Kicking the debt

4greenbottles

I'm giving myself a slap on the wrist for not updating my diary for over 6weeks. Have been sticking to the money saving but not keeping a proper track on here and only updating my excel spreadsheet.

6week update : hubby's bonus was larger than we expected and we've cleared all our credit cards and overdrafts which is great news. I've also managed to overpay the zopa loan by £548-17.

Our new outstanding debt total is now

Zopa : £2186.07
Car : £8459.00

We've made a great start on the xmas shopping for the kids and only need to get a few more stocking fillers for them, gifts for parents and each other. Should all be done and dusted with October's pay day money and planning to order and pay for the the turkey too. Will be nice to get to December and not be panicking how to find the money and ending up putting it on the credit car.

Checking our accounts and we've got just over £500 until pay day. The car is full, freezer/cupboards bursting and we're away for the last week of October, first week of November.

I finally feel like we're in control of our money rather than lurching from one pay day to the next. The bonus helped get us straight so now we're on a mission. We have set ourselves the target of saving £1000 a month next year. I'll have a tax bill in Jan, but am going to make a start with the surplus once the zopa loan is cleared.

4greenbottles

Wow.....i really need to keep posting on my diary!

Had a rollercoaster of sepnding, few major purchases and lent a family member some money (which we don't expect to see back ever) Long story, but needed doing. We have continued to keep paying debts on time and as much as we can but the total outstanding is a lot larger than it was! Will have a count up and post the new total. Today is a new day and yet again we're drawing a new line in the sand. We'll put it down to experience and keep on going.

4greenbottles

Car 0% loan - 19 months x £302 = £5134
Zopa 1 - 15 months x £82.34 = £1235
Zopa 2 - 50 months x £139.90 = £7590
Hubby 0% credit card - 0% until Dec 2015 - £3244.50
Balance to pay on holiday £749

Total debt - £17952-50!

OUCH!!!! Well it's written down and we know exactly where each penny has come from. The large zopa 2 was for a second car for my hubby. He's charged his job and is doing a long commute most days, which his company pay his mileage. Not ideal, but the mileage more than covers running costs and repayment charges.

As for the holiday, yes it's a luxury and we felt the cost outweighed the benefit of the savings. Our plan is to pay the holiday balance and then get rid of the zopa 1 first. It's the smallest amount and then use the additional £82 towards the zopa2. ONce holiday out the way we'll set the monthly payment to £125 which will cover most of the opustanding balance on the 0% before it's rate finishes.

Right, meal planning, saving and not spending are the way forward! I think the most important process is to keep a diary to keep on track!