Hi whyme

If you make all 36 payments then the Trust Deed will be brought to a close and that is the end of it. Creditors cannot pursue you or hassle you now or at the end of the Trust Deed.

If the Trust Deed has dealt with your debts and you are making an affordable payment then everything is fine. Sometimes it's the fear of the unknown which is the problem, when in fact there is nothing to fear.

Hope this helps a bit.

Mark

Thanks for your rapid response,

(biggest sigh of relief ever i think)

Is it normal that the comapny i deal with want payslips and lists of outgoings every 3 months or so?

So can't wait till its all over. 12 payments to go (I THINK)

What's scaring me more is that no-one around me what I'm going through as I deem myself quite respectable and couldn't handle the embarrassment of people finding out. Am i right to be scared now, could the company start wanting more? They tend to say things like "do you need to visit your relatives" they make me feel so low and ashamed that I say no i'll pay an extra ?ú25 per week and not visit my one and only child.

Hello whyme,

It's definately normal for your circumstances to be reviewed from time to time so please don't let this concern you. If nothing significant changes with your circumstances (like a big pay rise for example) then the payment is unlikely to change much.

There could/should be some provision for expenses associated with visiting your child. You may wish to discuss this when the next review comes along.

Hello Whyme,

Sorry I just HAD to say to you that there's nothing to be ashamed of. We're all on here for the same reason and some of us have felt that ending it all is the only solution. The credit crunch has actually helped us by making it harder for us to obtain credit so in the long run it will make us look at things more sensibly albeit it takes a wee while to adjust to saying ' Ach I'll just put it on the credit card.'

An old Irish friend once said to me 'Sure, it's only money'. So be thankful you have the common sense to know you've gone a bit OTT, the ability to to something about it, have your health, a child to enjoy and your whole life in front of you. When you feel bad think of all the things you have to be thankful for.

Keep your chin up.

Hi whyme and equity but skint,

It's desperately sad that a lot of people facing overwhelming debt do consider hurting themselves. Every year lives are lost.

Kate Judge, who sadly passed away last year, wrote a book about her personal experience of debt. The following link is an article that Kate originally wrote for the Debt Divas website that she then agreed to allow us to reproduce on this site:

http://www.debtdivas.co.uk/no_need_for_suicide.php

Hi Whyme,

Reading your original post, it sounds very much like you got into debt in much the same way as myself - living way beyond your means when you were young, care-free and more than a little naive.

Personally, I racked up a frightening amount of debt over the space of about eight years. Holidays here, there and everywhere, nights out followed by expensive sessions in the casino, wining and dining a young ladies, fancy restaurants, fancy hotels, cars, TV's, computers, IPods and just about anything else I fancied buying for myself....I lived the life of a King but by comparison, I earned the wage of a pauper. When I think back, I am absolutely appalled and ashamed by it all - I had such little respect for money that I spent it without giving a thought to the consequences.

All I can say in my defence is that I never missed a payment on any of my credit accounts, and I made sure they were always settled on time - by no means an excuse but I guess things could have been a lot worse. It was only when I found myself with no disposable income at all that I realised things had gotten way out of hand. I had begun using one credit card to pay off another, and I knew this was not something I could sustain.

I was quite fortunate in that a very good friend of mine was in a similar situation and had recently entered into a trust deed - he advised me to consider doing the same. Ultimately, that is exactly what I did, and now nearly two years down the line I'm just 14 payments away from being debt-free.

Aside from the obvious (ie - a huge amount of debt being wiped-out), the main benefit of my trust deed has been that it's taught me a very hard lesson about the value of money. The difference in my life, pre and post-TD is like night and day, and I now have no option but to live sensibly and within my means. This was very depressing to begin with, but I have gradually come to accept and appreciate that I am now living in the real world, rather than a world of pure fantasy.

Next year, I plan to marry my fiancee (shortly after my TD ends), which I feel will be a fitting way to kick off a brand new chapter in my life. I will be debt-free, considerably wiser and (fortunately) still young enough to start over.

I consider myself very lucky to have had the option of entering into a trust deed. It is by no means an easy way out, but I really don't know how I would have dealt with my situation otherwise.

Thanks for all your messages of support, it means a lot to me to realise I'm not the only person to have suffered. You are all right.

I now understand what I cant afford and just say no to proposals such as holidays, nights out etc.

(Oh i would do anything to have a holiday)

To make you understand when I receive my current status report I do tell the whole truth on it (Do panic a bit and delay posting it back) and I now account for almost every penny of income and outgoings.

I'm now left with just ?ú203 a month after groceries, rent etc

I currently pay ?ú200 a month to deed so a beer sounds like a luxury I cant afford.

Maybe one day soon.

Still feel so stupid that I got myself into this mess but I'm so grateful this trust deed was available to me.

I hope this makes sense.

First time in almost 2 years i've mananged to pluck up the courage to talk about it and I would like to thank you all once again.

Hi whyme,

I'm really glad that you have felt comfortable to talk about the situation here and that the comments, especially I would imagine from imcville, have been helpful.

Having completed two years of your Trust Deed already there isn't too far to go. Maybe picturing how you will spend that ?ú200 each month (in twelve months time) will help you to get through the final period of the Trust Deed?

just got confirmation, trust deed finishes in october this year !

That sounds like good news whyme. Nearly there.