Don’t “Let It Snow”: How Debt Helped Me Survive The Winter

*Author anonymous

At the beginning of last year, I had what appeared to be a picture-perfect life. My husband John and I were happy, working our daily-wage jobs and my little girl Sarah, had just begun primary school. Everything was perfect… until it wasn’t any more.

John got laid off. Adding to this, my company announced that they’d be making some cutbacks in our pay.

With the cost of living crisis going around, many of my friends have shared their sorrows and I often lent a listening ear. However, I never expected to find our family on the brunt end of it.

With the rising costs of warmth, shelter and food, I was thoroughly unprepared to manage the three most essential aspects of daily living. 

I have to confess, in the beginning, things felt rather hopeless. Not only was John receiving one rejected job application after another, but we had also been given multiple warning letters from our heating company. At that point, we were forced to make tough choices between having the heating turned off or sacrificing a meal every other day to keep going.

Truly, it felt like there was nothing I could do to turn things around. 

After a month of running myself ragged, rushing from home to work and then repeating the cycle endless times, I decided enough was enough. If I wanted to change my financial situation, I couldn’t just wait around hoping for the solution to fall into my lap, I had to come up with it myself. 

Turning Things Around

Towards the start of November, I decided it was time I started to turn things around. If I wanted to see a change, I would have to buckle down and actively sort out whatever was left of my finances.

I began by creating a budget. Honestly, at 32, it was almost ridiculous that I’d never considered budgeting before. After researching how to go about the process, I was able to use my budget to get a better understanding of our current monthly income and expenses. 

While it was a little disheartening, budgeting helped me understand exactly where and how my finances were being utilised. Alongside this, I was also able to identify that the two main contributors to my financial crisis were my car and credit card loans. 

Overwhelmed with all the different areas of concern, I’d completely neglected these two factors. In just a few months of missed payments, they had obliterated my credit score. Now that I’d finally identified the cause, it was time to look for solutions.

That was when I stumbled across the concept of debt consolidation. It wasn’t entirely new to me, but I had always regarded it as impractical. Upon further research and after discussions with some friends, I found out it was quite the opposite.

By being able to move my debts from multiple accounts to a single loan, debt consolidation was a very real solution that could help me out. 

Taking a Chance On A Loan

Once I discovered debt consolidation and its benefits, the next step was to look into my loan options, and to be completely frank, I didn’t have many. 

As the sole breadwinner in my family with limited resources and a below average credit score, my options were rather limited, but they weren’t nonexistent. That was when I came across bad credit loans. 

At first, I wasn’t convinced, especially with the high interest rates. However, upon more research, I was able to understand how the affordability assessment is much more forgiving than regular credit checks conducted by traditional banks. That was good enough for me, so I took my chance with it.

I didn’t want to leap in blind, so I did my due research on multiple bad credit loans and lenders online and compared their terms and services to see what worked for me.

After finding a bad credit loan provider who seemed credible, I researched their reviews and ratings online as well. As an extra step, I reached out to a few of their “happy” customers to verify their positive experiences. Luckily, I received a lot of positive feedback alongside some helpful advice.

Here are some tips I found helpful.

Tip 1: Check Your Credit Score And Credit Report 

Before your lender conducts an official credit check, it’s best that you take a look at it yourself. By knowing your credit score and credit report, you get a better idea of how lenders will look at you. Moreover, if you find any errors in your credit report, you can address and correct them to improve your score.

Tip 2: Stick To Your Loan Repayment Schedule

After taking your loan, it’s vital to stick to the repayment plan and make timely payments. By doing so, you can prove that you’re a reliable borrower and improve your credit score.

Tip 3: Only Borrow What You Need

Try to keep the amount you’re borrowing as minimal as possible as lenders are naturally reluctant to lend out large sums to those they view as a risk.

With these tips in mind, I took the plunge and put in my application with a reputable FCA-authorised lender. 

All Well That Ends Well

As winter set in, things soon took a positive turn. With my debt consolidated and my new budget in hand, I was able to take a more proactive approach towards managing my finances that winter. 

I divided my income amongst mandatory utilities and my loan repayment and set aside some money for unexpected expenses as well. I had been caught off guard and unprepared before and I plan on never going through that experience again.

When January came, I can honestly say that I had faith that things would work out for us. What’s more, two weeks into the month, John even managed to land a new job. We were living comfortably once more and even had an emergency fund to fall back on. 

My new goal has become working towards our family becoming debt-free and I hope to make it a reality sooner rather than later. I can’t say with certainty that we won’t ever come across hard times again. Yet, I have hope and confidence that we will make it through no matter the odds. 

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