£100k Debt Free in 4 1/2 years - My Debt Diary

dreams_R_free

Good Luck ThankYoyAndEnjoy. It must be a wonderful feeling to pass your MSE skills on to someone else.

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Part of the problem with my girlfriends sister is that she has no idea where a lot of her money has gone (although she does have an extensive DVD collection !!)

I can empathise with your girlfriend's sister a lot because when I had my lightbulb moment I couldn't fathom why I was so much in debt:o . We don't live a luxury lifestyle(far from it:rotfl: ),don't eat out or go on holidays and I never buy clothes/shoes etc. Money just seemed to slowly drip through my hands somehow, spent on goodness knows what. It was only when I came to sell a lot of clutter(because that's all it was really) on eBay or at carboot sales that I realised what a mountain of uneeded stuff I had. None of it cost much in itself but there was just tons of it:eek: I think a lot of my money was spent in Charity shops:eek:

ThankYouAndEnjoy!

Impomdasp wrote:

I can empathise with your girlfriend's sister a lot because when I had my lightbulb moment I couldn't fathom why I was so much in debt:o

My girlfriends sister (GS) still hasnt had her LBM !! - Hard to believe - We offered to help her out, it was only when we went through her statements yesterday, along with our projected plans, that she realised how much interest she gets charged per annum, and how little her credit card debts come down!!

Thankfully, GS has agreed our proposals. In total, she has £13.5k of debt, £10.5 k of which is credit cards. We have agreed to help her on the credit cards. The other £3k is a loan which has 1 year left to run, so GS is going to leave this. GS currently pays £210 /month on her credit cards, and receives £160 /month of interest!! :eek: We have offered her £9k now, £1.5k in 3 months time. Although GS will be paying us £210 /month (same as what she currently pays to creditors) her debt will come down by around £2.2k (O/D is charged at 6.3%) this year alone, compared to the £400 or so it would have should she have stayed paying credit card debts. My girlfriend and I will also be paying off the O/D by £500 /month (£710 total with GS monies) so it should come down to £0 in approx 14months. This also means after 14 months, GS will have NO INTEREST to pay on her debts at all; and will have finished paying her loan which will free up an exra £273 - £300 month for her!

Helping GS doesnt really affect our plans of being debt free in 4 1/2 years (maybe a little lost interest in not o/paying the mortgage) but its not worth worrying about, especially as GS will have paid us back in full in 4 years. Not only will we be debt free in 4 years, but she will too which is even better!!

dreams_R_free

What a lucky girl she is to have a sister and her boyfriend like you, especially as you are working flat-out to clear your own debts. I'm full of admiration.:beer:

When I had my LBM I knew I was in serious debt but I just couldn't understand why as I 'never' spent anything:rotfl:. Its just all the hundreds of really tiny amounts that add up over time. Big splurges I would have felt guilty about but a couple of pounds here, a fiver there, well that wouldn't break the bank would it . Trouble is....it did eventually!

When I started a spending diary it was a real eye-opener I can tell you:eek:

Have a lovely Bank Holiday (if you don't mind the rain:rotfl: )

ThankYouAndEnjoy!

ThankYouAndEnjoy! wrote:

Thankfully, GS has agreed our proposals. In total, she has £13.5k of debt, £10.5 k of which is credit cards. We have agreed to help her on the credit cards. The other £3k is a loan which has 1 year left to run, so GS is going to leave this. GS currently pays £210 /month on her credit cards, and receives £160 /month of interest!! :eek: We have offered her £9k now, £1.5k in 3 months time.

The first £5.5k has been sent, paying off the 1st credit card in full. With the Bank Holiday weekend, it should credit the card wednesday/thursday at the latest. Will be paying £3k onto the 2nd credit after our mortgage/debts have been paid on the 1st / 2nd of June. This will leave the 2nd card with approx £1.2k on it. We will be paying this off for GS in a couple of months time.

Will be setting up a spreadsheet to keep a track of GS's payments made and interest charged on the O/D.

GS has said thankyou sooo many times - must be a massive weight off her shoulders!!

