Drowning in debt and cannot talk to people in Real Life? A problem shared is a problem brought into perspective - come and join the lens.

[Ta1kinPeace]

This thread is loosely linked to several previous ones on the same topic.

We live in a society that makes it horribly easy to get into debt but makes it incredibly hard to admit you have a problem and even harder to get out of debt.
Everybody is welcome to share problems, ideas, solutions, but not be judgemental please

I am not in debt, any more.
Here is a link to some spreadsheets that might help explain how
SPREADSHEETS-for-Debt-Control-Budgeting-Mortgages-etc

and lots of people use this
YouNeedABudget

The important things to remember are

• 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 and we are here day and night )

• 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, including getting those closest to you to recognise the changes needed )

Join in, bare your soul and come out the other end.
Its worth it.
You are worth it
The long term results for you, your partner, your children, and your friends and family are worth it.

Badders What code did they put you on? and yes, in Month 11 it can be worse.
Just make sure they pull you back straight for month 12.

Gisla
Is there any way you can get them to spread the items across the month so your cashflow fluctuates a bit each week rather than all at once

OT?
I rang hmrc today and she said it will be sorted by next pay day (end March)
Hope so!

0T : OUCH - so they gave you no tax allowance for the whole year / assumed that you had already earned well over the £10600 tax free allowance

I guess so.
I was taxed £8 on £40!!!
😳
Hoping it will be ok now after I've Spoken to them.
It's a month in arrears too which I hadn't realised (my fault) so this month my bank account is going to be a mess :(

let the bank know ..... if you keep them informed then they are less inhumane

I have an agreed overdraft so not worried there, just frustrated I suppose.
Was hoping this month might be the first one fir a kong time that I ended up in the black.
Oh well

Hope everyone is doing OK as we head towards April. Things have got progressively worse for me since I last posted in December. I'm not making nearly enough working self employed to survive, in fact it's been dire. I'm up shit creek financially, so much so that I've made an appointment with the job centre to go on JSA while I look for a job. I literally have £2 and a few pence to my name. I'm worried on two counts - firstly that I left a job voluntarily to go self employed which hasn't worked out, and I'm nervous they won't give me JSA because of that. Secondly I'm worried that if I'm allowed to claim JSA, it'll take ages to sort out. Does anyone know how long it takes from first appointment to first payment? I can't even do a food shop until it comes through .

I'm sorry to hear that
I would recommend the following;
Contact your debtors - arrange a payment plan
Phone step change - set up an iva?
Go to your dr and explain and ask for referral to a food bank
I have no idea if you will qualify for jsa but any payment will not be soon
Work have messed up my wages again - since the last week in Jan I have worked out I have earned the princely sum of £18 a week

I need to phone up tomorrow and try and figure it out - no longer on emergency tax code so no idea what's going on
So I have exactly £0 for the whole of April unless I go overdrawn which I really didn't want to do
I have £40 in my purse for the rest of the holidays to take the dc out/do stuff but I'm still ill so not going anywhere soon!

Thanks Badders, I've just responded on the Frugaleers thread about your work situation - is there anyone you can email about getting a payment through? Zero wages just cannot be right at all and not fair to you. I'm overdrawn too and wish I wasn't, so I completely understand you not wanting to go down that route.

I have no idea how to sort out an IVA and I'd be worried it would affect my credit rating. I did the StepChange online analysis and it recommended a DMP. I might give them a call because I'm not sure what that'll involve. I'm so embarrassed about my debt and the fact that I'm struggling to pay it. I keep thinking I'll get a job soon and it'll all be ok but of course there's no guarantee of that.

Don't be embarrassed....just keep reading the start of this thread!!!
Good idea about contacting step change....that will be a positive move

I have been paid....just not for the hours I've worked iyswim?

Hi all, not sure if this is the right place to post but didn't want to start my own thread.

We've just had someone from a debt collection agency at the door and I'm in a full panic.

