo · 29 July 2018 at 11:15PM

Made a payment of £1.58 to Barclaycard... going to try and make a small token payment every day just to try and get back into the swing of checking my cards and balances every day.

raldo · 30 July 2018 at 11:12PM

Evening...

Well it's been another gambling free day here today... so yet another wee victory for me!
I've cleared out another box tonight and have out some more stuff on my selling page so today I've managed to make £26.50 or I will have once I get the money from everyone.. it also means that over 3 days I've managed to get in an extra £100 that was stuff that was just sitting around the house! It's quite addictive this... need to look and see what else I can find to sell.

I made a payment of £1.09 towards my MBNA account tonight so that's todays payment gone. I know its only pennies but every little helps to bring it down.

Im hoping I can have a NSD tomorrow I've made my lunch and I have no need to go out at lunch tomorrow so I should manage it as long as there is nothing passed round at work to pay into.

I had quite a few people collecting stuff that had sold over the weekend so I've just been splitting the money into my jars and I've still got over £50 of the £100 to collect in.

I know im not going to be able to get this kind of money in every week but it feels good like im actually achieving something. I might re think the jars idea for August and work on filling one of them at a time then I can tick it off as an goal reached e.g. I know getting my eyebrows done costs me £7 so put that away first then I know I want to save £10 a month for road tax so put that away next ... if I work out what I would like in each and take it from there... will have to have a think about that.

I've set myself some goals for August:
1. Pay off TV licence in full (I've already paid £76 and still have £74.50 to pay before November)
2. Reduce overall debt to under £35k
3. Make a payment to my debt every day
4. Have at least 10 NSDs
5. No gambling
6. Savings Goals - Road Tax £10, Morrisons Stamps £10, Asda Card £10 House Ins £12 Car Ins £20 Car Repairs £15
7. Get 3 Avon Orders
8. Save enough to get my nails done
9. Get back into my target range at slimming world
10. Go running at least once a week

Am going to try and get some sleep now... I haven't slept well in days and I slept in this morning after being awake till 3am! Will check in tomorrow

Raldo xx

Starting Again... I can be debt free before 50

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