The "Pay ALL your debt off by Xmas 2012" challenge

migraineboy

Just found this forum and it reflects exactly the situation we find ourselves in - £16k in debt. One plan for next year is to look for a better paid job (easier said than done) but we are just looking to chip away at our debt bit-by-bit. We worked out it will take us £43 a day to be debt-free - not easy when you've got two young children, mortgage, bills, etc (am sure you will all know the score). I look forward to reading the updates on this board. As well as the encouragement that there are similar people in our position, I am hoping to pick up some tips and advice on debt-clearance. Similarly if I come across a money-saving/money-making idea, i'll pass it on. Good luck to everyone!!!

mf0u1098

Thank you again everyone for your lovely hugs and words of support. I've woken up this morning feeling utterly drained but I have a lot to do. I am meeting my sister for lunch as she is a Director with my parents of their business and I'm not happy that she's been spending money without checking they can afford it. She has just bought her first house with her boyfriend and they spent the last few months gutting it out and renovating it (all on her credit cards...) so her head really hasn't been in the business side of things. I know it's a real worry to my parents and I want to help (I was a Management Accountant looking after the accounts for £8.5m business so I think I can work my family's accounts out! p.s. I've moved into stragetic analysis now which I find interesting). I purposefully tried not to get involved in the family business as my parents rely on me way too much as it is anyway and I was also trying to get a work life balance from my job so taking on another job in the evenings for my family seemed just too much. Now maybe I was being a little selfish but it's done with and all I can do is try to take the stress and worry away from this part of their lives now so they can try to concentrate on their relationship.

A big welcome to all our new members and thank you again for your help. I need to see my mum after lunch to talk some things through with her that my dad told me last night then I'm going out for a meal with a friend as I need some away time from all this to be honest. Just a couple of hours but it will help to have a break. Can't believe it's only a week until I am back in work!!!

I shocked myself last night by going on the scales, I am 11st 8lbs!!! I was gobsmacked, I've put a stone on in only a few months. This has got to go, I am 5ft 7in so can carry it well but I'm not happy about being this weight so it has to go! I'm up to 13 NSD's this month so still 2 to get to reach my December target of 15. My wall planner is up and all my stickers are ready to start on 2012! I really need to sit down and work out what can be paid off my debts from my wage paid in on 23rd Dec but I just don't have the energy to be honest and there is no rush. I will catch up with !!!!!! Dastardly and Muttley soon enough (Pedro Matias and InsertWittyName...).

Hope you've all had a great Christmas have been thinking over the last couple of days how amazing it will feel next year when you can fully enjoy it without the worry of debt. I love that you've all been thinking about your debt and spending habits and not just reverting to your old spending patterns without thinking. I also love that people have been paying for christmas without having to use credit which is a great way to change your habits now (if you can) so you no longer rely on the credit cards for everything but are budgeting from your own salaries. I've tried to do this myself and have not been entirely successful I admit but I've been a massive amount better than usual so it's a step in the right direction.

Anyway, enough of my wittering on, I need to get ready to go for lunch and the start of my very busy day. See you all later xxx

velvet27

Hi mf0u1908...
just read your post and am also determined to lose extra weight (2 stone) gained over last few years as well as shed the debt. I have been bought dance exercise dvd for xmas and am going to have a go at that as well as try rowing machine sitting in spare room. I am aiming to lose the whole extra 2 stone by xmas 2012. Great to know i'm not doing it alone!!!
Cheers and hope 2012 is full of abundance of all the good things in life

Credit-Crunched

Mf0u1098 - I have had a tough last few years, 2 redundancies and lots of family issues, however one thing that kept me going was knowing that things will get better. Easy to say from the outside, I know when the weight bares down its tough, but this will only make you stronger.

Just remember that without the bad time we would not appreciate the good.

Just keep strong, keep focussed and things will fall into place.

Regarding the Gym, I have a lot of experience of what works and what doesn't. Please feel free to PM me your goals and current diet / routine for my to critique and develop.

It really is amazing how different the world looks when you are feeling physically good, sounds dramatic, but ups confidence, increased blood flow to brain for clarity of thoughts, you sleep better, better skin and lots of happy endorphins running around your body!

Its the least I can do for all the support you have shown others here

gettingthereslowly

Well my CC payments have finally cleared so i can officially get off the mark!

#122 £353.64 / £10,000

Yay so glad to have finally made a start. Have started having a bit of a clearout so just need to sell it all now to add a few extra pennies. Dont know whether its best to wait until the end of the month though?? Mmm will have a try of a couple of items maybe and see how it goes.

kerri_dfw

Just spent too much on running shoes and clothes, but I haven't bought any clothes in ages and I really, really need to start running again. Does it justify itself that the trainers were half price and I can fit into kids size 11-12/13 so worked out cheaper? New job comes with cheap gym membership, so I'm justifying that it's cheaper to spend on gym stuff now than next month when the sale won't be on. But still, bye bye chocolate and takeaways my waistline and bank balance can't afford you anymore *waves bye bye*

Might not be on for a few days as MILs Internet is a bit dodgy apparently, so I shall wish you all a happy new year now. Statements still haven't come through for me though which is a bind, but hoping they will in the next day or so.

Hello to all new people and welcome to our happy, supportive thread, good luck and stay strong :-)

Kerri x

anguk

Can I join your little gang please? I really need to get us sorted this year, we don't have a huge debt compared to some but for us it is too big. We live on benefits because OH isn't in good health and I'm his carer so there isn't much spare cash, if any. DD leaves sixth form this summer so our money will drop as she'll no longer be classed as a dependant, ideally I'd like to have our debt paid off by then but if not at least reduce it a bit.

My son and his partner have been up for Christmas but left at lunchtime to go back home so I'm going to give the house a good tidy (I'm taking the tree down because I'm sick of finding a cat in it and sick of picking baubles off the floor) then I'm going to sit down and work out our debt and try to work out a manageable budget. I'll be back later with the total. :eek:

DorsetGirl_2

Welcome anguk :wave:

[Deleted User]

138 :jDeleted_User £322.99/£8,531,47

Paid off some of my credit cards & catalogue!
Will update more after the new year when my DD's & SO's come off!

Dxxx

ZarZar1990

Hi everyone .
Was wondering if you'd mind me joining this challenge?

I had my LBM in 2009, and stayed on the wagon for a while, with the help of this website!
Unfortunately I fell off and have since racked up more debt! .

Am hoping to get rid of all of it, roughly in the region of 10k in total with a combination of loans, store cards, credit cards and over drafts, by Christmas 2012 so I can sit back and relax for once!