Debt Free by 2013 (not a typo)

caeler

Hey great update - having to do progress reports can sometimes keep the mind focused!! !!!!!! about the phone line monopoly but not much you can do. With my mortgage deal I can make overpayments of up to £250 a month. I always told myself i'd make an overpayment every month even if it was only small, I try and pay at least £20 and according to the MSE snowball what I paid extra last year (which didn't even equate to a full months payment) saved me 4 months worth of interest off the term.

PS. Aldi don't do dry ice ;-) but their wine is pretty good and very cheap!

Decadent_Debtor

Oh, fellow moneysavers, it was all going so well...

Perhaps that is being a bit dramatic, but it has certainly been a pricey weekend :-S

I'll try to focus on the positives. So, good stuff. Picked up my new bike this weekend! Bit of an 'extravagance' but I LOVE my cycling. The bike was reduced by 25% and I bought it using a 'cycle to work' voucher (nominated in my pre-DFW days), meaning the payments are spread over 12 months and I get an income tax benefit. This bike is much more accessible than my road bike (think less lycra) so I'm hoping to use it for cycling to work, to the gym, shops etc - and will set myself a target of saving at least £10 petrol every month (75 miles) - more in the summer.

Other good stuff, had another super-cheap trip to Aldi for groceries. Love the place. Picked up some of their Almat laundry liquid and I'm really looking forward to trying it out (did I actually just type that?! - I have changed!).

Bad stuff. Got stung buying some clothes and toiletries for my holiday next week - but on the positive side I only bought stuff that I genuinely 'NEEDED' rather than just 'WANTED'. Everything I bought was reduced or on offer too. Needed a haircut too, but also needed some styling product, which took me over budget.

I felt a bit miserable yesterday after overspending, but feel much better about it all today. At the end of the day, I'm on a long journey and I'm still on track, it was just a tiny tiny detour.

On reflection, I'm even more of a convert to Caeler's school of wisdom RE putting aside £100 a month for general expenditure.

Biggest thing now is getting in the right frame of mind for my holiday so I have a great time AND stick to budget.

Will try get on for one last post Mon/Tues evening to give me an extra boost of willpower, but in the meantime...

I WILL NOT OVERSPEND IN NEW YORK (repeat three times am/pm).

beanielou

I will not overspend in New York
I will not overspend in New York
I will not overspend in New York...............

caeler

Decadent_Debtor wrote: »

On reflection, I'm even more of a convert to Caeler's school of wisdom RE putting aside £100 a month for general expenditure.

hehehe! That make me giggle, hadn't appreciated I was wise!! I am happy to help others as others have helped me. Okay so you've overspent, you need to forgive yourself. Just remember the fact that you feel a little guilty means you will stick to the path and just a little 'detour' as you say!

Last year I cut my budget too small, and every month I overspent and felt awful then I realised that the budget wasn't sufficient so I increased it a little bit and save what is left! :T

Another tip I learnt from another user is to do a monthly SOA but also an annual SOA. I'd only ever done it monthly but as soon as I worked out the year I was horrified that my phone and internet is nearly £300 a year! It's a good tip to keep perspective on spends.

PS. Do not overspend in New York!!

chevalier

you have 5k in cash can that not be put towards a debt? also the shares in trust, i take it they can't be liquidated to again pay off debt? Well done on having the LBM now rather than in 10 years time

Decadent_Debtor

Hello all!!!

Well, I'm back from my hols, had a great time AND I stayed in budget!!! Woo-hoo!!!

I wasn't a total spendthrift when I was there, but I managed to cover all my treats by saving up leftover money at the end of quieter days to cover a bit of extra spend towards the end.

If I had done the same holiday this time last year then I know for a fact that I would have piled at least £1,500 on the credit card. I was so certain of this happening that I had actually put some money aside to cover the bill. Imagine how smug I felt paying this off the money I owe my parents instead. Priceless.

Did another Aldi shop when I got home. My God I LOVE that place! £13 for a full week (with a committment to use up all my freezer meat). You can't go wrong.

I've updated my signature which is looking really good after the first month. Onwards and upwards... I hope :-)

Decadent_Debtor

Caeler - you are a money sage and don't you ever forget it! :-) love and appreciate all the advice.

Chevalier - Thanks for the reply. Selling the shares is a 'no-go' I'm afraid. It's a bit of a golden handcuffs thing at work. They allow us to buy loads of shares at a great price but we have to hold them for 5 years OR fork out the 40% income tax. As for the savings, yep, they are earmarked to pay off my parents when I get my bonus in March. I know that I should use them to pay off higher interest debt, but I want to pay my folks off first for personal reasons. Hopefully I will clear it in March and free up more cash to throw at the dreaded, evil, ever-tempting AMEX.

caeler

Well done for staying in budget!

Decadent_Debtor

Afternoon all! Time for a quick update I think...

I've been doing really well with my food shopping and general budgeting etc but it feels like I've done all the big stuff and now I'm settling into the reality of what I need to acheive, if that makes any sense? I think I might have 'hit the wall'... but there's no way I'm stopping!

Had a bit of an impromptu night out with some mates last night. I kept it pretty cheap (and found a tenner in the taxi home!) but still felt a bit guilty this morning as I was already over my general/entertainment budget. Oh well. It's done now, and was great to see the guys. Got a few days away with work next week which is great as it means they will be picking up the tab for all my meals etc.

Payday on Weds so will get some extra payments made and update my signature. It gave me a real boost updating it last time. If anyone has any tips on keeping the motivation up after doing all the big stuff that would be great!

Decadent_Debtor

Well given that this is such a special day (MSE's 9th birthday AND my payday) I thought I would post a quick mid-week update.

I transferred £200 straight over to my parents first thing today and I actually can't wait for Direct Debit day on 1 March so that I can update the totals on my signature! I'm finding that keeping the diary is really helping my motivation. I know that I am going to be in it for the long-haul, but I'm really proud at how well I've done so far - including making my first £50 transfer into an 'emergency fund' today.

I'm down in London with work this week and would normally go for a walk around some of the shops etc, but I don't even feel tempted this time around. Going to check out the hotel gym instead. Such an exciting life, I know... :-)