Am I wishful thinking or is this possible...?

Getting rid of £16k worth of manky debt in a year? I'm looking at taking up loads of extra work plus a second job and selling loads of unwanted stuff - could I really, honestly clear the whole lot by the end of the year?

I have a feeling I'm just wishful thinking, but if you have managed to clear a similar amount off in around 12 months I'd love to hear your words of wisdom! It'll give me a real big boost! :D

We are just so desperate to start saving for a mortgage but with all this debt that is just a distant dream at the moment.

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LBM - January 2008 ~ debt - [strike]£16,260.00[/strike] £16,90.00 ~ Debt-free date - October 2016! :eek:
Official DFW Nerd Club Member No: 842 ~ Proud to be dealing with my debts!! :cool:
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Comments

  • NatashaP
    NatashaP Posts: 115 Forumite
    Forgot to add - I'm at the advantage that all of my creditors have stopped adding interest which I am so grateful for, so the debt is just £16k and a bit, with nothing added on top.
    LBM - January 2008 ~ debt - [strike]£16,260.00[/strike] £16,90.00 ~ Debt-free date - October 2016! :eek:
    Official DFW Nerd Club Member No: 842 ~ Proud to be dealing with my debts!! :cool:
  • hypno06
    hypno06 Posts: 32,296
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    Head over to the "pay off £20k ish by Christmas 2008" thread......loads of people there wanting to do exactly as you do!
    Successful women can still have their feet on the ground. They just wear better shoes. (Maud Van de Venne)
    Life begins at the end of your comfort zone (Neale Donald Walsch)
  • Good challenge!
    I am planning to pay mine off this year too, and put all the figures in a spreadsheet as to how much I could realistically pay from my salary, then from a second job, eBay, mystery shopping etc, and then calculated a weekly amount that would need to be earned on top of that - I found that I can clear mine by xmas, so that's keeping me motivated, as it's tight.
    Good luck!
  • NatashaP
    NatashaP Posts: 115 Forumite
    Yeah I might do up a spreadsheet too. I have about £600 spare a month at the moment but thats just from a part time job. I havent worked full time for a while as I've got young kids, but think I might just have to consider taking on full time work as well as part time work and then I could possibly manage it! It will be around £1400 or thereabouts every month I'd need to pay off in order to clear everything by Christmas time. Possible.

    Hubby is around in the evenings so doing extra work isn't likely to affect the kids. They wont get passed from pillar to post which is good. Quite looking forward to doing this, it'll be one hell of a challenge but I like a good challenge. Keeps me on my toes! ;)
    LBM - January 2008 ~ debt - [strike]£16,260.00[/strike] £16,90.00 ~ Debt-free date - October 2016! :eek:
    Official DFW Nerd Club Member No: 842 ~ Proud to be dealing with my debts!! :cool:
  • painted_lady
    painted_lady Posts: 1,020
    First Post
    Forumite
    I think if you are motivated and focused enough then yes it would be possible!
    Good luck.
  • Seaxwyn
    Seaxwyn Posts: 4,896 Forumite
    I'm sure you can do it Natasha - go for it!

    I paid off £11k last year, and that was without my OH working half the time. I'm sure you can do better.

    Have you sold that pushchair yet?
    Total debt: 1 January 2007 £[strike]49,387.79[/strike] 1 January 2012 £[STRIKE]19,312.85[/STRIKE] 1 August 2012 £11,517.62



  • debrag
    debrag Posts: 3,426 Forumite
    I'm looking at paying as much as I can off my debt this year too. I don't want to be working every hour of the day so at present I'm only aiming for £5k.
  • With three children aged 2,3,4, earning money to tackle debts is a challenge. So I chose to become a Bodyshop consultant. I work while the children sleep and now as an area manager I earn while my team of 10, parties and I sleep.
    With £50k of debt 18 months ago we have cleared £20k. We are on a payment plan with CCCS. I would recommend direct selling as a flexible way of earning money avoiding childcare costs but you do have to be self motivated. You can usually earn £50+ per party. Onwards and upwards!
  • I'm debt free - apart from my mortgage, which I'm trying to pay off as quickly as possible. I do extra work by marking GCSE exam papers. I'm lucky in that I mark maths and science and some schools take the modular system, so there are three series per year (plenty of extras). It usually pays £1000 per set, so over the year if I can get 4 or 5 (by doing different syllabuses and different exam boards) that knocks an extra £4k off the mortgage for me!

    If you've got a relevant degree, you might be eligible to mark "general" science or maths even if you have no teaching experience. It doesn't pay as much, but as Tesco keep telling us "every little helps".

    I hope this is of some help to somebody.

    :cool:
    Striving down south to stay northern and tight! :rotfl:
  • Hi,

    I'm trying to pay off around £9,000 of debt in less than a year - I hope it is "doable"!! I think as long as you avoid shops it shouldn't be too hard. (I've been avoiding going to "town" for 3 years now. :rotfl:

    the craftybear -How many papers do you need to mark to earn £1000? I'm marking my KS2 optional SATs at the moment and that takes enough time!!

    It is tempting though. Can you give me any extra info?

    Good luck Natasha P
    [
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