Shifting a 24K debt in a year?????

Kepp

So now for a quick Monday update!

I can't remember where I read this but for today it definitely feels true
'Monday is a very hard way to spend one seventh of your life.'

Feeling just a bit depressed this morning. Have checked my figures for this morning and this seems to be the week they all whack the interest on. And I know that they're going too and I know how much it will be but I still find it so demotivating to see those figures in black and white once they've gone up and know that I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks battling the totals down again.

I also (feel free to yell at me!) have given up the close section of my Tuesday shift. I'll work this one as normal but from then on will just do 6 till half eight on Tuesdays. This loses me around £80 a month of overpayments. My new cleaning job is netting me an extra £60 so I guess it's only £20 a month less but can't help but think I should have stuck with doing both. The thing is I said to myself when I came back from Africa I was going to work hard but not as hard and yet I so rapidly fell back into it. With my main job, the pub and my now three cleaning jobs I am back to doing 70 hours plus a week again. At the time when I looked at it all I just felt like something had to give and it should be the hours rather than me! Just feeling a bit lazy now, especially when I looked at the figures with the interest added.

Right, anyway, just given myself a good shake - no good feeling sorry for myself and moaning!

On the positive side - used some extra wages and managed to send another £25 MBNAs way on Saturday. Then I also received my £10 Tesco voucher from Valued Opinions so that saved on my food budget for the week so I sent another £10 to MBNA. Am armed today with another £55 from pub and cleaning wages so off to the bank at lunch time to pay that in.

Made my big batch of soup yesterday for lunches - bacon and sweetcorn chowder. Have also got my boyfriend on board with that as well so made enough for him too, may as well get him as MSE as possible as well

And the sun is shining!

So definitely need to keep motivating and smiling Sorry for the whinge guys.

Woowoo

Hi Beccie

You are most definately not lazy, there's no point killing yourself trying to get debt free cos then you won't be around to enjoy it lol!

Your doing brilliantly and no-one can question your commitment x

Kepp

Thanks Woowoo!

Important lesson learnt I think as I've chatted with my mum and boyfriend as well - just do what you can and don't beat yourself up too mcuh when you can't.

So, last close worked last night and to be honest it is a relief. Am looking forward to no longer having days like today where I sit here barely able to keep my eyes open! It was also silly, I'd dread doing the close for at least two days before and that is such a waste of time!

Decided not too spend too mcuh time staring at the figures when the interest is added too - I know it's gonna happen so just need to put up with it till I can make those balance transfers. Not too much longer to go till August now and I can make calls and you never know....

Making the most of maximising my payments this month as it's my last month of optimal money. As from next month I will have to get used to not having the close money and then as of September I have to get used to paying out rent again _pale_

But on the bright side - I reached my snowball payment this month of £300 and have actually paid a further £61.57 on top of that. All goes towards hopefully removing another month from that DFD date. Got to keep setting and achieving the little goals and keep chip chip chipping away

jtr2803

Hi Beccie

Sorry to hear you had a depressed Monday too, we must be like Garfield!!

I don't blame you for not doing the close, I hate doing it at the weekend, let alone during the week. Your health and state of mind have to come first and you don't want to burn yourself out!

Well done on that massive payment this month as well, that's a huge amount to shift and you should be very proud of yourself . Have you heard anymore about your brother, is he going to be joining the DFW board?

x

Kepp

jtr2803 wrote: »

Hi Beccie

Sorry to hear you had a depressed Monday too, we must be like Garfield!!

I don't blame you for not doing the close, I hate doing it at the weekend, let alone during the week. Your health and state of mind have to come first and you don't want to burn yourself out!

Well done on that massive payment this month as well, that's a huge amount to shift and you should be very proud of yourself . Have you heard anymore about your brother, is he going to be joining the DFW board?

x

Garfield, love it!

Thanks Jody, you're right it is a lot to have managed need to stop being down on myself

Unfortunately, I don't think we'll see him on here anytime soon! Which is a shame as I think it would really help him. Problem is he is a very shall we say reluctant DFW? Eg He is being dragged kicking and screaming into the world of financial freedom?! :rotfl:

Ceniza

I bet that was nice doing the last close? And congrats on meeting the snowball payment

Kepp

Ceniza wrote: »

I bet that was nice doing the last close? And congrats on meeting the snowball payment

It was very nice!

Thank you, do feel like that was a big achievement this month.

Kepp

Happy Friday everyone!

