I WILL pay off my debts!!!

TooMany4Legs

Hello All, I've been a lurker for about a month, and this is my second post - my first was to sign up for the Olympic Challenge!

My owings right now are...

LTSB Loan 1 - £2291.60
LTSB Loan 2 - £5579.89

Barclaycard (0% til Jun 2012) - £3600.85

Total: £11472.34 :eek:


So a bit about me...... I can't actually remember a time in my adult life where I have not had debts (and I'm 45 this year, so it's been a while). I've always managed to just about keep my head above water, and have had a flickery light bulb for the last 20 years I think - which has just about prevented things becoming unmanageable.

Well, this December I had my proper-fully-switched-on holey-moley fluorescent-light-blinding-me LBM! Nothing in particular, just the sudden realisation that the way I was going my debts were always going to be there! My head is now well and truly out of the sand.

So, what have I done so far:

Stopped using my credit card, and got the balance transferred on to Barclaycard at 0%. Used to get used for all purchases, and whatever I could paid off it - problem was that the balance wasn't really going down consistently (if at all)!

Done my budget - my DFD looks to be Aug 2012 - I'm doing the Olympic Challenge and wil be working hard to bring that DFD earlier.

I've sorted out change of utilities supplier, cancelled everything I used to spend money on and never really made the most of..... Laithwaites wine plan.... Naked Wine Plan.... Magazines..... I have a note in my diary to change my mobile contract to PAYG as soon as I can (Aug 2011)..... this time I am going to do it.

I'm starting off this diary as it will keep me focussed and on the straight and narrow, I'll try and update at least monthly. So here's to getting debt free by end July 2012! :beer:

TooMany4Legs xx

PollyBanwell

Hey Legs!

Didn't want to read and run - good luck on your journey and well done for facing up to the problems! This board is a great way to saty focused - I started my diary in December and been a great help!

Keep up the good work!

Polly

TooMany4Legs

Thanks for the kind welcome Polly

OK - I've been looking again at my budget, and if I can keep my personal monthly spend below £50, and keep my grocery spend to £350 per month, with time off over December for good behaviour (LOL), it's looking like my DFD could actually be April 2012. I've joined the March Grocery Challenge on the OS board, so hopefully the good people there will keep me on the straight and narrow!

My plan is to pay things off in the following order... Loan 1 first, then Loan 2, and finally the credit card (0% for 16 more months). If I were to do it in APR % rate order I'd actually do Loan 2 before Loan 1... but Loan 1 is smaller and I will get such a boost from paying it off that I think it will be emtionally advantageous to pay that one off first.

The loans aren't flexible, so all debt-busting cash is going into my savings account until I can pay off each loan. My pay-stuff-off targets are as follows:

Loan 1 - May 2011
Loan 2 - January 2012
CC - April 2012

There we go - I've put it all down in black and white so now I need to work on achieving those dates! :A

TooMany4Legs xx

TooMany4Legs

Well there's a blow - no sooner do I get my spreadie all nicely worked out, than the garage phone me.... my car's in there today having it's MOT and annual bit of TLC.....

The service and MOT together were £209, but OH handed me a nice voucher yesterday evening from some car magazine for nearly £28 off that woohooo! I was hoping I could keep those saved pennies and they could join their debt-busting cousins in my savings account.

But oh no, my front brakes need doing... I need 2 new tyres... and some other tiddly things.... and the bill now is..... £666.88. :eek: I pointed out to the man that I didn't like having a bill that was like the number of the beast, and he knocked it down to £645.94 as he said he agreed that it was just too scary to contemplate :rotfl::T

So now some of those debt-busting pennies are going to have to return briefly to my current account to pay the garage... and I'm £400 down on where I expected to be. If I go into my o/d in May for a week or two though I can still (just about) pay that first loan off as planned though! Phew. :A

TooMany4Legs xx

LAM2011

hi - welcome

I love the way you write - made me chuckle - especially your description of your LBM.

Pity about the car but stay with us and keep plugging away at the debts. I have found this forum my saving grace to keep me motivated on on track. I gave up keeping a diary and just pop in on everyone elses.

TooMany4Legs

LAM2011 wrote: »

hi - welcome

I gave up keeping a diary and just pop in on everyone elses.

Well you are welcome in my diary any time you like

I'm definitely sticking at it this time! In a way the car problem has been a good thing. For the first time in my life I've had a bill like that and though 'Ho Hum - never mind, I've got enough in my savings to pay that, just a shame that it may delay my DFD'

What a fantastic feeling I'm looking on the bright side here - bet you can tell, LOL

TooMany4Legs xx

beanielou

Happy lightbulb moment

TooMany4Legs

Well finally I can make an update:

£81.01 paid off my BarclayCard today. Minimum payment but it's 0%, and every spare penny is at the moment going into my savings account - which is now at (for me) a whopping £1100.25 :T
If I can keep this up I will be able to pay off my smaller loan at the end of April / beginning of May - a mere 2 pay days away!

I've been having a go at the Grocery Challenge - and I've not done too well. Admittedly I started it half way through the month, after having already done 2 weeks worth of shopping adding up to £170.48 ... I aimed for a £350 spend in March, but didn't take into account the seeds, compost etc. that I needed to buy for my vegetable patch.... or the £22 that I ended up spending on my son's fiancees birthday.... :cool: looks like I'll be coming in at £70 over my planned £350 - but on the bright side, that IS £30 less than my original budget! :A I'm going to aim for £400 next month - but that will have to include the new food processor at £70 that I needed to buy as my last one is now falling to bits!

Another challenge I'm not doing too well on is the Giving Up / Cutting down alcohol one. I was aiming for 20 alcohol free days (AFDs for the uninitiated) this month. So far I've done 5 (which is actually very good for me)..... but this morning I realised that there are not 15 days left this month, so it's impossible for me to meet my target Maybe 10 AFDs would have been a more realistic target for this month!

Have a good weekend to all those unfortunate enough to read my diary!

LAM2011

hi there (by the way - how many 4 legs have you got ?)

well done on the savings - paying off that loan is going to be good.

At least with the grocery challenge like you say you are better than you used to be - so thats good.

We waste so much food and it makes me sick. Problem is OH mum buys us loads of stuff that usually goes out of date within the next few days and chickens or dogs end up with it! I keep saying ask her to get dishwashing tablets or tins but he doesnt want to hurt her feelings. I try cook and freeze but the freezer always seems full and time is an issue.

anyway i hope you have a good weekend x

TooMany4Legs

Hi there LAM2011 - your'e siggy is looking good - keep up the good work :0

I've actually only got 2 4-legs - although if I had my way we'd have far far more than that! - but both seem to cost me a fortune! We have a rescue dog, who despite being only 2 has arthritis, and the even more expensive 4-leg is a horse (my absolute pride and joy) who gets the horse equivalent of hay fever! Both as you can guess cost a fortune in vets bills! (And food!)

It's going to be a real milestone for me to pay off that loan - it's been around my neck for a long long time!

That's really nice of your OH's mum - but I know what you mean about wasting things - at least the chickens and dogs are benefitting! LOL It must be really awkward though and I can appreciate what you mean about a full freezer and time being an issue!

Anyway - thanks for dropping in - I hope you have a lovely weeknd too!!

Too Many x

LAM2011

You will have to read Smit12 and my diary - both horsey people and Startagain used to ride so also understands the time and cost of them Half of my ccard debt is due to a past horse and colic surgery!