good luck louise.. its a huge relief after taking that first big step/ The time will fly. I have just received my form 5. The TD was the best thing and like you wish i had done it sooner

If you can do xmas on a budget the rest of the year is a breeze!!

Always a tough time but watch people in shops carefully, especially when they are paying at the till, trying to decide which credit card is about to take a hit!

Paul

Your both right,
my purse feels so much thinner now I have cut all my cards up!! The amount of times I have been asked this week in shops if I want a store card I have even had 2 letters this week offering me credit cards. Wait until the next few weeks dont think I will be getting offered anything.

And yes Lewpy, wished I had done it 3 years ago when my business crashed. I had appointment with doctor for tonight to ask advice on managing my stress( had made it last week)but I felt so much better after this week with at last getting to grips with everything I felt a bit of a fraud. She even commented that I was looking well!!!

Roll on the next 3 years, thank god I found this site. I was initially ready to go with another company had a courier come to the house and picked up all my bank statements etc. Then I decided to do some more research that night and found you guys. Immediately contacted Mark, as I was very impressed at the advise he was giving on an old post. Had the meeting that week with Mark and signed up 2 days later. Just still a bit stressed until its protected in the New Year.

Hi luby.

It's lovely to see you write so positively.

In that frame of mind I'm sure that you're going to manage Christmas and beyond very capably.

Hi Louise

What a great post. Christmas is a particularly difficult time of year for 2 reasons. Firstly the pressure to buy gifts and also the time between wages. Most people will normally be paid before Xmas and this sometimes leaves a 5 or 6 week period before the January pay.

We normally receive requests to miss a one or two trust deed payments at this time of year, however people forget that this has the effect of extending the trust deed by up to 6 months. In addition we need to do annual reports to creditors and this is something they would not look kindly on.

Mark

I certainly feel same as Louise.

Wish i had done it years ago. Put my head in sand a bit and resorted to top up loans and pay day loans to get through each month.

I opened a Co-Op Cashminder account (as had loan with old bank) and sticking to a strict budget (complete with Excel Spreadsheet, so i know exactly how much cash i have remaining!). It's a great feeling still to have some cash a few weeks after payday.

My TD should show as Protected in next few days. Will be nice Xmas pressie!

p.s I have to say that this site has been excellent in helping me through the TD process.

Hi luby,

It's good to see that you have taken the time to sit down and write such a positive post and I'm pleased to read that even your doctor can see a change in you in a short period of time.

The forum can help in a number of ways from showing someone that there are options available to being in debt, to helping people who are already in a plan but having difficulties with it but it can also help as a way for people to offload their problems and worries without the fear of being judged by people as the people who use it have been in the same situation. Just talking to someone about your problems really can help.

I'm sure there will be no problems with your Trust Deed and it's a very good way to start 2014.

What a lovely post. This is our first Christmas being in a Trust Deed too and although it is really difficult to stick to a strict budget at this time of year I am glad that it will be a debt free Christmas for us for the first time since I can remember.

Although I feel awful that I can't get my 8 year old daughter some of the things she has asked for as they are just much too expensive that's just the way it has to be. We have not been able to spend much money on Christmas presents at all this year but I have done the best that I can and probably feel much less stressed than in previous years as I know we have a very limited budget to stick to and I know that's all we can spend so I am finding it is actually easier when deciding what to choose.

We are 3 payments in so far to our TD and like so many others have said just wished we had done in sooner.

Good luck with the rest of your time in the trust deed, Louise - you are in good hands and certainly seem to be approaching it in exactly the right way.

Hi,

Thank you for all your lovely replies. I cant believe its almost 3 weeks since I signed my TD. Like Dellboy I have an excell spread sheet that I look at all the time!! I also have both my Nationwide and Co op accts online and check those everyday sometimes twice as I dont think I have ever worked without an overdraft.

I get paid 4 weekly so it wont be too bad as I get paid 19th Dec then 17th Jan. I know its early days but I have 1 week left to pay day and still have £30 in the bank with no £1000 overdraft to eat away at my next salary.

I would just like to say a big thank you to Mark Mcfadyen and Maria for making the TD so painless. Also to the rest of the experts that take time to answer questions and give some very sound advice to us. I have read some horrendous scenarios on this forum and so glad I chose the right company.

Thank you

Hi,

Just to touch on what David said about being able to talk about things on the forum. As I have said in previous post, I have not told any of my family or friends so its good I can put my thoughts and feelings on here.

I have one work colleague who is a nippy sweetie and when I said I was not handing out cards this year at all or giving towards a present for our manager she said I was a miserable bitch!! This coming from someone who is constantly moaning about money but lives beyond her means. But hey who am I to judge, at least Im going to be in a better position in 3 years.

Hi Luby
this is my third and last xmas in TD ( 8 payments left and counting them down! ) xmas has been hard ,particularly this year,as my children are now older teenagers. they know nothing of TD and ive used the whole we are "on a budjet thing" as are rest of country and indeed the world like a broken record now...They are aware how careful I am with money and in turn they are to. so in a good way they are learning from my mistakes without knowing about it.xmas will still be good for all of usand i am sure yours will be to. the sence of achievment following xmas is fantastic..hope your time goes as quickly as mines has....merry xmas

Hi cal

What a great post. It must be a difficult time generally, but especially with teenagers. I used to joke about my daughter, that when she was at primary, you could buy her any old crap and she would be delighted, but as soon as she hit secondary school the whole landscape changed and she knew exactly what she wanted. I think peer pressure is far greater than people think and the hard thing is striking the balance. The good thing as you say is that your kids are taking notice of what things cost and maybe looking at things in a different light.

If it's any consolation, I've found my daughter went through 3 stages. Firstly any iold stuff would do. This was followed by the standard teenager emptying the fridge, doors left open, lights left on and the finally she move into her own flat. Lights off, doors shut, kettle not reboiled 5 times and shopping at Primark. It fills my heart with joy!

Mark

I am not in a TD yet but but I am on payment (very small) arrangements with a number of debtors which I have just renegotiated to minimal payments until I get a TD sorted out. I too pay by cash for all but regular DDMs out of Co Op bank account and dread Xmas approaching mainly because of the huge over indulgance and materialism in the media and advertising. It is hard to reject invites to parties, nights out etc without being brutally honest with people which is not always realistic and just embarresses them !! I did finally let fly with one of my long time mates after increasing pressure from him to attend various nights out and a Burns Supper which I could not afford. I had never told him the severity of my long term debt problems and when I told him straight and advised I could even end up bankrupt he was firstly shocked, then a bit embarressed then took the huff cause I had not told him years ago !!! You cant win sometimes !! I now just do what I can afford and nothing else, I am happy with that and take pleasure in the simple, cheap and free things in life !!
I am quite happy buying xmas presenst from charity shops or ebay - I beleive its the thought that goes into a present that counts not the price tag on it !! Sadly our consumerist mad society has brainwashed us into spend spend spend - NOT ME ANYMORE !!! (Rant over lol)
I wish everyone a peaceful xmas and a future with more sunshine and less stress and debt.