Debt Number 3 : For those who feel they are drowning and want a way out

[TalkinPeace]

This thread follows on from Nerf's incredibly useful
FIRST www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/1969188-Can-we-have-a-support-thread-for-people-who-are-massively-in-debt
and then
SECOND
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/2011878-Debt-support-thread-2?
threads about realising you are in and supporting each other out of debt.

I am not in debt, any more.
Here is a link to some spreadsheets that might help
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/1987219-SPREADSHEETS-for-Debt-Control-Budgeting-Mortgages-etc

and lots of people use this
YouNeedABudget

The important thing to remember is

• yesterday is as past as the Crimean War

( we will not judge how you got into debt, but we will support you on the way out )

• this is an anonymous forum

( we will not tell your employer, family or friends of the reality of your numbers )

• this thread is about supporting people through the huge mindset changes needed to come out of debt

( feel free to offload all of the feelings that drive you to want to spend, that make it hard to save and that generally make life crap at times )

Join in, bare your soul and come out the other end.
Its worth it.
You are worth it.

Gosh this thread has been busy the past few days!

Hello to newbies !

To whoever posted about exam marking - I only have experience of AQA and Edexcel and they both pay out very quickly, usually around a week after completion. Some do give a bonus for completing different stages on time so beware of that.

I have got my hands on 2 tickets to Legoland in July when schools are off. Anyone been recently? Need advice. Kids are 15 and 13. Are they too old do you think? It would cost £30 for the extra ticket plus petrol etc which I am happy to pay if they would enjoy it, or should I just chuck them on ebay?

Obviously I mean chuck the tickets on ebay, not the kids.

Although, now I think about it....

Legoland : we got free tickets through nectar points a couple of years back - we loved the model village, the rest was just full of ankle biters (our kids were 11 and 9)
sell the tickets and do something more grown up

Will definitely be using the veg tomorrow Kazza!

TiP

ThanksTiP, that's what I thought. Free tickets but not a free day and I thought mine were too old. Will throw them on ebay. Should get something for them in July I'd have thought.

Well NSD yesterday apart from 7.50 on a phone contract for ds 2 who goes to big school. Had no shame in asking for the cheapest one, capped, whereas in the past I would have avoided looking like we needed to save money! Madness!

And YY to hidden costs of free days out!

I got some good news - I am being promoted at work! it's not the big promotion I was hoping might happen but it is a step towards it and could directly lead to the dream job if I do it well.

It should mean a bit more money too, though I won't know how much until I get the official summary later this week.

This is an excellent thread!

Like some of the posters I am resentful that even every day things are out of my reach. My dc always wear leather shoes to school. However I do not, especially in the summer.

I wear pumps on my commute and change into my heels on arrival.

My wardrobe is boring and limited. I am quite lean but most of my clothes do not flatter me. They are out of date, not well structured or cheap looking.

We cut costs by;
bringing lunch or snacks whenever we leave the house

Bringing lunch to work every day

Not buying newspapers or magazines

Not eating out unless special occasion

Colouring and cutting our own hair

Only buying Christmas gifts for our dc

We do not drink or smoke

Missann Congratulations!

Congratulations MissAnnersley!

My nursery fees came in at £30 cheaper than expected this month (they have a very odd system so they are different every month). For the first time EVER I channelled MumtoFergus and paid the £30 off of the credit card immediately. Ordinarily it would have just been swallowed up and spent without a second thought. Aren't you a good influence on me, Mum?

Woohoo Pixie...way to go!! Works for me, and have yet to miss the money!

Rochiana
Welcome to the gang.
Try if you can to put the resentment aside.
Much of what you see others "affording" is in fact borrowed from their children in the big scheme of things.

Nerf
My kids phones are on PAYG cos I'm a right tightwad - I give them one top up per half term.
They have both become VERY canny about finding free wifi!

pixie
well done - the mindset change is well underway.

Hi Rochiana
Tip, need to have access to credit for the children on their phones, and the tesco capped contracts are really good. Pays too hit and miss.

Thanks all

We closed the savings account with our little inheritance in it today, just have to wait for the cheque from the bank to clear and it's all going off the debt!

Well done Miss, that's super news!

Hi Rochiana: I know what you mean. I'm down to 3 work tops and all of them look shite. The trousers I'm wearing are 5 now and don't fit properly. I would love to have a little money just to go out and buy a better work wardrobe. I'm trying to be taken seriously, but doubt that I am because of it.

Feeling fed up again today - it's like a continual treadmill of dodging stuff in this house and we have so little to look forward to. I am incredibly grateful to have a lovely family, a roof over our heads and food in the fridge, but sometimes it would be nice just to go out to tea or take them to the cinema. Stupid debt. Stupid me and DH for letting it get to this stage.

Kinky - today I checked my bank balance and the extra 100 has gone off my loan. If I can find 181 it will be under 5000, which is really exciting!
What I'm trying to say, badly, is that it has taken me all these threads to finally get a bit of pleasure out of this.
YY to cinema etc , but actually if you can get into the habit of Saturday morning kids club it means they see new films a bit later, that's all.
It is drudgy but i guess it's either do it now or drag it out?

kinky we had a similar crisis of "we work so hard and every penny goes off debt this is miserable we want to go out for dinner/to the cinema" recently, but managed to power through it by looking at how far we have come and trying to focus on the end.

My work clothes are a mixture of ok and a bit tatty, some most were secondhand to me, but I think I'm lucky that most still look ok for now. I definitely feel I am being taken more seriously at work because I wear a suit every day.

We're currently trying to work out if DH should sell the car which we have on HP as it is worth about double the amount we currently owe, so he could clear that debt then buy a cheaper car and pay insurance etc for a year up front. Just not sure if it is ok to sell it before paying the debt - it'd be a case of him taking the money he gets for it to the HP company to clear the balance.

Potentially good read here on how to save money, haven't read it all yet but planning to spend my lunch break wisely ... www.apartmenttherapy.com/100-tips-for-frugal-living-how-to-get-thrifty-and-save-money-203155

Sorry, another link - this website is hilarious and has some good tips. It is a bit extreme, but definitely inspired me to keep going.

www.mrmoneymustache.com/

Just made my first ever Facebay sale - for £2. Only another 7500 sales and we'll be debt free, woo hoo!

Hello all.. Congrats missannersley, and to all the newbies hello

2 NSD for me, as I've been in bed with flu for 3 days! Finally feeling a bit more normal, but really tired.

Well that's if u don't count having to scrape together the pennies for the DC to have school dinners!

We found a £50 washingachine on face bay, but think we may have been fiddled - and we cracked the drawer in transit, so are going to have to spend money repairing it :( DP is screwing. Hoping that its still good enough for the next few months, till we get all this debt paid off. Luckily DP is really good at fixing things!

Quick question in anticipation of OD being repaid folks...once it's gone my next goal is CC2, current balance is 3522, current min payment 36, interest free til Aug 2015. Once OD is repaid I will have approx 590 per month for the CC. Should I repay this amount every month or continue with minimum payment and save the 590 in my ISA until Aug 2015 then pay in full before interest starts being applied?