Can we have a support thread for people who are massively in debt?

[Nerfmother]

Because you can't talk about it in real life? We owe 44k, reduced from 60k in a year. Not including mortgage.
It's so depressing.
Dh is determined to pay it off and so bankruptcy or plans isn't an option. I do think its doable, just hard hard hard.

Nerfmother
do not worry about Laurabridges - she is not looking for sympathy
sorry about you having to sell the island though
and her posts can be a tad inflammatory at times (esp re maternity leave)
BUT
I'm convinced her heart is in the right place and she does have good ideas about picking yourself up and dusting yourself off

Lucylastic
if you look at my budget spreadsheet you'll see that expenditure is prioritised

many of the people who are in debt are those who lost sight of what spending was needed and what was wanted

You're right Fergus, it was about the biggest step to take!

I am trying not to obsessively refresh my bank balance waiting for a payment to come in that's due today or tomorrow so I can pay off some of the massive debt total before accruing it again over the next couple of months.

Yes well done orange, it's easier once it's done isn't it? Hard to actually make your self do it.
I'm sat at the co trying to find things to make to to 15 quid for game so I can trade in online!
Up to 12.10 so far!

TiP,here is one for you...I work my envelopes system with a basic Excel spreadsheet...is there anything whizzy you could come up with along the same lines (if only to save me the 10 or so mins I spend working at it every week as I'm never confident in my formula skills lol)?!

Orange, I find myself getting a bit obsessive with finances these days too...I'm loving watching CC1 balance reducing almost every week now (the remnants of last weeks food budget is sitting pending at the moment lol).

I grudge monthly pay too as I have to endure a whole month before I can make big payments to it again! Lol need to get a grip

My treat to myself (oh, I'm cool) this afternoon is to make a proper spreadsheet of the debt so I can track it hopefully not going up as quickly as anticipated and then use it to track debt reduction once I'm not paying childcare in a couple of months.

Possibly
feel free to start from one of my ones

mum2fergus
an envelopes spreadsheet : yes should not be a problem
could you PM me a bit more info of what you have in yours .... or upload it to googledocs as a private one and send me the link and I'll have a play

Can't beat a good spreadsheet Orange...I do love pouring over mine with a tooth comb lol, sad I know.

Princely 7.43 spend today-food shopping for missing bits from this weeks meal plan. Slow cooker week this week...lasagne on for today, chilli Tues, ribs n rice Wed, soup/pudding Thu and chicken stir fry Fri. Only milk and bread to buy this week

I love spreadsheets. I made one that is a table and the stuff you input becomes a graph! Kerpow!
Except it's monthly debt figures so not really very exciting.
Officially reduced overdraft to 300 after a lot of talking on the phone, and reassuring I understood etc. it was much easier to whack it up to 3000!

Good for you Nerf. My bank lets me reduce limit online so had no such problems when I repaid mine in Nov last year.

CC1 on the other hand! Was looking at ac online last week as plan to close it by end March...took me about 15 clicks to find page I was after then the answer is to call them. Best brace myself for that day when it comes lol...

Closing a credit card .....

Write them a nice letter.
Then cut the card in 4. Sellotape the pieces together in a line
and post it to them recorded delivery

as satisfying as it is childish

but because they have signed for receipt of the destroyed card, you have absolute proof.

Oh lord - I'm ill in bed but was at least thinking that by being poorly I wasn't spending any money when this gem came along:

My DH had a car accident about a month ago. It seemed very minor and nobody was hurt but it was his fault (bumped into the back of somebody). He did feel terrible about it and the injured party was as nice as anybody could be in those circumstances. Anyway after saying 'it was not a big deal' - the mechanics are now saying that they have found another problem with the car that is also a result of the accident, and they are going back to the insurance company to see if they will foot the bill - but apparently they may suggest a right off! Aghhhhhh .....!

We will get about £2000 if they do this (old car). DH was suggesting getting a new one on finance if they do this, but I put my foot down and he agreed. It would have to be another old one AT LEAST until we have paid off most of our debt in a year or two - and even then not a new one but a newish one and only then when the old car kaput.

And I was feeling so happy as my spreadsheets suggest that I can pay off over draft (currently 2400) and £2000 worth of credit card by September

To top it all off if this happens then we will undoubtedly be without a car for a week or two which will be awful as DH needs a car to work (supply teacher). We currently have a courtesy car.

I need a but feel so ill everything tastes like stale water and it hurts when I swallow

Sorry for rant.

