This Duo's debt free journey

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  • DrSpendLittle
    DrSpendLittle Posts: 698 Forumite
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    Great stuff! Excellent progress. When is you debt free date? March?
  • DebtFreeDuo
    DebtFreeDuo Posts: 1,021 Forumite
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    DrSpendLittle wrote: »
    Great stuff! Excellent progress. When is you debt free date? March?

    Thank you, my target DFD is May, I pay off in big chunks each time I receive my student finance so hoping to pay the last bit off with Mays student finance but this may stretch over to October.
    Change the way you see things and the things you see will change
  • Willowtree222
    Willowtree222 Posts: 7,696 Forumite
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    I think you're right in noting down feelings. In order to break the spending, you need to also break the emotions x
    September 2017 Debt = £25330

    Starting afresh.

    You can do anything if you put your mind to it. x
  • ladymay
    ladymay Posts: 1,126 Forumite
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    DFD you're doing incredibly! And you're right, emotions are so tied in with money. Looking forward to seeing the big update next month :T
    2019 Aim: Save £10,000
    Don't sacrifice what you want most for what you want now
  • DebtFreeDuo
    DebtFreeDuo Posts: 1,021 Forumite
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    Couldn't agree more Nicknak.

    Thank you ladymay, hopefully I can keep the overdraft use down and the extra income up to keep me below the 5k mark!

    Just received a letter from my M&S card telling me they will give me £10 if I spend £400 on the card between now and the end of December, I'm now tempted to use it for everything and pay the balance off in full each month, I just need to be careful that I don't get spend happy and have a big bill to pay off in January which will see me struggling next term.
    Change the way you see things and the things you see will change
  • DrSpendLittle
    DrSpendLittle Posts: 698 Forumite
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    DebtFreeDuo wrote: »
    Just received a letter from my M&S card telling me they will give me £10 if I spend £400 on the card between now and the end of December, I'm now tempted to use it for everything and pay the balance off in full each month, I just need to be careful that I don't get spend happy and have a big bill to pay off in January which will see me struggling next term.

    I use my JL Partnership Card for groceries and fuel to get cash back. I pay it off in full every month. I only spend what I have budgeted for that month (I use YNAB). The money assigned to groceries and fuel then stays say in my current account accruing interest, so it’s a double dividend. It may only be the odd few quid here and there but I see it as a way of getting back the interest I’ve paid over the years.

    Works well if you’re disciplined with money and stick to budget. If not, it’s a recipe for disaster. As Dave Ramsey says, if you play with snakes, you’re gonna get bitten eventually. I remain acutely aware of this and pledged to myself that I would stop using my Partnership Card if I started to slip up. Don’t want to get bitten by those evil credit card snakes again!

    Good luck in what ever you choose - you’re doing so well, keep up the excellent work!
  • HairyHandofDartmoor
    HairyHandofDartmoor Posts: 13,960 Forumite
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    You are doing amazingly well DFD. Plans sometimes need to be flexible if events prove them not to be perfect. If you adapt the plan and then stick to it you are bound to succeed :)

    Going away or doing anything out of your routine always seems to result in extra money spent, it does for me anyway :mad: but you can learn to make your budget for these events more flexible if you need to.

    Witn regard to working over Christmas, make sure your studies don't suffer, as your future career depends upon this.
    Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally
    Debt in July 2017 = £58,766 😱 DEBT FREE 31 OCTOBER 2017 :T 🎉
    EMERGENCY FUND 1 = £50/£5,000. EMERGENCY FUND 2 = £10/£5,000.
    CHRISTMAS SAVINGS = £0/£500. SEF = £1,400/£12,000 PREMIUM BONDS ME = £350. PREMIUM BONDS DH = £300.
    HOLIDAY MONEY = £0 TIME LEFT TO PAY OFF MORTGAGE = 5 YEARS 1 MONTHS
  • DebtFreeDuo
    DebtFreeDuo Posts: 1,021 Forumite
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    Thank you DrSpendLittle, I think I would be disciplined with myself and would transfer each amount over to the savings account but I completely understand what you're saying, I slipped up a little over the summer because of using my CC. I could probably even send the right amounts straight over just a few days later, there are no terms attached on how quickly I pay it off, just that I spend the amount. I think my first job is to work out whether I would actually spend the £400, I have a feeling that I wouldn't need to spend this much but then it depends on how much my MOT comes in at. I will definitely think on it before I use it for anything.

    HairyHand that is exactly what stops me going back to work, I just feel that the extra money would barely be worth sacrificing revision time for and I know that my studies would suffer I'm just unsure on how much they would be affected. I think I will leave it and look at going back over the summer. I agree that we need some flexibility or at least be able to adjust our budgets when needed, its never going to be a case of creating a budget once and then living happily ever after.

    I'm off to a good start for the NST November challenge anyway so I'm counting today as a win!
    Change the way you see things and the things you see will change
  • DebtFreeDuo
    DebtFreeDuo Posts: 1,021 Forumite
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    I'm getting into this eBay malarky, so far my bids total £26.50, one of which has 14 watchers!! I don't think I have ever had so many people watching one of my items. Its currently on £17 (started at £6.50) and has 1 day to go so I'm hoping this increases. I have so much more stuff to list, hopefully I can get it all shifted this year and I can then think about actually using my spare room as more than a dumping ground!

    I've signed up for the sealed pot challenge so instead of using my earnings to decrease the overdraft I am going to put it into there, essentially it works out the same but I think in the long term it will help me save more. If I'm in my overdraft then I will be less likely to spend whereas if I wasn't and I was earning money from selling then I may feel like I need to treat myself with some of the money. If its in the pot then I can use some of it when I open the pot to treat myself and DS.

    Waiting on my last survey to clear on PA, its rather annoying because it was a survey I did on 19/10, as soon as this clears then I can take out the £20 I have there.
    Change the way you see things and the things you see will change
  • DebtFreeDuo
    DebtFreeDuo Posts: 1,021 Forumite
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    Sent £200 over to my help to buy ISA which now stands at £4600! I'm so proud of myself for achieving this. Interest is paid in March which should be around the £140 mark (based on an online calculator), current government bonus will be £1150 when I am finally in a position to buy. If I compare my debt and my savings then I am only down by £667.42, factor in the value of my car then I could actually be in the black if I decided tomorrow to completely clear everything.
    Change the way you see things and the things you see will change
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