I'm going to buy a ski lodge.......

daisystar

Well that's the dream. The reality is that at present, I (along with my DH) have around 44K of debt and two huge mortgages :cool:

So why the ridiculous dream? Well, despite having what the experts might call a 'half-arsed' LBM a couple of years ago when I first went on maternity leave, we really haven't managed to make many in-roads into our debt. We have made a lot of sensible changes (more of those in later posts) but haven't really, really, really made enough of an effort to become debt free.

So, my plan to get moving and deal with this can be summarised as this:

• stop being Queen Lurky of Lurkerdom and create this diary to record and account for my debt busting actions. I am pregnant with DC2 at the mo so should have many an evening to update and share
• Create and stick to short and medium term goals, including joining some of the challenges, to maintain my interest and for a sense of achievement (more on these in later posts too)
• Create a massive, scary, seemingly unrealistic goal that gives me joy whenever I think about it - hence the ski lodge. This is to motivate and help me see a bigger picture whenever the day to day drudgery of debt-busting and generally living under the cloud that debt can bring threatens to thwart all good intentions. I honestly have no idea whether this can realistically happen, but I think theres no harm at all in reaching for the stars I'm already finding collecting Pinterest images of ski lodges makes me smile and gives me the determination to really start this thing.

So....... that's it for now. A little about me - I'm 32 and at present am a full time mummy. I live with DH, DS1 and DC2 is due next year.
I would absolutely love it if some of you would join me on this mission as I've read through some super-inspiring diaries on here and the success that is going on all over the place makes me realise that this can happen! Feel free to share whatever huge goals or visions of the future give you the determination to see this through, I'd love to hear them

Thanks so so much for reading,
daisystar

Indebted2U

Hi daisystar what a fantastic goal to have :j I've always planned on retiring to the Alps so I'll join you if I may on your debt busting journey. Good luck and consider me subscribed :T

BEAT_THE_DEBT

Great first post! Hi and welcome xx

HOK3Y

Love it! Great post and you are right to set yourself a large goal -aim high and you will always do better than if you hadn't! I will follow along and cheerlead all the way!

daisystar

Ooh hello! :wave::hello: Thanks so much for reading and replying everyone, I'm genuinely thrilled!
How brilliant that you plan to retire to the alps Indebted2U - have you got a timescale for this? And a location in mind?
According to DH, I'm allowed to dream about my ski lodge but until we've paid off the debt then I am under strict instructions to "not go on about it". I think now he's firmly on board with the debt busting plans he is as keen as I am to see some result

So, the day-to-day steps and short term goals are as follows (this is where I get to feel all saintly about what we've already put in place):

Stick to the weekly budget for all controllable spends
Note down all spends
Continue to sell everything not nailed down via auction and fb sites
Continue to assign money to different pipggybanking accounts each month (I LOVE doing this!! Think its because the money goes UP and its such a novel thing to see!!)
Meal plan - ugh. And stick to it.
Try to be gift neutral for birthdays using survey sites/selling.

Ugh, isn't it deathly dull? Essential, but sooooooo dull
So this is where you lovely people come in, as if I was doing this on my own - DH is totally supportive but I am the one running and pushing this - I would get so bored that I'd end up doing something distinctly un-MSE to liven things up. If anyone has any tips to make this debt-busting malarkey more interesting please let me know

Daisystar

Indebted2U

Hi Daisystar. My retirement is years off but hopefully before I'm at state retirement age and anywhere in the 3 Valleys would be my dream destination :j

Well done on all you've achieved so far.:T Some of the things that have helped me were...

1. Writing a Statement of Affairs, then looking at where I could cut, cut, cut. The really brave publish it here for others to comment on and suggest further savings.
2. Setting myself regular goals and targets, (5%, 10% paid off whatever works for you) otherwise the debt free day seems so far off.
3. Building up a very small amount of savings. This has helped more than I could have imagined as it's really an emergency fund. If I really need to pay something I can without having to put it on the dreaded CC's . I've even pushed my debt payment higher knowing if the cash really runs out at the end of the month I have something to fall back on.

There's loads of other tips on here and I'm sure others far better qualified than me will chime in soon.:)

daisystar

Thanks Indebted2U, you give very good advice Wow, the 3 Valleys really is a dream destination - I might see you there!! :j

The SOA is a thing of both beauty and fear :cool: We have done this, several times in fact as our situation seems to continually change (some bills go up, mainly none go down) and it is this that first set us on our road to recovery, as it were. I don't think I'm brave enough yet to put one on here but maybe in time.....

I shall, however, try to reveal a bit more about my spendy habits as I get more confident on here, as I am aware that is the only way I will get the advice I need.

Regular goals are what I need, this is where the challenges come in. I'm always inclined towards the big goals (ski lodge, anyone?!!) and am mega-enthusiastic for a short time but then lose interest as it obviously doesn't happen overnight.
Soooo.......short term challenges are what are needed. I shall check out the boards and maybe get brave enough to join one.....

And yes I agree about the small savings totally, - we've been doing this and its just paid for (most of) a holiday next year. Not very MSE I know but its for a family wedding so unavoidable and is at the other end of the country. On the positive side we've been able to pay for it as we had the savings, so no going further into debt :A

Crikey, I've gone on a bit! I'm sure not all posts will be this long as time goes on.

Daisystar

daisystar

Afternoon!

Right, after feeling like my brain has become even more chaotic with all this since I started the diary, and after reading quite a bit of NinjaSavingKat's amazingly inspiring diary, I have decided to create goals and address issues in bitesize chunks, one day at a time until I've got something sustainable going on.

So, here is Big Goal Number One: I am going to pay off 20K of the debt by 31st December next year :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

There, its out there. No going back now. Bring it

CaptainAmerica

Imagine the feeling of looking at your debt and seeing it reduced by 20k......... well this time next year it could be.......no no wait a minute.......it WILL be!!! :beer:

heartbreak_star

My big goal is my own cheerleading gym, with a spring floor and tumble track and foam pit.

I can dream - it'd cost about £100,000!

HBS x

[Deleted User]

Hi Daisystar

I am a SAHM of two children with one at school (no more for me sadly ). We made some big changes in the last year alone which resulted in paying a lot off already. But now I am not working we calculated that it will take 5 years to pay off the rest of the debt owed.

Are aim is now to move in 5 years. We have two remaining loans which are fixed and one interest free argos card which finishes in March 2014. Any money that is now left over and hopefully hubby's wages will increase, will be put away towards the fees/costs of moving in 5 years (unless we manage to save up more than expected and will pay off the loans quicker). Our main problem was always having a credit card at hand and would impulse buy and worry about it later and then something would go wrong. It felt more that we ignored our spending habits, saying that we will pay for it at the end of the month, but it got so big that we started paying interest and escalated from there. It's amazing what denial can do when you don't keep tabs on where your money is going.

All the best - nice to have a goal to strive for :j