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In horrible debt? Please read my story

16 replies

FiftyShadesOfGreen4205 · 03/05/2014 09:57

Because five years ago I wish I didn't spend so much of my life sick with worry and churning with fear because I owed £8k on CCs.

This month, I make my final payment of a DMP and I'm cleared. It took four years but I'm free.

Being in debt is paralysing and to anyone struggling, totally dominates every waking thought and destroys any hope of a good night's sleep.

It can happen to almost anyone. A series of unfortunate circumstances (redundancy, a poor investment) left me in the shit and living on CCs. Before I knew it, I was paying one with another and then having to spend that money again just to afford my train to work.

It got to the stage where minimum payments were taking up almost my entire income. It was alarming how quickly it spiralled.

So one day I set up a DMP, had one payment coming out per month and watched as my debt slowly but surely came down. The relief was unreal. I slept all night for the first time in over a year.

My debt management company worked with me and supported me through it all. I never felt judged. Most importantly I never felt alone.

My creditors agreed to the repayments and all froze interest. This helped enormously.

So I urge anyone who is drowning in debt not to go it alone, the help is there and you WILL clear it, you WILL get back on your feet and someday, you may even be able to save up again.

I don't mean this to be preachy, but I thought I'd share my experience as I remember vividly the black hole of despair when I was in debt.

OP posts:
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Harrin · 03/05/2014 16:00

Thanks for sharing your story Fifty and congratulations!

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YoungBritishPissArtist · 03/05/2014 16:11

Well done for clearing your debt! You can be really proud of yourself.

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RueDeWakening · 03/05/2014 16:18

Well done, clearing debt is really hard work (done it myself a few years ago) - boring, unglamorous but essential.

A friend of mine runs a debt advice website if you're interested?

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emma16 · 03/05/2014 21:06

Wow that's really great news to read, huge congratulations!!! Debt is an awful awful place to be in & it's fab news to hear of someone that hasn't got it hanging round their neck anymore! Well done :)

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listsandbudgets · 05/05/2014 12:58

Well done what a lot of hard work but how worth while it must feel to be wehre you are now.

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dementedma · 05/05/2014 21:18

We had 18k of debt due to various things - redundancy,business went bust, etc. We had a dent repayment plan with PayPlan which saved our lives. Took us six sodding years to play it all off.Thats the good news. Debt is paid off but no savings,
Crashed my car in February - had to get car loan,not great rates as credit rating is screwed.dhs ancient old heap written off at MoT this week - car loan number two and yes, we need two cars. Live rurally, both have commutes in opposite directions to jobs.
Looks like now I will be made redundant in June so will probs default on car loan....here we go again. Right back in this shit after scrimping and saving and never missing a payment on our debt repayment plan. 50 years old and back on the dole and back in debt....can't believe its happening again

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baseballfan · 05/05/2014 21:43

Well done you Smile. I think it's good to remind people that the formal methods for dealing with debt are often much better than trying to set up your own spreadsheets and payment targets on your own, especially with the frozen interest. Trying to repay large amounts of debt when creditors are piling on the interest is like running up an escalator going downwards.

I had to use Stepchange to deal with my debts and they were fantastic - told me that bankruptcy was the best option, which meant that I was free of my debts within a year. Credit rating is of course damaged but with so many debts it was already very poor. I've already started to rebuild my savings now I have more income free since I'm not having to repay anything. If I'd tried to repay everything on my own it would have taken decades and I would have a much poorer quality of life for years.

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FiftyShadesOfGreen4205 · 05/05/2014 21:56

Thanks all :o

demented will you get any redundancy pay? Or any possibility of a new job? I hope you don't have to default but if you managed to clear 18k then you will get clear again. I understand your fear but please don't despair.

I wanted to share my experience so anyone on here who feels they have no way out can see there is one. And no one has to flounder alone.

baseball I love the escalator analogy. It's so true. By paying the minimum, it would have taken me over 30 years to clear the debt...

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sachamango · 09/03/2015 15:01

Well done! I was in a similar position last year. I hadn't paid all my debts for years, I stopped paying them because I lost my job. They stopped contacting me after I moved address a few times and I thought that was going to be the end of it. Fast forward a couple of years and I'm back on my feet now. Tried to get a mortgage but realised my credit file is in tatters!! So I have called up all my creditors, repaid my debts and am now working on clearing up my credit file. Long journey but worth it in the long run!!!

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chanie44 · 09/03/2015 18:14

What a fantastic achievement.Smile

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lifeafterdebt · 20/04/2015 18:47

Well done you. I too have a story to tell and have been blogging about my battle with debt and the banks for seven years. In more recent years I discovered we were victims of mortgage miss selling. I believe the banks have a lot to answer for but I am really pleased you have been able to get on with your life after debt. lifeafterdebts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/differences-of-opinion.html

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lifeafterdebt · 21/04/2015 11:36

So sorry to hear of your problems. Know exactly what you have been going through because I found myself in the same position when our business failed in 2008. The CAB managed to get the majority of our debts written off for us on compassionate grounds and now I am only left with a massive miss-sold mortgage shortfall which I am hoping to fight through the courts. Hope my story might help you if you do lose your job again. lifeafterdebts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/differences-of-opinion.html

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thecatsm0ther · 26/04/2015 23:27

We have a huge amount of debt and I don't think we will ever be debt free as we can't afford repayments so can't enter a dmp. For so long now we have had no outings, holidays. Yesterday dh took dd to the cinema, but I will have to spend less on food to make up for it. Sad

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PeppermintCrayon · 26/04/2015 23:31

I'm in a weird situation where I'm in lots of debt but have a spotless credit file as I've never missed a payment. Got a fixed low rate loan and an 0% credit card until 2017 so it's not growing but also means I can't use a DMP without sacrificing my credit rating.

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lovetoskimum · 28/04/2015 14:44

I did exactly the same thing, mine was 10K used Step change and two years in owing less, still have a way to go but feels good :)

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Mouthfulofquiz · 14/06/2015 20:41

I'm same as you Peppermint... The debt is making me feel a bit sick though! I will do it!

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