Hope for the future

I am about to cross a wonderful point in our family's fight against a mountain of debt.  Unsecured debt that is.  The type of mortgage I have means that some of it shows as unsecured, however I don't count that in my "true" unsecured, because ultimately it is part of the secured loan (in a round about way).

When I was young and silly, I took put a loan for £25000 to "consolidate" all of my outstanding loans, credit cards, car loans and overdrafts.  Stupidly, I didn't learn the lesson at that time and stop spending.  I continued to use my credit cards, because let's face it, they were empty and begging to be maxed!!

I have now crossed the threshold of £25000, meaning that the huge loan will now be slashed, and the additional purchases are gone.  This has been a long journey and a very tough lesson, the proverbial bitter pill to swallow, but it feels good.  So good.

If I can give any advice to rewards with money problems, it is this:  Don't give up hope, get a payment agreement and stick to it.  You will find it to be the bets thing you ever did, knowing that you are on the track to freedom from debt.

Bleeding Chancers

While I was at work today, my wife received a phone call from someone claiming to be "Freedom Finance", asking to speak to me about a bond we took out a few years ago.

Now, I have never used the services of any such company, and wouldn't pay any company to do something which can be achieved for free with more reputable organisations.

It is the barefaced cheek of it that really annoys me. How dare anybody make a phone all claiming to be from such a company to speak about an imaginary loan or bond?  

At the time of this post, they have yet to call back. If they do, I'll be ready - they will not be getting one over on me, or anyone else if I can help it. 

Whilst I have no sympathy for the financial sector, companies like this give it an even worse name. We must stand our ground against all forms of fraud and financial trickery, whether it is a call from a bunch of chancers or our friendly local bank manager. 

Hold steady

There will always be occasions when we want something, something nice, new or shiny. But there won't always be a need to do buy these things, and learning this can be the difference between less debt and no change. 

I saw a picture some time ago, it was an infographic type image. It said basically "do I need it, is it worth it" and so on. Long story short, if we are ever going to reduce debt or avoid it in the first place, we need to prioritise our purchases. 

We must purchase our needs first and our wants second. We have to eat, live comfortably and provide for our families. If the thing is purely desired, then forget it. Our society has created a situation where we are expected to buy. We so not have to and we do not need to. 

So leave your money where it is, save it for something necessary and do not let this corrupt society leave you forever indebted.