First one to clear 15k gets a paper hat

savingholmes

tirlittan wrote: »

I like this thread, that's why I joined. But realistically, I have no hope in hell (or anywhere else for that matter) of clearing 15K before next Christmas ( I know that's not the original challenge). Snowball calculator puts my DFD as sometime in 2014, which might change a bit come January when I’ve paid off my Barclaycard.But then I started seriously thinking when would I like to be debt free? And my wishful answer was end of 2010. That’s just over 2 years. This would mean I’d have to pay around £500 per month towards my debts. Not going to happen. If I’d be single, I would love to join the ‘Live on 4000k a year’ challenge, but it wouldn’t really wash with my bf. I’m already not doing a lot of stuff and saying “ I can’t afford to do that” and it’s annoying. But I don’t want to be in debt for another 6 years. Something’s got to change. Not sure what yet.Sorry, a debt is just always hanging there in the background stopping you doing things that you’d love to do.

Hi this challenge is just to encourage you to pay off debt as fast as you can - and to look at additional ways of creating money or reallocating money to make that easier to do. Go for it - if your DFD is 2014 set yourself a challenge to bring it foward a month, and then another month and then another month.

When I joined I was paying off net probably £400 or less - now I'm trying for around £1K. In theory it is possible - for me it has meant

1) reducing odd and sods category by £180 per month
2) changing my hours at work so I can pick up the kids one day a week - just that save me £15.50 a week or over £60 a month
3) letting my son gradually come home alone (at 10) so that I save £7.75 a night - that alone could by mid November save me £31 per week or up to £124 per month (more if it it is a 5 week month)
4) reduced phone and internet by about £28 per month
5) reduced home insurance by £30 per month
6) reducing grocery shopping bill
7) creating additional funds through £10 a day challenge (some of my childcare savings, and the first month of other savings or new money included here) and using finished baskets thread for presents ideas...
8) asked for and got a payrise
9) profit on petrol expenses for work
10) reducing ad-hoc giving
11) printable coupons
12) collecting points on shopping wherever possible to fund xmas and birthday pressies
13) Claiming free samples, entering competitions
14) bargaining wherever possible, looking for sales, multi-buys and whoops items in shops
15) Transferred all debt to 0%

Hope that gives you some ideas...

clearmydebts

Wow Savingholmes,

That is a great post. It's great that you have managed to cut back on all these things. I think the most I could manage a month to my debts (before OH gets a job next summer) is about £400.

Tirlittan, My snowball debt free date is also 2014 but am determined to pay off as much as I can, when I can. Even if I did pay of 15K by next Xmas I still would have 7K left. As CAFCgirl said, it is individual and we will all get there in the end!

CAFCGirl

Exactly and exactly Holmes and ClearMy.

My DFD is November 2011 paying £670 a month but if I can bring that even 2 months forward then I am a happy bunny. I dont care if its 3 months earlier, 3 weeks, 3 weeks later or 3 months later, all I want is to stop increasing the debts, and get it paid off, whenever I can, with whatever I feel I can spare.

Chin up, tits out..... positive thinking

clearmydebts

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Exactly and exactly Holmes and ClearMy.

Chin up, tits out..... positive thinking

Ha ha! Love that quote!!!:beer: Ooh, I'm giddy now. I have the Friday feeling!

CAFCGirl

MUARGH!
(yes its a word)

Just got my post from our box outside and got a letter from MBNA telling me that the APR on credit cards will be 34.9% variable. Which doesnt actually tell me what mine will be. Its currently on 0% till March 09. so Im gna need to get the current cc Im assaulting paid down pretty sharpish, to then be able to move into that one so I dont get hit too much with interest when the 0% runs out.
God it makes my brain hurt!

doodledo_2

Evening everyone.

Not much to report here still waiting payday which is on Monday so not too long to wait. Going to sit down and work out this months budget as I have the habit of making a massive overpayment and then struggle the rest of the month lol.

tirlittan - in reality I don't think most of us would hit Xmas 09 but I say lets give it a good go. We may surpise ourselves.

I think the main thing to remember is that every day out debt goes down when we don't spend on credit. As long as we change our ways and leave credit well alone our DFD will come whether it be Xmas 09/10/11.

CAFCGirl

Good idea Doodle. I should do a budget as well.
I need to just stop spending on nothingness. Went thru my statement and worked out I spent £91 last month on just bits and things and nothing of any real value...
I just thinking "oh for god sake woman!!" LOL That needs to stop! STOP STOP STOP!
I will learn I promise.

On a positive note, £156 of my hotel expenses have been creditted to my credit card. Woo... off to update siggy xx

doodledo_2

CAFC fab news about your expenses that siggy is building up now.

Don't beat yourself us about the £91 think how much that figure probably was before your LBM. Just aim for that figure to be lower next month, and then the month after etc.

too_much_debt

Not much going on for me, haven't paid any more off, got to try and make a bit of money on Ebay this weekend while the kids are away. Going to use the kids' beds to put stuff on, top bunk for stuff that needs listing and bottom bunk for stuff once I've got it on Turbolister (then find somewhere to put it until it sells).

Hopefully I'll be able to get through a lot of it and at least get it listed, won't earn much with stuff sitting in the cupboards.

I'm hoping to win the Euromillions tonight, wonder what my chances are!! A couple of grand would be nice, don't want to win the jackpot (well I do but don't want to be greedy).

Got my hospital appointment on Tuesday at 10.20 so am nervous about that, I hope I don't have gall stones in my liver as not sure if that would mean being cut open to get them out, hopefully they will give me a date for my op to have my gall bladder out (keyhole) so that I can focus on selling as much before i have it done so I have some money to pay my debts while I'm out of action for a couple of weeks.

Mike84_2

Hi everyone,

It looks like I'm not the only one who's had problems with Dooyoo then!!

Hope the rest of you go on ok with them as I know you've all been reviewing and rating like mad!

I haven't done much either debtwise really, still waiting for payday to come round next Friday so I can get some debts down.

Haven't managed to sell anymore on amazon yet but the books are listed until December so hopefully a few more will go.

Snowballed my debt earlier and I should be at DFD by Aug 2010, if I keep paying £650 per month towards debt, but I'm going to try and get this closer to Xmas 09!

Hope everyone is ok! P.S tmd, your not winning the euromillions tonight because I am!!