The "Pay ALL your debt off by Xmas 2012" challenge - PART 3!!!

psychopathbabble

recurrent-ostrich wrote: »

Really, really fed up. There's always something that seems to scupper our debt reduction. We had to have a new bathroom as our loo hadn't flushed properly for about a year and the bath broke. The inlaws said they'd pay, but we ended up about £500 short, so it had to go on the card. Then stuff keeps breaking. Then ALL the kids needed new school shoes and trainers, which was another £170 (skinny feet need Clarks or startrite) Then one of our bigger credit cards (we have eight!) ups it's rate to 30% and as we bank with this company and have a honking £3.5K overdraft, we didn't think we were able to reject the rate and close the card. So out DFD has gone back two months. I just feel like we aren't achieiving anything and our debt is only going down because of the loan payments. Really REALLY fed up.

Is it too late to reject the increase? As long as you are still paying on time etc I don't think they would be bothered, they are still getting interest from you. Hope things start looking up for you soon... I hate it when it just seems like you are getting nowhere But as Jakes-mum said, you have done so well already! And just imaginne if you hadn't started tackling your debts and had your LBM. Every little step is a step closer to being DF

recurrent-ostrich

jakes-mum wrote: »

and once you clear your first CC and start to snowball suddenly that debt will look like its really moving :T.

Thanks. I think that's the problem, snowballing the highest rate means that our first card won't clear for another 20 months. After that we'll be clearing them at a rate of one every few months, but it's getting to that point, seeing balances only go down by a few pounds each month that is so depressing.

psychopathbabble

recurrent-ostrich wrote: »

Thanks. I think that's the problem, snowballing the highest rate means that our first card won't clear for another 20 months. After that we'll be clearing them at a rate of one every few months, but it's getting to that point, seeing balances only go down by a few pounds each month that is so depressing.

Do you have any smaller debts you can get paid off to motivate yourself? I know snowballing makes sense, but at the same time I think it does far more for your positivity and mind-set to banish smaller debts once and for all!

KissyKissyKaren41

Morning all still here plodding along with paying off debts, n generally trying to pinch pennys wherever I can but with being away whitsun week and stupidly finding grabbits board again have slowly come to a halt, il declare what ive knocked off my debts at end of month, just thought writing it down would maybe kerb my spending my squirrelling away for Christmas has started and I should really be paying everything I got off my bills soooooo back to it from today....

Hope everyone is paying what they can off towards their goals x

Thank god the rain has stopped here in Wales x

recurrent-ostrich

psychopathbabble wrote: »

Do you have any smaller debts you can get paid off to motivate yourself? I know snowballing makes sense, but at the same time I think it does far more for your positivity and mind-set to banish smaller debts once and for all!

No. *sob*. Problem is that we are paying very little over the min at the moment, so even clearing a smaller card will take forever. Once the Next card is clear (It's £3.5K so is going to take 20 months or so) it will give me about £300 a month to play with, hence being able to them clear everything off faster.

jakes-mum

anything you can ebay?? seriously, you'd be amazed what people will buy off you, anything you dont want or use, give it a try. Should be another free listing day in 2 - 3 weeks. Or dvds/Cd to Music M*gpie? just to get a little bit more money for the first CC to help you feel like your getting somewhere?

his_missus

recurrent-ostrich wrote: »

Really, really fed up. There's always something that seems to scupper our debt reduction. We had to have a new bathroom as our loo hadn't flushed properly for about a year and the bath broke. The inlaws said they'd pay, but we ended up about £500 short, so it had to go on the card. Then stuff keeps breaking. Then ALL the kids needed new school shoes and trainers, which was another £170 (skinny feet need Clarks or startrite) Then one of our bigger credit cards (we have eight!) ups it's rate to 30% and as we bank with this company and have a honking £3.5K overdraft, we didn't think we were able to reject the rate and close the card. So out DFD has gone back two months. I just feel like we aren't achieiving anything and our debt is only going down because of the loan payments. Really REALLY fed up.

I know that feeling. Up until this month I'd only been paying just over the minimum and any purchases I'd put on the CC and wasn't making any dent in it. It is annoying and depressing but one day you will see that light at the end of the tunnel.

So much for my £75 a week budget. Spent £98 at Mr A's (including £10 on flowers for me from DH - hey, need to chase him up on that, cheeky munster!) Did buy loads of food so hoping next week I won't need to spend much. I guess if I only spend £50 this week, it will balance out

Must get some work done xxx

recurrent-ostrich

Thanks all. Have had serious chat with hubby and we've decided to not have holidays for a couple of years. I've been reluctant to stop having foreign trips as we both work in very stressful jobs and it's our fortnight of relaxing and having family time. But it costs us £5K a year which is, when you look at it in the cold light of day, utterly ludicrous when we have £40K of debt. :o:o

If we stop the holidays, we can cut our DFD by a good 12 months, I reckon, bringing it down to about 2 years. Once we're debt free we'll have £1500 a month free AFTER bills and regular outgoings (food etc) so can go on as many blooming holidays as we like! I feel a little sad (as I was just about to book 2 weeks in Tunisia for next summer ) but slightly relieved. We can have a few weeks away in the UK, shivering, in our caravan, can't we?

Edit: and I must come back and post on here a bit more regularly. I find it helps.

fallenwiccan

Hi everyone sorry I haven't been around, trying to be a busy bee.

I'm on holiday this week! First week off since Christmas so been looking forward to it. So far this morning the bedding has been washed (in again as it had mark still all over it grrr) called the doctor and called the maintenance company to chase why our buzzer hasn't been fixed (they're coming this afternoon now) and reorganised our internet set up (changed lots of cables round).

So busy busy still. I promised I would relax and do nothing at some point which I will but I also want to try and tidy some more of our stuff. We've been really good and been tried to sort out the spare room a bit so I may give it another go later.

camuk81 he's doing well thanks. Back at work almost on proper shifts now (this is his last week at up to 8.5 hours, next week he goes back onto normal rota) and just seeing the difference in him to me is amazing. Now I just need to build some exercise into him and he won't know what hit him haha.

jakes-mum

recurrent-ostrich wrote: »

Thanks all. Have had serious chat with hubby and we've decided to not have holidays for a couple of years. I've been reluctant to stop having foreign trips as we both work in very stressful jobs and it's our fortnight of relaxing and having family time. But it costs us £5K a year which is, when you look at it in the cold light of day, utterly ludicrous when we have £40K of debt. :o:o

If we stop the holidays, we can cut our DFD by a good 12 months, I reckon, bringing it down to about 2 years. Once we're debt free we'll have £1500 a month free AFTER bills and regular outgoings (food etc) so can go on as many blooming holidays as we like! I feel a little sad (as I was just about to book 2 weeks in Tunisia for next summer ) but slightly relieved. We can have a few weeks away in the UK, shivering, in our caravan, can't we?

Edit: and I must come back and post on here a bit more regularly. I find it helps.

dont knock a caravan holiday in the UK :rotfl: we did it this year with the kids and they had a brilliant time (as did we ) we paid for one of the nicer caravans and it was bloomin toastie in there, had a tv/DVD player, nice kitchen and though the weather was appalling at times, we happily cwtched up in one of the arcades or cafes, and it didnt half make it more fun for me thinking it cost me £300 in total for the 4 of us instead of the £3k+ it would have cost for us to go abroad that I could have spent on me debt and more fun for the kids as mum wasnt constantly 'its too expensive' and stressing over money