Lunars Debt Free Journy!!!

lunar · 19 August 2007 at 12:11PM

I thought I would post my SOA and use it as a place to track my progress on getting rid of this debt. This way I hope to stay inspired to keep on going. As of this morning I have cut up all credit cards and store cards.

Monthly Income around £1550 after deductions and pension comes out.

Outgoings

house hold bills, food, petrol, I pay £150 I am lucky enough to have a partner who is taking care of the rest.

Egg £200
Mint £200
BC £45
Store card £10
loan £305
car £250
Insurance £100
Gap insurance £33
Tax £17.33
union membership £15
NMC £10
moblie phone 1 £30
moblie phone 2 £30-can cancel in october.

I have £500 in an account whick i have kept back for christmas, birthdays, emergencies. this is from reclaiming my bank charges.

Total in £1550
Total Out £1245.33

Left 304.67

If i put aside £100 for monthly expences (which hopefuly whth the help of this site i wont need) i can pay off just over £200 extra each month.

The total i owed on july 1st when i first worked all this out was £33440, on the 1st of august this was reduced to £32960, so its a start at least.

I know i can become debt free with help from everyone here and the support of my amazing partner. :j Im just excited to get started now.

hypno06 · 19 August 2007 at 12:16PM

Hi Lunar - two things I would suggest:

1. keep a spending diary - write in everything that you spend - even the little things, odd bar of choc etc. That way you will think twice about spending and will be able to see easily the things that you can cut out without pain!

2. Take the details of your debts, aprs etc and head over to www.whatsthecost.co.uk where you will find the wonderful snowball calculator. This will give you an initial debt free date and you can play around with the figures and see what difference that extra £200 a month will make, and what difference even another £10 a month can make.

All helps to get you debt free quicker!

Welcome aboard

lunar · 19 August 2007 at 12:21PM

I have a notebook that i can use as a spending diary. this is a really good idea, i have a bad habbit of not taking lunch to work and ending up spending nearly £5 a day. If i have to write it down i should be encluraged to cook dinner.

I will check out the snowball calculator, thanks for the super quick response.

lunar · 19 August 2007 at 6:12PM

I have looked at the snowball calculator you posted the link to Hypno, If i keep going as i am it will take me to jan 2012, a long way off i know, but at least there is an end in sight!

I will see how i go for this month and then work it out again (i have ordered some paper statements for the apr's). hopefully i will be able to overpay more.

Its just a shame there is no real overtime in the NHS at the moment, they want you to stay late but dont want to pay you for it!!!

I have signed up to mystery shopping so i will have to see how that goes.

Seaxwyn · 19 August 2007 at 6:21PM

HI lunar
well done for having your lbm and paying nearly £500 off already.

Don't worry, you will be debt-free sooner than Jan 2012. Once you get into the DFW mindset you will find ways to pay little bits more off your highest interest debts.

Have you got anything you could sell, to bring in some money and pay off any pesky little debts first? Selling books on Amazon is really easy, and a carboot sale can be fun.

I look forward to reading your diary and watching your progress.

trying-very-trying · 19 August 2007 at 6:29PM

Hi Lunar, and welcome to the forum. You'll find loads of practical and moral support here.
I have found that the spending diary certainly helps keep me on track, and I'm also doing the old style grocery challenge and the weekly spends challenge. I wouldn't have believed how little it was possible for me to spend on food and petrol in a month, I have combined the two in this months grocery challenge and even together I think I might just come in on budget. But it certainly helps taking packed lunches to work, or even on any days out, long journeys etc as we found when we went on a dfw style holiday at the end of June. You have already done well reducing your debt by £500 in just a month. If you have the determination and stay focussed, you can do this.

lunar · 19 August 2007 at 6:33PM

Hi Seaxwyn

I have some dvd's and books I can sell, I also have a huge amount of loose change saved that I need to bag up and take to the bank.

I had to pay my car tax this month, £205 which luckily for me my reclaimed bank charges have paied for. I must resolve to save this every month, otherwise it would have ended up on the credit card as usual!

I will have a look at selling with amazon, Ived used ebay lots but think the charges ar way to steep.

lunar · 19 August 2007 at 6:39PM

Trying,

im going to go out shopping tomorrow, i will make out a list tonight and stick to it. I am also going to replace the expensive brand names i usually buy with the shops own, im sure i wont even notice the difference in taste.

I will also get food in for packed lunches, my OH usually gets free lunch at work so that will only be for me!

Im really excited to see how much i can pay off by the end of this month

hypno06 · 19 August 2007 at 8:34PM

Remember that Jan 2012 is only a starting point, it is there to be moved forward!! Also, even if you stick at Jan 2012 - that is only 4 and a half years away, hardly any time at all!!

Now you have a starting point, you will soon get cracking, get that debt free date forward and get the debt gone once and for all!

lunar · 19 August 2007 at 8:52PM

I have become so addicted to this site, it is amazing to read everyones stories. I spent so much time ignoring my situation and thought that i was the only person in the world who had got into this state.

I earn a good wage and shouldnt have any reason to have overspent the way i did. Looking at it now i cant believe how blind i was to my spending habits. I will definatly work hard to bring my debt free date forward, I am applying to an agency to work extra shifts. If i work one extra day a week after tax that should be £300 extra a month!

I know that when i have payed everything off i will never over spend again! I will concider it lesson learnt the hard way. Im just so greatful for all the support.

hypno06 · 19 August 2007 at 8:58PM

Good luck with the agency - I hope it produces the extra work for you

Lunars Debt Free Journy!!!

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