Debt free by 40 -- 19 Months and counting

StressedSteph · 19 December 2013 at 10:59AM

Morning Fresh New Diary,

Ok, so I am currently 38.1/2 years old and have around 19k worth of debt. (desperately wishing the shocked smiley was working!).

I have decided that I am going to set myself a challenge to be debt free by 40. That is currently 19 months away.
That works out at around £1000 per month that I need to plough into debts.

On my spreadsheet it says that we SHOULD have around £850 per month after all the regular household bills, food, petrol etc to pay against debts. This £850 sounds a lot of money, but believe me, I never see it, and it currently gets paid against debts and also frittered away on my impulse buys online. (This has GOT to stop!)

I have also started up a small craft business from home and with being super frugal and also building my new little business, I am hoping to be able to supplement household money to make this £1000 per month payments.

Its going to be tough, but if I don't try, I feel I am going to be in debt FOREVER. I have been half heartedly trying for the last two years and gotten nowhere.

It would be great if you want to join me, I don't know about you, but I need all the help and support I can get.

Do you have a milestone that you want your debt gone by?? How many months have you got left to go?.

I have done my snowball calculation and have printed it out. I am going to keep this in my purse.

I have calculated it on £800 per month which works out that it will be March 2016!! when I will be debt free. So I need to work hard on getting the extra £200 per month coming in to bring it to July 2015.

Wish me luck xxxx

maddiemay · 19 December 2013 at 1:44PM

Hi Steph
Shiny new diary ready for the New Year and the big push on the debts. Sorry haven't posted on old diary for a few days, I have had a horrid virus that has left me with a cough, absolutely no appetite so have been feeling very wishy washy. I had to cancel a booked and paid for lunch out and my gym session, so that was £70 without anything to show for it.

Anyway nuff said about me, hopefully a few people will be along with advice on how to spend less, both on the essential stuff and perhaps a plan for avoiding the "shopping sprees". Someone wrote on the diaries somewhere that if they wanted to by something (IRL or on-line) that they made themselves have a minimum of 2 sleeps before they could buy, most times they didn't go ahead and buy afterwards. I think you should do the spends diary and make yourself confess to every penny here each day. That's what I do with on the no more toiletries board and you wouldn't believe how much less I buy these days.

Good luck, I will be cheering you along.

Good point made by someone on old thread about preparing your craft items and advertising them ready for Valentines and Easter.

StressedSteph · 19 December 2013 at 2:11PM

Hi MaddieMay

Sorry to hear you have been poorly, and missed out on your paid for meal. BooHoo. That's not good . Hope you feel better soon. At least you will hopefully be all over it by Christmas week.

Very good idea about having two sleeps before purchasing anything on line. I am sooo impulsive and often with two clicks I can have bought something. Always justifying it because its only £5 etc. But with my budget a few £5's can be devastating.

Ok so from now on if I am tempted with an online purchase I will confess on here first before I start clicking!.

Feel like 40 is a big milestone and seriously do not want to still be struggling when I reach it. Hoping it will give me a big incentive.

xx

maddiemay · 19 December 2013 at 2:47PM

Just read about the birthday meal, gosh! There is no way that we would do this at that sort of outlay, we as a family (siblings, step kids etc) are all ticking over well and debt free, but wouldn't expect to spend this even on a family celebration, so don't feel bad about cancelling. After Christmas why not try putting a small amount by each month to save up and take OH out for a good steak or something every few weeks, it might take the sting out of having to be ultra xx

StressedSteph · 19 December 2013 at 5:29PM

Right...Well I have updated my spreadsheet upto the end of 2016 . hehe. Abit optimistic.

The only thing I hate about forecasting on spreadsheets is that it doesn't take into account any of the un-expected that has a nasty habit of cropping up to ruin my debt busting plans.

I am going to have to include Birthdays and Christmas savings and ideally a little bit towards an emergency fund.

I have already promised £200 per month profits from my craft business, which is iffy as to wether I will consistently make this amount. I think I am being a little crazy thinking I can find money to save out of that as well........Hmmmmm not sure what to do??

Think I have whittled down my bills to as low as possible, but will have to have another look.

StressedSteph · 20 December 2013 at 10:27AM

Morning.

Things went pretty well yesterday. I sent a text to my friend explaining that we couldn't afford to attend their birthday meal on Monday because money is tight and including a sitter, the hired mini bus and the expensive meal, it would have come to at least £150. (That we just don't have).

I quite expected her not to reply or be abit chilly with me, but she was amazing. Instead she has invited us to hers for drinks on Saturday night. How lovely is that?. So I feel like its a win win for us. We still get to go out, but its a super cheap night. yay!.

Looking forward to using our free tickets to the Pantomine, gifted to us from another fab friend this Sunday. Have been pretty lucky so far.

Got a few items left to make from my craft business today and over the weekend. Then by Monday it should just be deliveries and all finished.
I certainly need a break.

Money wise, the bank account looks dire - only a few pounds away from maxing out our 3k Overdraft. Eeeek.

