I've had the worst of times - now for the BEST of times!

peaceandfreedom

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

Hey p&f :T

i was going to ask if you were thinking of starting a diary but i didn't want to put any pressure on you - so glad you have

You can do it Have you thought of joining the bay of e challenge on jwils thread?

And have you got a target card you're throwing everything extra at?

As you know you can PM me if ever you want to

Hey, DDFW, how kind of you to drop in.

I haven't joined Jwil's ebay challenge, I shall drop over there shortly and do so. I am a bit useless when it comes to ebaying (mainly 'cos I hate it ) but needs must and all that.

I will shortly only have the one credit card, which has a large balance but all at 0% so everything will be slung at that, including a £400 per month regular payment.

I should have said that about 1.9K of the 19K total debt is a repayment of tax credits and I already have the money put aside for that. I tried to pay it back when I knew it was overpaid but they insist we wait until the end of the tax year. So it's earned me a few quid in an ISA (what's this, is a small bit of financial prudence sneaking into my life ? )

However, it's still a debt that will have to be paid back this year so it's included on my liabilities spreadsheet.

As I've said to Ani, my 2-year target is probably unrealistic but I might as well aim high for now.

I am feeling rather positive about it all at the moment, hope it lasts!

DedicatedDFW

I love your positivity p&f.

Bah so many things to say - so £19020 balance - £1900 (already set aside) = £17120 - 9600 regular monthly payments for 2 years = £7520 / 24months = £313.34 extra to find a month to clear it in the timeframe is that right?

I am assuming 0% runs for 2 years and that as you are able to pay the £400 minimum that as the balance, and therefore the minimum payments drop, you will be able to maintain this amount anyway.

i used to set myself a target amount of extra money to make in the month say £500 and break this down into 10 lots of £50 and think - where will i raise this from? So 2 x £50 bay of e, 1 x £50 cashback etc. it was really motivational and pushed me to check for cashback, do listings 1 - poll etc., i am not sure if this is any help for you as you say you have paid off debt before and i am probably telling you what you already know - i do talk alot :rotfl: but am only trying to be helpful

Take Care p&f x

Enjoying_life_more

Good luck on your journey ! Love the name Peaceandfreedom too

peaceandfreedom

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

I love your positivity p&f.

Bah so many things to say - so £19020 balance - £1900 (already set aside) = £17120 - 9600 regular monthly payments for 2 years = £7520 / 24months = £313.34 extra to find a month to clear it in the timeframe is that right?

I am assuming 0% runs for 2 years and that as you are able to pay the £400 minimum that as the balance, and therefore the minimum payments drop, you will be able to maintain this amount anyway.

i used to set myself a target amount of extra money to make in the month say £500 and break this down into 10 lots of £50 and think - where will i raise this from? So 2 x £50 bay of e, 1 x £50 cashback etc. it was really motivational and pushed me to check for cashback, do listings 1 - poll etc., i am not sure if this is any help for you as you say you have paid off debt before and i am probably telling you what you already know - i do talk alot :rotfl: but am only trying to be helpful

Take Care p&f x

DDFW, thanks for your attention to detail - you are about right with your calculations. I have a spreadsheet where I have a plan that works out all the repayments and my DFD. For this year, I plan to pay £400 per month plus any extra I can drum up. The £400 is not a minimum payment, the minimum is much lower than that. I've just decided that I will throw £400 at it.

Next year, I intend to increase the monthly payments to £700 (on the assumption I will be in a better-paid job), which still leaves me short to meet my overall target, but I will be concentrating lots of effort on coming up with the rest over the next 2 years. If I don't, well it's not the end of the world, my DFD will just get put back a bit. I think it's important that I have a plan though, even if I don't quite follow it 100%.

Oh and the 0% only lasts until October, when I will have to find another 0%, so I need to factor in the costs of another balance transfer. Hmm, forgot about that.

I will keep tabs on progress and report the current balance and DFD in my sig.:)

And by all means, keep talking as I find your input very useful. I like the idea of breaking it down into chunks as it makes it easier to meet a fund-raising target. When I paid it off before, I had loads-a-money to be honest, it was easy. This time, I will need to use much more ingenuity to come up with extra funds.

So keep those ideas coming, I love 'em. :T

peaceandfreedom

Enjoying_life_more wrote: »

Good luck on your journey ! Love the name Peaceandfreedom too

Thanks. Sounds corny, but Peace and Freedom are what I've been seeking all these years - some day, I hope to have peace of mind and be free of worries (especially money worries).

peaceandfreedom

Today's debt-busting activities:

• Brought HM breakfast and lunch into work
• Got free parking space instead of paying for car park
• Checked account balances and moved money around as needed
• Made a small extra payment to credit card
• Did an analysis of extra food shopping to see where we are spending too much on random stuff
• Made a loaf of bread for lunches etc.
• Put 20p into my SPC7 challenge pot

OK, not mind-blowing stuff but it's fine.

Tomorrow, I have plans to a) work on my own website to get it ready for launch and b) do a little bit of work for a client.

Until tomorrow my friends.

Enjoying_life_more

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

Thanks. Sounds corny, but Peace and Freedom are what I've been seeking all these years - some day, I hope to have peace of mind and be free of worries (especially money worries).

I echo that :T and from my own experience of being on this site (and I have a long way to go) I am already feeling much better now that i'm doing something positive about my money situation and I know I can achieve my long term goals.

jwil

Yay, happy new diary! Will catch up soon

LAM2011

hellooo,


nice to see you back on the boards


My whole motivation for originally tackling my debt was because I felt trapped and was unhappy in my personal life. Funnily enough now that I am on top of it more I can handle the little blips that life throws at me. had a major wobble early last year but back on target on now. I too have a diary as I feel it makes you accountable for what you are doing towards becoming debt free.


I am useless at ebay - I hate doing it but needs must and I am doing some self employed work and cant really offer any good advice that you don't already know but if you need a shoulder to cry on or a hug or a laugh I am always here x

peaceandfreedom

Enjoying_life_more wrote: »

I echo that :T and from my own experience of being on this site (and I have a long way to go) I am already feeling much better now that i'm doing something positive about my money situation and I know I can achieve my long term goals.

It sounds like you are living up to your name.

I have dreams of the way things will be in the future - that's what I am aiming for, hope I get there.

I feel better already, knowing I have started making some definite plans.