A Return to A Debt Free Mission

Exerbusi2

New client taken on - initially an extra £180 for me, but long term it will probably be more!

Excellent start to the weekend!

Exerbusi2

Tesco vouchers have arrived through the post today, giving me £12.50 in savings!

Sorts out a big chunk of the food for next week - we are eating lots of veg at the moment, making shopping relatively cheap (well, as cheap as it can be whilst food prices are at record highs!)

Exerbusi2

Much cheaper night than expected tonight - a friend is coming round for a takeaway curry and we will have a few drinks in, rather than the more expensive original plan which was to head out for a curry and then on to a pub crawl - I would have been looking at the thick end of £50 for that night!

Sometimes, a change of plan is a good thing!

Exerbusi2

Also, the client I spoke about today actually signed up, meaning I certainly am up money-wise. A cheap weekend, followed by the re-introduction of my NSD will certainly help my monthly money surplus!

Exerbusi2

Good day today!

I went into work this morning, had a nice easy day. I then went to the gym and put myself through a really good session, showered and came home to sort out a couple of jobs. Now waiting for my GF to come home before we head out to watch the football!

I will do some food shopping today, using vouchers from Tesco, making it as cheap as possible! as the football is at 4.00, we may eat out but I don't mind that - I have additional money being paid to me tomorrow which will head straight into my CC debt (and a little into savings!)

Feeling great after my extra tough exercise session today - I really value health and fitness and think it should form the cornerstone of our lives. We cannot control much of what life throws at us, but we can make sure our bodies are in the best condition to deal with life!

Exerbusi2

£240 up today - first of three additional income hits this month. I have paid off another £100 of CC debt, and put another £100 off the loan. That leaves me with £90, which I will leave sat in my current account.

The next income hit I have is £220, which I will put into savings. I am expecting that on the 14th, and on the 15th I have another £770 coming in, which will pay off another £200 of loan, my bills and the rest will be divided between CC and savings.

Spent about £5 today, but that is all.

Exerbusi2

Excellent news!

A payment of £250 I had forgotten about is ready for me to pick up tomorrow - an extra hit for my credit card debt and a boost to my savings!

My aim was to have my CC debt down to £1500 by the time our first baby arrives, and that is looking VERY achievable now - a target of £1000 may be better suited though as it will keep me on my toes!

Additionally, I have set a target of having £2000 in savings by then too, which would make life more comfortable. Being debt free by March 2012 would be fantastic - earlier the better though!

Exerbusi2

So todays update...

I am due to pick up £250 today from a client, and have taken on another one. I will be picking up money from the second client as of next week - it is only £25 per week, but that £100 per month will chip away at debts or be added to my savings.

The £250 I pick up today will be banked tomorrow, alongside a £10 cheque I have had lying around. My plan for that money is to pay £150 off the credit card and leave the other £100 in my current account. That then means when I receive my additional payments this month I can divvy them up as I see fit. My current strategy is to throw money at the credit card debt, removing as much of it as I can, whilst adding to savings all the time, giving me an important financial cushion.

By tomorrow morning I hope to be in a nicer position, then the 14th and 15th of the month see me really eat into my debts again!

My main issue with all of this is patience - I am addicted to the challenge that is removing my debt and I want to do it all as quickly as possible!

athletesfoot

You posts give me hope.

Good work and thank you.

Exerbusi2

Thank you athletesfoot - always happy to help out!

Todays update...

I am due to deposit £260 in cheques into the bank today. This means I am now in a position to shave £150 off the credit card debt, and put the remaining £110 into my current account. I have had the phone bill money go out today, meaning I am needing to stick the extra money into my current account today - the rest would have gone into savings, but I would rather have it in my current account, as within a month I want to shave my overdraft down to £250, where it will stay (it is currently set at a £750 limit, but I don't need it all).

Having checked my accounts today, I am paid £220 on the 14th, £768 on the 15th and another £220 on the 17th. If I hit my personal target on £1800 in savings by then (which I should be able to do easily), then I will take another £200 off my CC debt. If there is any money spare, I will leave it in my current account and wait until the 1st when I am paid another £200 - that will go some way to reducing the overdraft.

Every month I want to be making a stride to reducing my net debt. It has consumed my focus, and it seems to be working well!

On the 17th I am going to post my progress since I started this thread and see how far I have come - I am excited about it, and hopefully it will serve as motivation for others!