Kate's Journey

Kate_fixing_it

So here we are! 2014, the year I will become debt free!

I have the day from hell ahead of me in the office but I know I can get through if I just do exactly what I do every day - one thing at a time, head down and just work until home time.

I had a great time seeing in the new year with friends and family and spent yesterday doing absolutely nothing. Today is my first post-christmas visit to slimming world.i don't think I've eaten too badly but then again I haven't been particularly good either. I had 4lb to "play" with and stay in range but whatever I've gained will come off again as quickly as it went on.

The silly idea of paying off over £1000 in January is not looking so silly now. I'm going to pay a bit more off the "stupid" CC today once I've done a full and honest re-budget and even if I don't clear the £460 balance today it'll be gone before the month is out.

I'm not really one for resolutions, mostly because I forget what they are within a week but I've already made massive changes and aside from seeing the debt reduce there's not very much I want to change. Taking a step back I'm finding it a little amusing to hear all the plans for the "whole new start" that are huge life changes with no trigger other than the fact that it's January from most of the people I know. Even DH has a goal and he's already set the start date back a few days :rotfl:

So if I had to set a resolution for 2014 it'd simply be to continue the way I've been living since my LBM - not really a resolution as there is no change but at least I've had some practice and as this is my life now I have no worries about trying to remember it over the coming months!

So here I am, 2nd January, goalposts moved already, DFD on the horizon and happier than I've ever been. I think that whatever comes my way this is going to be a great year.

Kate x

Kate_fixing_it

Hi All,

It's been a while since I posted here and it's not been a great time. I've been really down and sadly wallowing. I just feel like I'm getting nowhere, simply treading water from one payday to the next. We've had some unexpected bills, I totally lost my momentum in paying it all off. Work has been stressful, my leg seems to be getting more painful and debt freedom feels like an impossible dream.

I've had enough of feeling this way so I'm posting here to myself as a kick up my own backside.

So here's what I've achieved:
No more PDLs. They are now a lesson learned and a place to never visit again.
Grocery budget stuck to CONSISTENTLY.
Christmas did not leave me struggling in January, all paid before 23rd Dec.
Christmas was wonderful, four happy kids.
No bank charges!
NSD targets hit
No unnecessary visits to the sales. Only genuinely needed items were purchased.
Debt has reduced, only by minimum payments but it's lower
I've already paid off more than I managed in December with more cash available tomorrow.
I gained 4.5lb over Xmas and New Year but lost it in my first week back at SW.

Reading it back I can see I've not gone completely off the rails at all. I'm still plodding along and I'm probably just being too hard on myself. I just can't shake the feeling that I should have done more. I'm not unhappy with the progress I've made and the changes that are now habits I just want more and I know I'm being ridiculous. A part of me knows I don't HAVE to be debt free by October, our situation has changed and in a couple of months our income will be reduced so October isn't a realistic aim to have everything paid but a tiny part of me feels like I've failed. That part of me is 100% wrong. How can I have failed when the deadline is 9 months away? Still nobody ever said feelings were rational.

So here's the kick up the bum and stern talking to I need. I am doing well. I have made huge progress. I have paid over £2500 off already. I have not defaulted or been late in paying anything. I have not made any balances increase. I have incurred no bank charges and I know to the penny where my money is going. This is simply a confidence blip and if I continue like this I WILL be debt free. It may not be this year but I'll be in a much better place than I was last year. It's the journey that matters right now and continuing along the road no matter how slowly, if I can keep taking steps forward I'll eventually get there and in a way this low feeling is important.

This is just a hurdle in the road to climb over or around or crash through...and I WILL!

kittycatfan

Hi well firstly let me say you are doing fab i no what you mean by feeling your getting nowhere im the same and the other day i could really see great progress on my asda cc payments then my int free ended and they slapped £22interest on top of my £20. Payment so straight away i balanced transferred that one i hope to be debt free in 5 years but tbh i havent actually ever worked it out properly anyway dont feel down your doing great

Kate_fixing_it

Thanks Kittycatfan xxx

I've just read through my entire diary and that last post several times. My backside has been well and truly kicked. TBH I'm thinking now that I'm just thinking too big. I congratulate myself on each small step then beat myself with the thought of how much more there is to go!

Realistically I've already stopped dealing with 4 creditors, I have decided I'm going to "pretend" that all but one creditor at a time don't exist. I don't mean I'm not going to pay, all debts are set up to pay the minimum payment or the agreed installment by DD or SO therefore I don't need to think about them to keep them on track.

Now the next step. I have cancelled the DD to the CC with the highest interest rate. The balance is £420ish. I am going to concentrate on this. Tomorrow I can comfortably pay £120 off taking the balance down to £300. It's possible that the following Monday I can afford to pay a little more (£50) taking it down to £250. Payday is Friday 24th January and I plan to pay off another £150, leaving me just £100 left to pay.

