My Debt Free Journey to November 2018

[Deleted User]

Hi, yes, after looking on here for a very long time, I have decided to register and set up my own journey to a debt free life which will benefit me and my family.

With the support of my husband who is also focused in becoming debt free (apart from the mortgage) we are realistically looking at becoming debt free by November 2018. From 2008 we had a combined debt total of £42,893 after moving to our current house. We couldn't believe the bank lent us more money so we could move dispite having such a huge debt and unfortunately it just got worse as we ran into some difficulties with childcare and we just chose to not really deal with it. We paid the bear minimum but didn't address the issue until 18 months ago. We decided to use my wages in paying off the debts whilst living off one wage. It worked really well and paid a bulk of this debt until I got made redundant in May.

Since becoming a SAHM we have managed to do a spreadsheet and plan EVERYTHING when it comes to bills and spending. I have searched for competitive home insurance, car insurance, energy tariffs and shopped on a budget. Thanks for MoneySavingExpert Energy Club :money: I have managed to get £30 cashback on my energy tariff and £100 cashback on my home insurance with Swintons because I have the savings to pay my policy in full instead of paying my direct debit.

So far we are ok and on track to have everything paid off by November 2018 - if not sooner

Our current debt is now as of today £27,783.16 and is coming down.

wegle

Hey MrsBB. Welcome to the club!

Wow you've made some great MSE savings there already. Keep up like that and you'll have no problem kicking this debt away!

Good luck on your journey!

[Deleted User]

Awwww Thank you. It was really hard going to start with, especially when my husband did not want to admit we were going to get into trouble. It is hard at time but when we look at what debt we started with and what we have now it's great.

I hope we can keep this up....roll on payday next Friday so I can get organising our money. Especially now Christmas is next on the agenda. We are hoping to start buying our main presents for our kids (we have two) next month and have our 1st credit card free Christmas and start the new year with no added borrowing.

BTW; On Friday we will be in a position to close two credit card accounts...yay!!! We decided we are not going to keep them and just close all cards when they are paid off, that way we cannot get into trouble again.

[Deleted User]

Well, it was payday Friday and budgeting is well under way. Paid another £280 off my Argos card leaving a balance now of £811, so well on track for that account to be cleared by April 2014. Also receiving letters closing various accounts I do not use anymore as I do not want to be tempted to use them. We are now down to 2 debt direct debits (2 x loans) and one bill payment standing order which will make it easier with ensuring I do not miss payments - as I always keep checking and re-checking because I worry (I have never missed a payment)

Will be doing a debt total on 10th October when all direct debt have been paid - I want to see it come down every month (that's my motivation)

Right, must go, cleaning the house today as I have parents evening at my child's school today and my parents are babysitting.

[Deleted User]

Just also wanted to add that on Saturday I phoned my Barclaycard to close my account as I had cleared this and it took over 30 minutes which was beyond a joke. They wanted to me to keep it open as an emergency credit card and give me £20 credit to spend. They were quite insitant, they also wanted to increase my credit limit and give me a lower purchasing rate from 19.9% to 11.9% - I lost count how many times I said that I wasn't interested and was passed round to about 3 different ppl claiming to be the closure department. My husband was getting rather annoyed with this and almost grabbed the phone. I told them I was not working anymore, but they just wanted to throw me more credit....no wonder ppl can get back into trouble very easy - I don't call that responsible banking - never again :mad:

Puzzcat

Well done for resisting the barclaycard hard sell and to getting those accounts closed..

Good luck on the rest of your journey, looks like your doing a fab job.

Puzz. x

Scritti

MrsBrownBear wrote: »

Just also wanted to add that on Saturday I phoned my Barclaycard to close my account as I had cleared this and it took over 30 minutes which was beyond a joke. They wanted to me to keep it open as an emergency credit card and give me £20 credit to spend. They were quite insitant, they also wanted to increase my credit limit and give me a lower purchasing rate from 19.9% to 11.9% - I lost count how many times I said that I wasn't interested and was passed round to about 3 different ppl claiming to be the closure department. My husband was getting rather annoyed with this and almost grabbed the phone. I told them I was not working anymore, but they just wanted to throw me more credit....no wonder ppl can get back into trouble very easy - I don't call that responsible banking - never again :mad:

Hi MrsBrownBear. Looking forward to future posts with interest. Good luck, you're off to a great start!

