There's been a slight development; in all honesty I'm a bit knocked for six at the moment.

I was at my parent's house last night and for better or for worse I decided to fess up about my debt. It was really strange but the way it happened was like I wasn't really in control of myself - I just told them.

What a huge weight off my chest - I can't begin to tell you how relieved I felt. I've hidden it for so long, a bit ashamed and worried about their reaction and they weren't in the least bit ashamed of me. Dad was a bit annoyed I hadn't mentioned it sooner but not in an angry way, if you see what I mean.

The upshot was, my lovely mum and dad offered to pay off my credit card for me - not as a loan but as a gift. They will be giving my sister the same amount to keep the balance and said it was an early inheritance. To say I'm stunned is an understatement. My dad made it quite clear they could pay all my debt off (no way I could take this as I would be mortified) but that it probably wouldn't help me longer term. He's totally right. Both of them also made me promise not to spend on the card again and dad went through a quick SOA with me to see that I was really going to be able to manage (which I am).

So today I'm not quite sure what to do. My two other loans, which can take overpayments, will take care of themselves naturally and I think I plan to let them do just that until the turn of the year. I have virtually no emergency fund for anything at all and Christmas is on the horizon. My best plan, I think, is to keep some cash and build a small emergency fund and deal with Christmas as a cash buyer for the first time in a very, very long time. Is this a good idea or not? I'm not sure, but I have time to think about it - perhaps along the lines of, if in doubt, do nowt!

I don't know how I can ever repay my mum and dad. Seriously, I don't. What they have given me is breathing space and a real chance to sort out my spending habits once and for all. Which brings me to this diary. I will keep updating my diary as my goal hasn't changed - I need to be debt free. I will use it to record all my efforts in making those loan overpayments but it will probably veer towards changing my relationship with money and spending and keeping my costs low and my chin up.

For the first time in years I feel I have turned a corner.

Onward and upwards chums

Oh, one more thing, a question. I really, really want to close my credit card account but I'm scared to do it as it would leave me with nowhere to gin in a dire emergency. In saying that, I feel sick at the thought of having it open. Any advice?

Uhtred

Aww your parents sound amazing. Its so good you can tell them and that they can help. Massive step in clearing it all. I think this is great news!

Why don't you give the card to your parents to look after? That way you can use it in AN EMERGENCY only Your parents sound fabulous, what a lovely thing to do. You could save an emergency fund now, or find out if you pay less if you overpay your loans. Definitely save up for Christmas. You've got a massive chance now to step up, and show yourself that you have learnt from your past mistakes, what an opportunity!

PSL they are great parents. I hated the thought I had let them down but they were fantastic about it. It's a totally massive step for me and I must admit my head is buzzing with it. I've got a pal coming for a catch-up shortly and I'm even thinking about telling him.

I feel hopeful now.

Uhtred

They are truly amazing - without a doubt. I currently have my card care of a friend but I think I will get it back and give it to my dad. That sort of lets them know I'm really serious and I hope it would repay the faith they are showing in me.

I will save for Christmas. I'm also going to broach the subject with the rellies/friends about a gift limit in terms of money. I have done this before but never really saw it through.

This is a massive chance, no doubt about it and I feel deep down that it's a last chance. If I can't do this now then I never will. I really can't ask for more support and I'm determined this is it now.

Uhtred

Uhtred, what great news. So pleased for you. I definitely think your parents having the card is a great idea - I know exactly what you mean about not wanting to give it up just in case. We still have an empty CC for this reason, but since our LBM we have not used it, or if we have it has been paid off in full as it's been part of the budget.

I think if you can build your EF to a really healthy level you would then be able to cut it up for good. There's an EF challenge you can join on here, if you need the encouragement.

Yay. nice to hear a good news story. Ramble x

Thanks Ramble

The card is now with dad . I think you're right that getting rid of it for good is reliant on a reasonable emergency fund being in place. I'll have a look at the EF challenge on here as that might be just what I need.

Onward and upwards

Uhtred

How's it going?

Hi Ramblehan

Things are going really well. I'm gearing up for payday on Friday with a sense of relaxation - the first time in I don't know how long.

I've been working my way through YNAB to build a realistic and proper budget that will give me the mechanism by which I can build a small emergency fund as well as overpay on my loans. Oh, and also a budget that lets me live a wee bit!

I'm saving for Christmas and I've finished the month (almost) with money left from last month's budget - not much, just £25.45. However it's a small step in the right direction and every penny helps.

I'm actually looking forward to a Christmas that doesn't leave me feeling guilty, ashamed, worried and broke - it's a non-credit Christmas for me and I am so, so loving it.

That's the thing that's best of all - I have this sense of calm about everything. I have more available cash that isn't allocated to debts and although I will be saving and paying off debts with some of the extra I have a sense of freedom in knowing I don't actually have to do that. Does that make sense? It does in my head

Overall it's been very pleasant and the pressure has dropped. I'm a very happy Viking

Onward and upwards

Uhtred

Great stuff!
Sounds like you have YNAB sorted too. We still struggle to end up with anything spare at the end of the month so well done you!!

Well it's been some time since I posted here - I took a slight detour and went off raiding but I'm back and I'm making the final push towards getting the debts well and truly sorted.

