*heavy sigh* here goes nothing

I am sick to death of our pay coming in one hand and with the other paying out our debt to be left in exactly the same spot with no more then we had before getting paid.

I rang our bank today...took the step and :crossfingers: we can refinance and put 3 large out going bills which we pay $1500 for each fortnight into one loan and only pay $500.

Cards are going to be cut up and closed...Ive worked hard the last 6 months and paid of quiet a bit but we just need that final little hand and we'll get ontop of this.

We are now sitting here (and im panicking that we wont get it) now waiting until we get the approval..which is MONDAY :o man it feels like forever away.

J man has no choice this time either...last time we consolidated he kept 2 of the credit accounts open and when money was tight instead of waiting it out we used them and got to this point. NOpe, he doesnt know it yet BUT Ive asked for the bank to close the accounts and as the accounts are with them they are more then happy to.

So over it. Im the banker in the family, you know pay's the bill's and stresses their head about what to pay first..Im over it its just one stress I dont need anymore.

Keep your fingers crossed for us please and with a bit of luck we'll get it by Christmas

:hug: Good luck hun. xxx

I've just done this too. Feel awful that we're now in debt more than double what we paid for the house 15 years ago! :o But this time I'm really hopeful that we'll make some improvements to the house and we'll be able to make some headway...

I hope your approval comes through early so you're not waiting around all day...

Crossing my fingers for you. xx

good on you! credit cards are just another bill.
FX for you, m'dear xx

Toni - we're the same but Id rather do that then rent. I couldnt handle not being able to rip down a wall if it annoyed me :ROFL:

Sadly Its going to be a shock to me...Ive never NOT had a credit card...*gulp*

Monday...good god its going to kill me!!!!!

Fingers crossed for you Maz.

We were in a similar position a few years ago and got rid of teh credit cards, it was the best decision we ever made. It taught us to save for emergencies and the things we need and/or want. I hope you get the loan and things pick up for you xxx

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Sadly Its going to be a shock to me...Ive never NOT had a credit card...*gulp*

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Get a Visa Debit card. They're great.

fingers crossed for you maz! im 32 and NEVER had a credit card!

I cant wait to never have one....Im going to wait and see what happens and apply for what you said Tinks. Hopefully my bank has them so I can get it for my business account I was really proud last weekend. I only used the card ONCE the entire time, the rest was from my cash account or cash. 2011 is going to be a brand new year in so many ways

No CC rocks! You will feel sooo much better and no temptations to buy things you know you can't afford - if it isn't in the account, there is nothing there!

Fingers crossed for you Mazzie, you have been working your toosh off this year, you deserve a break xo

I am also a fan of no credit card. It's a good feeling.

I've never had one, but do have a debit card (visa) - it means you have all the plus side of a credit card, but you have to have the money in the first place, which I like.

I'm with you Maz - there's no way I'd rent, I like the freedom too! After all, what landlord would allow a bright blue bathroom, hey? :)

We've got a CC, but we've got a $1,000 limit which I hardly ever let into the credit side (always have our own money on it). Almost as good as a debit card! :lol:

Good luck Maz, less debt makes you feel so much more in control. Having the ability to tuck a bit away for emergencies is so much easier when you don't have the temptation to think you will just put it on the credit card. Here's to a more financially positive 2011.

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Fingers crossed for you Mazzie, you have been working your toosh off this year, you deserve a break xo

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I don't think I'll be working anyless next year either :lol: im on a mission to get ahead lol

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I'm with you Maz - there's no way I'd rent, I like the freedom too! After all, what landlord would allow a bright blue bathroom, hey? :)

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:rofl: its not going to be blue for much longer :dance:

thank you all for your positive vibes and advice. I am really looking forward to next year now, even if we dont get the loan Im still going to kick this debt in the butt

Good luck Maz - i could never give up my credit card although i hardly use it. I'm a cash girl, i get my budgeted money in cash and thats it. I keep all reciepts so i know where my $$ has gone and if i direct transfer or PP something then as a rule i must have the cash in my wallet to cover it there and then or i cant buy it. You have the right attitude to make it work for you guys too!!

I agree that having no cc rocks, we got rid of ours when we bought our house last year. We actualley have savings in the bank now, and I tell ya what i always think twice before I transfer money out of there to buy something, where as when I had a credit card I would never have given it a second thought.

Good luck. I hope you get approved!
:crossfingers:

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Toni - we're the same but Id rather do that then rent. I couldnt handle not being able to rip down a wall if it annoyed me :ROFL:

Sadly Its going to be a shock to me...Ive never NOT had a credit card...*gulp*

Monday...good god its going to kill me!!!!!

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A house is good too if you need a lot of money in an emergency. My Aunty and uncle had to refinance their house to fund cancer treatment. Not saying anyone will get cancer but it's nice to have that security.

DP and I have NEVER had a credit card. If we don't have the cash for it then we can obniously live without it. I'm 26 and he's 31 so it's not as if we're really young :lol: I'm good with finances though and we seem to make ends meet (JUST)

FX for ya Maz! You're a smart chicky and it'll work out!

I can uncross everything....we got declined *sigh*
so will be making a list of all the bill's and working my way through them from lowest to highest.
I kind of thought we wouldnt get one...dont know why but my gutt normally is right with this sort of thing.

