Well here goes!!!

[chris.g]

Well done Trees57!!!! The hardest bit is to start the ball rolling, you've done that now and thing can only get better.
Like many others we had no idea of the amount of debt we were in until we completed the list, and the total just kept increasing due to interest and charges, spiralling out of control. We never missed a payment for around 8 years then as soon as we missed we were slammed with charges again and again. Anyhow, we thought maybe £45,000. They totalled almost £70,000 not including the mortgage and secured loan, another £75K+ with those added.
We also have nothing flash to show for it all, it mostly went on essentials like food and clothing for the kids. Now we are on a budget and we feel much better, we know how much we have and how much we can spend. Spending real money is very different to paying on a card, you can see the value of it. It shocked me at first and now I don't like to part with it, quite a miser really!!! lol

[Skippy]

Well done! I can remember when I first added up all my debts - I thought I owed about £30k and when I got to the end of the list I realised that it was £65k. I sat and cried as I couldn't see any way out. I should have known that it was a lot higher as I had a Natwest loan for £25k and a Virgin credit card for £9k (plus quite a few others) but I think I was in denial about how bad the situation was - I didn't add the figures up so they didn't exist.

[debbiw]

I was the same, it is nerve racking the first time you tot everything up. At least it is the first step to light at the end of the tunnel x

[cat 1]

mrs skint you should have heard me the other day when hubby took some money out of the cash point...Fish wife springs to mind!!! Cat

[Skippy]

We're decorating the bathroom at the moment and it's gone over budget - not through bad budgeting from us, but from rotten floorboards with subsiding toilet, broken blind, dodgy pipework etc. We were in Homebase last weekend and Dave announced to me that he was going to put the bits he was buying on his credit card. I went mad and then felt awful - he has no debts (other than the mortgage), he is an adult capable of making his own decisions and as he pointed out as he is halfway through the bathroom he can't leave it as it is! It made me realise how much I have changed though!

[cat 1]

yes it's both good and very bad being this preoccupied with money isn't it? I could drive myself and others very daft very quickly.And If i spend something I worry about not being able to afford it.Not day to day stuff because we have to have this but other stuff ie my planned wk/end away.Cat

[TREES57]

Thanx for everybody's comments.Tina rang me last night and i have a telephone appointment booked for Wednesday night,so fingers crossed.I have to say i really hope an IVA is possible as there's a big part of me that can't wait to know exactly whats left of our wages is ours,and only having to make one payment to our creditors as opposed to trying to make dare i say it.......22 different ones.How bad is that said out loud?? I'm glad i'm not saying that face to face with anyone,i think i'd just die of embarrassment.
Trees xx