Just need to vent!!!!!!!!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-26-2003
Just need to vent!!!!!!!!!!
7
Tue, 11-16-2004 - 5:14pm

Hi ya im new here :)

I am so fed up and so stressed about my debt :( i am so sick of it i know i need to change my life it feels like its spiralling out of control.

I started a new job in the hope that it will help my debt dramatically. and it actually hasnt helped all that much. I get paid weekly and it feels like when i pay things off i dont end up with any money for my self at all :( so i start borrowing again and before i know it im back to the start again but much worse :(

Everytime i pay something off i end up getting a new bill and the past two days i have been going to bed with migraines and tension because i feel like i cant cope any more
Christmas is comming up which is meant to be a time for chilling and being happy i feel sad for not being able to afford all the things i wish i could.
Does anyone have any tactics on how to stop this spiralling of debt from getting out of control?
Thanks guys i already feel heard :)

Best wishes
Chantelle

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Wed, 11-17-2004 - 12:29am

Yep, You've been heard! And, since most of us have been there, done that, you already have a good support team, lol!

My first suggestion, fun though it's not, is to do a written budget. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to have the basics. Take care of the basics first-food, shelter, car/gas. utilities. Then figure out what you have left over. It seems backwards from what we've all been told-bills come first, then you figure out if you can eat this week or not.

But, that way doesn't work very well! As you're writing things down, you'll realize that (hopefully) there are areas that you can cut back in. Getting paid weekly is harder, because the checks don't seem that huge, and so, how can spending this $5 REALLY make a difference...That's why it's better to tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it went!

Good for you for taking the first step in this. Another step to take, again, not a really fun one, is to write down who and what you owe. In its entirety. Once you know what you're up against, somehow, it seems easier.

Good luck-
Lisa

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-21-2004
Wed, 11-17-2004 - 9:19pm
Yep I agree with her advice and its gonna take some self control. That will be the hardest part, imo. There are days/weeks I want to scream cause I can't rent some movies or buy a latte. But I overcome. Once in a great while, I will rent the movies or the latte and it doesn't make me feel guilty. I really do end up having the extra money for that one time and it satisfies my indulgent self. I wish you the best of luck.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-08-2004
Thu, 11-18-2004 - 9:19am
What was an eye opening experience for me was to as the ladies stated to write down all of you debts and compare it to your income. I realized that my debt to income ratio was rediculous. So as I paid off bills I didn't have any extra money. I was spending more than I was making. So I have really conscience of every cent that I spent and I keep a spending journal. It's really helped me HTH.
Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Thu, 11-18-2004 - 10:42am

You have already gotten some good advice, nothing I can add on to it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-26-2003
Sat, 11-20-2004 - 11:24am

Thank you guys :)

I am going to start and try really hard. I had started ignoring the mail that kept coming through the door but now i realise i cant keep doing that.
Thank you everyone for your feed back ill let you all know how i get on
:)

-Chantelle xx

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-01-2004
Mon, 11-22-2004 - 8:26am
Thank you ALL!!!!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-2003
Mon, 11-22-2004 - 9:59am
People have a lot of expectations as to what Christmas should be, and the only people who get any joy out of Christmas on the most part are retailers. For a lot of people, it's not a chill time but a time to overspend and get more debt. It's easy for me just to say don't worry about not having money for Christmas, but try to figure out what are your Christmas priorities, more stress and debt, or just admitting to yourself that you don't have all the money in the world to blow for Christmas. Don't feel the pressure to spend, and appreciate what Christmas may really mean to you. We all feel stressed living paycheck to paycheck, and it's not fun to see others spending $$$$$ when you're keeping the purse strings tight. When I see people spending I just think to myself that they're getting more debt, like me this weekend having to put stuff on my credit card thanks to my mum coming from England to visit me this week and needing a new mattress and some stuff for fixing up my condo.