Paid off £30K, about £6k more to go!

muffin74

Have been careful with my money over the past few days and have been on the lookout for bargain shops, cheap supermarkets etc while out and about here in LDN. Ate out yesterday but it was a cheap yet v popular local place. Cooked for my OH on Friday but it was a meal deal from a supermarket so was not too pricey. Sent some things off to Music Magpie, will have to wait and see how much money I get back.

I have been a bit down in the dumps recently about money. I am still fully committed to being debt free in a year but I am so worried about being 35 with no money behind me. I rent my home so no equity or anything like that. Only have a few hundred pounds of savings. I keep thinking that I will be 40 in less than 5 yrs, 50 in less than 15 yrs and I worry so much about how I am going to accumulate enough savings to keep me going when I am older. I should focus on today and be positive but I have to admit I worry about it all the time. I must use those concerns about my future to motivate me, not scare me.

My OH has a property with a small mortgage, the plan is that when we get married I will move in there and we will pay it off in a few years and live there mortgage free. However, there are no guarantees in life and I know I cannot depend on him to take care of me. He is lovely and we are getting on well but I need to have my own savings and plans for the future just in case something happens. Also I would like us to always be equal partners, I want to contribute fully to our future.

I was talking to someone today, an older person who has made money out of the property market. I would love to get the chance to do that, I sometimes worry if I have missed the boat will it be too late when I finally am debt free? I feel so annoyed that the immature, silly decisions I made when I was in my 20s are holding me back in my mid 30s. If I could say one thing to 18 year olds and 20 year olds I would say "Whatever you do avoid credit cards like the plague and do whatever you can to avoid being in debt!"

muffin74

Back after a break - I was away visiting relatives. Today was an NSD as lunch was provided at work. I would like to aim for a couple of NSDs a week as I fell off the wagon slightly in the past few months, buying cappuccinos and magazines in my lunch hour. Only a few pounds here and there but they add up!! I want to make the most of every pound that comes my way and not give up until my DFD!

I have tried to keep spending to a minimum despite a recent big family birthday. I did fall by the wayside re. magazines - I bought a few to keep me occupied during a long train journey. Still watching the pennies though and am close to paying off my credit card!
I have just been sorting through my money paperwork file and am hoping this will also give me another boost.

muffin74

I was in the middle of composing a message when it disappeared from my screen. Not sure if it is gone forever or has been posted so I am going to begin again.

Sorry if I am repeating myself but here I go.

Anyway, have not been on here for a while but I have been busy.

The most important thing I have done recently was last week. I PAID OFF MY CREDIT CARD!!!

I have had a long and painful history with credit cards. I started aged 20 with a card with a limit of £500. Thousands of pounds and 15 years later, I am over it.

I went into the bank to make my final payment and to close my account. Easier said than done.
The bank: Nat West. The branch: somewhere in Essex - not going to name and shame as I am sure all Nat West branches are equally poor. Desperate to get you into debt and will do anything to stop you paying it off.

After I had made my payment I told the teller "I want to close my account". She said "We can't do that here, you have to make a phone call or go to the desk." I went to the Customer Service desk. I was told "You have to make a phone call". I asked "Do you have a telephone I could use?"
"You'll have to wait, all our rooms are busy" I was told.

The !!!!!!!s had taken thousands of pounds off me in interest for over 15 years but were trying to stop me from making a phone call. I told them I would wait. After 15 years, another hour or two wouldn't bother me.

I was determined to sit there and see it through. I was equally determined not to call on my mobile. Why should I pay premium rate when I could do it for free?

After 20 minutes, I was finally ushered into a room.

"I have just paid off the balance of my Credit Card" I told them. "I now want to close my account".
The lady called up a call centre. They put me on the line then transferred me to another department of the call centre where they tried to talk me out of closing my account.

They had the cheek to offer me lower rates of interest for being a loyal customer. They were happy to charge me 18 or 20 percent a month or two ago. Why couldn't they have offered me low rates of interest when I owed them 3 or 4 grand??

The person on the other end of the phone asked me why I wanted to close my account.
I took great pleasure in telling them "I have paid a fortune in interest over the years and I have learned the hard way that using a credit card is not a good way to borrow money. In future I want to earn interest instead of paying it so I would like to close my account."

