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Diary of a Debt Slave
Part 6
By Danielle Williams
I finally dialled the number for EuroDebt with trembling fingers.
Waiting for the operator, I was prepared for… scorn? Judgement? Disbelief?
The call was answered. And to my intense relief, the voice on the end of the phone was helpful, efficient and was not all judgemental or surprised when I explained my case.
I was able to arrange an appointment with my local Debt Advisor to discuss my situation, which (thankfully) would be within a few days of my call. Peace of mind suddenly seemed within my grasp…
I gathered together my stack of documents, each of which held some clue to the state of my financial affairs, and waited for my meeting. The weight on my shoulders was prepped for removal, and already felt lighter.
The appointment was at a time that was convenient for me and the advisor was friendly and punctual. He listened attentively to the story of my miserable situation, and seemed unperturbed by the circumstances within which I had arrived here. Together we picked apart my financial adventures, and worked out exactly what I owed, and exactly what I could afford to pay. Everything was laid out in front of me, and any questions I had were answered clearly.
Within a few days, I received a welcome call from my personal case manager at EuroDebt, they advised that my creditors had been contacted and I should receive a copy of my statement of my affairs in a matter of days. The scary letters and calls soon stopped, and I was able to catch all the balls I had been juggling.
The relief was indescribable… like a weary horse, after a long trek, finally relieved of its saddlebags. I can’t believe I left it quite so long to make the call… but I am so glad that I did.
It was no one’s fault but my own that I got into such a mess, and I have learned a valuable lesson. I have taken responsibility for my debt in a manageable way, and have escaped from the cycle of spending and borrowing.
I finally feel… free.
Part 5
Danielle Williams
Every morning the postman would bring a new bill. Eventually the red ones started to outnumber the white ones, and I stopped opening them. I spent my evenings on hold, listening to elevator music, and juggling balances to try to get the lowest rate of interest. My student loan repayments were making a significant dent in my monthly salary, and my mortgage had gone up.
Totting up the amount I owed each month made my eyes water, and I knew my debt problem was getting out of control. I was being sucked under by the quicksand of massive repayments.
A few more days and I would be choked.
Groping around for something to hold on to, I remembered hearing about a debt management company called EuroDebt at work. I had dug myself a deep hole, and so I hoped, beyond all hope, that maybe they would throw me a lifeline.
The prospect of discussing my out-of-control spending with a stranger was daunting. But I knew it was time to make the call.
Part 4
By Danielle Williams
I alluded earlier to shopping being like an addiction. For many people (me included) jewellery, clothes, shoes, beautiful bed linen, quirky art prints, cool little gadgets etc. etc. are like pain killers. Expensive designer band-aids.
I literally spent a fortune when I separated from my husband. Whenever I came across a dress that would potentially make me feel fabulous, I would whip out the plastic. I basically tried to buy my way back to happiness, telling myself that it was worth it. I needed medicine to fix my shattered heart… and sometimes medicine is expensive, isn’t it?
At the time I was still employed as a teacher, although I had handed in my notice, so the time when my salary would not even cover my rent, let alone the repayment of my debts, was looming.
Once I woke up from my heartbreak-induced financial coma, it was with increasing dread and uneasiness that I realised what a mess I had got myself into.
I knew I needed to find a new job, and quick, so I abandoned the idea of becoming a writer and tried to find a teaching position. Easy peasy, I thought…
Unfortunately, I was living in a town that was host to one of the largest and most prominent teaching universities in the country, resulting in there being over a hundred applicants for every position. Finding a job was not ‘easy peasy’ after all… and I started to panic.
Part 3
By Danielle Williams
As soon as I got married, I wanted to buy a house and decorate it with the perfect Ikea catalogue items. More money, more debts, and now I had a mortgage to add to my already sky high monthly bill count. I thought I’d have the rest of my life to pay it off, but I didn’t bank on it all going wrong.
We were happy for a while, scuttling around our little house filling it with sofas, gadgets and trendy glassware. Archetypal dinkys (double income, no kids) who watched too many home improvement programmes on TV.
After a few years, I eventually decided that, since my husband was earning pots of cash, I could leave my £27k a year teaching job to pursue my dream of being a journalist. Not the best paid job in the world, but who cares?! I have my husband to help me out, it’ll be fine… right?
Wrong. The mounting debts put too much pressure on the relationship and we couldn’t weather the financial storm between us. We split, and I moved out.
Now I was all alone with my debts… and a mortgage that I couldn’t afford… for a house that I didn’t live in.
Part 2
By Danielle Williams
So… becoming a student was the root of my debt disgrace. I had a wonderful time whilst at university, going out and spending money that wasn’t mine; too busy enjoying myself to think about the consequences. It was possibly only by sheer luck that I managed to graduate with a pretty good degree to show for my hedonistic, student lifestyle.
On completion of my studies, and before even getting a permanent job I was in debt up to my ears.
I should have thought,
‘Yikes! I’ve got £20,000 worth of debt because of my student loan and credit cards. I’ve got the degree, I had better get started with those repayments quick smart.’
But I didn’t.
After university, my spending didn’t stop. I went travelling, I bought new suits for new jobs, and my first real pay cheque didn’t even touch the sides. It would pay for my steadily mounting monthly repayments and petrol to work, but for the luxuries… I was still relying on my flexible friend.
As my balance crept higher, it occurred to me that I was out of control. But I squashed any financial anxieties with the knowledge that since I was a qualified teacher, I’d never be out of a job.
Soon I met a lovely boy, who had never had a credit card in his life.
That is until he met me.
So then there were two of us - double incomes, no kids. Love’s young dream. Hopelessly devoted, and ready to fall deeper and deeper in… debt.
Part 1
By Danielle Williams
I am twenty-eight years old. A university graduate. A regular, bright and fairly streetwise individual, who knows about the ways of the world and understands the relevance of the FTSE index. I know about finance and interest rates… so how have I ended up with nearly £50,000 worth of debt.
I’ll start at the beginning. At eighteen I packed my trunk and trundled off to university. Living in halls, I spent every night in the union and every penny on beer. I bought my first mobile phone. I bought new clothes to fit in with my cool, cutting edge student image. I (occasionally) travelled halfway across the country to brag to old friends about my marvellous, new life. I opened a new student bank account, and for the first time in my life, I had bills. Rent, fees, books, utilities, food, and all manner of charges came at me from all angles. And in amongst the bills, came the offers from banks.
I got my first credit card a month into my course. I vowed I would never use it except for emergencies, but soon enough, the world’s most fabulous trainers were dangled in front of me, and the temptation was too great.
‘I’ll pay it back right away.’ I thought.
‘It’ll be fine.’ I thought.
If I could turn back time and never buy those trainers, I would. Because like millions of other naïve teenagers before, and after me, I didn’t think about the future, and I didn’t know I would get addicted. Spending is like socially acceptable heroin in today’s consumer driven world. And that pair of trainers was my first hit.
