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Shifting a 24K debt in a year?????
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Kepp
Posts: 4,390 Forumite
I’ve been lurking for a while and finding a lot of motivation from reading other people’s diaries, so have decided maybe it would help if I start my own!
I apologise now as this will no doubt be a lengthy post.
I’m 26 and my debt at LBM in April of this year was £24,917. I’m kicking myself for this as I had what I thought was a LBM about four years ago on around £13K of debt and despite initially pushing it down to about £7K it’s obviously shot back up again and even worse. I’ve been in debt ever since I was 18 and this time I’m determined it will change.
I first got into debt by getting a credit card and just buying clothes etc that I couldn’t really afford, I then took a loan to pay off the cards but then spent the loan instead and so forth….
I finally decided that my debts were too high the first time when looking at getting a mortgage with my then boyfriend who I lived with. Luckily we didn’t get the mortgage as we split up about a year after that!
When he moved out and I stayed in our rented flat is when my debts first began to creep back up – I was shelling out over a £1000 a month in rent and bills and I should have said then I can’t afford this but pride got in the way. I’d moved out from my parent’s when I was 20 and was determined that I wasn’t going back. So I took a second job in a pub, then a third job cleaning, only to take a fourth job working for AQA! I was determined that I would not only be able to pay my rent but my debts as well.
Then in around the August time (we’d broken up in the July) I decided to go to Zimbabwe for a month to do volunteer work with lions. I was suddenly hit with a life’s too short moment, followed by the idea that paying my debts wasn’t as important as living my life, after all if I died then I wouldn’t have to pay my debts back but I could die without having ridden an elephant. (Please feel free to point out my flawed logic at any point!) So I decided not to save, bung the trip on my credit card and off I go, after all I was single now after six years!
I actually ended up meeting my boyfriend of now (an amazing guy, more about him later!) in the November about a month before my planned disappearance to Zimbabwe.
So off I went, ended up staying out there even longer than I was meant to and came back having had the time of my life. When I got back reality kicked in and I decided that the flat was costing me too much and I was going to get rid of it. My boyfriend offered to pay half and move in to help with the costs and even though we’d been together next to no time I decided to go with it. I also went back to work at the pub and cleaning although I dropped AQA at this point.
And then once again reality went out the door in about the February time and I decided to go back to Africa for six months as of September 09. I’d missed it so much since I’d come back and felt there was so much more that I could have done. I knew that I couldn’t really afford it but convinced myself that if I just worked lots of hours then I could put together enough money to pay back my existing debts and pay for the trip, yeah right!
As the date of my departure loomed I knew this wasn’t the case. My boyfriend moved out into a cheaper flat of his own and I finally swallowed my pride and moved in with the my parents in the July. I continued to work hard but also took out a loan to cover paying all my cards etc for the six months that I knew I wouldn’t be earning money for!
So off I went, 3 months in Zimbabwe and 3 months in Namibia, despite the daft money decisions to get there, once again an amazing experience.
But I hadn’t been able to make some balance transfers I had wanted so paid hefty amounts of interest during that six months, plus unexpected costs on the trip, combining to put me even further into debt. Hence my LBM in April!
When I came back, luckily it was straight back into work as my main job had given me a career break and with even more luck I was able to get taken back on at the pub and my old cleaning job, plus a new cleaning job.
My wonderful boyfriend asked me to move in with him when I got back. I told him that I couldn’t afford to and he wanted me too so much he said I could move in without paying rent or bills so I could maximise my debt payments.
We are due to move at the end of August as our lease is up and at this point I am going to start paying half the rent as I don’t want to be taking advantage of his good nature for too long!
I expect no sympathy as I am well aware that my debt problems are very much of my own making but I’m hoping to get some motivation with this diary.
Can a 24K debt be shifted in a year when my main job has a 19K salary? I’ve always loved an impossible challenge!
Debts at LBM Apr 10 and now (updated 8 Jul 10) Hoping for a DFD of Jun 2011!!!
Lloyds CC £2,846 @24.9 now £2,555 paid 10.2%
MBNA CC £7,515 @29.9 now £6,597 paid 12.2%
Egg CC £3,753 @17.9 now £3,100 paid 17.3%
Goldfish CC £493 @0 now £311 paid 36.9%
O/D 1 £500 now £500 paid 0%
O/D 2 £1000 now £1,000 paid 0%
Lloyds loan £7,360 @12.9 now £7,153 paid 2.8%
Mum £1,450 @0 now £1,392 paid 4%
Total £24,917 now £22,608 paid 9.2%
Original debt free date Nov 2013
Debt free date now May 2013
I apologise now as this will no doubt be a lengthy post.
I’m 26 and my debt at LBM in April of this year was £24,917. I’m kicking myself for this as I had what I thought was a LBM about four years ago on around £13K of debt and despite initially pushing it down to about £7K it’s obviously shot back up again and even worse. I’ve been in debt ever since I was 18 and this time I’m determined it will change.
