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Sick of being in debt so am taking action!!!!

Hi everyone!

I read Start Late, Finish Rich by David Bach and it has totally inspired me to take control of my finances! My aim is to be debt free by the time I am 30, I have five years to go so I am 100% confident I can make it! Here are some things I did over the last two days since reading the book:

1. Made over £200 in 2 days selling stuff on ebay and amazon!
2. Opened a new ISA at 3.5% interest rather than leaving my money in my old one which has now dropped to 0.5%
3.Opened a stakeholder pension which I have set up monthly payment into for my old age!
4. Written letters to my creditors asking them to freeze interest
5. Saved myself £50 in bank charges in one simple phone call
6. Set up monthly payments into the new ISA and into a xmas fund so I dont become skint in December!
7.Decided I am going to plough any extra money into paying off my loan because I found out that paying just £20 a month more off it finishes it 8 months earlier! And thats only £20 a month extra!
8.Bought some items from TradeTang to sell at a profit on ebay, should make £40 in total
9.Set up a seperate account for my bills and spending money so I never go overdrawn
10.Used my money I made on ebay to pay some off my £100 overdraft so that should be gone by the end of the month!

I cant believe I did all the above in only a couple of days, and considering last month I missed a loan payment and had to pay the arrears this month if left me £100 short to start and now I feel a bit richer!

Still got to figure out how I can get rid of my pesky car finance.....

I advise anyone to read David Bach's books , they motivate you so much!

Thanks for everyone on this site as it really keeps me going to read all your motivating stories!

Lou x :T

Debt: IVA - 2 years left til freedom at age 27!
Loan - as of Oct 09 £6677 left to pay
Cahoot Overdraft - £1000 down to £960 Oct 09
A & L Overdraft - £100 going down.......will keep you updated
Car Finance??? nothing I can do Im afraid just have to grin and bear it!

Loan - [STRIKE]10000[/STRIKE] 5686 Debt start : £18750
Cahoot Overdraft- [STRIKE]1000[/STRIKE] 970 Debt now : £9365
Credit Card [STRIKE]9000[/STRIKE] 2709
Top Shop Storecard - [STRIKE]150[/STRIKE] 0 :D
Alliance and Leiceste Overdraft - [STRIKE]100[/STRIKE] 0:D
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Comments

  • tallyhoh
    tallyhoh Posts: 2,305 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    Splendid, I might take a look at the book.
    Tallyhoh! Stopped Smoking October 2000. Saved £29382.50 so far!
  • JCS1
    JCS1 Posts: 5,321 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    louwilko04 wrote: »
    8.Bought some items from TradeTang to sell at a profit on ebay, should make £40 in total



    be careful if doing this, it makes you self employed in the eyes of HMRC and subject to be taxed on any profit.
  • Hi,

    It's great that you feel positive about dealing with your debts and that you are so committed. Well done. :D

    It's not always the best policy to prioritise savings over debt (although having an emergency fund is important). Generally speaking if your interest charges on your debts are more than what you are getting in interest on your savings you might be better to fling any extra into reducing overdrafts and debts. There are articles on this on the main site. Think about it carefully.

    Hope this helps. Best wishes.
  • linz
    linz Posts: 1,946 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Hi,

    Have you tried the daily clicking?

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=609037&page=185

    A long thread but it's easy once you get started. Takes a few months to start paying but you can get about £30-£50 a month, some people probably get more depending how many sites they use. I've had about £120 over the last 2 months or so.
    #2 - Save £2024 in 2024
    #35 - Save £12k in 2024
  • hmmm didnt think about the trading thing, will reconsider that, thanks for the advice everyone!!
    Loan - [STRIKE]10000[/STRIKE] 5686 Debt start : £18750
    Cahoot Overdraft- [STRIKE]1000[/STRIKE] 970 Debt now : £9365
    Credit Card [STRIKE]9000[/STRIKE] 2709
    Top Shop Storecard - [STRIKE]150[/STRIKE] 0 :D
    Alliance and Leiceste Overdraft - [STRIKE]100[/STRIKE] 0:D
  • Hi everyone!

