Debt free by 40 -- 19 Months and counting

maddiemay

Hi Steph
Sorry about DD being poorly, have a good lunch.

A couple of thoughts about motivation (or on bad days lack of it).

A lot of people seem to do one or both of these:-
Alongside debt amount/amount paid they note the (rising) % paid off.

Another one that seems to work for many, and I think there is a thread on here about it, is to draw up a sheet (either paper or a virtual grid) of 100 squares and colour in each 1% paid off. Could either do this for the total, or just single out the one that you consider the most urgent and then move onto the next.

I think it is a case of reminding oneself about the positive stuff that is being achieved not beating up yourself about the negative:D

MM xx

debtfreewannabe321

Morning

fab news that everything is paid for :T

Can you not just share your food with DD? How old is she? I'd be tempted to do that if it were one of mine, or just get her a bowl of chips and if it's not a super posh place i'd bring my own water bottle too for her to save on that but I am pretty tight with eating out as I think it's so expensive lol.

StressedSteph

maddiemay wrote: »

Hi Steph
Sorry about DD being poorly, have a good lunch.

A couple of thoughts about motivation (or on bad days lack of it).

A lot of people seem to do one or both of these:-
Alongside debt amount/amount paid they note the (rising) % paid off.

Another one that seems to work for many, and I think there is a thread on here about it, is to draw up a sheet (either paper or a virtual grid) of 100 squares and colour in each 1% paid off. Could either do this for the total, or just single out the one that you consider the most urgent and then move onto the next.

I think it is a case of reminding oneself about the positive stuff that is being achieved not beating up yourself about the negative:D

MM xx

Good Morning MM,


Do you have a diary?? Can't remember?. If you do let me know and I will track you down x


I have set myself a Mini Goal for February of getting under 19k. This should be quite achievable so hoping that will then give me the incentive to get under 18K for March. If I keep going like that then I will see the total coming down nicely.


I did try the grid idea last time I attempted to kill off this debt and I really enjoyed it. think my downfall was that I did it for the WHOLE 20k debt which was slooooow progress and I eventually gave up.


Think I might create one for each debt I am prioritising. Might not seem such a long time between colourings in


Thanks for the tips hun. I need all I can get. I REALLY don't want to fail this time. I have got so many things I want us to do as a family and this debt is holding us back BIG TIME.


Hope you have a good day. xxx

debtfreewannabe321 wrote: »

Morning

fab news that everything is paid for :T

Can you not just share your food with DD? How old is she? I'd be tempted to do that if it were one of mine, or just get her a bowl of chips and if it's not a super posh place i'd bring my own water bottle too for her to save on that but I am pretty tight with eating out as I think it's so expensive lol.

Hi DFW,


DD is 7, so will probably want something of her own, but a bowl of chips is probably right for her. I will take a drinks bottle with me, because she always wants that fizzy apple juice which costs a fortune


This will be my first trip into town since starting my debt busting. I purposely stay away from shops as I am such an impulse buyer.


I have £20 in my FUN money pot for this week. If lunch comes in under that enough, I might pop to the haberdashery and treat myself to a ball of wool to go with my crochet blanket I am making. I will run out soon and would really love another ball of wool. Think they are about £3 each, so will see how we go.


Other than that, I am NOT allowed to spend any money.


I will report back on how I get on. xxx

FinanciallyUnsavvy

Morning Steph

Glad you are feeling good today! Well done on having all bills paid :j I hate Littlewoods with a passion. I had fairly massive debt with them last year but paid it all off with the credit card before it left its interest-free period. There was one thing I bought (luckily it wasn't a very expensive item) and I'd paid more than half of it off before the interest free period ended, but because some of the balance still remained, the ENTIRE interest was whacked on in one go and I had no choice but to pay it. Think it was over 3 years at whatever it is, 20-30% interest pa? So ended up paying almost twice as much for said item. After that I've been very reluctant to give them any money so as soon as there was room on the CC it was paid with that, and now I'm happy to report my balance is 0.

Hope your little girl feels better soon. So many nasty bugs going around at the moment! Hopefully a trip out for lunch will make her feel better! Hope you both enjoy

Don't be disheartened by not seeing a massive decrease right away. The numbers ARE going down, and looking at your total its decreased by over £1000 which is massive! You're doing excellently - keep it up

maddiemay

I don't have a diary, I joined the no more toiletries thread a couple of years ago as I had accumulated a lot of stuff, to be fair a large percentage was from gifts, but by no means all:(

After surgery on my left ankle and being on crutches for a few weeks I gravitated from reading helpful things on Old Style board to finding the diaries and drop in on one or two and try and offer a bit of moral support now and then. I have read some amazing stories of how people have managed to change their mindset and become debt free. I am sure that you will do it this time.

My OH is really good with money and manages the main expenses, when we got together so many years ago we kept our separate bank accounts and worked out who would pay for what, he earned a lot more than me and was happy to chip in more. He has never had debt and never will buy anything that he cannot settle on a credit card in full, so he is a good influence on me:j:j I tend to buy a few things on my CC and pay it off as quickly as I can, rather than take the money out of my savings, as I know I will not be very good at putting the money back in there:(

I was a bit lazy in December, what with having a virus and then Christmas, so now I am having great fun with "Tilly tidies", transfering the odd amounts on my debit account over to either the CC or savings account, it is quite addictive:D, as I think clearing debt becomes once people get into it.

