Debt free by August 2016

edinburghlad

That feeling of working hard all month to earn a good wage to only find that a big portion of it goes on debt repayments. I'm really good at clearing my credit card each month, however I don't budget at all and as a result can be paying off up to £1000 each month. Surely the overtime I have could go towards paying my debts off early?

I've completed the snowball calculator only to find I could've debt free in 24 month (August 2016) which is 2 years early :-)

Debts as at July 2014
Barclays credit card £220 (15.1%)
Barclays parter finance loan for car £7,596 (11.1%)
RBS personal loan £10,140 (7.1%)
Ikano bank loan for sofa £1764 (0.0%)

I aim to clear the credit card and stop using it unless there is an emergency. My new budget allows the minimum payment for each debt plus £300 overpayment.

Ps there is 2 debts which I haven't included. My halifax mortgage of £80k plus a shared equity loan which I got from the builder as a first time buyer. This is £15k and I pay £44 interest each month with a requirement to pay it back in full by Dec 2022. This does not allow part payment, however may increase or decrease in line with the value of my property. My first aim is to tackle my unsecured debts before saving up the £15k to pay off this loan.

Wish me luck in my debt free journey!

Ninno820

good luck - it feels great to have made a start doesn't it? one piece of advice when I started which I will pass on - download the free ynab trial- setting up a budget and sticking to it has revolutionised my approach after years of dallying. watch / listen to some of the webinars as well- the time is well worth it.

edinburghlad

Ninno820 tanks for the advice, I will have a look at YNAB tomorrow :-) just about to head to work for a nightshift.

It really does feel good to know I have made a start, although I have a long journey ahead. Did you pay for the full version of YNAB after the trial?

Ninno820

yes - I did - it was well worth it. look around though - you will find at least 10% off but there may be a better discount out there

edinburghlad

Can't wait to give it a go. Just watched the video... It looks really good. Never thought I would hear myself say I can't wait to do a budget lol

Ninno820

Enjoy - I know the feeling. I don't know when you get paid but my pay day is the 23rd of each month and struggled to see how to manage that through YNAB given that the pay straddles two months. In the end, and after watching one of the webinars I split the transaction - a certain amount for the week of one month and the rest for the second month. I also found it useful to break my budget down into weekly headings - that way I can see how I'm doing on a weekly basis - rather than waiting until the end of the month. Hope this helps.

patman99

I'm another YNAB user and it is one of the best programs of it's type I've had the pleasure of using.

The best bit is that you can use it on as many computers as you want.

Ninno820

And I love the phone app that allows you to enter each transaction as you make it

edinburghlad

Ninno820. Thanks for suggesting YNAB. Just downloaded it and set my budget until I get paid on 18th August. It's going to be tight, but hopefully I will do it :-)

beanielou

Shiny new diary :j
The good news is that your smallest debt is the one with the biggest APR & you are tackling that first.
Keep posting!

edinburghlad

Beanielou. Thanks for the support.

Quick question regarding YNAB. Should you record your debt counts off budget or not? The getting started videos tell you not too but I want to keep a track of the, somewhere?