I'm sure a little creative thought around DD2's birthday gifts (I've budgeted for £100 spend), a bit of cutting back on the two grocery shops and I can "find" that extra and then close the card.

I feel better already. This is the highest interest card and the lowest balance and it can be gone in two weeks time! I just needed to find a new focus, set an achievable goal and plan how to get there. I won't be debt-free today, tomorrow, next week or next month but I will be one day soon.

Kate x

eco_farmer

well I for one think your doing a marvellous job and your doing the right thing in tackling the highest APR first.Soon your already large snowball will become an unstoppable force and you'll be debt free. your idea of one card at a time is a great way of keeping motivated, small steps becoming giant leaps!Januarys dullness is always tough so don't be too hard on yourself. small suggestions - any chance of getting some of your debt onto interest free? are you on the right uliities mobilephone tarrifs ?etc im sure you are already but making even very small savings there will give you boast in your head ? and a feeling of taking control. You should also revisit the snowball calculator and get yourself an actual date to focus on.
much luck
eco

Kate_fixing_it

I'm feeling much better after giving myself a good talking to and thank you for your support.

The gas and electric are on lowest deals we could find (this is something we check regularly) all mobile phones are PAYG. Mine is an ancient deal where I pay £10 a month for unlimited texts and internet and I rarely call anyone - usually only in an emergency and home phone is only used for landline calls under an hour to keep costs down. The teens' phones are topped up by their grandparents each month.

We do have virgin TV and Netflix but these replace trips to cinema and purchase of DVDs for entertainment and cost less than one family trip to the cinema per month. Our rent is lower than average for the size of house and area and we're looking to downsize (and hopefully buy) in 6-8 years when we know what our family situation is (whether teens have moved into independent adult lives) and we've saved a huge deposit and both moved up in our careers. I love our home and these plans are a long long way off but that's the end goal.

We've just had a long run of bad luck, bad decisions and our (my) heads buried in the sand. I do think you're right that this low feeling is related to the time of year. It's only light for 8-9 hours a day, the temperature hasn't gotten over 3° today which doesn't help my pain levels and hubby's shift pattern means I've been pretty much a single parent all weekend. At least we have an end date on that last one. I just needed to get myself out of the pit of wallowing and stop beating myself up for not having got there yet. It took me years to build up the debt, it's unreasonable to expect it gone in 3 months.

So it's now one debt at a time. The others are still reducing each month but I don't need to constantly think about them.

I've dug out my study materials today so I can distract myself, I remembered to get the steak out of the freezer for a lovely dinner and I've caught up on all the laundry. In fact I've done a lot today. I've also decided I'm going to ask for Wednesday off work. It's DD2's 5th birthday and to be quite honest I could do with a bit of time to spend with hubby. We'll probably end up spring cleaning the house and then watching TV but at least we'd be doing it together without little people demanding all day. It's an age since we had time for just the two of us.

I really am feeling much better already and newly motivated. I'm going to have a look at the snowball calculator again tonight. Sitting around stressing isn't going to help anyone and as much as I'd love to be debt free ASAP as long as I get there it doesn't really matter how or when.

Thanks again for the support, it really does mean so much to me, not just on these rough days but constantly through this journey.

Kate x

Kate_fixing_it

Oh and I forgot the interest free suggestion! Two of the cards are already on 0% deals. I tried for a balance transfer last month but I was declined. My bank have suggested asking about increasing the loan after 6 months of no applications and that'll be March/April so it's an option soon but I'm not entirely sure it's a good idea for me - the loan exists because I wanted to consolidate the CCs and then I ran them up again of course that was long before my LBM but I'm still a little afraid of it happening again.

All worth thinking about though so thank you x

beanielou

Jan is not a great month for most of us.
You are doing fantastically well so don't beat yourself up.
Great idea to target the highest APR card.
If you were to look at loan option you would have to be sure you closed down the cards that you paid off.
Keep plodding

Kate_fixing_it

Thanks Beanie. I don't know what I expected January to be other than easier than the last decade as I didn't spend December's pay on Christmas. Turns out January is just a carp month though a lot better than it could have been! Roll on morning so I can get my "pay a debt" buzz

I'm also wondering if maybe I've gone into this a bit too gung ho? I've spent virtually all my "pocket money" on debt repayments and Christmas. I don't regret it at all but maybe I can allow myself a little treat now and then and not be quite so single minded. This isn't a temporary thing, I want my new sensible attitude to last but I don't want to turn into a "repayment bore" either. Or maybe I'm just thinking too much and I should have my head in a book studying for distraction - although I'm not sure how much of a distraction accountancy studies will be

Kate x

beanielou

I think I missed why your income was going to reduce soon?

Good idea to treat yourself sometimes otherwise we just loose the plot I think.