My debt

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-11-2004
My debt
6
Mon, 10-11-2004 - 12:49am
Hello everyone!

I'm new here - just signed up tonite - and I wanted to share some personal information and stories I have concerning my debt in hopes that I might be able to help someone!

First let me start off by saying I am only 21 yrs old and have experienced probably as many debt problems/stress as most people twice my age. When I turned 18 I inherited a large sum of money from my great grandfather that has passed away the summer before. Of course at 18 I had no financial ties, nothing at all to pay for since my father was still paying the insurance on the car he had bought for me when I turned 16, and rent was not at issue. I can say now that I was spoiled and taking advantage of it.

To make a long story short, the money I had inherited went as quickly as it came and along with it my credit plummeted due to the fact that I neglected to pay more then the minimum amount on my credit cards each month until I had no money to even pay that. It wasn't long before I was swamped with bills including 4 credit cards, my new car I still had $10,000 to pay on, insurance, rent ( at the time living by myself ), and everything that comes along with having an apartment. On top of all that I had high hopes of being able to cut back working hours to part time so I could start massage school as planned since I was 18.

I will never forget the days of the threatening phonecalls from credit companies 10 times a day, the mail I never wanted to pick up because it was always bad news, and the constant feeling of hating myself for wasting so much money and getting into such a messy financial situation at such an early age.

I am proud to say that I finally found a system for myself that has been working like a dream for the past 3 months and that I have a date now I can focus on as 'the day I am out of debt'. What had happened was that everytime I got a paycheck it was hard to decide what kind of priority each bill would have. I always knew rent came first, but then what? and how long could I wait to pay a certain bill before it would really effect me?

So in August of this year I decided to finally sit down with a calender and write down exactly what had to be paid every other friday ( my paydays ). I broke it up over a matter of 6 months and decided what MUST be paid on-time every month ( rent, car payments ), and what could be broken up into smaller amounts to be paid in increments until they are paid off ( credit cards! ) - while still leaving myself a small amount of money every other week for things like groceries, oil changes and everyday living. it wasn't until I actually SAW everything written out and could say "I'm paying this bill on this day...." that I could breathe a sigh of relief because an ending for everything was in sight.

I'm also happy to say that I have completely been loyal to this calendar. I have not skipped one payment on any bill that I had committed to make the payment for! Now I have contacted the school I am going to attend next year being able to know exactly when I'll be ready to start and confident that I can get by working part time.

It seems like there are alot of great, motivated people on these boards and I hope everyone has/can find a way to help them stay motivated to reach their goals as far as debt is concerned.

Thanks for your time! - Meghan

Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
In reply to: meghan122382
Mon, 10-11-2004 - 7:43am

Welcome to the board!!


What a great story!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-23-2004
In reply to: meghan122382
Mon, 10-11-2004 - 8:01am
Nothing feels better then being in control of your debt instead of feelling like it is controlling you. Congratulations on finding a way. Its a wonderful feeling, isn't it?

~Dawn

A survey company that actually pays cash

http://www.surveysavvy.com/?id=1517115

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2004
In reply to: meghan122382
Mon, 10-11-2004 - 8:26am
I also have a similar system. I printed out calendars from organizedliving.com and put them into a three ring binder with pockets. As the bill comes in, I write the due date on the calendar and the amount. I then highlight the ones that absolutley cannot be late(rent, electric...etc). I then put the bills into the left pocket of the folder. As I pay them, I put the money order reciept and the bill reciept into the right hand pocket(my paid file) and cross it off the list. At the end of the month, I package up the paid reciepts and put them away in a box. This system works for me for 2 reasons, it keeps me organized and I like watching the left hand side move over to the right. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. I also total my debt each month and attach it to the package of paid bills.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2004
In reply to: meghan122382
Mon, 10-11-2004 - 12:49pm
Meghan,

Good for you. I've been in a similar situation. I'm only 23 and have had a decent amount of credit issues. Amazingly my credit stayed pretty clean. The only things that went into collection were some medical bills, and a bill from a way overdue library book (asked the little sister to take it back to the library, and it stayed in the trunk of her car for months).

When I graduated college a few years ago, I wasn't prepared for the massive amount of bills that come with life after college. I put myself through school (with loans), and I'd paid rent and car insurance before. I figured I had a good job, so I'd be fine. I had a part time job on the weekends that I wanted to quit, but I decided to keep it for a few months so I could have a little extra money to buy stuff for my house (renting). I bought a lot of stuff, and managed to ring up about 6000$ in credit card debt. I'd pay it off then charge it up again. Sometimes I'd pay the bills a little late (like a week). I did this for a couple years before I realized that I was never gonna pay those things off. Oh and I never did manage to quit my weekend job.

I added up my student loans and my medical bills (which will be gone very soon!!!!)... in total I had over $88,000 of debt....not counting my car insurance which I treat like debt (8500$ a year). Thinking about my finances made me sick to my stomach. I was only 22, and 88K in debt. 42K was from school, 40K from medical bills, and 6K from CC's. My bills were over 3000$ a month.

A few months ago I decided to get out of this huge hole that I dug myself into. I put myself on a very very strict budget....which I've loosened a little bit lately. I vowed to only pay cash, for gas, groceries, clothes, oil changes...ect. I cut up all of my credit cards, even my check card. I make cash from tips on my weekend job, in a addition to a decent paycheck. The cash I make 100-150$ usuallly is my spending money for the week. I try to only spend about 50$ of it for living expenses and I put the rest in the bank.

I consolidated my student loans, so I still owe 42K, it's just easier to manage right now (frees up 200$ a month). I got a lawyer, took the person responsible for my medical bills to court, and won the lawsuit. Soon they will be gone!!....I can manage to send 100$ each to my two big CC's, that have balances of about 1800$. I pay 50$ a week to the smaller store credit cards. There are 4 of them with balances ranging from 150$ to 800$. I am managing to save almost 1000$ a month. I plan to be out of CC debt by next summer, and quit my weekend job. It would be sooner, but that stupid insurance bill gets in the way.

Sorry for rambling..I have a point...really...It's great that you took control at such a young age. Hopefully I will learn from my mistakes and never be in this position again.

This board is great. It keeps me focused. You should check out the snowflaking link.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
In reply to: meghan122382
Mon, 10-11-2004 - 1:08pm
Meghan...

Same name as one of my two nieces, and the same age as my youngest brother (I am 35) :)

You have learned some valuable life lessons...it sounds like you are completely on track financially, and I applaud your efforts!!! It took me *many* years to get to where you are now. I look forward to reading your future posts!

BK




Avatar for mymartes
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: meghan122382
Wed, 10-13-2004 - 10:21pm
Welcome to the board. It sounds like you have a good plan going. Good luck.

MYM