How do you keep motivated when repaying your debts?

salt_and_pepper

Hello all,
I'm yet another lurker although my debt is not huge £3090 on a credit card i do want rid as quickly as possible and have decided that 2009 is the year to be rid of if. Now i have already paid off £800 :Thow do i keep my self motivated- i have the minimum payment going out of my bank each month but then when i do make another payment it obviously does go down but each month i get interest added so get another £50 put on which is annoying. I don't really want to mess around swapping cards either, i'm a SAHM so although i'm a good payer, i'm not an earner so thats a bit of a worry.

weebag

Get over to the Payment a Day thread - that'll keep you motivated!

Wee

moo2moo

Do bits and pieces that make you feel like you've achieved something. Free scratchcards quickly add up and take less than a minute a day but average £10 per month.

Every little helps and the PADers prove that very well.

IWantToBeFree_2

salt_and_pepper wrote: »

Hello all,
I'm yet another lurker although my debt is not huge £3090 on a credit card i do want rid as quickly as possible and have decided that 2009 is the year to be rid of if. Now i have already paid off £800 :Thow do i keep my self motivated- i have the minimum payment going out of my bank each month but then when i do make another payment it obviously does go down but each month i get interest added so get another £50 put on which is annoying. I don't really want to mess around swapping cards either, i'm a SAHM so although i'm a good payer, i'm not an earner so thats a bit of a worry.

I wouldn't call it 'messing' around... What is the APR on your current card? You could well find that if you did a balance transfer you would clear the balance even quicker, if that isn't motivation, I don't know what is!!

Starlett

Personally I keep a spreadsheet with what I've paid and a calculation (like the snowball) to see what difference I can make to it, and then when I see that £xx will make a big difference to the end pay date, I then find ways to raise £xx and take great pleasure in 'officially' putting £xx on my spreadsheet as a paid amount! I've signed up the Feb make £10 challenge too (I've stretched to £15 because if I achieve it then it'll knock a month off my DFD!!!)

BusPass_2

Have you investigated any of the cards with a 0% offer for say, a year?

This will give you leeway to reduce the debt while not racking up interest. There are many learned people on here who will direct you to the best deals and iIam sure there is plenty of information available elsewhere on the site.

Good luck with your efforts.

My motivation was to get clear and just think about the debt free day. Believe me, that is a great day!

lilac_lady

Keep reading on this forum and you'll be inspired. Take a look at the £4000 in 2009 challenge as it's full of people who motivate everyone who reads it.

salt_and_pepper

Well to be honest i think that i got into this mess on one card so i shall get out of it on one card and i'm not sure if i would get accepted on another card- the only income i get myself is child tax/ family allowance- that's why i'm a bit wary. I shall go and have a look at the other thread though. Thanks

retrocircles

I keep tally of all the payments that go out each month due to having debt. Then I think, well if I was debt free, that money would be mine to do as I wish with! It's a fairly large sum, so that REALLY gets me motivated!

epsilondraconis

For me, there is sufficient motivation in ensuring I never incur any interest charges because I perceive it as needlessly giving away my money to the banks.

Lets say there are bank charges of £30 one month. I think to myself, how many hours do I have to stay in work simply so I can give that money directly to the bank because of my poor financial management.

This is just my view and helps me to ensure I never incur any bank charges. I completely understand situations where job losses cause charges to be incurred etc.