I first got into debt by getting a credit card and just buying clothes etc that I couldn’t really afford, I then took a loan to pay off the cards but then spent the loan instead and so forth….
I finally decided that my debts were too high the first time when looking at getting a mortgage with my then boyfriend who I lived with. Luckily we didn’t get the mortgage as we split up about a year after that!
When he moved out and I stayed in our rented flat is when my debts first began to creep back up – I was shelling out over a £1000 a month in rent and bills and I should have said then I can’t afford this but pride got in the way. I’d moved out from my parent’s when I was 20 and was determined that I wasn’t going back. So I took a second job in a pub, then a third job cleaning, only to take a fourth job working for AQA! I was determined that I would not only be able to pay my rent but my debts as well.
Then in around the August time (we’d broken up in the July) I decided to go to Zimbabwe for a month to do volunteer work with lions. I was suddenly hit with a life’s too short moment, followed by the idea that paying my debts wasn’t as important as living my life, after all if I died then I wouldn’t have to pay my debts back but I could die without having ridden an elephant. (Please feel free to point out my flawed logic at any point!) So I decided not to save, bung the trip on my credit card and off I go, after all I was single now after six years!
I actually ended up meeting my boyfriend of now (an amazing guy, more about him later!) in the November about a month before my planned disappearance to Zimbabwe.
So off I went, ended up staying out there even longer than I was meant to and came back having had the time of my life. When I got back reality kicked in and I decided that the flat was costing me too much and I was going to get rid of it. My boyfriend offered to pay half and move in to help with the costs and even though we’d been together next to no time I decided to go with it. I also went back to work at the pub and cleaning although I dropped AQA at this point.
And then once again reality went out the door in about the February time and I decided to go back to Africa for six months as of September 09. I’d missed it so much since I’d come back and felt there was so much more that I could have done. I knew that I couldn’t really afford it but convinced myself that if I just worked lots of hours then I could put together enough money to pay back my existing debts and pay for the trip, yeah right!
As the date of my departure loomed I knew this wasn’t the case. My boyfriend moved out into a cheaper flat of his own and I finally swallowed my pride and moved in with the my parents in the July. I continued to work hard but also took out a loan to cover paying all my cards etc for the six months that I knew I wouldn’t be earning money for!
So off I went, 3 months in Zimbabwe and 3 months in Namibia, despite the daft money decisions to get there, once again an amazing experience.
But I hadn’t been able to make some balance transfers I had wanted so paid hefty amounts of interest during that six months, plus unexpected costs on the trip, combining to put me even further into debt. Hence my LBM in April!
When I came back, luckily it was straight back into work as my main job had given me a career break and with even more luck I was able to get taken back on at the pub and my old cleaning job, plus a new cleaning job.
My wonderful boyfriend asked me to move in with him when I got back. I told him that I couldn’t afford to and he wanted me too so much he said I could move in without paying rent or bills so I could maximise my debt payments.
We are due to move at the end of August as our lease is up and at this point I am going to start paying half the rent as I don’t want to be taking advantage of his good nature for too long!
I expect no sympathy as I am well aware that my debt problems are very much of my own making but I’m hoping to get some motivation with this diary.
Can a 24K debt be shifted in a year when my main job has a 19K salary? I’ve always loved an impossible challenge!
Debts at LBM Apr 10 and now (updated 8 Jul 10) Hoping for a DFD of Jun 2011!!!
Lloyds CC £2,846 @24.9 now £2,555 paid 10.2%
MBNA CC £7,515 @29.9 now £6,597 paid 12.2%
Egg CC £3,753 @17.9 now £3,100 paid 17.3%
Goldfish CC £493 @0 now £311 paid 36.9%
O/D 1 £500 now £500 paid 0%
O/D 2 £1000 now £1,000 paid 0%
Lloyds loan £7,360 @12.9 now £7,153 paid 2.8%
Mum £1,450 @0 now £1,392 paid 4%
Total £24,917 now £22,608 paid 9.2%
Original debt free date Nov 2013
Debt free date now May 2013
Debt at LBM Apr 2010 £28,767 Debt free as of Nov 2013 :j
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Comments
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That's quite a story, and quite an ambitions target! Good luck!
I look forward to following your progress here, and will subscribe and keep a check on how you're doing! I'm hoping for the same target as you, so will be some good, friendly competition
Adam's diary - My Debt Diary - The Challenge | LBM May 2010 with £23,343.35 | £16,141.46 to go...
Cleared: £7,369.16 / 30.85% | Current DFD: Oct2012 from Jan2014 | July repaid: £600/£800
Goals: Aug-11 37% | Nov-11 60% | Feb-11 67% | May-12 76% | Aug-12 86% | Dec-12 debt free0 -
Hi Beccie!
Thought I would pop in and say hi now you have your own diary! I will reply in more depth later but I wondered if you had thought about posting an SOA for us to have a nosey at, we might be able to help reduce costs? There is a link at the top of the forum somewhere!