Just a quick update –

So on Wednesday I did some financial re-jigging which I was very happy with. I have opened a new current account with Santander. They gave me a £1500 overdraft which is interest free for the first 12 months so long as I used the account switching service and switched all my direct debits to them which I did as actually this will help me be a bit more organised. However, I also have to pay in at least a £1000 a month into the account to get this deal. The easy way to do this would have been to switch my salary from Lloyds over. Didn’t want to do this though cause I’m worried if my salary stops going into Lloyds they may panic and close down my two overdrafts with them also totalling £1500 and I want to keep those till last as they are my lowest interest rate. So I set up standing orders to cover my direct debits and the rest of the £1000 from Lloyds and then set one up back from Santander to take the excess back into Lloyds where I can then make my overpayments from throughout the month. Also gonna use the Santander one to pay my rent from and get my boyfriend to pay his half through there as it has to go out as one payment anyway, which will get a bit more money also moving through that account. Then sent £1400 of the Santander overdraft to MBNA so that effectively shifts that much into being interest free and without balance transfer fees. Took me an hour and a half to do all this as both sets of internet banking now require new payments being set up to have to phone codes through on an automatic system and to be texted codes as well. Phew!!!!! But…..I have worked out that this will save me £648 in interest over the life of the debt!!!:T

Have also managed to battle down the MBNA total again. On Monday they added £135 in interest and by today I have managed to pay off £117 of that so I am nearly back to where I was with them! Will be even better when that £1400 hits the total!

Have also got a further £20 cleaning money to take to the bank at lunch time today and that will be straight on its way to MBNA.

Have been wanting to go to London next month to go to a re-union with people from Namibia in August. It’s a big fundraising day on the Saturday including showing the documentary they filmed while I was there, an advance showing before it’s on TV. Really want to see this as I’m in it, probably not looking good! I want to go up on the Friday as one of the girls I spent two of my three months there with and we became very good friends is flying in from Norway that day and hasn’t seen London before so we want to go and see some stuff. There’s also a fundraising dinner on the Sat night and of course lots of drinking both nights. Obviously a hotel and everything else is going to be very expensive. Have been thinking this over and over and keep thinking bout how much I want to go but also about how this will affect my overpayments next month. Have decided the best way to justify going is to use my bonus from next month for it. I wanted to use my bonus to be able to make even more overpayments so if I don’t then I won’t be any further forward but at least I won’t be any further back if that makes sense? I’ve done hardly anything since I came back from Africa and have realised this may not be the best plan. Although I’m trying to clear my debt as fast as possible, if I don’t then I am potentially in debt till May 2013 and logically I can’t not do anything till then so after a lot of thinking and my boyfriend urging me to (he thinks I deserve it) and I am going to go. And I am sooooooo excited!!!! :D:D

Am definitely a lot more positive about money today than I was on Monday – me kicking myself up the !!! and also slightly re-assessing my priorities to get a balance between paying back debts but also needing a life has worked!

For the weekend, I’m staying in tonight to save money (haven’t re-assessed my priorities too drastically!) then going to a friends birthday on Sat night after my long dog walk during the day. It’s at his house and I already have some beer in the fridge I can take so that will be a fun night but cheap still. And then for a change I have Sunday off from the pub!

From next Monday I’ll be back in full debt-attack mode but after the way I felt at the beginning of this week I did need just a bit of a let-up from the debts as I was getting far too frustrated. And I think this short break from work and deciding to let myself have just a couple of treats now and then is just what I needed to do to keep the motivation going up and the debts going down!

Sorry…did I say quick update?!?!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Have a great weekend all!:)

Ceniza

What's the interest rate on the Santander after the 12 months, you want to make sure you don't get stung with that, along with the huge rate on the MBNA card. But that's cool that you're going to save over £600 from shifting £1,400 of the card debt to the interest free debt I recently closed my £2,000 overdraft (I was using it all) to just £250 which is interest free, and I plan on keeping it this small from now on, as I was just increasing it all the time to keep my neck above water -- fortunately now, I'm in a better job so can afford not to have to increase it, but before I was just about getting by each month.

London does sound like it will be excellent, and you should have a great time! If it makes you feel any better in September I've a dinner/dance I've got to go to, which will cost a lot of money (drinks are about £6 a pint!!!) so we're both treating ourselves to an extravigance

Same as you this weekend, tonight I'm staying in and Saturday is a house party Although I got my pay today, I usually have a quiet week until the 1st as that's when OH gets paid, which works out best for me because I then only have 3 weeks until payday again. Going to have to be careful with payments to debts as last month I paid too much, but will be careful this time around.

Hope the frustrations are short lived. I know how you feel, as you've read, I get very frustrated too! Anyway, have a great weekend

jtr2803

Beccie I must admit that I was totally confused by your first paragraph with all the switching and DD's etc but after reading it 3 or 4 times it all sunk in and :j yay, sounds like a good plan, like Adam said just keep an eye on that OD.

Yes I think you should go to London too, you would only regret not going and like you say, you are in it for the long haul and you can't expect not to have some sort of life!