A Thread for After Debt?

QueenB.

I would also like to be able to pay things like insurance annually but not sure if i can yet. I don't have much in savings but it has come in handy several times but then i have to start all over again. I need to learn to drive and with one less wage the lessons may have to come out of my savings, reducing them drastically

Any budget i have tried to create will not really be managable until after christmas so i feel in a bit of a limbo at the moment.

As a family we haven't been on a holiday since 2001 whne my youngest son was only 5 months old. We have had a few trips to wales and scotland as we have family there but i really want to organise a proper holiday next year so maybe i need to look at setting up a holiday fund and working towards it.

AngryDog

I dont think it would be a case of people thinking you're smug - more so as people to learn from. Im a DFW but so much gets in my way and makes it harder. I'd managed to save some cash up to pay a debt or 2 off, but I've had to use some for bills etc .

ms_london

Great idea guys, I feel like I still "belong" in the DFW board after clearing my £19,000 of debt, however, I sometimes feel a bit reluctant to post here as I don't want to "rub" my non debt status in to the faces of people who are clearly struggling. Obviously it wouldn't be intentional, but I know how hard it is when you are on the DFW journey and I am sure noone wants to hear about my journey saving for a house!

Unfortunately I did get in to some debt again as a result of coming back from travelling during the start of the recession in 2008, so being out of work for 6 months and also being newly reunited with friends and family (I had been away for 2 years!) meant I ended up acquiring £6,000! However, this taught me another valuable lesson, the importance of an emergency fund, and how it is not possible to control EVERYTHING in our lives, and that sometimes debt is down to external circumstances, not just spending money willy nilly.

Now I am saving for a deposit on a house, am buying alone, and putting all the skills I learnt on my DFW journey in to practice.

xx

ms_london

P.S - I find that this board keeps me on the straight and narrow, and when I find myself slipping, I pop back in here and feel balanced again! Where else can you get that feeling! xx

ms_london

QueenB. wrote: »

Have any of you set new goals to work towards? My only real goal has to increase my savings, i enjoy watching the savings creep up but miss the buzz i would get from making a monthly payment towards a CC and getting the statement through showing how it was reducing. How about everyone else?

Hi QueenB

My initial goal after becoming DF back in 2005 :eek: (where has the time gone!), was to save to go travelling. I managed to save £10,000 so off I went....

Now, as I mentioned above, is to save for a house deposit - aiming for £10,000, I know it should be more, but I am so SICK of house sharing and for my own sanity I need my own place .

Long term I would like to become mortgage free sooner than 25 years, and perhaps drop to part time work, but perhaps I am getting ahead of myself here.

A nice balance between having my own house and still being able to travel would be lovely. Happy to sacrifice money that other people my age would spend on booze, clothes and things that really don't appeal to me, to achieve this.

xx

backinbusiness

My own target was to save a reasonable buffer for emergencies which I've managed to do.

I've had several light bulb moments in the past but this is the one that's changed my mindset for ever.

Whilst I had a pathalogical fear of credit cards, I've decided it's time to let credit work for me (for a change!) and have 2 cards with statement dates exactly 2 weeks apart (thanks to YorkshireBoy for the hint!). As soon as a statement for card A is produced I spend on card A for 2 weeks. As soon as card B's statement is produced I spend on card B and so on . . . thus benefitting from a 6 - 8 weeks interest free period. (DD for full balance set up for both cards).

This would have been impossible for me to do before as I lacked the budgeting skills and financial discipline to take advantage.

This is the sort of situation I'd like a Thread After Debt for - discussing ways we can use our new found skills to our advantage.

Thanks for the input so far.

BiB

QueenB.

HI ms_london, i remember you from all those years ago and remember you going off on your travels:). I understand the idea of having an emergency fund, so many times we have been so close to clearing something then.........bang..........the car breaks down, or something needs fixing and all the hard work is wiped away. It has happened so often for us that it has become a bit of a depressing joke amongst our family and friends. It almost happened again last month, once again the car needed fixing and it was going to cost us almost £400 which would have been a real strain, luckily it ended up costing about £200 but having learnt my lessons i had a little fund to pay it. Really i want to try and have three savings accounts, one for emergencies, one for celebrations/christmas and a general one, but with me leaving my job and christmas on the way not sure if this is a reality.

I would love to consider buying our own home but i have to be honest the idea of a mortgage terrifies me:o.

QueenB.

backinbusiness wrote: »

This would have been impossible for me to do before as I lacked the budgeting skills and financial discipline to take advantage.

This is the sort of situation I'd like a Thread After Debt for - discussing ways we can use our new found skills to our advantage.

BiB

I am can't imagine using a CC yet but i hope to use them to our advantage in the future.

I managed to build a small savings by having a savings account linked to my bank account. I set up a monthly DD into it, it started off small years ago (£20pm) but even such a small amount came in useful. As my debts decresed each year I have upped it, but only in slow small amounts, keeping the main priority the debts. As it was a DD i viewed it as just another bill. Now not only do i still make the regular monthly payment but i also transer any change/pennies that are in my regular account when i check it. I got the idea from this website and its one i really recommend.

rising_from_the_ashes

I must say I now buy everything on the cc and it's paid in full each month.

It does help and I try to set myself a limit to spend each week to keep the total in check as I know it's got to be paid for at the end of the month.

I was very lucky that DF let me have a card off his account when I was paying off my debts so I could still have access to a cc. It was great for me as I knew it had to be paid in full each month (I'd do anything not to owe DF money!).

I think it was about this time that I realised that anything bought on the cc should be viewed the same way as handing over cash. (I never really thought about money this way before when I was happily running up huge cc bills).

Don't know if that makes any sense whatsoever:o.

I eventually got my own cc as I was having problems buying things online (many places only deliver to the registered card address) and started to find it difficult to keep track of 2 cards. So, at the start of this year, I handed DF his card back with the promise that mine would be cleared in full each month .... delighted to say that it has!

rising_from_the_ashes

backinbusiness wrote: »

Whilst I had a pathalogical fear of credit cards, I've decided it's time to let credit work for me (for a change!) and have 2 cards with statement dates exactly 2 weeks apart (thanks to YorkshireBoy for the hint!). As soon as a statement for card A is produced I spend on card A for 2 weeks. As soon as card B's statement is produced I spend on card B and so on . . . thus benefitting from a 6 - 8 weeks interest free period. (DD for full balance set up for both cards).

This would have been impossible for me to do before as I lacked the budgeting skills and financial discipline to take advantage.

You're way ahead of me there BiB:).

That sounds like a great idea ... mmmmmm, might look at that one. I do tend to buy most "big" things as soon as the cut off date on my card has passed to get the longest interest free period as poss but hadn't thought about having 2 cards.

Not sure if I'm confident enough to progress to that one yet:) but def something I'll think about in the coming months.