What happens when the debt is paid off?

You pay more into pensions (I want to get upto 18% AVCs), and work on the mortgage (I want this cleared in 6 yrs). Then new car, then kids are off to uni, and throw in a couple of holidays of a lifetime.

Yup. Savings.
I'm hoping to be cleared of all debt towards the end of next year, then I can start putting all that money (often around £200 a month) in to a savings account. I would like enough cash to that I could fund myself, for at least a year, should the unexpected happen.

When I think of all that money I've been giving to debt companies/creditors over the last 8 years and more, that could have gone into a deposit on a mortgage, it saddens me.

I still keep a strict budget (using YNAB), to ensure that I'm saving as much as I want to. My money is still all accounted for, it's just going into savings now, not on repayments. I do allow myself more fun money, but once my budgeted amount has gone, it's gone.

I'm certainly not debt-free yet, so I suppose this might not quite be how things work for me, but my plan is to carry on as we are with a little more fun-money. At the moment, me and my OH take £150 a month each for everything we spend that isn't food shopping, petrol and DDs. Once we're debt-free, this will probably go up to £250, but then the rest of the money we currently allocate to debt repayments will go into savings. I'd love to log into my online banking and see a lovely wad of savings. I also have a 'holidays' account that will start getting a monthly allocation for an annual family getaway.

I don't know if my post will through a spanner in the works but for everyone it is not easy to just carry on with the budget and ease up a little. i know my weakness always has been that money slips through my fingers and over time I have learnt to restrain myself but sometimes i revert back to old ways.


I thought i was all sorted and part of my credit building decided to risk a credit card. It had small amount and was fine to pay. Work improved so i got another and then bam work load reduced and I ended up in a pickle again. This time though it is around £6000, work had picked up but i know i will never be truly able to manage to be debt free all the time.


If you are strong willed and your relationship with money has changed then the above advice is sound but if like me then be prepared for that you may go off the rails but it is how you deal with it that is important especially realising warning signs.