£25,000 to clear. Ready...steady...GO

banwa

So I am going to give this whole diary malarkey a go.

I wonder if being publicly (albeit anonymously) accountable can help keep me focused. I'm going to fill it with money-related ramblings so I don't expect anyone to read it.:o

So here goes. Having lived on low wages for the last few years we slowly sunk into more and more debt. Then about 18 months ago we realised we were earning good money, yet not paying any of the debt off because we kept spending.:doh:

So now it's time to tackle it and finally become debt free.

If we really put our minds to it, we could clear this by summer 2013 and have an amazing summer holiday.:T

So first goal - get through Christmas without getting any further into debt
Second goal - have the debt under £20k by Easter
Third goal - have the debt under £10k by next Christmas

Current debts
Santander CC - [STRIKE]£516[/STRIKE] £0 (transferred to 0%) closed 21/12/2011
Egg - [STRIKE]£2,426 [/STRIKE]£0 (transferred to 0%) - closed by phone 05/11/11
Natwest -[STRIKE] £5,600 [/STRIKE]£4,999
Virgin - [STRIKE]£3,395 [/STRIKE]£3,354
Virgin 2 £2392
Barclaycard1 - [STRIKE]£3,000[/STRIKE] £0 (transferred to 0%) closed 23/12/2011
Barclaycard loan - 24 x £101.50 [STRIKE]£2450 [/STRIKE]- £2248
O/draft1- [STRIKE]£440 [/STRIKE]£471
o/draft2 - [STRIKE]£2205[/STRIKE]-[STRIKE]£2500[/STRIKE] SBT Dec 11 - will cancel o/d 21st Jan 2012
Car loan 15 x £304 = [STRIKE]£4560[/STRIKE] - £3952
Vodafone - [STRIKE]£400[/STRIKE] - £0 :j
Halifax (0% til July 2012) [STRIKE]£3708[/STRIKE] £3670
Santander (0% tl Sept 2012) - [STRIKE]£2379[/STRIKE] £2354
Total [STRIKE]£25,005 [/STRIKE]£23548
And so the journey begins...


Natwest -[STRIKE] £5,600 [/STRIKE]£4,692
Virgin - [STRIKE]£3,395 [/STRIKE]£3,182
Virgin 2 [STRIKE]£2392[/STRIKE] £2362
Barclaycard loan - 24 x £101.50 [STRIKE]£2450 [/STRIKE]- £1945
O/draft1- [STRIKE]£440 [/STRIKE]£420
Overdraft 2 [STRIKE]£2700[/STRIKE] £681
Car loan 15 x £304 = [STRIKE]£4560[/STRIKE] - £3648
Halifax (0% til July 2012) [STRIKE]£3708[/STRIKE] £3265
Santander (0% tl Sept 2012) - [STRIKE]£2379[/STRIKE] £2348


Total [STRIKE]£25,000 [/STRIKE]£22543

Skintfoodie

Good luck Banwa, are you going to pay them off in a particular order?

rising_from_the_ashes

Hey Banwa, delighted to see you're giving it another bash ...... remember "want" and "need" - it's honestly worth it ......

I've just started a diary too - hoping it'll keep me debt free as have been here before and sunk again - not this time!

Will pop in now & then to see how it's going.

banwa

Hello skintfoodie, thanks for the welcome :hello:

Vodafone is priority (because I don't want to get cut off), then the big overdraft because we'll be being charged £30 per month (we only just got the overdraft so haven't paid anything yet). Tranferring the barclaycard to a 0% v soon, and then the only interest we'll be paying (apart from the car loan at 7.8%) will be 1.5% on virgin.

What I am trying to do is pay the minimum monthly payment BUT pay it weekly (husband is paid weekly). So my salary covers monthly bills and his wage covers weekly debt repayment. That's the plan anyway.

I love food too so am off to find your diary too now...:T

banwa

Hello again rising from the ashes,:wave:

I want all sorts of things all the time. But I think I want to be debt free even more.

I'm going to have a nosy at your diary if you don't mind

We will be bloody, bold and resolute!

Banwa

banwa

Good things that have happened today
Have brought very MSE lunch in to work. Not only home-prepared but I also made chili with puy lentils and baked beans as a cheap filler. V proud of myself

Bad things that have happened today
Uuurgh we're a bit further into the overdraft than I realised, I have updated my total.

banwa

More Good Things

• A NSD:T
• On top of all washing:D
• And best of all, as I was walking out of work today a man shouted at me. I fought off the urge to leg it, denying any wrongdoing, when I realised he was waving £10 at me. Turns out he had seen me drop it but not knowing who I was, he just kept an eye out for me to give it back to me.:A A true gent and something to slightly restore my faith in humans

pinkpinkuk

Awww that's so sweet of him. So nice to know there are such good people around.

Best of luck with your new diary, I'l be following, I love money related ramblings :cool:

Itsadogslife_2

banwa wrote: »

More Good Things

• A NSD:T
• On top of all washing:D
• And best of all, as I was walking out of work today a man shouted at me. I fought off the urge to leg it, denying any wrongdoing, when I realised he was waving £10 at me. Turns out he had seen me drop it but not knowing who I was, he just kept an eye out for me to give it back to me.:A A true gent and something to slightly restore my faith in humans

Oh my goodness, there are not many in society left like him It definitely makes you feel are warm and scrummy inside

banwa

I know, I know, it really made my day.:j

So I have been thinking about Christmas. It is October after all. I'm determined not to do the last minute panic buying, you always spend much more that way. This year I am going to have A Plan. Ordered my Dad's present on ebay last night, and he is so hard to buy for. Have bought a few bits and bobs for husband. Have a couple friends' present. So 3 down, 9 to go, not including the children:laugh:

The aim is on Christmas eve to be calm and serene...the other aim is to buy my Mum something that she doesn't give back to me to return:p

Itsadogslife_2

Yes, I definitely struggle with man presents, my OH is particularly difficult to buy for, and my MIL and FIL are too. I think if you have any good ideas for "man" presents, you need to share

I have started buying little bits and pieces for Little Itsa. I am not planning on spending much on other people this year - I am going to be a tight wad