Poor but happy at 55 need to be debt free to retire!!!

Poorbuthappy55

Hello

I have been lurking on this site for about a year or so and receiving Martin's email and thanks to you all I have cut back spending and live on a budget BUT I still have a debt on credit cards of £28157.09 all neatly recorded on a spreadsheet.

The problem is sticking to said budget and totally focusing on clearing the debt.

My OH is due to retire in a couple of years and I would like to do the same. At the moment he works as many hours as he can and I work 3 days a week. We have a daughter who's 18 and at college but living with us. She has a part time job and doesn't often ask us for money.

We have a lovely life together - our house is paid for and we have
a motorhome for tootling off at the weekends and the only blot is the debt which has crept up over the years.

Sorry to ramble on but I would so love some of you to join me on my journey and support me when I weaken.

I intend to update daily (if possible).

Poorbuthappy55 xx

PS I'm 55 but next month I'm 56 but only on the outside!!!

Poorbuthappy55

What I am going to have to remember is to record my MSE efforts!

1) This month I have sold items on ebay for £163 I have paid £100 off my MBNA card already.

2) I have sold one book on Amazon and cleared £3.88

3) Have listed 6 books on greenmet.

4) Have got & installed a device to watch my electricity use from Southern Electric

My car insurance is due for renewal at the end of this month so later today I am going to register with a cashback site. I'm not sure how they work but I will persevere - I normally give up.

Next I need to find ways tp boost my income.

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Well done! You will get there and its always good to have a plan!

simpywimpy

Good luck with your journey. My hubby is 56 and we really should be working towards the same and cutting expenditure but with two children still at home (16 and 15) it's extremely difficult to do

I already use quidco to help with christmas or a holiday.

I have loads of stuff I could put on Ebay so I should really gather myself to doing that!!

Poorbuthappy55

simpywimpy wrote: »

Good luck with your journey. My hubby is 56 and we really should be working towards the same and cutting expenditure but with two children still at home (16 and 15) it's extremely difficult to do

I already use quidco to help with christmas or a holiday.

I have loads of stuff I could put on Ebay so I should really gather myself to doing that!!

Thanks for coming by.

Children are soooo expensive at that age aren't they. Have you got debts to pay off?

I ran up the majority of debts on nothing really - Instead of saving up for trips and treats I just whacked it on the card meaning to pay it off when the bill came in but of course that didn't happen then it got to the stage where we were paying a large part of our income back on minimum repayments and I kept my head in the sand.

At last I have shaken the sand off but I really need to up my income.

I also find it difficult to reduce my grocery shopping bill. I cut back on my weekly shop but then have to top up shop later in the week. I suppose I'll get the hang of it one day.

I MUST pay all this back while OH is still working or we will never survive.

elantan

i find the best cash back site is quidco ...you pay £5 a year to join it but that money comes off anything you make ...so say you earn £70 on your insurance you get £65 they get the £5 .....go to a comparison site see what the best one is (take a note of a few just incase they aint on quidco but say one that is £20 more is on quidco and you get £40 back you are in profit then) clear your cookies then go for it on quidco

welcome to diary land you will find it and it fair helps to keep focus...just wish i could get my man to do the ebay thing ...it's a swear point in my house

Sun_Addict

Welcome to the diaries! I've found keeping my own diary has really motivated me so I'm sure you will too. It's nice to see someone nearer my age on the diaries as most people seem to be in their 20s. I'm 49 (but still 21 on the inside) and feel a little bit embarrassed that I'm faffing about paying off debt at my age when I should be saving. Just like you my debt mounted up by buying stuff on cards before I had the money for it and then not being able to pay it off and having to shuffle it onto various 0% cards for the last couple of years. Luckily I saw the light when it had mounted up to £5k and am making one last effort to be debt free by Christmas this year - it's been hanging around for far too long now.

I've managed to almost halve my grocery bills by having a big monthly online shop when I buy all the non perishable basics and then top up almost on a daily basis by going to different shops and buying the best offers from each one. I do it in my lunch break so it gets me away from my desk.

Wishing you all the best on your debt free journey. I have subscribed to see how you get on.

elantan

i'm 37 now ...you know that feels so strange saying that ...infact i think that was one of my first times ...i actually forgot i was 37 ...i thought i was 36 ...old age must be creeping in

Poorbuthappy55

Thanks for dropping by.

Elantan - men seem to be worse hoarders than women!! They keep everything just in case. I've just done my insurance through quidco and the policy was £71 less than my renewal and I hope to get £50 cashback if I've done it right!

Sun Addict - its good to hear from someone in their middle years and thanks for subscribing - that will keep me updating my diary. I'm not at work today and should get off the laptop and take my dogs for a walk now but I'm going to read a couple more diaries then get going.

I will try the online shop when I get paid at the end of the month and see how I get on.

I bought some veg and meat at the farmers market yesterday and I'm going to make myself a nut roast - should last a couple of days.

Tonight I'm going to rummage around for more stuff for ebay.

Back later!

elantan

thats deff a good start to your quidco future

Poorbuthappy55

Morning

Went to Tesco last night and succumbed to buying a DVD - Angels & Demons but it was only £8 (maybe a Christmas present).

They have some nice wine 3 for a tenner! Do I stock up or not? Is it wise for a week willed person to buy Christmas goodies now or will they all be gone long before? Will the new MSE me be strong?

Today I've got my breadmaker out and am baking bread because I use quite a lot for packed lunches and it's so expensive.

I should manage a NSD today - I'm only going out to take my dogs for a walk and will not take money with me.

DD has spent all her money so will be trying to get me to cave in and lend her some so she can go out but I'm going to be tough then maybe she will start learning to budget her money.

Have a good day

xxx