My SoA

saffronflowers

One thing that I do is save all the 20p and 10p in my purse at the end of the day and in four weeks I have saved £55!!! Which has so far paid for 3 nights camping and a hog roast for four and a cooked breakfast for 4 camping this weekend. It was painless saving and I love counting the money to see how much I have got.

Small changes really do make a difference. One think I thought about was if I gave up drinking the two pints of milk that I do everyday, I could save £365 a year, but then again we all need our treats. However, daft think about things over the long term cos it is amazing how stopping little things can all add up

Best of luck to you

SFx

poodlehorse

Some great advice already and you have already started to put some of it in practice. You say you will cut up the cards when the debt is paid as you don't trust yourself - then cut them up now. Saffronflowers is right though, it is your current lifestyle and living beyond your means that got you in debt so that lifestyle has to change and at least in part stay changed to get you and keep you out of debt. It really is like a diet where you might have very limited foods and amounts you can eat while trying to lose weight and then you get a bit more and it is easier once you go on maintenance but if you start eating the way you did before the weight piles on again. You are only 24 so make sure you get debt free AND stay that way. And if you look around you at everyone else who seems to have the new car, fancy clothes, foreign hols every year, etc etc then don't be fooled, they are probably in debt too but haven't got to their lightbulb moment yet. GEt a head start on them all and you will laugh all the way to the bank and be experienced at moneysaving enough to help them when they realise they need it.

But don't kid yourself you can't live without luxuries, that is the definition of a luxury after all. And the end of the year isn't that far away really, and then you can work on maintenance and build up those savings but they do need to be on hold just now and used against your debt to really get the ball rolling. If you want real inspiration of what can be done in a little time there are so many great threads but Immortal Angel's debt diary is really worth a read.

misspoppy

how much have you got in savings have you enough to clear or make a big dent into one of your debts?

mrsspendalot

misspoppy wrote: »

how much have you got in savings have you enough to clear or make a big dent into one of your debts?

I was just thinking the same thing .... it would certainly get the ball rolling to pay off a bit all in one go

Jazzyjeff_2

RAC cover £155 a year :eek: :eek:

https://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk is only £34 a year and is very comprehensive (and highly recommended by MSE).

Lara44

Hi Lucy

I am also 24 soon to be 25 on sunday :eek:

I think that you need to do a more detailed SoA try using Martin's budget planner in the toolbar at the top of the thread. You are missing a monthly amount for clothes, toiletries, makeup, presents, eye tests and dentists and Christmas (you should save a small amount now to help in December).

Why don't you create a budget and try to stick to it for the next few months? You should be able to up your debt repayments. You will realise how easy it is to get what you want more cheaply, I am addicted to the grabbit forums!

Good luck,

Lara

Lucy1982_2

I have already used my savings to pay off some debt and have about 50p left! But I am feeling a lot more positive and I can understand what people are saying.

I have a family member who is just about to get married, but she owes over £20,000 already and will be paying off her £15,000 wedding for a while to come.

So while I am terrified to be in this situation I also feel smug that I am trying to do something about it.

I'll check out the breakdown cover, it's due for renewal with my car insurance on the 1st of June. And I intend to get some good savings! Hopefully as I am now over 24 it'll go down a bit.

mrsspendalot

You may find it won't drop too much until you are over 25 ... my hubby is 24 this year and is paying about the same as you, but I am a couple of years older and if I was insured to drive it, it would cost me less than half, even as a new driver!

Lucy1982_2

LaraHoust wrote: »

Hi Lucy

I am also 24 soon to be 25 on sunday :eek:

I think that you need to do a more detailed SoA try using Martin's budget planner in the toolbar at the top of the thread. You are missing a monthly amount for clothes, toiletries, makeup, presents, eye tests and dentists and Christmas (you should save a small amount now to help in December).

Why don't you create a budget and try to stick to it for the next few months? You should be able to up your debt repayments. You will realise how easy it is to get what you want more cheaply, I am addicted to the grabbit forums!

Good luck,

Lara

Hi Lara.

Happy Birthday for Sunday!

I have drawn up a budget for myself, which should in theory work, it's based on Martin's (I've downloaded his onto my pc) and I will stick to it.

On it I've included a small monthly allowance for all of the things I need. I've been losing weight recently and rather than buying new clothes all the time I have a very clever friend who is going to teach me how to alter them to fit. That and I have so many 'Boots' freebie's I don't need to buy anything for a couple of months.

I'll have a look at the grabbit bits. Thanks for the suggestion!

Jazzyjeff_2

Elephant.co.uk have been very cheap for me since 23 years old. Remember to also check out quidco when taking out any insurance, some good payouts there!!