Oh notebook what a problem. Totally can see both sides; new car on finance means probably no problems but the cost is astronomical.
Fergus - have the same with natwest! Except TiP I didn't think to do what you said and have already cut up and chucked the card. Asked about closing it and still not done!

goldennotebook
haggle HARD with the insurance company about a write off
point out that you will change insurers away from them if they do that

demand a second opinion from an independent garage (not their tame one in on the fiddle)
and then offer to buy the car back off the garage if needs be
its a nasty game the insurers try

Oh notebook what a nightmare. I hope TIP's advice helps.

TIP I started with your spreadsheets, but ended up more or less creating one of my own. Actually it was really good to be forced to create it and really see exactly how the credit card minimum repayment does bugger all to the debt! I think I've always been a bit breezy about CC interest as I've never had big CC debt, but since it will inevitably reach alarming heights over the coming months, it's good to know.

My spreadsheet includes a worst case projection for payoff of the worst case debt (iykwim) after maternity leave. If it all goes really really badly we'll be looking at being debt free in September 2018 . Am feeling hugely incentivised to beat that both by making the debt grow as little as possible on maternity leave and by maximising my income as much as possible so we can pay off what does accumulate as quickly as possible. Eek!

Thanks TalkinPeace for your advice, and everyone else for your sympathy! I will talk to DH about addressing this with insurers. I suppose it makes sense that they play games.

Spread sheets are fun aren't they! I look at mine every day. Now I just have to blinking stick to them

Evening everyone - sounds like we've had a mixture of days! Some positive, others not so?
First day back at work, feels like I've never been away! I have had a NSD, no choice really as I have none to spend until tomorrow.
Dd's school shoes broke today and I can't afford to get her any more tonight. I feel terrible, like a really bad mum. She has a battered old pair of boots she can wear tomorrow but they look so scruffy. I am so busy after school this week I don't think she'll get them until at least Thursday. May be able to squeeze it in on Wednesday before swimming. Flipping Clarks shoes are so expensive too.
Dh and I have agreed that this is the last month this is ever going to happen. Next month the 'spare' council tax will go into our newly opened savings account (it has £1 in!) as a starter for our savings. Then situations like these with the shoes will not arise any more
The fridge is looking very bare before the big shop arrives tomorrow morning but it has actually made me really inventive with what we have eaten!

Spent £9 on painkillers/anti-inflammatory pills. DP gets paid tomorrow so I'm excited to work out tonight how much we have left. This is possibly the first month we have any money left over (estimating £150 - £100 to pay overdraft and cancel that and £50 towards debt 1) which is amazing and I couldn't have done it without this thread. Well done everyone!

Ale - that's a brilliant idea! This is the first year I haven't thought yippee! About the council tax, and I've actually paid it off a card.
Nothing has been added to the 150; 250; 100 (learning from mum2fergus) totalling 500 off dhs card!
And I bought tumble dryer balls today in a bid to cut out fuel bills.
And I spent 6.70 sending games to Game recorded delivery but will get back 22 in gift cards. So actually a good day!

Brilliant Ellie - I shall pretend this wine I'm drinking is to your success this month

Prog on Ch4 at 8 tonight ...Secrets of Your Credit Rating for anyone that is interested...

Oooooooh shall kick the kids off Simpsons!

Interesting debt related programme on Ch5 at 9 as well.

NSD for me too - yay!

Had a nice filling free lunch at school on teacher day so having a salad and did the kids my "emergency" dinner of chicken nuggets and chips which I buy and pop in the freezer at the start of each month and haven't used yet in Feb.

Got a nice curry planned for them tomorrow as it's the last I'll see them for a week as I am off on an exciting school trip (won't say where so I don't out myself, but i need a passport!)

Had a payment of £40 randomly into my account today, the realised it is a friend sending me the last instalment of a weekend away - the payment won't be taken from my account until 8th March so it is burning a big hole in my pocket.

Must. Resist. Spending.

Have noticed 5/6 bulbs in my family room have blown and it's now "mood lighting". REALLY don't want to buy them before payday as it'll put my ynab figures out, even though my bank balance could easily take it. Just hope the last bulb holds out!

Hoping for another NSD tomorrow, fingers crossed. May need fuel though, it looked healthy on the way home from school but sometimes it fools me and then dramatically plunges into red!

)))))))) Tumble driers (((((((((
killingly expensive things to run. Have never owned one, never will.
Wooden airer at the top of the stairs dries jeans overnight at no cost.

When I had to use a launderette and dry loads of stuff, washing 5 huge loads cost £18
to get everything dry in the tumble driers cost over £40

never again

I know! I know! But ds has nocturnal enuresis (aspergers and OCD and wets the bed at night when stressed, yes we have a paed involved and pills for sleepovers) and I just can't cope with the laundry so we bought one. That's part of the dla argument I guess.