2010 is the year to be debt free

herewegoagain2010

I've been hanging around the site for a couple of years and have followed all the advice about cutting down, swopping suppliers etc. Our debt has yo-yo'ed during this time with a downwards trend, but we've never shifted it all. I've been thinking 2010 is a fresh new year so I thought I'd keep a diary to keep track.

I've sat down today and tallied it all up and our total debt is £7474-21.

£6652.24 Loan Fixed £475.16 x 14 payments
£ 483.60 Abbey OD
£ 259.00 Next Balance currently 0,sales spending to be added this month
£ 79.37 Credit Card-a credit of £109 being processed in next week

So on the last day of 2009 I'm determined to shift this debt once and for all. I've already asked to join the £2 sealed pot challenge and will be looking at other challenges for inspiration. It's all small steps, but I'm determined to bin our debt this year. My hubby is backing me and we're all ready to get started! Good Luck to all DFW in 2010 and finger's crossed we'll do it.

herewegoagain2010

Thanks for the advice Closed. Neither my next or the credit card have got into the interest stage yet. The next amount is what will show on my next statement so I've put it down to make sure it's included in our total debt figure. I have a £109 refund to go back onto my card for a refund and that will be done before the next statment is due. I've been swopping and moving money for the last couple of weeks to get the cheapest borrowing I can. The OD is with the Abbey becuase they're % works out a lot cheaper than the halifax £1/day.

Lemon_Tree

welcome to the diaries herewegoagain.

herewegoagain2010

Thanks for the welcome LemonTree and your reply Closed. I've not really explained my plan very well Closed. I've got my wages due at the end of the month which should clear my overdraft. I know I should pay the £20 from my sealed pot off this debt, but the pence it'll cost to have this £20 extra on my overdraft I've decided not to bother. By the end of 25th the credit card refund should show up and my overdraft should be cleared. My hubby gets paid on the last day of the month which will clear the Next before they start charging interest. In theory, if everything's willing we should just have the loan left at the start of Feb. It's going to be a very tight month to clear the overdraft and next, but I'm determined to do it. I've planned all our family meals out the freezer and written a menu until the 31st using everything up. We've got nothing planned and will be spending lots of quality time with the children. No ball pools, pub lunches or takeaways, just plenty of good old fashioned cheap fun,board games and dog walks. The only money I'm allowed to spend is for fuel,fresh fruit,milk & bread. After the excitement and expense of Christmas I can't wait!

herewegoagain2010

Off to a good start in the New Year. I've joined to Grocery Challenge and have planned all the meals for the rest of the month. My £2 savings have been added to and I've managed 2 NSD so far and will hopefully manage to the end of the week without spending a penny. No doubt little ones fruit bill from nursery will come in along with my daughters school dinners next week, so I'll make the most of it this week. DD1 only has 2 meals a week so it shouldn't be more than £40 and DD2 fruit is normally £13 for the half term. I'm going to have a root around and look for some e-bay things. Still really positive and looking forward to pay day to make more payments :-)

herewegoagain2010

I've been selling things on e-bay to get some extra cash in. With the extra money and some wages I've managed to clear everything, but the loan. I've also managed to build up a £200 float in our account, just in case we have an unexpected bill or spend.

We've had a lot of house related spending recently and have just forked out for a new gas cert and energy cert for our house £250 . We currently live in rented housing and let out our own home. It's not through choice as we live near hubbys work, not the other end of the country. It works well as our rent covers the mortgage and our rent is a lot cheaper than living in our own home. Our current tentant has left now, so we're covering the mortgage ourselves for the last month. It's a stretch, but we can still cover it and eat etc. It should only be in the short-term and have another tentant lined up, just waiting for them to pass references etc.
I've got a months mortgage buffer so it means that next month is sat in the account waiting to be paid. I like working a month in advance so the money will be replaced back on payday.

Our only non-mortgage related debt is now the Fixed Rate Loan 13 months x £475-16 = £6177.08


My masterplan until 25/3/10
* pay no more stupid overdraft charges with Halifax £1 a day :mad:
* sell, sell, sell more on e-bay
* add another £200 to our account buffer (e-bay & quidco)
* Chase up references and letting agent for house
* Keep saving £2 for new appliances
* Do 09/10 tax return
* File all paperwork away and tidying up our filing system
* Ask about paying extra on loan, for when house rented
* Budget and Food Plan
* Stop all non-essitential spending

herewegoagain2010

I love having a diary, as it's a way to keep check on our progess and encourages me to keep going. I need to work through more of my to do list. I have enquired about loan payments and we can only pay if off in full and not do smallish overpayments. We've had a complete overhaul of our finances and soa and have cut right back including finally cancelling sky. It's been gone now for a month and we're yet to miss it. We've set a target of July to finish paying to loan off. We've been looking at the mortagage too and have decided to reduced the term by 69 months which will increase our payments within our old debt payments. We're saving towards our final payment on the loan now. People might say we should concentrate on the loan, but the mortgage rate is fixed and at the same rate as the loan. We're not losing anything by extra on the house and not the loan. However the benefit on the house payments is that it gives us a massive feel good factor knowing we'll own our home in 16years.



Outstanding loan £5,701.92 (12 months x £475.16)
Outstanding mortgage £97910.35 (192 months x £779.13)

Our total debt in the world = £103612.27.......OMG!

herewegoagain2010

It's been a while since I updated, but it's been as busy as ever. We've finally got out house rented out again and the new tenants move in the 1st May. The great news is that we'll see £500 towards the mortgage next months after the letting fees and set-up costs. After that we'll start seeing more money coming in again. We've been paying the mortgage ourselves and it's a stretch at £779 a month. I've been selling and clearing out all the rubbish we don't need and adding to all the extra money to our house savings account. We've managed to make and save the £1000 needed to have the house re-decorated top to botttom, the odd repair jobs done and replace curtains and bits and bobs. It's taken a lot of work and it's meant we've not shifted much of the debt. On the positive note, we not added to it. I've booked for new carpets to be fitted (£700) and this is covered by the £725 we're retained from the previous tenants. Everything is finally working out and we can see the light at the end of tunnel. We've made another monthly payment of £475.16 on the loan so our total outstading is now £5224.52 = 11 payments.

herewegoagain2010

Another pay day and a little more paid off. We booked a long weekend away in the June half term and have managed to pay for it in full. It's a luxury, but a much needed break for us as a family. We're moving home in August and it'll be nice to have a holiday before the stress of moving. Normally, it would have been stuck on the credit card, but not now. We've completely changed our spending habits and won't commit to buying anything without having the money first. We've paid another loan repayment, so we're down to 10 months = £4749.36. This is our only debt and it's finally below the 5K figure. I'm so excited as everything to going to plan. We've built up some savings (£325) and are now starting to add to this this to try and pay the loan off early. The extra money we've had to spend on the house has put us back by 2-3months, but we're now back on the debt free track :j

herewegoagain2010

It's been a while since I've posted an update. Nothing's changed much been, just been working hard and saving harder. Our debt currently stands at roughly £1310 and the good news is that we'll be in a position to pay the balance off after our next pay day. It's been hard work, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've got a lovely bottle of bubbley which was been waiting for our DFD. I'm going to stick it in the fridge next week and wait patiently for pay day.

mummum2

:j:j:beer::beer::T:T:T:T Well done! happy DF life for you and your family.:beer:

MM2