The challenges begins....
elliewild
Posts: 116 Forumite
i awoke very depressed today but even though ive found out i now owe £981.76 in mortgage arrears i have spoken to my partner and we are positive we can clear the £12,000 in 4 years. we've even made a start (even though its small, its a start) first off i changed my gas/elect package to a more benficial one, i found out that i'd overpaid so a cheque for £350 is in the post! instead of paying £80.50 per month, i now pay £35.50 and its all online so i can see everything and have discounts on my rates.
we've also thought about the small things like switching off and using less water - ive labelled some coke bottles 'plant water' and emptied my dehumidifier into them - ive left signs about saying dont leave tap on and put a water bottle in the toilet to use less flush. (i have a dehumidifier because everywhere i live has damp! and as i dont have any kids, cant get any grants etc)
i've also written up an action plan (month by month) to show what i should have paid and what i have paid etc. so i'm actually feeling quite positive.
ive also been on asda and made a shopping list on all the essentials - normally i spend about £100 on food per month (with dog food) but my list is now £60 per month (with dog food) with better picked items to make a number of dishes with - it seems a bit weird but essentially ive saved myself £40 per month by doing a more constructive shop. (i like to do it online because then you know what your spending - and you seem to get more for your money)
i was hoping to get a loan (but everyone rejected me) i found out my current loan was 19.2% instead of the 7.9% i thought - so wanted to get a better deal and consolidate all other cards (rates are 14-19%) and Natwest offered a graduate loan for 9.4%. i thought i could save by consolidating and card tart with the last £2000 (as i have been doing-however noone will give me a card at the mo).
is it possible to clear a debt of £12,000 any quicker than 4 years? it would be nice - i'm gonna try!
we've also thought about the small things like switching off and using less water - ive labelled some coke bottles 'plant water' and emptied my dehumidifier into them - ive left signs about saying dont leave tap on and put a water bottle in the toilet to use less flush. (i have a dehumidifier because everywhere i live has damp! and as i dont have any kids, cant get any grants etc)
i've also written up an action plan (month by month) to show what i should have paid and what i have paid etc. so i'm actually feeling quite positive.
ive also been on asda and made a shopping list on all the essentials - normally i spend about £100 on food per month (with dog food) but my list is now £60 per month (with dog food) with better picked items to make a number of dishes with - it seems a bit weird but essentially ive saved myself £40 per month by doing a more constructive shop. (i like to do it online because then you know what your spending - and you seem to get more for your money)
i was hoping to get a loan (but everyone rejected me) i found out my current loan was 19.2% instead of the 7.9% i thought - so wanted to get a better deal and consolidate all other cards (rates are 14-19%) and Natwest offered a graduate loan for 9.4%. i thought i could save by consolidating and card tart with the last £2000 (as i have been doing-however noone will give me a card at the mo).
is it possible to clear a debt of £12,000 any quicker than 4 years? it would be nice - i'm gonna try!
Now living within my means!
0
Comments
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Hi ellie - welcome to diary land.
i'll jump straight in if I may... Have you spoken to your mortgage company about the arrears and how you plan to address them? That is a top priority - that and council tax....
You are unlikely to have a good credit rating if you are in mortgage arrears so don't apply for any more cards for 6 months or so to allow some chance for your credit rating to improve....
You may find it helpful to post a statement of affairs showing all your income, outgoings, assets and liabilities http://www.makesenseofcards.co.uk/soacalc.html and the format it for mse and post it on here if you dare - I did a year ago and have made massive strides since!
If you want to know what to pay off first - use the snowball calculator on this website here to work it out: http://www.whatsthecost.com/login.aspx
Any if you are struggling to know where your money goes - you may want to try an on-line spending dairy http://www.spendingdiary.com/
Best of luck!Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26%
2) Spend on handyman & external building works £11.1K
3) CC £2.5K on 0% spends card but offset by £34K savings (part EF, part future home improvement)
4) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £9.6K/£127.5K AVC target 7.5% value @15/4
5) FI Age 60 annual income target £13.7/30K 45.7%0 -
ps Congrats on your upcoming wedding!Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26%
2) Spend on handyman & external building works £11.1K
3) CC £2.5K on 0% spends card but offset by £34K savings (part EF, part future home improvement)
4) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £9.6K/£127.5K AVC target 7.5% value @15/4
5) FI Age 60 annual income target £13.7/30K 45.7%0
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