Seeing the light at the end

**Bournecrazy** · 05-22-2011, 12:57 PM

Since September me & DH have been struggling with money and keeping up to date with everything and we haven’t been able to save anything as well as having a credit card go over the limit and having another hitting the maximum limit, as well as driving the car into the back of another car (it was an awful raining day) things just haven’t gone right for us and we have been managing just on our wages but having to get payday loans every so often (I know they are the worst things ever but it was our only option at the time) then having to go on maternity leave and having no pay for a month I’ve been stressing and just hoping that no emergencies occurred that would of cost money.ffice

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Well basically my mother found out what was going on and has gave us the money to clear out both of our overdrafts (£300 in total) cleared DH CC (£300) and paid off £200 of my CC to get it under the limit as it was £160 over the max, she is also going to pay an amount onto the CC every month and I shall be putting small payments to it when I can - mainly so I am not borrowing so much from her and I will feel better about it.

All what is left on the CC is £760 which is much better than the £960 (max 800) and it had got to the point of the bank ringing and putting the card on to collections, we had gone to citizens’ advice to organise payment plans on the cards back in march.
I have managed to get a payment holiday on the mortgage for the next 3 months due to me being on maternity leave still so the £340 we will save will go towards some savings and payments that are needed later on the year as we owe FIL £250 still for helping us out over Xmas.

I am not due to go back to work until middle of September so I have to tighten the belt as my maternity pay is about £200 less than I normally receive a month but we are getting £80 child benefit every month.

I feel much better now and less stressed that we have less payments to make and there is more chance now for us to clear the CC.

All what is left now debt wise for us is:
Loan - £1400 £65 p/m
CC - £760

As well as the money I owe my mum but I am not paying her back until I am back at work full time.

Things are looking up now

**krbshappy71** · 05-22-2011, 01:37 PM

When you can't see a light at the end of the tunnel, walk down there and light it yourself.

Great job getting things under control. I too try not to let my family know what's up because I keep wanting to handle it myself but there comes a time, sometimes, when we're making things 10 times worse by not accepting help from those who truly can help. The best way to pay her back is to get this all under control and stay in control of those finances.

Hang in there and congrats on the new baby, that is what matters right now.

**Bournecrazy** · 05-22-2011, 05:24 PM

i didnt want them to know because at the begining of the year when things were getting tough my dad had a small stroke (hes fine now) and was off work for a month and he is only working 4 days a week as there is not much work going at the moment and i didnt want them to bail us out knowing that they didnt have a lot coming in either.

I tend to keep things like this bottled up and not tell many people of our money problems, i dont like asking for help, i like to be able to get thru it and say that we did it with no help but i guess we cant do everything on our own.

And yes baby is important now, he is much loved and i make sure he has enough milk and supplies, i dont spoil him with toys, he is happy with what he has

we did get a lot freecycle which was good.

Due to it being a bank holiday i will be getting his child benefit on friday rather than the monday so i shall be getting in more milk and nappies so i have a nice stock. I am annoyed that they have risen the price of the milk in the last week from 7.62 to 8.99 a tub and he has 1 a week.

**mauimagic** · 05-22-2011, 06:09 PM

BC - hard to go through things like this, especially when you have a little one in your life now. It does sound as if things are more than under control and you are dealing with it all very effectively. Take care my friend - most important thing now is to enjoy your little one!!

**Bournecrazy** · 05-22-2011, 06:17 PM

dont worry i am enjoying him

He is very good, always content unless he is hungary or needs a change. We think he may be advanced for his age when he is a bit older as he was able to lift his head up and keep it up for a little bit a few days after he was born and can hold it up nearly all the time now if he has some support around him to stop him falling over lol. He has got some strength in those little legs of his too, once he gets moving i dont think i'll be able to stop him lol.

Hes 7 weeks old tomorrow already! times flies

**Anna43** · 05-22-2011, 11:44 PM

Congratulations on your boy.

It sounds like you are beginning to get a handle on your finances. However, I urge you to never ever do payday loans. They are evil.

Have you considered cloth nappies? It would save you over $1,000 by the time he's out of nappies. If you have a washing machine, it should be doable.

**Bournecrazy** · 05-23-2011, 07:38 AM

Originally Posted by Anna43

I urge you to never ever do payday loans. They are evil.

I know that but it was no choice at the time - i wont use them again hopefully.

Originally Posted by Anna43

Have you considered cloth nappies? It would save you over $1,000 by the time he's out of nappies. If you have a washing machine, it should be doable.

No, its not a thing for us to do disposables are much better for us and they are not that expensive. Cloth nappies are not promoted here and i dont think many shops sell them

**Debbie-cat** · 05-23-2011, 10:10 AM

Sounds like you have things under control now. Wishing you the best of luck and have fun with your little bundle of joy!! They grow up way too fast.

**Bournecrazy** · 05-24-2011, 11:38 AM

Checked the bank today, both overdrafts have been cleared and are off the accounts

Payment has reached DH's CC just waiting for the bill in 2 days time for it to be offically cleared

Heres hoping our credit rating will improve, they are both in there 300's

but hopefully with no balance and no loan apps or credit related apps it will go back up to a good level

My CC is now under the limit - just by £40 so on thursday i will add another little bit to lower it more.

happy days

**krbshappy71** · 05-24-2011, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Bournecrazy

Checked the bank today, both overdrafts have been cleared and are off the accounts

Payment has reached DH's CC just waiting for the bill in 2 days time for it to be offically cleared

Heres hoping our credit rating will improve, they are both in there 300's

but hopefully with no balance and no loan apps or credit related apps it will go back up to a good level

My CC is now under the limit - just by £40 so on thursday i will add another little bit to lower it more.

happy days

Hugs, I'm glad things are getting better. Screw the credit rating, aim for a life without caring about your score, a life where you don't rely on credit. Try not to put too much stock into it, as that can lead to other ideas such as "I should open this account so I can build my rating..." only to fall off the wagon again and use debt. Supposedly I have a very good credit rating but look where it got me? Tons of debt, panic attacks, and an overall credit hole.

Just my two cents, well actually -2 cents since I'm broke, hahaha! I'm very glad your mom could help out.

**Bournecrazy** · 05-24-2011, 05:10 PM

Originally Posted by krbshappy71

"I should open this account so I can build my rating..." only to fall off the wagon again

Thats the reason i got a CC in the first place to get myself some available credit - The bank said it was a good idea but i dont think giving a 21yo at the time is ever a good idea.

I never learnt the pin number for a good 12 months when i got it so i couldnt use it. I started using it rarely online for small purchases (less than 10 a mth) paying it off every time it showed online to show i could control it - fast forward 2 years and it has ruined my credit

Our scores will improve quickly from now on - i managed to get my score up by 200 in a few months a couple of years ago by being careful. I just want the scores to be in a good rating so that if we ever need anything in the future we are more likely to be approved.