Beginning of a Dept Story

jimbopolo

Hi all, I have been reading a lot of the Dept Free Diaries and it has inspired motivation for me to clear my dept so i can start saving and really enjoy life.

My dept started when i worked in the city and applied for my first credit card with 0% interest and 5k limit although i didn't need to use the card i used it for a lot of my purchases and a holiday to America as it was 0% i didn't worry about it as i could pay it off "any time".

I then moved out of the city for another job with a paycut so it was tough to pay off the credit card as the 0% ended and i was putting fuel on the card towards the end of the month. Also the bank had increased my credit limit to 7.5k.

This credit card was then paid off by my girlfriend a total of £6085.55 and the card was closed and cut up. I then got myself another credit card a few months down the line to keep a good credit rating with a lower credit limit. Before i knew it i was back to my old habits and spending beyond my means, after the 0% was up on the card i decided to just move the balance to another 0% card but i kept both cards open and kept spending this is now totaling about 4k.

I then decided it would be a good idea to take out a loan to clear my dept and then put the remainder away in savings. I got a 7.5k loan over 4 yeas and cleared my cards and put some in savings bonds and the rest of it in savings.

Since then my car has died so i bought another cheap car to replace and at the same time bought a project convertible car which has put me back in dept a total of £3899.75 and a new computer which set me back £550 on a buy now pay in 12 months which is up in December 2013.

I have had numerous attempts of hiding and moving this dept and now i have decided to total it all up and pay it all off asap.

My total dept is £17,043.97 which is a scary number for me.

My goal is to pay off 50% of this dept this year (£8521.98) so i can buy an engagement ring in December 2013............

I am preparing sell my car that does 21mpg and start cycling to work as a start which will save me £230 a month in fuel, £45 a month in insurance and £220 a yea in tax plus whatever i can sell the car for (roughly worth £1000) totaling roughly (£3695).

I have also setup a £50 a month standing order to the girlfriend as a minimum payment paying back a minimum of £450 by December

My loan is coming out at £175.91 a month so that is taken care of and paid back £1583.19 of my dept by December.

Brake down of my dept as of 4th February 2013:
Credit Card 1: £2,088.65
Credit Card 2: £1,811.10
Loan: £6,508.67
Girlfriend: £6,085.55
Computer: £550
Total: £17043.97

Wish Me Luck, there will be updates weekly.

beanielou

Happy shiney new diary
WElcome to MSE.
Keep posting!

Figtree

*cough* deBt *cough*

Figtree

Good luck btw! Do you still have some money in savings? It might be worth considering using some of it to pay of the debt (although weigh that up against having the savings as a 'fall back' should anything happen such as redundancy).

fredandwilma

Figtree wrote: »

Good luck btw! Do you still have some money in savings? It might be worth considering using some of it to pay of the debt (although weigh that up against having the savings as a 'fall back' should anything happen such as redundancy).

*cough* ofF *cough* :rotfl::D


Good look jimbopolo.



Sorry. Good luck jimbopolo.

jimbopolo

Cheers all :-). Unfortunately Figtree the savings all went as well to clear my credit cards last time around. I have been really crap with money, but it has been a lot of fun.

Figtree

Hehe, good point, fredandwilma

Looking forward to the updates, jimbopolo!

jimbopolo

Ok, good and bad start to the month. I managed to reduce some debt but ended up buying some parts for the car to continue working on it, though stripping the engine down and replacing everything myself would save a lot of money in the longer run.

I have now decided to sell both cars instead of 1 to give me a boost on clearing my debt. The Rover 75 2.5 V6 will be the first to go up on line in the next few weeks followed by the Mazda MX5 nearer the summer.

Credit Card 1:
Jan 13: £2,088.65
Feb 13: £2,461.99
Credit Card 2:
Jan 13: £1,811.10
Feb 13: £1,719.66
Tesco Loan:
Jan 13: £6,508.67
Feb 13: £6,332.76
Girlfriend:
Jan 13: £6,085.55
Feb 13: £6,035.55
Computer: £550

Total:
Jan 13: £17,043.97
Feb 13: £17,099.96

Bring it on!

jimbopolo

Managed to start Cycling into work its just under 11 miles each way, I can actually start to see this plan to save money starting now. the first car will be going up for sale at the weekend.

jimbopolo

I have kept up the biking into work, it has been a very cold week but i am feeling good from the exercise. I Managed 76 Miles 2 weeks ago, last week i did 85 miles, this week i am on track to do at least 50 miles. I have figured out that i have saved about £70 in fuel so far and lost 6lbs in the process.

pantherchick

Good luck Jimbopolo,

It's so easy to get pulled into spending money and having a great time, not so much fun paying it back.. I have cleared roughly £5k of debt on my own over the last 3 years. still have a little to pay off but steady and surely you will start seeing a better future.
Well done with the cost cutting with the car, rather you than me in this weather, but you seem to have made a good move and good savings to be had. every penny counts. i will follow your posts when i can... good luck. happy cycling, xx