We'll just do it the hard way as per usual.

That's ridiculous :shakehead: I like how everyone's eligible EXCEPT the people who could really use it :protest:

Can you try a different bank Maz? That's worked for us in the past, some banks are more lenient/open minded than others...

Best of luck Maz for good news early in the day (fingers and flaps babe, fingers and flaps).

That sucks.

Good idea on getting rid of the debt. I've done it before and it feels great. Now to do it again....

Btw- simply budgets is a very good program to follow.

I probably could but I think that Id prefer to wait 6 months and pay off as much as i can in that time and jam it up them. Another thing I thought about was that if we consolidated the banks would miss out of a bucket load of interest on us combining everything...KWIM
I'll just have to be really tight, no more trips to Melbourne for a while :( and work, work and um work lol

Damn, that bites Maz. :(

know what.....maybe its a blessing in disguise.

I dont want to keep getting loans to pay of other loans KWIM...stuff it I'll work my way through them and get them out of the way that way.

that way I'll have a scense of achievement and they can jam their help up their rectal passage :p

That's the spirit :cheer:

oh that sux :( But you've still cancelled the CC's, right? So the debt won't build :)

Bugger Maz!

:( :hug: Maz...

Have you tried talking to a broker? They might have more options for you to look at (more than your own bank would have offered). That's what we did.

your no junk food challenge will help :)

Bugger babe :( keep disciplined though and try again in a couple of months. Hopefully they can see your progress on a few of them and see you are determined to do this!

Money is the pits!! Hope it all comes together for you soon, and though it may take time one day it will

KAZ - they wont cancel CC without them being paid out so they've been cut up instead (by me) and once their paid off they will be CLOSED!!! FOREVER!!!!!

SAM - I'll keep plodding - you know how far Ive come in the last few months :) just gonna be tougher again

TONI - nahh im not going to bother with a broker and stuff, ive bene rejected lol so will just re wrangle stuff and go forth and pay pay pay

thanks guys :)

Maz, I've just had a thought.

If you're not able to get a loan would you be able to get another CC with an interest free or low interest balance transfer? That way you could close the other credit accounts because they'd be paid out and pay off the debt at a lower interest rate.

Maz, try ringing up the credit card companies you're with and negotiating your interest rate. Tell them you're going to move the cards across to a no interest for six months card unless they'd be willing to offer you something to keep you there.

Years ago I had a decent sized credit card debt and we managed to transfer most of it and negotiate a lower rate with the current provider and it was all paid off within the new card's no interest period.

Also, go through each of the bills and work out which ones have the highest penalty rates and which ones will allow you to set up a payment plan penalty free. Pay the ones that penalise you the most first and allocate smaller amounts for those that will negotiate. For eg, I had an ATO debt and they were happy to take $50 a month (with very low interest) until I could get on top of everything else and pay that one off. I thought I was good at juggling my bills (when money was tight), but I seemed to keep getting behind and DP showed me how to do it much better. It took the struggle out of my finances, even when I wasn't able to work more because of a baby. I started to use the CC, once entirely paid off, so that I was repaying it in full every month, so no interest to them any more. :p

GL hun!

Oh Maz :hug: I totally understand! We're so broke this week, we only had $10 to feed us for the entire week. :o :shakehead: So it's toasted cheese sandwiches for the next three days. I just don't know what we are going to do until payday once we run out of bread. :shakehead: I've got some lentils in the pantry (which has been raided last week already) and I could maybe make half a loaf of bread from some leftover flour. :think: Yep, it's tough alright. Dp looked at me yesterday and said: You'd never thought you would be living in this kind of luxury when you moved to Australia with me! :rofl: Ah, he's a charmer. :D It's funny, when I say to SIL that we can't come out to dinner, because we literally can not afford to buy a meal at the pub (geez, that money could feed us for a week), she replies with: I understand, we all have to watch our money. Ummm, wait a minute. You have a combined income of $140,000, have NO mortgage, NO rent, eat out EVERY night and spend about $300 a week on clothes, exactly HOW do you understand? :angry: I can't even afford THREAD to fix my totally-falling-apart-work-pants, let alone a complete new pair of pants.

Sorry for the vent. It can get soo frustrating. I am so impressed that you cut up your credit cards. we think the same way. We *could* put a huge grocery bill on our cc, but that would just put us further behind. I rather do it tough for a while. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And you know what you are working towards. You're doing a fab job.
Hugs, darl.

thanks so much for all the idea's guys.
Im furious right now to say the least :(
After getting a plan organised this weekend with J I get a nice little statement in the mail today...one card if $260 OVERDRAWN!!!!!
I rang him and told him that its the exact amount that he has been spending on SHIAT at the servo. I asked him what exactly he buys from there and it seem's only they :rolleyes: sell berocca that he need's to stay awake. Ive told him that when he get's home that the card is to be CUT UP!!!! No if's or but's its gone!!
SO it looks like I wont be having my much needed break over christmas....maybe 3 days but then im back into it
thanks agian everyone

Hmm... I think I'll be needing some covers in the new year. :think: ;)

:hug: and *mwah*... you're gold to us hun. xxx