The very good news is that I still have no credit card debt - I really have worked hard at this and by using YNAB to budget carefully, I've managed my silver far better although I have resisted paying any extra towards the loans that remain outstanding.

The quite good news is that I'm now going to go all out to get rid of the loans, starting with the one that has the largest balance (which also has the highest monthly payment). The bad news about that loan is that I made a mistake about the interest rate and thought it was quite low - I've discovered I had misread my paperwork and that it is actually 8.9%, pretty much the same as the other one I have. That discovery this week is what has prompted me to don my battle helmet and pick up my sword once again.

For all the good news of course the Gods will have to have a bit of fun and the bad news concerning the loan (apart from my interest rate error) is that over-payments, whilst allowed, attract a penalty of 56 days interest every time an over-payment is made. Within every cloud there is a silver lining though - my spreadsheet calculations show that if I make my normal payments but then, every 4 months, pay off an additional lump sum of £1200, then not only do the interest payments (and thereby, the penalty interest) drop off dramatically and I will in the end be literally many pounds of silver to the good. That's quite apart from being able to clear the debt 3 years early!

It will be one battle at a time; one loan at a time for the over-payment treatment. As I go on I will cut back my expenditure whenever possible - today for instance I blagged one of Martin's broadband and phone deals and saved £17 a month.

Perhaps the most helpful thing though will be that I have now confided in the 3 close friends that matter to me and all of them are now on board to make sure I see this through.

Fate is everything.

woo hoo. welcome back. Wasn't series 3 AMAZING.

I've been off raiding too. will be coming back to roost shortly!!

It's good to be back

The last series was excellent - fingers crossed there will be another and that I get debt free before Uhtred takes back Bebbanburg!

The Gods have been smiling on me this week.

Although I knew I had to pay penalty interest for any loan overpayments, the amount is not as high as expected. In a nutshell, if I paid an extra £300 of silver per month, the extra interest would only be £4.04. Considering that by clearing the loan at that rate I will be saving almost £1600 in interest, I have to thank the fates!

My DFD has also been pulled right back - I've cast my Excel runes and they say I will be debt free in 22 months which takes me to March 2019.

I've thought about what I want to do when I get to that point and I've decided I won't jump to pay off the mortgage on Bebbbanburg. I'll just use my extra silver to build an army to take it back from my thieving uncle by force! Quite apart from that pleasure, I've decided I've been in debt for so long that I just want a period where I can live. I don't mean living the high life, just that I want to live without watching every bit of silver.

Fate is everything.

Another small step towards less debt today.

I was on the lowest gas/electricity tariff with EDF, fixed until February 2018. Using the MSE switching gizmo I have switched to EON - should be about £72 a year cheaper which reduces my monthly payments by £6 but better still it's a one year fix which means I'm sorted nicely until June 2018. I didn't fancy coming off my fixed tariff in January when I use most gas.

A nice wee bonus is the £30 cashback somewhere down the line so it's all positive this week.

I hesitated to switch to save a relatively small sum but it's little things like that which will make each month just slightly easier and hopefully keep me on track with overpaying my loans.

Fate is everything.

Welcome aboard Uhtred Ragnarsson.

Just a quick heads up. If you're paying with a Monthly Direct Debit and have registered with our website, you can take more control over your payments. This includes altering the monthly amount should circumstances change. You can do this through the Direct Debit Manager.

Once logged on and provided the account is billed up to the latest meter readings, payments can be changed by up to 20 per cent up or down. By up to 5 per cent up or down without readings. Before confirming the new amount, we'll let you know by how much we think the account will be in credit/debit if payments are changed but usage doesn't alter as expected.

You can also create your own bills online. Pop in meter readings and you'll have the option of seeing the balance that would result or actually issuing a bill. It's a great way to keep on top of things and helps you spot if there's too much credit/debit building up. Our aim with these arrangements is to reach as near as possible to a zero balance by the time of the annual review.

Hope this is of interest Uhtred Ragnarsson. Let me know if you ever need any help with your E.ON account. Helena and I are usually about weekdays between 8am and 6pm.

Malc

Thanks very much for all of that information - totally fantastic! I do pay by DD and as soon as I get the welcome pack I will do all the registration stuff online.

Rather chuffed that there is so much flexibility because I like to pay a bit more in the summer to even out winter.

Cheers

Great stuff Uhtred Ragnarsson. Glad my post was useful. You know where I am if you need any more information. Happy to help.

Have a good weekend.

Malc

Hi Malc

I'm wondering if you could point me in the right direction. I did the switch on 19th and I understood I would receive a welcome email from EON within 4 days. So far I've heard nothing. Would this indicate some sort of problem?

Thanks in advance

Hi Uhtred Ragnarsson and sorry you haven't been contacted yet.

Have you received confirmation from the Cheap Energy Club that the switch has been started? If you have, our Welcome email usually follows within 2-3 days. If not, might be an idea to check all's well at their end.

I'll be happy to check what's happening from our side too. Just drop an email with your details to the address in my Profile. I'll take a look and let you know where we're at.

Look forward to hearing from you Uhtred Ragnarsson. I'm off in a few minutes but will be back in bright and early tomorrow morning so can pick this up then.

Malc