Debt free by Summer 2012 (if not sooner!)

Woowoo

I tan really easily and very rarely burn, I didn't use suncream for years, even on holidays to the Caribbean! I now buy the once a day stuff and make myself use it!

Poorbuthappy55

Hi DF2012

I have just finished reading your diary and although I am older than you I could really empathise. I have a very similar amount of debt that my OH doesn't know about and I hope I will never have to tell him. I am a bit of a MSE lurker but I log in every day and I have subscribed to your thread. I often wonder if my OH thinks I spend all my wages each month as I never have any money because it all goes in debt repayment. My main challenge is to pay off my MBNA card while still paying the others. I phoned them the other day anf they reduced my interest from 24.9% to 19.9% - I was well chuffed. Everyday I am logging into my bank account and paying the "odds" so if my balance is £251.78 I pay the £1.78 as well as paying an extra £150 on the minimum. Like you I wait in eager anticipation for my statement to see how I'm getting on but it is a very, very slow process.

I have two nights in hotels this week for work so I'm going to try and not spend any of my money and if I take packed food I may even make a profit.

My life is a lot less frantic now I don't rush out shopping - everything I buy is considered carefully. I now love second hand (recycling) and I bake, knit and spend more time at home. I still meet my friends, have my haircut and have my eyebrows done (I can't see to do it myself) but every other penny goes to debt busting.

I so long for my debt free day!

I hope you don't mind me joining you?

PBH

DebtFree2012

Morning All!!!!

New week, new challenges and best of all - it's pay day this week!!!!! WAHOOOO!

Well I should have a couple of statments through over the weekend and today so need to update spreadhseets then get my work done (should be other way round but I feel the need and without being organised financially I don't feel organised anywhere else in life!)

Hi PBH55 and thank you for signing up - I find it such a help to have people's input along the way.

That's fantastic about the APR reduction - did they just lower it when you asked or did you have to battle with them?

We sound very similar in our likes and enjoyments in life. I bake with my little girl as I love spending the time with her but it's also giving her good foundations for life. I too log into my bank every day bar w/e and round the balances. This week will be tough though as pay day week which means I am virtually penniless.

Great to have you along and we will be DF in no time!

Morning to everyone else too

This weekend we didn't go to the place where I'd printed out the voucher, we ate in before we went out instead and saved probs £30 (would have been DH money anyway but still not the point!). Had a nice night out and chilled out for the weekend. We had the sofa delivered yesterday which DH mentioned in a convo he was paying for so he can't be expecting much from my bonus thankfully.

I can't wait for the day when I take the pressure off him and pay for most things myself like he is now. Treat him to meal, say "I'll get that" when buying something for the house, be able to buy his weekend boose in the shopping as he gets it himself as I deem it non essential lol.....treat him to w/e away or days out "just because". I will have to be careful though as he'll wonder where this new money's come from and no doubt that could be worse for me than being in debt!

Off to check accounts, happy monday everyone

One day closer to DF!

x x x

DebtFree2012

£1 paid to EVIL CAP1! YEY. £1 more they can't charge me interest on!

Also Next statement's through so going to update sig in mo. All on track for clearing it with June's pay packet.

Fantastic!

Also, DH has given me the holiday money which I can borrow £20 from for petrol this week and Zumba tonight - I don't have to juggle like I thought I would have to - positive start to the week.

x x x

DebtFree2012

Rigth, I am getting myself confused with sig as dec's figures were all to pot with me not making payments and so on.

Anyway I have started new sig for 2011 figures only. Shows interest charged this year, amount paid this year plus amount reduced debt by once interest removed. Sickening.

The initial balances are the same though and overpayments only started this year anyway. Will do new total once all statements are through. Feel clearer now.

Next DFD is June Pay packet still.
EVIL CAP1 DFD is Feb 2012 pay packet.

It will be interesting to see how any small payments I make may drop this figure down. The Feb 2012 figure already forcasts for big overpayments each month so won't reduce dramatically, maybe a month only. Will aim for end of this year anyway!

x x x

Woowoo

I reckon you can get shot of Evil Cap1 by Christmas, you never know what good luck is going to come your way

Poorbuthappy55

Morning DF

I really like your sig idea of taking one debt at a time I'm going to change mine in a minute. I want to get rid of my MBNA first as it's the smallest and I think it will make me feel good to have a zero balance and then close the card down.

They did just reduce the interest when I asked - no haggling bit of a nice surprise!!

I'm off on a business trip staying in a hotel tonight si I'm going to take some food and then buy something from a shop near the hotel and see if I can make a profit from my paltry £20 subsistence allowance. (Hotel & rail fare prepaid).

my OH took me out yesterday for a pub meal and like you I would love to pay but I think it's going to be a long time yet.

thank you for writing your diary I know that it's going to help me along. :T

Have a good day

PBH x

DebtFree2012

Hey PBH - no problem, my diary is my motivation, believe me! I have tried to do it without and it just doesn't happen!

I am so focussed it is unbelievable. I still have a few small luxuries, and when I say small I mean small compared to previous luxuries which would have cost me fortune and on the cards no doubt!

Never again.

When I have a moment to myself in the office I am going to cut my cards up. I am not going to keep any. All I need to pay them I can get online and if I get into difficulties it will be something can ask for help with as won't be debt related. The only time I will get a card is in 6 months time when I plan to ask for a 0% one as I was turned down a few weeks back and in 6 months I may be eligible. However that card too will be cut up once transfer done.

I have also budgetted for a £100 towards a treat in July which may change but will see. I figure if I do well I can plan to buy something for myself as reward but the way i feel now I'd spend it all on CC paying it off lol.

x x x

Poorbuthappy55

Hi DF

I am sitting in my hotel room on their iMac which is lovely as I don't have to be at my session until 10 am. I spent £6.31 yesterday in the supermarket for a salad for last night and yoghurt for breakfast this morning. I felt a right old cheapskate yesterday with my little flask on the train but it saved me buying expensive coffee and the small profit I make will go straight to MBNA when I get my expenses. I'm going to refill with free coffee before I leave the hotel - I can't believe I'm doing this as i was the queen of the coffee shop before LBM.

Tomorrow I'm spending the night in London with a colleague so will probably have to spend my allowance on a glass or two of wine.

Do you have all your cards online - I still get one or two paper statements because I've hidden the cards from myself and now haven't a clue where they are!!!!

I'm a bit fed up about the cost of fuel as I had budgeted £50 for the month and the warning light came on last Friday. I don't need a car this week because I'm away but I don't want to spend more than that next month. I am going to have to tell my daughter that all the lifts I give her are going to be cut back - she's 19 by the way!!

Have a good DFW day and I'm going to do my best to not spend any money at all and will nick some fruit from the free lunch for my train journey home - I need to lose weight anyway.

xxx

**Kat**_2

That's a good idea taking your coffee with you PBH. Does your daughter drive? If so can you insure her on your car (she has to pay that) and she has to go 1/2 on the month's fuel? May be a way of her still getting around safely and you saving a few pennies along the way.