August last year we posted about a couple who were $60,000 in debt, I thought you might like an update. It is not what we expected. We were hoping they’d be able to knuckle down and clear a chunk of the debt. Unfortunately, she did, he didn’t and as a result, the financial pressure and differences in financial opinions was too much.
The Good News
She has knocked $11,000 off her debt which was $30,402.50. She now owes $19,955.30 total. She has their two children full time and has been working her butt off. She has also sought out professional financial advice for a long term view, discussed investments and her retirement plans. Her focus has been her overall financial health, not only paying off the debt.
– Rented out rooms through AirBnB, Facebook and Gumtree. This made her $1,604.
– Reduced her food bill, shopped at markets on the last day, bought a few items in bulk and learnt to make some of her favourite recipes instead of buying prepackaged or takeaway.
– Called and reduced her insurance by $80 per month for car and house.
– Sold off clothes she wasn’t wearing, kitchen items she wasn’t using and a few knick knacks netting her $2,000
– Cancelled her cell phone plan and spends less than $50 a month now.
– Cancelled the internet and has started using free wifi where she can
– Walks everywhere. She still has her car, however it is hardly used and will be sold at the end of the year.
–Â With her medical issues, her doctor offered to charge her only every second time, which is a big saving over the course of the year. She is also eligible for some other government payments here in Australia reducing her overall expenses
She was extremely grateful for everyone’s help and advice too. She has taken on board everything she can and implements more each week.
The Bad News
He verbally was on board, however wasn’t mentally or emotionally there. As she started to get into things more and reduced her debt, he was secretly accruing more. How he got into so much more debt is confusing. He overdrew every single credit card and personal loan and now has debt collectors after him. They split back in October, which is when his spending really spiralled out of control. None of their debt was joint and when they split she made sure there was an agreement outlining who has what and owed what and it was all done legally to protect herself and the kids.
He is now in over $60,000 debt! He was happy to give us an update when emailed, he didn’t want to admit full debt details though, which is his choice.
Our thoughts
It is sad when things don’t work out. We are ecstatic we have been able to help at least one of them and that she is doing so well.
She said her next steps were long term house sitting as her lease is almost up. She has some lined up and it will eliminate rent, electricity and a few other things, which she can then put on debt.
We will let you know how she goes in a few more months. She wanted us to thank you all. She felt inspired and supported with your comments.
Good luck to them. This January is the best time to start achieving and working on those goals because most of us have high hope and motivation. It’s better to take advantage of it. We can all achieve our goals if we only believe we can.