Some of you reading this will have followed my diary (and for those I really do appreciate the support you have provided), but I thought I'd tell everyone my debt story. Don't worry it has a nice ending!
405 days ago I hit rock bottom. I gambled away my entire wage and yearly bonus in 1 night. This was my rent money, my living money, and worst of all, my honeymoon payment. I came clean to my wife the next day. It was the end of my relationship. I had to move out of the home I'd helped build. I had to leave the life I cared so much about. I was in real trouble, and I deserved it. I contacted Stepchange in those first few days. All in my debt repayments were close to 2K a month totalling nearly 50K. That's before I could even consider having money to live off. To pay any rent. To eat! It was a tough call admitting to someone how much debt I was in, but Stepchange were amazing. They handled everything (after a bit of work from me getting together details of loans), and before long I had a plan in place. One payment of £999 a month for about 4 years. Sounds horrendous, but I knew I could make it work.
Long story short, I got a place to live, I worked all the hours under the sun, I put any additional money I had into this payment plan to bring down the timeline. Yes it was tough. Yes some months were very tight, and yes I got a little bit back through fighting for unfair lending and back pay on a military pension, but I worked so hard to get rid of the debt.
Yesterday, just over a year later, I managed to pay off the final balance of my Stepchange DMP. My credit rating is shot, but I can now rebuild. I now have an extra £999 each month. I am now debt free!!!!!!!!
For anyone who is considering contacting Stepchange, please do. Yes it will hurt your credit score, but so will being in debt for an additional 10 years. A DMP will stop interest and get the debt paid off in half the time. Best thing you'll ever do.
This is not the end of my journey. I now have additional cash each month. Additional risks. Temptations. My non gambling journey has just begun really.Â
Don't think your life is over. Day 1 is tough, but tackle it head on and you too can reach day 405.Â
Anyway, I'm off to plan on what I can spend my extra cash on!!! My favourite saying is that 'we gamble to win the life we would have had if we didn't gamble'. That's me now. I feel rich. It's what I dreamt of when gambling. Now I have to keep it.
Good luck, and stay strong 👍
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