My debt free journey

bramble1

So, I have taken some pretty massive steps towards getting debt free. I gave up my house and me, OH and the dog have moved back in with my mum so we don't have to worry about paying rent and bills.

Now i just need to get the rest of the debt under control and maybe I can look forward again! I dream of moving to Devon in a year or two but I don't want to take my debts with me.

I owe at the moment a total of £3250, on my over draft, credit card, and store card.

I also owe £400 to my father.

OH owes £1200 to his parents, £500 on an overdraft, £3310 on a loan and has a credit card which currently he owes £2500 on. - His debts are taking a back seat right now I have my own to worry about first, he can deal with them right now.

At the start of the month i also owed the abbey £555 which due to not paying rent I have now paid off!

I've decided to tackle my debts in this order - 1st the store card - there is only £100 left to pay off on that but there is the highest interest so that needs to go first, I will pay £50 from my next pay cheque and £50 in January (the dreaded 6 weeks between december and january pay means i don't want to risk being short of money for food and fuel in that time!)

Next on the list is the Credit card, right now i am making the minimum monthly payment each month, as of January i'd like to see that increased,
I'm lucky in the i can't remember my pin number so have no temptation to spend on it.

Last will be the over draft. This i think will be the hardest, the only way to do it will be to open a new clean account and pay the overdraft off and reduce it monthly.

I'd like to start saving too this year, I have no savings. Nothing. I don't think it would be wise to start this till i have cleared my debts however.


So as of today the debt stands at

Dad - £400/£0
Store Card - £104.27/£0
Credit Card - £1930/£0
Overdraft - £1150/£0

Total - £3584.27



It's my birthday on tuesday and while i want to use some of my money to get a hair cut and some jeans, I think the rest will be going towards kick starting my debt free journey for 2010! Wish me luck....

kavics17

Good luck, I own approximately the same amount as you do, my goal is to pay it off by next June! Many employers choose to pay early at Xmas , I'm so grateful that mine sticks to the end of month-otherwise I might spend it on boxing day:)

bramble1

Thanks! I'm getting paid on the 18th, but might try get OH to hid my bank card to i can't get to it till after christmas!!!

honeybear_2

Best of luck, Bramble

Sounds like you have a good plan in place & Devon is a gorgeous place to live (I'm told) so that's a great incentive for debt-busting

bramble1

Thank you

I went out last night and now have a terrible hangover!! NOT spending any money on booze for a while! It can go towards my debts instead!!! ohhhh i feel terrible.

bramble1

Well...have been given £200 for my birthday so far... I was going to get my hair done and treat myself, but am now thinking i'd be better paying off the next account and the credit card with it.....Had a bad couple of days and am desperate to save up and start fresh!

bramble1

Right, so i need to do Christmas shopping. If i plan ahead I can't over spend. £20 max per person

Mum - Willow Tree Figurine? NO IDEA! - money towards camera SORTED!
Dad - Herb window box - £2.35 (thanks to friend who gets staff discount!)
Bro - Topshop Voucher - £20
Sis - Amour Amour spray - £15.00 -
Bro In Law - Lynx box set - £15.00 - On offer in Sainsburys cost £3.99!!
Dad's Girlfriend - hand painted wine glass - £15 actuallly cost £14.00!
Mum's boyfriend - Nirvana DVD - £15 (Guessing)
Puppy - Toys! (£15 max)

penguin83

Happy Birthday Bramble, hope you have had a good day.

Well done on getting a Christmas list together - it definitely helps to stop any overspending x xx x

bramble1

Soooo Would it be a bad idea to use my credit card to pay off my next account? I have £70 on my card at the moment, and thought if i used that towards my next account I could then pay it off totally when i get paid next week. Good idea or not? My credit card is still in its interest free period, the next account is quite high on interest. Once that is paid i can focus my efforts on paying of the card and then my over draft...... Comments would be much appreciated.

bramble1

Have been give £100 from my dad, I'm trying to decide what would be best to do with it? put it on to my credit card? I think that would be best, I've been pondering paying off my next account all afternoon, but what with there being 6 weeks between pay this month and next, maybe putting more on to the card is a better idea? Atleast then if i had a big money emergency it would be there to tide me over? Hopefully i wouldn't need to use it, but if i did need it, i'd have access to it, but not immediate, because i'd need to send off for a pin reminder first!!

penguin83

Hi Bramble - have you done yourself a budget from now until next payday? If it is going to be a very tight month or if you are not used to budgetting fully for everything (the first time I budgetted properly I was very proud of myself and then 10 days in realised I hadnt included any money for food!) it may be better to pay it off the credit card although the general rule of thumb is to pay the highest interest debts off first as then you pay the least amount back overall if that makes sense. xxx