Can Edinburgher be debt free and a mortgage holder by 30?

doodledo_2

Hey hun just checking in, all ok??

edinburgher

Yup - everything's great thanks Doodledo.

Been in the new job for a week now, enjoying myself with loads of extra training and looking forward to managing intranets, developing an electronic library and other cerebral pursuits.

The life of a B2 doesn't look at all bad and I start earning flexi from next Monday

Debts are ticking down gradually, but I'm working to speed this up. A combination of a season ticket advance, reduced council tax, wage increase and gym membership lapsing soon means that I should be £130 a month up from the start of July. Hoping to use this to batter down the debts. Nothing too radical (debt free 2009 just isn't going to happen), but hoping to even out the ratio of debt payments (another £25 a month to the credit card) and then add 25% to my regular payments (another £30 a month or so on top of this). Will take me down to debt free in 30 months or so. Not great, but there is potential for a pay rise next year and a bonus, so will see how this helps me....

doodledo_2

Morning hun glad the new job is going well.

An extra £130 a month can't be sniffed at and will make a nice dent each month on the debt front. Ok so debt free 2009 may not happen but you are going to be so close :T

edinburgher

Over a month without posting on {any} forums - this must be a new record for me!

To catch up: my new job is as much fun as working in business information can be and I'm finding my days filled with website designing shenanigans and the like. For anyone who's ever used the CIA factbook online, I managed to create a very reasonable facsimile of their maps section with next to no web design experience! For the first time in ages I feel vaguely proud of what I do, which makes all the difference.

I'm working long hours, which sucks somewhat, but it means that I'm getting some extra leave to spend on my pet projects of cooking, lazing about and drinking coffee. It's a good life really

Things have been all too quiet on the DFW front and I've actually stopped some money saving things that I may need to adopt again. I stopped doing daily clicks on Quidco as they were a waste of time. I suspect it costs more to start my laptop and power it than the £0.09 a day this was netting me! I'm still doing my free daily scratch, using cashback sites where appropriate and am Dooyoo'ing away like a fiend. In addition to that, I joined Valued Opinions again and am close to another £10 voucher.

I seem to have fallen into the convenience trap of buying my lunch every day and will need to stop this a.s.a.p.! I figure I'm spending £100 a month on lunches and just can't justify it... That and the fact that I'm starting to hate the Sainsbury's meal deal.

Three weeks 'til we go to Greece (budgeted for in advance and paid off already) and I can't wait.

Hope everyone is doing well in DFW land.

edinburgher

Greece was wonderful and I even managed to bring home some money (well, twenty Euros!)

The new job is feeling a lot more familiar now and I'm even looking forward to my mid year review in September already May get a pay increment in August, but suspect that it will only be 0.5% or so...

The last payment for my gym membership came out of my bank account today and the spare £53.95 a month will be going towards my debts. I earned the Amazon voucher from Valued Opinions mentioned in my last post and it went towards a Wii, which Wii had thriftily saved up for in our sealed jar :money:

Dooyoo'ing like a fiend and glad to see that a few familiar faces are still active on my favourite review site.

Have started to save a bit of money on my lunches by buying the ingredients and making stuff up on the day. Still not as good as packed lunches, but hey..

Not much else to report - signature updated.

doodledo_2

Well fancy seeing you here today lol.

Glad you had a good break, could do with one of those myself lol.

Glad the jobs going well and the packed lunches. Must admit i have noticed you are doing a lot of cooking reviews on Dooyoo, definately putting me to shame

edinburgher

I'm a cooking fiend doodledo - hope to open my own bistro one day (God willing!)

doodledo_2

I expect an invite to the opening party

edinburgher

Very pleased to report that my GF was offered a permanent post with her current employer and the new found job stability means that I'm free to use savings to pay down debt.

Have paid an extra ~£150 towards my overdraft, lots more to follow at the end of the month. Might not sound like much to those of you with mega debts, but that's over 6 months of 'normal' payments in one!

Spoke to a pleasant woman from Blair, Oliver and Scott and have upped my minimum monthly payments to £150 a month from the end of July (currently £84). I will beat the debts yet!

On a negative note, I applied for a mobile 'phone contract with O2 and was rejected due to a credit check. I had hoped that my (relative) address stability, electoral registration and the 'Credit Builder' facility on my prepaid credit card might have done some good by now. Ah well - no more applications for any form of credit until the new year now

urg123

Hi Edinburgher

Great news on the debt repayments. You're making it towards DF status - even more quickly now with those extra payments. The new job sounds great too.

It's a shame about the mobile phone contract. It must feel like a blow despite all the hard work you've been putting towards being debt free.

urg x x