A Return to A Debt Free Mission

Exerbusi2

A quick realisation means I may have slightyl miscalculated my debt - not due to bad maths, more down to accounts I had forgotten existed!

That means that when I post my change in circumstances on the 17th, it should read differently to those posted here already. I will check and re-check my accounts and make sure the figure that is posted is correct!

I have paid off 12.7% of my total debt since Feb 4th.

Yargo1

totally agree with athletes foot. your posts are inspiring..keep it up and i hope it will carry on keeping me on track !

jonjamie1970

Hi, great posts and you seem very motivated, what line of work did you take up in a self employed basis ?

Exerbusi2

Glad you are enjoying the thread guys - if you can get anything from it, then great.

The self employed work I do is Personal Training - I have worked in the fitness industry all of my working life, and after being promoted a few times, decided I wanted to make my experience count for more, and as a result have set up my business that provides bespoke fitness and nutrition plans to customers. I keep my client list small and my service top quality. I am in the process of writing a couple of books, which will hopefully help people to lose weight in a simple, regular and maintainable fashion. As I am unaware of the rules regarding advertising on the site, I will simply say that my idea has been formulated over 8 years in fitness and a book will be ready when I get the time to have it finished!

Further update from today...

Cheques have been banked. We have plenty of food in the fridge, so that is an expense I don't need to pay for at least a week! This weekend we have a quiet one planned, and valentines day will be a quiet thing at home!

I have realised I am now allergic to spending money! I am due to buy a new suit for a wedding we are attending in March. I was planning to buy that this weekend, but I have now decided to put it off until until March, when I have a few more payments in!

I haven't got into my NSD yet, so when I do that hopefully the debt will disappear!

jonjamie1970

Great stuff, I had a feeling this was what this was, I too am very interested in personal fitness. Having played semi professional football until I was 34 and then took up coaching, I have my Uefa Licence and FA Badges. I'm also a regular gym goer and take a very specific interest in nutrition and the equations of fat burning using HIT etc. I'm now 43 and still in very good shape, 6ft 3 and 13.2 stone, lean muscle only. I am often sat in the gym looking at unmotivated people and thinking I would love to help them out and offer some advice.
Trouble is I earn a very good salary and dont think I could match it with PT but who knows ? What area are you in ?

Exerbusi2

You sound ideal for it!

I am in Cheshire, but there is a call for a Personal Trainer in almost any area - obviously you are better off in areas of significant wealth, but if you are willing to travel, it needn't be an issue.

You wouldn't have to match your current salary - most people want PT outside of workign hours, which would suit you! Perhaps if you could build up to 5-10 sessions of PT per week you could earn around £150-£300 per week extra (pre-tax, of course!)

jonjamie1970

Exerbusi2 wrote: »

You sound ideal for it!

I am in Cheshire, but there is a call for a Personal Trainer in almost any area - obviously you are better off in areas of significant wealth, but if you are willing to travel, it needn't be an issue.

You wouldn't have to match your current salary - most people want PT outside of workign hours, which would suit you! Perhaps if you could build up to 5-10 sessions of PT per week you could earn around £150-£300 per week extra (pre-tax, of course!)

I'm in Chester but also live half the week in Llandudno, dont want to cover your patch ;-)

Exerbusi2

Don't worry about stealing my patch - I am some way away from Chester!

Exerbusi2

Todays upate...

Great start to the day - I was woken by my telephone banking text message, telling me I have had £480 worth of income into the account! Great little boost before breakfast!

I have paid off £200 of my credit card, and I will deposit another £120 into savings. I then have to wait until the 14th for another £220, which will see me pay off the credit card, and balance transfer the next £380 (maximum I can do at any one time).

As it stands, I have £1600 in savings, which means I should hit my £1800 target for month end quite easily. I am wrestling with a decision about my overdraft - if I wasn't so impatient to pay off my CC debt, I would keep money in my current account and remove the overdraft completely. The mental boost of knowing that I cannot go over beyond a £0 balance in the account would be powerful, and it would signify the first time I haven't had an overdraft since my pre-uni days!

I will have to assess my payments in and out this month, and if I can afford to remove it on the 1st of March (a day when I recieve £350) then I will remove the overdraft. Every month then means I am starting with a balance in the black - an amazing boost!

Exerbusi2

So my credit card payment from this morning has gone through, meaning I am able to pay it all off and transfer another £380 on the 15th of the month. Additionally, when calculating potential income, I might not have to take money out of the bank to buy fuel, as I will be paid in cash for a job I am doing later on in the month.

My 'life' will cost me approximately £650 this month, meaning I will be able to remove my overdraft on the 1st. It is a ballsy thing to do, but I have to keep reminding myself that I have built up money in my savings account to use at times like these.

I am slowly getting into the mindset that debt is not actually my money, which is the attitude I had in the past. I saw my overdraft as additional money that I had available. Now I want to remove that mindset and see it as an uneccesary financial trap!

Let's get the bank balance back to black!