Right, here we go!!

Rosie_D

Hi everyone, I hope you don't mind another DFW joining you all on your journeys :j I finally had my lightbulb moment recently when I realised that we can't keep racking up more & more on the credit cards & loans!

We currently owe around £36k, there I've 'said' it! It's not something we share with anyone we know, and that's why this forum is so brilliant as you feel you've always got people to talk to who understand!

I have sat down & worked out a snowball plan & I'm hoping to have it all paid off by dec 2015. The hubby is totally on board with this & I've allowed some funds as well for fun, as when you've got 2 little ones you can't not have fun :j

I'll keep you posted on how we are doing as I'm going to use this as a diary to keep me motivated for the next 3 years!
Speak to you soon, Happy Ju x

Sunflower27

Good luck on your journey and welcome.

This website can really help.

cakesy

We're in a similar boat; married with two young children and very similar debts to you. We also reckon we'll be debt-free by end of 2015. Well done for posting and keep positive. Some days are harder than others but now we've started to see our debt going down it's very satisfying!!
xx

unoriginal_uk

Congrats on your LBM Happy Ju and you are in the best place for support now

Remember if you need extra help you can always post your SOA up and get advice on where others have made cut backs to pay their debt off sooner or have more additional money for their lives in the meantime.

Good Luck:)

Rosie_D

Aww thanks for your welcome guys! I love the thought of all the support that this forum gives you, it's like you're all a little family!

I'm not going to post a soa because I'm quite happy with the plan that I've put into place, I spent all morning yesterday working it out so I'm just gonna stick with that thanks.

Hopefully we should have a fairly spend free weekend due to all the snow that is forecast lol, it just goes to show that you don't have to spend any money to have fun with the kids, it proves this when you see how happy they are playing in the snow for free!

Part of our problem has been wanting to go places at the weekend that also cost a lot of pennies, I suppose we've been living beyond our means for a few years, hence the amount of money we owe :eek: I've come to realise that children don't care about money, they just love spending quality time with the family, we have been spending quality time together but it's just cost a lot of money, when we need to find things that don't cost much (or anything).

foxgloves

Local parks, feeding the ducks, woodland walks, libraries & library events for children, museums, picnics, board games, doing crafts, baking buns, sharing stories etc, there are lots of great free things to do if you look. Last year when my nephews were coming to stay, I asked the older one (9) what he might like to do. His 'best thing to do' was something we did the previous time he came, we went to the local castle (free), tried to peep in the dungeons, sat in the grounds & had flapjacks (home-made & wrapped in foil!), fed the geese (stale bread brought from home), ran laps of the local park while we timed him so he could try & beat his 'best time' & then we went for hot chocolate in a local cafe where he watched the canal boats going though the lock .....yes, we had to pay for hot chocolate, but only 3 as little nephew got a free one, & it was cheaper than we'd have paid at a coffee shop chain. This was the day he wanted to repeat, rather than all the other places we'd taken him! Shan't worry about planning too hard next time!