    Well today started off a good day, wrote my letters to the bank asking for my charges and ppi to be refunded. Claimed financial hardship because I am in an IVA so hopefully they will respond soon. Has anyone else got charges back because they claimed hardship?? How long did it take?
    Tried to get rid of my car but looks like I am stuck with it, maybe I should keep it anyway otherwise I have been paying 200 quid a month for the last year for nothing!
    Plus it will last forever, so I shouldnt need to buy another for a looooooooooooong time!
    Cancelled my Sky today, load of rubbish on it anyways and am going to put the extra money onto my loan each month. Off for a run now, anyone else find that exercise really is the best form of chilling out! I think of it as my medicine when I am feeling stressed out!

    See you all soon! :j

    Lou x
    Loan - [STRIKE]10000[/STRIKE] 5686 Debt start : £18750
    Cahoot Overdraft- [STRIKE]1000[/STRIKE] 970 Debt now : £9365
    Credit Card [STRIKE]9000[/STRIKE] 2709
    Top Shop Storecard - [STRIKE]150[/STRIKE] 0 :D
    Alliance and Leiceste Overdraft - [STRIKE]100[/STRIKE] 0:D
  • Another good day yesterday, rang my mobile company and they knocked a tenner off my bill AND gave me a blackberry for free! :T Nice!
    Also left my internet dongle hanging out my window in the rain and broke it :mad: went into the 3 shop and the lady said it was the old version and she could upgrade me to the new super fast one with an extra 2GB of data allowance for the same price! :rotfl:so shiny new dongle for me too, and all these nice new gadgets and not paid anything! Oh and I picked up my new little bunny too :A shes sooo cute! Also sent another £40 from my paypal account to my overdraft, paid off nearly £200 this month yay! :money:Its comin down raidly!
    To celebrate a good debt busting day got a haircut, desperately needed and thought I deserved it! Have a great weekend everyone!
    Loan - [STRIKE]10000[/STRIKE] 5686 Debt start : £18750
    Cahoot Overdraft- [STRIKE]1000[/STRIKE] 970 Debt now : £9365
    Credit Card [STRIKE]9000[/STRIKE] 2709
    Top Shop Storecard - [STRIKE]150[/STRIKE] 0 :D
    Alliance and Leiceste Overdraft - [STRIKE]100[/STRIKE] 0:D
  • Having one of those days today! Took my slow puntrure to get repaired ended up needing a whole new tyre, another £70 added onto my almost half paid off overdraft:mad:

    AND all my friends are going to egypt tommoro on easter hols and i cant afford it all because I was extravagant with money i didnt have when i was younger, i hate having no money!! I wish i could turn back the clock and not have done all those stupid things. sometimes i get so annoyed at myself!_pale_
    sometimes it feels like I'll never even reach the 500 pound mark (halfway!) so frustrating
    Loan - [STRIKE]10000[/STRIKE] 5686 Debt start : £18750
    Cahoot Overdraft- [STRIKE]1000[/STRIKE] 970 Debt now : £9365
    Credit Card [STRIKE]9000[/STRIKE] 2709
    Top Shop Storecard - [STRIKE]150[/STRIKE] 0 :D
    Alliance and Leiceste Overdraft - [STRIKE]100[/STRIKE] 0:D
  • LeeSouthEast
    LeeSouthEast Posts: 3,822 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Debt-free and Proud!
    Don't get disheartened, Lou. You've done SO well !!

    As you'll see as you stay around, freedom from debt and having your money as your own happens eventually. And it's a feeling you can't beat. Work at it, stick at it, and flourish. A little pain now for long-term happiness :)
    Starting Debt: ~£20,000 01/01/2009. DFD: 20/11/2009 :j
    Do something amazing. GIVE BLOOD.
  • cookson
    cookson Posts: 42 Forumite
    Hey, you are doing really well, keep up the good work! :)

    Try not to get frustrated and dwell on the past... look forward to a debt and stress free future!
    Current Debt:
    Mortgage
    31/12/12 - £78,075.68, 31/12/13 - £76,149.82
    01/02/15 - £66,356.11 :j , 01/07/15 - £39,900 (woooooooooo)
    Target mortgage free date: 1st May 2019. Funds to pay it by December 2017 (but would have to pay tax back on some shares).
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