I had the same problem earlier this year when I started my debt-free journey. I put all my CC debt onto one 0% Barclaycard. When I started checking the account online, I discovered I already had an old Barclaycard that I'd never used so called them to cancel this old card.

Getting them to shut the account took ages and I almost lost my rag trying to tell them that I didn't need or want this card. There was about £3500 credit on it.

In the end, I was so annoyed with their attitude that I eventually insisted that not only did they close the account on this old card but they also decrease the credit limit on the new card from £8500 down to just the £5000 that I owed so I had no spendable credit from them. I would not have used it anyway as I have a cheaper interest HSBC card for absolute emergencies (which I'm pleased to say is now at a balance of zero after it was at £10,000 just a couple of years ago). Plus, I've gone from being £1500 in debt on my overdraft to clearing it and having about a grand - so far - in credit. So there is NO WAY I plan to be using a flippin' credit card ever again.

It's like they really do want to help get you into debt. It seriously p*ssed me off but I feel like I'm getting my own back by paying their card off at 0% and will ensure they don't get a penny extra from me. I am on track to clear the card by the end of 0% period. If for any reason that doesn't happen completely, I will transfer the small remaining amount onto a different 0% card.

Again, best of luck with your debt-busting and thanks for creating this thread - it's nice to read these kinds of threads as it feels like you're not alone in trying to sort your finances out (especially when the people around you are either doing okay, pretending to be doing okay or just not yet bothered about getting out of an endless spiral of debt).

[Deleted User]

Thank you for replying Scritti. We have a 5 year plan (which is when the loans actually finish) to decided whether we stay where we are or move. If we stay then the money we are paying every month with the loans will be spent on the house.

Going back to the credit cards, especially Barclaycard was increasing my credit limit and kept offering 0% on additional borrowing. If I'd use it then I could have potentially been £12.5K in debt....it's just so scary just thinking about it.

[Deleted User]

So, just a quick update, it has come down by £348 this month - I am hoping to pay off more at the end of this month but with Christmas on the horizon I may not be able to pay off as much.

[Deleted User]

Hi
Just my own personal update. I have managed to have 6 NSD so far this month. It has helped that I am doing my grocery shopping online with ASDA so I am not overspending whilst in the supermarket. Also not having to drag the kids round with me too is saving me a fortune. I have had to pop out for the odd pint of milk on occasions but nothing like I used to do. I started the online shop on 23rd September and paid £8 for a month of deliveries....so far I have spent in 4 weeks of shopping - £234.54 which is the best so far - I am £45.46 so far under budget (£70 per week budget for groceries) This will be my second month without a credit card. I am feeling very proud of myself with the changes we have made so far.

I have already completed some of my Christmas shopping and have made a list of things and budget amounts we have available to spend. My husband and I are more determined to have a lovely Christmas without the dreaded credit card bills to follow.

Oh, I have also started making my own bread which the kid's love.

If anyone has any money saving ideas I could adopt, please post them for me to read. I am eager to help save money on household cleaning stuff if anyone has any good tips.

Also, any ideas for presents for parents in-law (what would you like to receive if it were you?) We have done hampers in the past but I don't think they are going down too well.

[Deleted User]

Right, another update to myself - having your own diary makes me feel that I am in control.

The asda online shopping has been a success - managed 5 deliveries for £8 which I feel was totally worth it. My spends for food were £320.19 - my budget was £350 - saving £21.81 (with delivery charge taken out) - this will be my 1st month of not going over....yay

Had my credit card bill through which we paid off with the loan my husband took out - have to pay £34.19 in interest, which I can understand but I was hoping to receive a nil balance credit card statement, so we can close it down.

I am going to try harder to meal plan with a better variety - so if anyone has any family friendly meals you love making then please share. :j