I used to help out both in a craft shop and a yarn shop when I lived in West Dorset, what yarn are you using for your crochet?

Enough about me, just come back from training session with PT am starving and cream crackered, need to eat then shower.

MM x

StressedSteph

FinanciallyUnsavvy wrote: »

Morning Steph

Glad you are feeling good today! Well done on having all bills paid :j I hate Littlewoods with a passion. I had fairly massive debt with them last year but paid it all off with the credit card before it left its interest-free period. There was one thing I bought (luckily it wasn't a very expensive item) and I'd paid more than half of it off before the interest free period ended, but because some of the balance still remained, the ENTIRE interest was whacked on in one go and I had no choice but to pay it. Think it was over 3 years at whatever it is, 20-30% interest pa? So ended up paying almost twice as much for said item. After that I've been very reluctant to give them any money so as soon as there was room on the CC it was paid with that, and now I'm happy to report my balance is 0.

Hope your little girl feels better soon. So many nasty bugs going around at the moment! Hopefully a trip out for lunch will make her feel better! Hope you both enjoy

Don't be disheartened by not seeing a massive decrease right away. The numbers ARE going down, and looking at your total its decreased by over £1000 which is massive! You're doing excellently - keep it up

Hi Kim,


Just had a statement from Littlewoods this morning. my total debt with them is £2400 and they want a February payment of £1000 :rotfl:. I have to laugh because there isn't a hope in hell that is going to happen. I have foolishly had issue like this with them before, Probably last January . I have found that as long as I make a payment every month, they don't get too nasty. They probably add a £12 late payment on every month, but I can cope with that.


I will definitely block the Littlewoods website once this debt has been cleared. If I can manage to save a pot up for Christmas then I should be able to avoid the "have to buy from Littlewoods because I have no money for Christmas trap"


xxx

maddiemay wrote: »

I don't have a diary, I joined the no more toiletries thread a couple of years ago as I had accumulated a lot of stuff, to be fair a large percentage was from gifts, but by no means all:(

After surgery on my left ankle and being on crutches for a few weeks I gravitated from reading helpful things on Old Style board to finding the diaries and drop in on one or two and try and offer a bit of moral support now and then. I have read some amazing stories of how people have managed to change their mindset and become debt free. I am sure that you will do it this time.

My OH is really good with money and manages the main expenses, when we got together so many years ago we kept our separate bank accounts and worked out who would pay for what, he earned a lot more than me and was happy to chip in more. He has never had debt and never will buy anything that he cannot settle on a credit card in full, so he is a good influence on me:j:j I tend to buy a few things on my CC and pay it off as quickly as I can, rather than take the money out of my savings, as I know I will not be very good at putting the money back in there:(

I was a bit lazy in December, what with having a virus and then Christmas, so now I am having great fun with "Tilly tidies", transfering the odd amounts on my debit account over to either the CC or savings account, it is quite addictive:D, as I think clearing debt becomes once people get into it.

I used to help out both in a craft shop and a yarn shop when I lived in West Dorset, what yarn are you using for your crochet?

Enough about me, just come back from training session with PT am starving and cream crackered, need to eat then shower.

MM x

Hi MM


Good that you have an OH that is sensible and manages the money. I REALLY am the wrong person in our house to be responsible for money. I am a thousand times more frivolous with money than my husband, but he is a builder and not paperwork minded if you know what I mean.


Is Tilly Tidies a thread on here?? Sounds good if it is.


Hope your ankle gets better soon. xx

maddiemay

Tilly MFW in 6 YRS has a diary on Mortgage Free Wanabee, she started tidying the odd amounts in her bank account to her mortgage overpayment fund (I think) and the idea spread and people started calling them Tilly Tidies. It is amazing how quickly even the odd couple of pounds or even pennies add up over a period of time. I have spells of doing it then sometimes forget for a while:( Might be worth you thinking about when have things up and running in a few months time. It is rather addictive and I have to be careful towards the end of the month that I don't tidy too much away, although I guess that your YNAB system wouldn't let that happen?

Ali-OK

Hi Steph :wave:

Just a thought on your tax credit payment - is it paid every 4 weeks rather than once a month? If so that would account for the date moving and in one month, you'll get 2 payments - so 13 a year rather than 12.

Child Benefit is the same cycle as well.

Can you work dates out and input them into YNAB?

debtfreeoneday

Oh whoop if that's true with child benefit and tax credits - I never realised it was.


You sound like you are doing great at the minute Steph and pah to Littlewoods, evil catalogue companies.

Ali-OK

Certainly true for Child Benefit - I had 2 in December (2nd and 30th) and January's was last Monday on 27th. February will be on 24th.

So it gets earlier by a few days each month, hence 2 in December.

Check Tax Credits award - it will probably say payment of x every 4 weeks from x date - you can work forward with a calendar to get the date for each payment then.