It felt so empowering and amazing to say those words out loud in a bank. I had been waiting for that moment for years.

While I was there, I also increased the amount I was paying on my personal loan in order to pay it off early.

When I finally walked out of the bank into the street, I felt great. In my head, I heard the song "I've got the power" and that is how I felt.

I still have debts, I still have a loan and and overdraft and owe now between £3000 and £3500 but it is a tenth of what I owed 5 years ago and I am on my way to being debt free.

muffin74

Here is a bit of a PS. I know that experts like Martin advise that it is a good idea to keep a credit card just in case or to boost your credit rating and that is probably good advice for the average person but I knew I couldn't trust myself. I kept looking at holiday brochures and dreaming of escaping the British winter by jetting off to India or Africa for a week or two (I have never done it but I keep fantasising about it). I was also tempted to buy a Dyson as my old Electrolux vacuum cleaner doesn't pick up all the dust and cat hairs from my carpet and I am dreaming of a replacement. Not to worry, I will buy a Dyson in the next few months... after saving up for it first!

I am NEVER buying anything on a credit card again as long as I live.

Other temptations: my hair is looking extremely mousy, I have not had any highlights since the summer. I had my roots done but it has not done the trick. I would love to pop into the hairdresser's for a full head of highlights but as I can't afford it, I will have to be mousy for a month! I can be a blonde bombshell next year when I am debt free!

I look forward to that day, somewhere in the not too distant future. The day when I am highlighted to the max (blonder than ever), doing yoga on a tropical beach and chilling out safe in the knowledge that I have no debt and am stashing at least 10% of my salary in a Cash ISA!! Bring it on!!

Mrs_Money_Penny

Hi Muffin juat came across your thread. You have done so well, congratulations on clearing the credit card i bet you felt good. I like reading money books and one of my favourites is Rob Parsons the money secret. Have you read it? I brought it a few years ago and still get it out from time to time to re read. Will be following and encouraging you. Good luck.

u_r

Excellent stuff muffin..well done I couldnt be happier for you.I have neevr beeen in debt and hope never to be in future either.As I do know how to control myself when it comes to money.but my own brother is in debt and i know what it does to a person and his family.

so very very well done....just the way to go about the hair nad the thoughts u have abt the hols !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must say someone like you can be debt free much quicker, if u cut down on the magz,just read librarry books, films and eating out.do u think you could do it before xmas or by new year.

to earn more....do mystery shopping and do surveys that way you will be saving som xtra quids and u are already doing tuiton.y dont you go even extreme then you have ever been and just do anything and everything to pay the remainder off...........or is that tooo tall an order???


whatever u do...iam sure the day is near nad wish u best of luck!!

saorsie

Muffin - you are so strong and inspiriational - I like that! Very well done for paying off your CC and big pats on the back for having the courage to acknowledge that they do not work for you and knowing your future will be so much richer without their evil temptations

-s-

muffin74

Thanks guys for the encouragement and good advice, will definitely take all of it on board! Am going to keep plugging away until my DFD and after that will plug away at saving! x

wantabetterlife

Hi Muffin, you are doing soooo welll :j:j, congrats on kicking the banks a**, im sure it felt great :D. Keep us updated.
WABL

muffin74

Still plugging away at the money saving. Did babysitting and private tuition this week so that is a bit more extra cash. I have not been spending much either. I have a few big expenses coming up - the vet (cat's annual check up) and the dentist (for me!). I will have to be careful with money to make sure I have enough to pay for both.

Now that there is a visible light at the end of the tunnel, I have been planning what to do when I have paid off my debts. I am going to take the money I am currently using to pay the debts off and save it every month. I have been reading up on various different savings and investments and imagining what it will be like to earn lots of interest instead of paying it. I can't wait. I am determined to use all of the skills I have learned in the past few years to help me.

I read an interesting money book over the weekend - got it out of the charity shop - called The Automatic Millionaire. The idea is simple. Pay off your debts, live within your means and every month save a percentage of your salary (the author recommends 20% or more) so that you can have a comfortable retirement. I found the book interesting and inspiring and it encouraged me to keep going.