I really ought to prioritise getting rid of that first, but I have always struggled with that in the past. I find it hard to see money in the bank and not spend it. Even when its not my money its still the overdraft.... (V V ashamed).

I feel like as the debts gets dealt with the overdraft will kind of sort itself out, but like it has been said on here before, its scary how the bank can just take it away. I have had warning about abusing the £500 reserve that I have on my account.

My overdraft is £2500, but on top of that I have a further £500 that is an emergency reserve to pay the odd overspend. Trouble is I live in it...... I REALLY want to get rid of it, because every time I use it they charge me £22!. And that explains why my last bank charges we £270!!!!.

So, I do plan that as soon as I get within the £2500, I will pop in the bank and get them to remove the reserve. Its a luxury I cannot afford.

Ok probably enough gassing from me, I had better go and carry on with my orders.

SS xx

debtfreewannabe321 · 20 December 2013 at 12:40PM

Morning Steph

Well done on getting out of the birthday dinner that was super expensive, and right before xmas too not many can afford that I bet :eek:!

As for your bank can you not open a new basic one and transfer all of your bills, incomes etc to that and treat your current bank account as a real debt. That way you won't be dipping into the O/D because you're not using that bank anymore (cut the cards up!) and your new one will be without an o/d? It's the only thing that worked for me when we finally had the big LBM!

I'll be cheering on from the sidelines

you can do it once you've set your mind to it. I wanted to be DF by 35 and i'm 35 in Feb and I did it by a few months

so it's possible. (although I feel we cheated a little as we had a windfall!?!) Aim high and we'll all be here with you

StressedSteph · 20 December 2013 at 12:46PM

debtfreewannabe321 wrote: »

Morning Steph Well done on getting out of the birthday dinner that was super expensive, and right before xmas too not many can afford that I bet :eek:!

As for your bank can you not open a new basic one and transfer all of your bills, incomes etc to that and treat your current bank account as a real debt. That way you won't be dipping into the O/D because you're not using that bank anymore (cut the cards up!) and your new one will be without an o/d? It's the only thing that worked for me when we finally had the big LBM!

I'll be cheering on from the sidelines you can do it once you've set your mind to it. I wanted to be DF by 35 and i'm 35 in Feb and I did it by a few months so it's possible. (although I feel we cheated a little as we had a windfall!?!) Aim high and we'll all be here with you

Thanks so much DFW.

I have been very tempted to change banks. I hate B#rclays with a passion and fancied one of those bank that pay out as you spend.

The only thing that has stopped me is I have heard sometimes that is you stop paying in your regular wage then the bank can and will ask for the overdraft to be paid off immediately.?

Did that not happen to you?

xxx

debtfreewannabe321 · 20 December 2013 at 12:53PM

StressedSteph wrote: »

Thanks so much DFW.

I have been very tempted to change banks. I hate B#rclays with a passion and fancied one of those bank that pay out as you spend.

The only thing that has stopped me is I have heard sometimes that is you stop paying in your regular wage then the bank can and will ask for the overdraft to be paid off immediately.?

Did that not happen to you?

xxx

Yes indeed it did, but we went on a DMP so they could all but whistle for it. I was with b@rclays too, most of my overdraft was for charges upon charges upon DD that had bounced because they had taken all my money for them in CHARGES grrr. I told them that I was treating the account as a debt and that the only way I felt I could get out of the vicious circle was to open a new bank account. I went with the c0-op and I also have a h$bc account now too, both basic and no O/D I think sometimes to move forward you have to take the bull by the horns and just do it. B@rclays will ask you to re-pay but if you don't physically have the cash to do so they should offer you some sort of repayment plan. I got my DMP company to do it for me but there are lots of people on here who self-manage their debts and have arranged payment plans with these banks

StressedSteph · 21 December 2013 at 8:33AM

Hmmm very interesting reading that was DFW. I will have a think about it. I remember ages ago when I last managed to clear my OD, I asked the bank to reduce it down to £300 for me, and I let the bank manager talk me out of it. Grrrrrr.

Will add that to my list of things to tackle in the New Year. x

Got up before everyone else this morning as have horrendous stiff neck and a cough and cold

. (yay smilies are working).

I haven't got alot of items to finish now for my craft business. Just some bunting and a draught excluder, which I will have to complete over the weekend. Then I can officially REST. phew....

Waiting for hubby to get paid this weekend, so I can pop into L1dl on Mondy to buy some nice bits for over Christmas. My T2sco shop arrived yesterday with the basics, but could'nt afford to buy any cheeses or sweets on that shop.

Got four credit cards to pay as well, it won't leave much left to last over two weeks but won't be needing to do much so will just have to hibernate.

Hope you are all feeling abit better than me, I think all the hard work is catching up with me.

StressedSteph · 21 December 2013 at 9:29AM

Have just joined the Frugal living challenge for 2014. Sounds like my sort of thing. Eeek

Debt free by 40 -- 19 Months and counting

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free