Remember that anything is possible if we put our minds to it!
Catch you a bit later
jody
Very happily married on 10th April 2013
Spero Meliora
Trying to find a cure for Maldivesitis :rotfl:
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Hi Becci,
What an ambitious target, good luck with it! I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines and hoping I can pick up some tips from you.
Best of luck with it!"Good financial planning is about not spending money on things that add no value to your life in order to have more money for the things that do". Eoin McGee0 -
A very ambitious target.
Wishing you luck!I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.
Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.
***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb. ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.0 -
Hi Beccie!
Loving your diary already and going to make sure I check back to see how you're going. Definitely have a play around with the snowball calculator to see how quick your debt will come down by paying different amounts - you'll get an idea of how your target is looking then. I've managed to work out that we could pay our big loan off by Sept 2011 if I pay an extra £675 per month - I know some months I may not hit it but it's great to get the figures really clear in my head so I know how near or far I am at any one time. I hope that helps.
Good luck and keep us posted! xMe, DH and DD (17 months) clearing our debt for a better future. Then (LBM) = £21,636.43 (Oct 2009) Now = £12128.07 (44%)GOALS/CHALLENGESTry to get credit card to £2k by April 2012 (was £3014.94)PADing to clear CC 1/1/12 TOTAL: £32.00Ditch 100 in January challenge: lost count but way over 100!!!/1000 -
That's quite a story, and quite an ambitions target! Good luck!
I look forward to following your progress here, and will subscribe and keep a check on how you're doing! I'm hoping for the same target as you, so will be some good, friendly competition
Thanks, some friendly competition will be just the thing to help with the motivation!
I do allow my debt to get me down at times so it would be nice to try and take as positive approach as possible.Debt at LBM Apr 2010 £28,767 Debt free as of Nov 2013 :j0 -
Hi Beccie!
Thought I would pop in and say hi now you have your own diary! I will reply in more depth later but I wondered if you had thought about posting an SOA for us to have a nosey at, we might be able to help reduce costs? There is a link at the top of the forum somewhere!
Remember that anything is possible if we put our minds to it!
Catch you a bit later
jody
Hi Jody,
I did post an SOA on the forum a while ago and got some good tips.
Gonna wait now till we have moved so I have a more accurate view of costs.
Hope all is going well for you!Debt at LBM Apr 2010 £28,767 Debt free as of Nov 2013 :j0 -
Determined_2b_Debt_Free wrote: »Hi Beccie!
Loving your diary already and going to make sure I check back to see how you're going. Definitely have a play around with the snowball calculator to see how quick your debt will come down by paying different amounts - you'll get an idea of how your target is looking then. I've managed to work out that we could pay our big loan off by Sept 2011 if I pay an extra £675 per month - I know some months I may not hit it but it's great to get the figures really clear in my head so I know how near or far I am at any one time. I hope that helps.
Good luck and keep us posted! x
Have done the snowball thing, definitely a useful tool!
At the moment I'm doing things in a bit of an odd order as I'm trying to get things in the right places for balance transfers.
I'm not allowed to transfer at the moment as my credit rating is shot from not working for six months. The bank advised me that after 3 pay checks it should be back up to speed, my 3rd paycheck is end of June so hopefully I should be able to make some progress then.
Good luck with paying off that loan! Like you say, even if you don't quite hit that target each month, you'll still be better off for trying!Debt at LBM Apr 2010 £28,767 Debt free as of Nov 2013 :j0 -
First- does anyone know how to do more than one quote in the same post????
Tired this morning, worked in my main job yesterday from 730 to 430, rushed home from work to shower and eat, then worked in the pub from 6 till 1230, back at work this morning for 730! Am finishing at 1130 today using my flexi time so I can go work in the pub from 12 till 6, it's a busy life tring to earn as much extra money as possible, but it will be worth it to get this debt shifted.
Picked up my wages from the pub yesterday as well - gave a tenner contribution to my boyfriend (rubbish I know!) and then that leaves me £70 to pay off my MBNA card so that's good.
My plan of attack was to bring down my Lloyds balance to £2,600 which I've done. Hopefully can transfer balances next month so then I will clear my Goldfish card, move the Lloyds balance to that and then move the MBNA to my Lloyds card, phew! This should stop me paying such awful interest rates.
Until then I'm gonna just throw all spare cash at the MBNA as it has the highest interest rate.
That's it for now!Debt at LBM Apr 2010 £28,767 Debt free as of Nov 2013 :j0 -
Wow Beccie - this is impressive! And what a lovely b/f to help you
Just one concern - if it's a choice between paying back but burning out, and taking longer to pay back, well, the money can wait, your health can't. (We women always seem to keep going till our health gives! More will power than strength, LOL!)
Anyway, best of luck and I have subscribed as I want to see how it all goes! I will be cheering you on!Miggy
MEMBER OF MIKE'S MOB!
Every Penny a Prisoner
This article is about coffeehouse bartenders. For lawyers, see Barrister. (Wikipedia)0
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