by Andrew Freyne

Created on: November 08, 2008

Debt! I guess this is a very common word nowadays! As we are currently going through a credit crunch I guess more and more people are beginning to face this crisis! I have been in debt now for a fair number of years and during the initial stages I must admit, I was really having a hard time, my finances were all over the place and I was totally lost! I was working up until I was signed off by my GP and ever since then I have been inundated with those infamous creditor letters! When I lost my job I was deeply concerned and I didn't know who to turn to. Whilst I was in work I guess I kind of took it for granted that I had an overdraft facility with my bank. I kept on going deeper and deeper into my overdraft until eventually, there was no escape! I wasn't receiving enough money to cover the overdraft facility. I was hoping that I could somehow return to positive figures rather than being heavily into the overdraft all the time! So, when I was signed off work I contacted Nationaldebtline and they were a tremendous help to me.

On being introduced to Nationaldebtline, I was also introduced to the personal budget sheet! What was a budget sheet? I had never done any kind of budgeting in my life! This is where I guess I really got to find out where all my money was going, I was totally ignorant of this up until this time! I started seriously going through my figures and things just did not add up! I had more money going out than I had coming in. When I had contacted Nationaldebtline I had learnt something new! I understood that, when it came to my personal budget sheet, the law entitled me to keep a certain amount of money as regards clothing, food, and things of that nature. I was allowed to set aside a budget each week for clothing and I would not have to relinquish this to my creditors. This was good news! At least I was allowed to survive, not everything was being taken away from me. I know that this sounds totally absurd but, by going into debt I was taught how to manage my finances through the budget sheet, and as ironic as it sounds, this is a good thing. So, out came the calculator, each and every week! I had not used a calculator for years and I thought to myself, this is going to be interesting! I started punching away at the keys and by the time I had completed my budget for the week, my face became distorted and I felt like panicking!

Through Nationaldebtline I was eventually introduced to Pay Plan, a debt management company. They offered their services to me for free and they proved to be very helpful. There role was to act as mediator on my behalf, they would communicate with my creditors and keep them informed as to what was going on. I ended up paying Pay Plan four pounds per month and as I had four creditors, they would each receive a pound a month. They didn't like this at all but as far as I was concerned, I was doing my best given my circumstances. I guess I'm going to try and conclude this article now. The main point is, I have been introduced to budgeting and I know where I stand now, to the penny! I carry out my budget every week and if I had not fallen into problems financially, I most probably would never have started budgeting and keeping an eye on my financial position! I am like a hawk now and I monitor every financial transaction that takes place in my bank. Ok, I don't have much money now but I sure do have some sense of security knowing where everything is going. My goal is to become debt free eventually and now, I'm slowing heading in that direction, I await that day with great expectation!

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