Kaz2904

Just make sure she cuts up and closes the cards! Has she been on to this site yet? It may be an idea to get her on here so that she can see a way out of the spending circle.
What are her circumstances? Does she still live at home or have a partner/kids? (I'm being nosy really!)
Good luck, you've a good head and a good heart- and I believe in karma too!

ThankYouAndEnjoy!

Kaz2904 wrote: »

Just make sure she cuts up and closes the cards!

Cards were cut up ages ago. Not going to close the accounts. GS's credit history is bad that doubt she would be able to get credit in the futuer (if needed - hopefully not tho!!)

Kaz2904 wrote: »

Has she been on to this site yet? It may be an idea to get her on here so that she can see a way out of the spending circle. What are her circumstances? Does she still live at home or have a partner/kids? (I'm being nosy really!)

Hasnt been on the site, doesnt really need to. Most of her debt was accumulated years ago. Its just been the odd bit here and there. Interest and Charges have ensured that the balance have remained high (along with missed payments etc! - bad girl .... ) GS still lives at home, no kids. Financially, now with our help, she is in a really good position. GS only pays rent, Inet and Mobile Phone (in total approx £180 /month) and has a loan @ £273 - £300 for 12 months. Basically shes just in bad shape because of the interest and charges; having a bad credit rating meant she wasnt able to B/T her debt to 0% cards etc.

ThankYouAndEnjoy!

ThankYouAndEnjoy! wrote: »

Got a text from a friend at work yesterday to say a Job, which i have been waiting years for, has come up on the IJA website.

The AM from that area apparently came up and asked to speak to me personally (got 4 weeks off so wasnt around) - message relayed through friend so looks really promising that i could be successful. Have had loads of exposure to this area already, so they are well aware of my capabilities

If im successful, it should mean an instant 10-15% pay-rise as well as all associated benefits (which are based as a percentage of your salary)

Im busily completing my Application Form; which i have now written and re-written 5 times!! - needs to be in by the 18/05 , so successful apllicant (after interview) should be made aware by end of May .....

Im crossing my fingers - and my toes - for this one as Job Prospects for furthering myself are massive!

YAY - Got an interview for the job in London. Its 12:30 on the 7th June. Oh, and its a payrise of at least £6k (so 37% increase instead of the 10-15% quoted :j )

Its going to cost £2.5k travel if successful, but get loads of benefits that are based on original wage + bonuses + better pay rises!! - all in all, definately worth while .....

I've started obtaining preperation material already....lol

WISH ME LUCK!! -

cptncanary

Good luck! :beer: :beer:

ThankYouAndEnjoy!

Had an interview with the Branch Manager today ...

Tried to consolodate my current loan and soon to be £10k o/draft into 1 monthly payment. Granted, it was at a lower %APR , but after advising the Manager that we had done an S.O.A (true MSE style) and were going to make o/payments onto our debts of £600 /month; she came back and said

'we are going to leave you as you are, you will be paying more in the long run with the consolidation loan'

Waste of 30 minutes ... lol :rotfl:

Funniest thing - Grizzler (Charlie) was letting off little pops all the way through the Interview, GF and I were in stitches all the way through

Anyway - back to the update. Come Monday (4 days into the month) i will have banked 6hours (@ 1.5 times wage) and 12hours (@ 2 times wage) in O/T already. I should be able to bank some £900 of O/T this month so will go toward paying a debt (not mine unfortunately ... lol)

Pleased with myself, have obtained all referencing material for my Interview on Thursday. Feeling really confident. 6 positions available with 14 applicants.

SarahNeedle1872

Hi again, I have just read ur thread after u kindly posted on mine, and all I can say is WOW!! U are so organised! U know exactly what goes out and comes in at any point of the month, I am dead impressed.

How is GS getting on with her debt free ways? U were so kind to help her out like that, I hope she's had her LBM and won't start all over again...

Good luck woth everything

Sarah x

PS, I am jealous, u may only have cleared a bit of ur debt, but at least u have a mortgage. It's gonna be YEARS before I can afford to buy a house!