Wanting to be debt free BEFORE retirement!

turfy6

:beer: Well done on the catalogue debt it maybe small but will make you feel good anyway. Wow big car bill but at least youve got it almost covered :T

maman

planning_ahead wrote: »

Debt diary - day 46

Debt repayments back on track - after the car repair bill:mad: and now going down again nicely (well, 1st of month and payday and all that:D).

Best news is that the first of my debts is cleared....I have PAID IN FULL one of the catalogue debts....only a small debt, but baby steps and I will get there with all the debts:j

So, onwards, and [STRIKE]upwards[/STRIKE] downwards with the debt level:beer:

Well done PA, which debt are you tackling next?

planning_ahead_2

Debt diary - day 47

maman wrote: »

Well done PA, which debt are you tackling next?

Hi Maman

Catalogue No 2 is next (because otherwise it will start accruing interest:eek:) and that should be cleared before the end of March:j.

My plan is to then clear the Nat West credit card because that is a nice small number and the highest APR of my CCs.

Edit: plan WAS to clear Nat West before end of March, but car bill has probably delayed that until end April unfortunately.

maman

Well done so on track to see off another £200:T Bring it on!

planning_ahead_2

Debt diary - day 48

Another day closer to being debt free:j

I am having a 'can't sleep night' and have been surfing round the MSE site (something I often do these days;)). I found a very interesting page - Martin's teen cash guide. I read it and so wished that Martin had visited my school when I was a teenager. The money mantras are fab and I swear they are now instilled into my brain.

• Do I need it
• Can I afford it
• Can I get it cheaper somewhere else?

That's the 'if you're skint' mantra - there is no point in me learning the 'if you're not skint' mantra yet - not until about a further £44k has been cleared from our debts:rotfl:

I love the way he explains the true cost of impulse purchases in terms of how long you have to work to cover that cost. No-one ever explained it like that to me and I think if they had that I would have thought twice about a lot of the things I have purchased over the years. I have already realised that I work more than one week each month just to cover the interest on our debts:eek:

Then there's the way he explains good debt and bad debt - it's so obvious reading it, but until I saw it in black and white I didn't think of debt in terms of good or bad - it was just a means to an end at the time:p (Obviously NOW I think all my debt is bad - except my mortgage - well except my original mortage....all the consolidations which increased the mortgage were very, very, very bad - I know now:o)

The explanation of having savings whilst having debt is awesome. Borrow money from banks and pay high interest, save with a bank (effectively lending them money) and receive far lower interest. Again, obvious now it's put in front of me like that.

And I sooooooo wish I had seen the explanation of credit card debt and repayment times and the amazingly clever marketing tactic of minimum repayments. I know I know now....snowball calculator is an amazing tool......but if only this lesson had been available when I was a teenager.

There is so much more in the guide than I have mentioned, but those are the bits that hit home hard with me.

Would I have taken it all in - would I have absorbed the message and been better with our family finances? I sit here and like to think I would have - but in all honesty I will never know.

What I do know is that I have given the link to my adult children and asked them to read and digest. I think they are good with money but I really believe that this guide makes things really clear - I hope they take it in and learn from it.

Have a great debt busting day everyone:beer:

Cialilerin

Hi PA, Any reason for the sleepless nights or is there just too much going on in your head to rest? I know the debt-busting is important but you have to look after your health too! OK, lecture over -it's that mothering instinct coming out again!!
I read the teen cash guide a while ago and I am determined to get my girls to read it. At the moment, they are aware of my debts, but I'm trying hard not to let it impact on them. I pay £3 a week into their bank account (all I can afford at the moment), they then save that for presents and for when they go out etc, so they have some responsibility! Don't want them to make my mistakes:o

planning_ahead_2

Debt diary - day 50

Hi all

Just a quick update. Debt busting seems to be going to plan. I received a life of balance transfer offer from Barclaycard this morning - 6.9%:j

So am just transferring the maximum I can to clear off some of the MBNA debt (which has the highest APR at the moment). I have about £2.5k to move across.

I will update totals shortly - basically one will go up and the other will go down :rotfl: but total owing will remain the same, but a lump will be at a much lower interest rate:T

dentonemma

Your doing so well, you can see all your hard work paying off.
For cheap nights out you may would to look at filmfirst (sorry cannot do links) you get to see a new film before it is released.

REDMADCURLS

Planning Ahead - just read your diary from the start - well done you - you have done amazingly well. I hope to build up the courage this weekend to list my debts in signature and to do a 'snowball'.

Well done and I just love the fact that the Jag is YOUR car!!!

planning_ahead_2

REDMADCURLS wrote: »

Planning Ahead - just read your diary from the start - well done you - you have done amazingly well. I hope to build up the courage this weekend to list my debts in signature and to do a 'snowball'.

Well done and I just love the fact that the Jag is YOUR car!!!

Go for it....debts in my signature really spur me on to get them paid:rotfl:

And of course the Jag is MY car;)