Debt Free By 29!!!

monz · 14 October 2016 at 9:27AM

You are doing amazing already and just started

x

lucy-lou · 14 October 2016 at 10:57PM

ab_saver wrote: »

Hello

Just popping by (&subscribing) to say hi - and to let you know you seem to be doing great. There are certainly quite a few of us in 20s trying to get it all paid off and save for deposits!

Hi ab_saver,

Thanks for popping by and subscribing the more people I know are watching the less likely I am to deviate from the plan!!
I do think there is a lot of people in there 20's in a similar situation, which is a weird way makes me feel better about the whole situation (if that makes sense!)

lucy-lou · 14 October 2016 at 11:09PM

Today has been a good day. I remembered I had £20 of work expenses from a month ago that I hadn't claimed so I popped that through as petty cash and have moved the money into my savings account where I am building my next CC payment.
I also added my PAD to that account so I now have £38.21 ready and waiting to be paid off 😀
Thanks to you all for your support it is really helping!!!👍

Littlebirdie · 15 October 2016 at 9:21AM

You are doing so well with the PAD! I don't know why but I can't get my head around it...I tried reading it but got bored. Keep it up

lucy-lou · 15 October 2016 at 12:57PM

Littlebirdie wrote: »

You are doing so well with the PAD! I don't know why but I can't get my head around it...I tried reading it but got bored. Keep it up

Hi Littlebirdie,

I am finding PAD works well for me as can't see me achieving NSD'S which everyone else seems to rave about.
I am not one for taking lunch to work and so subsequently buy food everyday (not very MSE). I also always pay by debit card as I never get round to going to the cash point! So then when I get home I round by account down to the nearest £5/10 pound and that makes my PAD.
It has a second use too, I now ensure lunch doesn't go over £5 otherwise I will have to make a larger PAD :rotfl:
At the end of the week (Monday nights this month) my payment will be everything left from my £100 weekly budget (this pays for everything food, clothes, socialising etc).
It's not a perfect MSE plan but it is currently working for me so I will stick with it!
Even brought one of my brothers Christmas presents out of my £100 this week (£46 :eek:) but that would normally have been a CC spend - so I see that as progress! :j

lucy-lou · 15 October 2016 at 7:50PM

Today has been quite a spendy day. Went into town and purchased a head light bulb plus screen wash and paid for fitting (£19.48) This was out of my fuel account as it was a necessary car spend.
£11.20 on a jumper (not needed just liked - need to do better but was within my £100 weekly budget).
£5 on a jacket (needed for my brothers graduation - had a £20 new look voucher so not to bad).
£3 on car parking in town (I needed to take the car for the head light!).
So after all that I have only made a 52p PAD got great but something.
I now have £17 left for the next 2 days. I can do this!!

lucy-lou · 21 October 2016 at 10:48AM

Hi all,
Sorry I have not been around much managed to break my phone Sunday so have had to sort a replacement. Luckily my contract was due for renewal so I upgraded and lowered my monthly contract. Although did have to pay £40 upfront (went on credit card as didn't have enough money in budget for this week - really need to think about an emergency fund &#55358;&#56596;)
Anyway as I hadn't been able to get online to make my PAD I have just caught up now and am at £52.19 (at least it will cover the phone expense so I am no worse off &#55357;&#56836;)
Anyway got to dash as need to leave for work, so will catch up on your diaries tonight, hope everyone is doing well.

enthusiasticsaver · 21 October 2016 at 11:11AM

You have done well to get rid of so much of the Barclaycard as 23.9% is !!!!. Great the rest is on 0% and if you can manage to pay off £500 per month it will clear in 6 months and that can be redirected towards house savings.

Do you have a holiday fund to pay for the holidays? You will need to learn to prioritise expenditure as you move out and are faced with bills, mortgage or rent or whatever so good money discipline/budgeting skills are essential and as you are still quite young learning these now would stand you in good stead in the future.

Maybe you could cut down to one holiday a year and a few short breaks and only paying for it from the holiday fund and not put on a credit card? Check out Dolly Rockers diary who loves her holiday and is in debt but saves for her holidays, Rome, Canada, short breaks away to London etc etc. Inspirational.

When my daughters lived at home I did as your parents did and forewent all but basic housekeeping to cover food on condition they saved for their first homes which they did and now in their late twenties they have these and are good budgeters. They were saving £500 odd each month though and had no debt as I had warned them of the evils of credit cards from the age of 16;)

If you are only having to pay £200 into your savings and nothing else you should have plenty to put aside in a holiday fund as well as decrease your debt.

Stopping credit card usage now while you are young will save you a lifetime of misery in the future and think of all the spare money you will have once they are clear to go into savings for you not the banks pockets.

Cailbhinn · 21 October 2016 at 8:46PM

All the best. I'm 30 and hoping to be debt free by 33 (just realised that rhymes!). Thereafter save for a deposit for a mortgage. I'm on track to overpay Mr Barclay by £170 odd this month. A PAD would just confuse me!!

lucy-lou · 23 February 2017 at 7:07PM

So I realise I have been absent for the past 4 months

but have still been working towards my debt free goal. I lost my way a little in December what with Christmas to pay for and was feeling down about my debts today so thought I would pop by so I could see my progress (this is the only place I recorded what was debt was!).
So in October 2016 my debt was:
Barclayc@rd 1 = £976.90
Barclayc@rd 2 = £1865.10
N@tionwide = £1156.45
Total = £3998.45:eek:

Today my debt stands at:
Barclayc@rd 1 = £260
Barclayc@rd 2 = £700
N@tionwide = £775
Total = £1735 - 56% cleared off:D

Now it's payday tomorrow and I have £785 planned towards the Barclayc@rd debts. And from March's payday I can afford the same (I get paid 2 days before my hoped for debt free date of my 29th birthday!)

This leaves me £165 short to make my debt free date or £82.50 per month. So time to get back on the MSE :money: ways and I will be starting with PADing! I am also going to give taking lunch to work a bash which will hopefully help my waistline and motivate me back to the gym. I am starting tonight with a Pilates class.

I can still do this and I will! After 11 years I will be debt free!!:beer:

Debt Free By 29!!!

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