The 'Swing' towards freedom

New_Bill

Hi all

I was reading a couple of threads the other day around how sometimes - whilst in the process of paying back debt - it can be difficult to see progress - even if you 'know' you are doing the right thing. Personally, I have seven payments remaining out of forty three - but I am really struggling at the moment despite the fact that by the end of March - all my money will be my own. For three years I've had to miss out on doing some things with friends. A few know about what I am doing, but I think others probably believe I have become a hermit. This can get me down, again I know I am doing right but it is very difficult to constantly turn down invitations out for a drink or dinner - and the doubts creep in that they will start leaving you out of their plans in the future as you are not making any effort now.

Anyhow, I use spreadsheets for my budget which I look at religiously, I also have my DMP repayment schedule in Excel. Sometimes I take comfort in looking at these, knowing I am doing the right thing in the long run. I suppose I found a new way of looking at things which I found helps me 'step back' and see the bigger picture. Maybe some of you can use this ( and I am sure it would have been mentioned before somewhere ) to help you picture the progress you are making.

I take my debt as a % of my salary at LBM. The update it every month. So roughly, my debt was £12k in June 2010 - my salary was £19k. So my debt was 63% of my salary. Every month, your debt - if you maintain your payments will reduce ( presumably ). However - should you be lucky enough to increase your salary ( through promotion or new job or whatever ) this method allows you to come up with a figure I call the 'swing'. So now, in September 2013 my salary is £30k, and my debt is £2.6k. So my debt is now roughly 9% of my salary. My salary increase ( £11k ) plus my debt repayment ( £9.4k ) - so far = £20.4k. This is the 'swing' figure I now keep in my head. My situation has improved by this amount - though sometimes it doesn't feel like it! I suppose my point is - this my be a useful measure to those who feel they have little to show for month upon month of debt repayment.

Maybe this will be useful, maybe it wont. Thought it was worth putting on here as I do not contribute much but read this forum on a daily basis - sometimes simply to comfort myself that things are heading in the right direction.

[Deleted User]

Seven payments is nearly there, so stick with it.

I'm not going to bulls**t you and say the last few are easy, because they're not (indeed, the closer you get, the more it seems to drag ), but the thrill of finally being DF is worth all the effort and struggle.

The anticipation of that last payment is like waiting to go on a first date, but once you get there, it's a fantastic feeling.

New_Bill

Thanks Bob, I saw your thread the other day. Congrats. I'm trying to find any measure that gives me some sort of lift at the moment.

To be fair, I'd do well to remember how I was feeling when I first came on here. It seems like another life now. When I see somebody come on here and 'start the journey' I always think it is the start of the rest of their lives. Seriously, it is probably the best thing I ever did. Becoming comfortable with my financial situation allowed me to make other changes in my life and at work without having his heavy weight on my mind.

But as you say - the closer you get the further away it seem - the anticipation is palpable!

[Deleted User]

New_Bill wrote: »

I'm trying to find any measure that gives me some sort of lift at the moment.

Think of it this way, you are almost 5/6th of the way there. The next payment gets you down to 1/2 of a year, from a starting point of over 4 1/2 years.

It's worth that final wait, isn't it?

the anticipation is palpable!

It is very palpable.

I know it probably sounds silly but, what I did, for the last few payments, was pin up a typed page, listing the months, and the amount that would left after each month's payment.

Then, as each payment was made, I'd cross it out with a thick marker pen, thereby symbolically "crossing off" another one.

When I reached the last one, I circled £0, and drew a smiley face next to it.

Almost a month later, that note is still there, as a reminder that I've finally made it.



Whatever it takes, to keep focused.

debt-freeoneday

Wow, you're so close to becoming debt free! I can imagine how hard it's been over the last few years.

My hubby and I have been in debt for a long (long) time, it's only recently that something changed in our mindset and we've started putting debt at the forefront of our minds.

The funny thing is that a few years ago, we were earning double than what we're earning now but we've made quite a big impact on our debts since January through sheer hard work and scrimping and saving every penny. We've paid 10% of our debt back, doesn't sound like much, but to us it's really positive!

We're doing great but we have a long way to go!