We owe thousands to Thames water and I've got no idea how we're going to pay it. We already have other debts we're paying off (dhs old credit card, my overdraft etc..) and we have barely anything left at the end of the month as it is. Our outgoings are huge and we're both on a low wage. We've cut down as much as we can in terms of outgoings but what is crippling us is rent and utilities. Dh is also paying off tax at £300 a month and we had our CTC cut this month due to an overpayment.

We are sinking and I really don't know what to do.

Elizabeth...contact step change.
I'm sorry you find yourself in this position - but many others have and have found a way out.
Good luck x

Bumping.

Me too. Will be back later to add.

Didn't want it to disappear again

I was going to make my own thread but thought I'd be better posting here!

I feel sick, I've looked at my bank and after being totally caught up with my overdraft I'm £300 into it and I don't even know how, well I do.. I have a serious spending problem.
I go alright for ages and then have these stupid turns where I buy everything I possibly can.
I've got a lower wage this month as well and my tax credits have gone down due to an overpayment, they've gone down by so much I have £300 to pay towards childcare. I'm totally screwed for next month I don't know how I'll get through it... I also have £150 on a CC, a £2k loan I'm trying to pay off over 2 years and multiple things on credit... I'm in a mess.

uncoping
What do you buy?
Card debts - switch them over to standing orders this weekend and they will evaporate
so long as you get the new spending under control.
What sort of stuff do you buy?
how does it make you feel (before and after) ?
When did it start?

I'm in overdraft and cc debt and honestly felt like I'm the only one. This thread has made me feel so much better. You're all nice and normal..I felt like such a loser til I read this

reader
AS I say in the OP - and in the opening posts of all the other big debt threads

there are FAR FAR more people out there up to their eyes in debt than you realise
and getting out of debt is not something that the finance industry has any interest in encouraging.

Hi I was on a thread last July when I had just told my husband about a secret £10,000 debt. I just wanted to give a little update. With incredibly careful planning today i paid of my final £300 on credit card and now apart from our morgage I am debt free! What I am most proud of is that I paid it all off myself. Yes my DH supported me and we cut back on a few things together but I budgeted myself each month and was delighted to see the debt disappear. One of the biggest changes was that I wasn't afraid to switch to 0% credit cards now as it didn't matter about paper work coming through the door. Having no interest meant I was actually clearing the debt. i now open statements and leave them on the kitchen side. No more secrecy it is a wonderful feeling. I was also surprised that when I check my credit record it all looks very positive as although I was in serious debt I had not defaulted or missed any payments. we are hoping to buy a new house this year and I can't wait. I will continue to monitor my spending each month and although I will allow myself a little extra spending money than I have had since last July I have already set up a standing order to our joint account that will transfer what I have been paying on debt repayments into savings. Thank you for the support on this thread it is always good to know you are not alone!

((( Montymum ))))
Congrats, well done, all that stuff
so, so, so pleased to hear that taking control has made it better

and you do realise that you kids will have learned 100% fab life lessons from the last year as well

Thanks TIP Your advice to everyone on here is always so spot on. I am hoping that being only 3 years old and 6 months (just returned to work before dropping to SMP!) it has actually gone straight over their heads. I have however organised DS birthday party next month using entirely the proceeds of ebay selling all his old baby clothes so they are definitely growing up with a far more money savy mummy!

Here's a funny thing
I'm mortgage free
I have shit loads (like £100k) in long term savings
and I'm living hand to mouth
because the long term savings are hard to draw from
and Nikki Morgan has nadgered DHs income
and cashflow is shite

on paper I'm loaded
but for the next six weeks we shop at Lidl rather than Waitrose

I'm honest about it
many people are not

the best way out of debt it to stop comparing yourself with others - social media is particularly vicious

I have a dear friend with an ultra rich lifestyle - she is in effect a single Mom - work it out

what do YOU want from life

montymum congratulations that is really inspiring!

Any tips?

reader / monty
its all about adding up the cost of repayment of each piece of borrowing
once you focus on that number
all else is clear

I'm not borrowing at the moment, I'm just not spending (much to DHs ire)

but the loan that I have to pay is 3 years ahead of schedule
I calculate the amount paid against the amount spent and balance it

once everybody does, short term loans will return whence they deserve