"The best way to get something done is to begin"

Non_compos_mentis

I have been up all this time due my excitement of "giving myself a Christmas present". I have spent more or less my entire December salary. I have achieved what I had set out to achieve last week i.e. clear the following debts.

• Natwest Loan [STRIKE]-£365 [/STRIKE] £0
• Natwest CC 1 [STRIKE]-£959 [/STRIKE] -£933 (0% till Feb 2014)
• Barclaycard 2 [STRIKE]-£1,448[/STRIKE] -£1,348 (0% till May 2014)
• Barclays 1 [STRIKE]-£2,520[/STRIKE] £0
• Natwest CC 2 [STRIKE]-£2,618[/STRIKE] -£2,516 (0% till April 2014)
• MBNA [STRIKE]-£5,261[/STRIKE] -£5,160 (£787 0% Nov/14; balance 6.9% LOB)
• Family loan 2 -£5,281 (0%)
• Barclaycard 1 [STRIKE]-£7,438[/STRIKE] -£5,928 (£6064 6.9% LOB; balance at 18.9%)
• Family loan 1 -£12,120 (0%)
• Total [STRIKE]-£38,010[/STRIKE] -£33,286

I am also renewing my travelcard tomorrow. At the end of tomorrow I will have spent my entire wage plus bonus except £300 spending money and a few DDs that leave my account.

Given the extremely tight budget for the rest of Dec/Jan, I will need to prolong my NSDs streak - currently at 7 and counting! Don't think it can go on for much longer!

Rambling over!

NCM

Listerbelle

Does your employer offer interest-free travel loan, whereby they pay for the annual ticket and then it comes out of your monthly pay?

Non_compos_mentis

Hi Listerbelle,

My employer offers interest free season ticket loans. However, this is restricted to certain levels. I have had one for the last few years, I am no longer eligible for it from this year onwards.

NCM

Non_compos_mentis

December is proving to be a good month so far, virtually all the goals and targets have been achieved.

I have renewed the season ticket that I have been going on and on about - saved myself a couple of hundred quid by renewing before the fare hike and using some vouchers that I got cause my journey was delayed a few times! If you live in London and generally buy monthly travelcard but are able to buy an annual travelcard, I would highly recommended that you buy an annual one! The savings are gigantic! For example, if you normally buy Zone 1 to 2 travelcard, you would save over £240 - that is a whooping 17% savings!

I will have racked up NSD number 9 if I manage not to spend anything today! I need this streak to continue for a very long time cause January is generally another very expensive month for me - have to renew subscriptions. I also have a dentist and dental hygienist appointment due for January.

Has anyone used or looked into the Save to Buy account from Nationwide? (might turn out to be another rhetorically question, not too dissimilar to the MBNA question!)

Time to stop rambling else it may be painful reading for myself a few months/years down the line when I re-read this to reflect back on the journey!!!

joolsybools

Hey NCM,

Good thread and I hope you go on the way you have started!

I was going to suggest you think about cycling to commute rather than tubes etc as you mentioned you want to lose weight, but seems I am I too late as you already bought your travelcard! Maybe next year lol

Good luck with your plan though, it is great to be debt free

Non_compos_mentis

Hi joolsybools,

Thank you for stopping by.

I would love to be able to cycle to work but unfortunately it is not really feasible at this stage because 1) I live about 20 miles away from work 2) I work stupid hours and 3) as you may have read London isn't the safest place for cyclists at the moment.

Everyday I wake up I try to imagine what it would be like to be debt free, it has hard to describe the feeling and emotion as I have been in debt for so long!

I also wake up every morning wondering why/how stupid I have been to be in so much debt when I should have had at least 80 - 100k of savings!

I guess, it is what it is!

NCM

joolsybools

Non_compos_mentis wrote: »

Hi joolsybools,

Thank you for stopping by.

I would love to be able to cycle to work but unfortunately it is not really feasible at this stage because 1) I live about 20 miles away from work 2) I work stupid hours and 3) as you may have read London isn't the safest place for cyclists at the moment.

Everyday I wake up I try to imagine what it would be like to be debt free, it has hard to describe the feeling and emotion as I have been in debt for so long!

I also wake up every morning wondering why/how stupid I have been to be in so much debt when I should have had at least 80 - 100k of savings!

I guess, it is what it is!

NCM

you'll get there

Non_compos_mentis

Thank you joolsybools

Non_compos_mentis

Right, so I am officially single. The (ex?) gf has been using the break to think about our relationship and has decided that she wants to move on. I don't necessarily agree with her decision but will respect it nonetheless.

The split has a lot of ramifications on the financial aspect as well. My carefully mapped out debt repayment plan and short to medium life plans have been blown away.

My biggest outstanding debt of (12k) is owed to her. Whilst she has not asked for an immediate repayment, I would like to repay it sooner rather than later as that would be my closure.

The end of the relationship and life plans being blown apart has got me thinking about my life in general. As a result, I am seriously toying with the idea of either taking time off to go travelling (something that I have always wanted to do) or take up the option through work of working abroad for a little while. I can't seem to take it up whilst I have not cleared sufficient amount of debt! It is the worst possible feeling, your life being put on hold cause of freaking debts!

This has made me even more determined to become debt free sooner. There are two ways I can accelerate my debt repayments, 1) cut down on spending or 2) increase my income.

Cutting my expenditure can only take me so far so the real focus should be increasing my income. I need to investigate the best way forward on this.

Anyway, hope everyone else is having a better festive season than I am!

Happy Holidays!

NCM

Domayne

Hi NCM! :hello:
I'm sorry to hear about you and your gf, that's definitely not a great way to start off the festive season! - Did she say this to you on xmas eve? You deserve better than that hun and it seems like it will be her loss! :kisses3:
I agree with you about the debts putting your life on hold - though this sounds to have given you a kick up the backside and made you more determined than ever - which can only be a good thing?? Good luck with upping your income! Going travelling is a great goal to look forward too and hopefully this will be a huge motivator in paying those debts back ASAP so you can make it a reality! Is there anywhere in particular you want to travel too? Or just sort of see where the wind blows you....xD