Living the dream by 30!

Taylo_2

Ok, so I’m taking the plunge. I’ve sat here and read thread after thread thinking should I do it? Will anyone read it? Is it going to help? But then I realised that it doesn’t really matter so long as it gives me a little bit of focus to achieve what I want to achieve even if I am talking to myself most of the time. So indulge me if you will, I have two and a half years to get this right, and making a start is the most important step.

So, debts, there is a bit of this, it’s not unmanageable and I don’t have problems meeting payments, what I do seem to have problems doing is a) reducing it and b) not increasing it. I have 3 credit cards and one loan, then I have two overdrafts. The credit cards have similar amounts on them but what I have decided to do is to tackle one of these at a time, so for the time being the plan of action is to ATTACK ABBEY!! The balance is £1469.33 and it really needs to be £0. What I thought would be helpful is for me to work out what is on there, what I am still paying for and then attack each individual item on there at a time until there is nothing left, it breaks down the figure of £1469.33 into smaller more manageable targets.

Right, that is the target, for now. The reason to do this? Well I will be 30 in 2012 which is obviously a bit of a milestone, when I imagine myself as a 30 year old I want it to be someone who is in control of everything, not worrying about money anymore. I always try to be positive about things but money, or lack of it, has really started to play on my mind in the last year and quite frankly I am sick of it – so the debt has to go!

Starting……..now!

First on the list is a nice easy one - £25.00 for a T-Shirt I bought about 2 years ago.

(I should probably point out that a fair amount of what I intend to do will come from matched betting, mainly when the footie season is up and running again, and trying to spend less on daily things like food so I can put any leftover change into the pot for clearing this, but any other ideas are more than welcome!)

Here goes......:money:

Karen_30

Hey there! Just wanted to wish you best of luck in clearing your debts, totally understand that you would want to be in control of your debts and I am sure you will. Have a good read of all the threads on here they are full of inspirations and you'll have yourself a lot of knowledge at the end of it all! I sat with a notepad and pen when I first joined!

K x

imajica

Hi there Taylo,

I'm in a similar mindset but my debt is lower...i've also got a closer deadline! I've got until next summer, when i'll be 30, to get myself on track so I can start to think about a mortgage.

Good luck

Taylo_2

Thanks for posting guys, is nice to have some support straightaway! Karen, I have a notepad with me most of the time to note down the important stuff, think I may need a bigger pad soon! Imajica, I hope you can meet your goal in good time as well, I think 30 is a big enough landmark to aim for, although I will play it down when I get closer to it!

Edit - forgot to say, have given the flat a bit of a clean tonight and found a £2 Tesco clubcard voucher thing, as far as flying starts go it is more of a flightless bird flapping around than a jet plane, but when i use it I can make a start on that first debt!

AnnieG

Hi Taylo
Just wanted to say good luck, looking at what other people have achieved by reading thier posts it seems that nothing is impossible, so I'm sure you'll meet your goal easily. I wish I'd taken steps to sort myself out financially before I was 30... I'm hoping to be debt free by the time I hit 40 in 4 years time...
Annie

Fire_Fox

Taylo wrote: »

Edit - forgot to say, have given the flat a bit of a clean tonight and found a £2 Tesco clubcard voucher thing, as far as flying starts go it is more of a flightless bird flapping around than a jet plane, but when i use it I can make a start on that first debt!

Ask for the £2 to be put back onto your Clubcard by the 26th of this month and you'll get it back again in the next quarter. If you then have enough for a £5 voucher you can use it on the double-up promotion. :money:

daily_2

Is Abbey the highest apr?

Taylo_2

Just wanted to pop in quickly on my lunch break before I tuck into my bolognese (batch cooked!). Thanks for the support so far. I wasn't aware I could do that with my Tesco voucher - what is the double up promotion if you don't mind me asking?

Daily, yep Abbey is the highest APR at the mo, not sure what it is as I am at work but is definately the first one to go.

Hope everyone is well!

Fire_Fox

Information about doubling up your vouchers:
http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/p.aspx?id=doubleuptcs

The only 'catch' is your vouchers have to be £5 multiples, and you only have til the end of this week to collect points for the next quarter. You can check on the Tesco website to see how many vouchers you have to come, but will have to add the £2 back on by telephone.

Taylo_2

Ok thanks Fire Fox, I think I may use the voucher as it is in order to at least get started this week, I don't think I will end up buying from the departments you can use it on anyway so probably best to utilise it on my normal spend.

Am thinking of joining one of the challenges - anyone suggest one they have found really useful?

Fire_Fox

Which challenge probably depends on what floats your boat, how much time you have and whether you think the problem is under-earning, over-spending or both. 'Make £10 a day' seems to a lot of fun, but I would have thought requires a bit more time and lateral thinking than 'Crazy £100 a year clothing' challenge! I really like your idea to pay off your credit card debt one item at a time - maybe you could kick off a new challenge?