Finally Getting Debt Free

CountZero

I'm 34 and before I bought a house two years ago I managed to clear all of my debt.

Having spent allot on the house and taken out a couple of loans to pay for it I've found myself slipping further and further into debt.

Running the house is costing much more than previously renting and I've found myself maxing out my credit card last month.

Time to sort it out so I've started a diary to keep track of my progress.

Big thanks to all the other posters, I've been lurking here for a few months. Always good to know you're not alone, feel like I've got a weight hanging over me!


Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2361
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2361

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 640
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 70
Council tax............................. 78
Electricity............................. 23
Gas..................................... 35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 17
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 25
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 200
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Over drought interest................... 14
Charity................................. 15
Gym..................................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1586


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 235000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 235500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 149000...(640)......2.8
Total secured & HP debts...... 149000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................2729......20........25
Loan...........................7763......225.......8
Second Loan....................1200......200.......0
Overdraught....................1000......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........12692.....445.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,361
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,586
Available for debt repayments........... 775
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 445
Amount left after debt repayments....... 330

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 235,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -149,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -12,692
Net Assets.............................. 73,808

juicygirl

Hi, just wanted to wish you luck on your journey! We are the same age, with a similar amount of and I'm just starting out too. Will be reading with interest! X

CountZero

Thanks juicygirl, almost owe the same down to the pound!

Was used to having allot more disposable income before buying the house, now I need to really reign it in.

Impressive target of 6k by Christmas, going to aim for 9k myself

Good luck!

juicygirl

£9k!! That's impressive!! Let's do this!! X

mum2one

CountZero wrote: »

I'm 34 and before I bought a house two years ago I managed to clear all of my debt.

Having spent allot on the house and taken out a couple of loans to pay for it I've found myself slipping further and further into debt.

Running the house is costing much more than previously renting and I've found myself maxing out my credit card last month.

Time to sort it out so I've started a diary to keep track of my progress.

Big thanks to all the other posters, I've been lurking here for a few months. Always good to know you're not alone, feel like I've got a weight hanging over me!


Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2361
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2361

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 640
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 70
Council tax............................. 78
Electricity............................. 23
Gas..................................... 35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 17
TV Licence.............................. 0 - No TV?
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 0 - [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]car but no petrol?[/COLOR]
Road tax................................ 25
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 -[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]no dentist, opticians et[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"][/COLOR][/COLOR]
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0 - [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]is that within the mgt charge[/COLOR]
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 200
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 -[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"] you should aim to put at least £30 pm in here [/COLOR]
Over drought interest................... 14
Charity................................. 15
Gym..................................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1586


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 235000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 235500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 149000...(640)......2.8
Total secured & HP debts...... 149000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................2729......20........25
Loan...........................7763......225.......8
Second Loan....................1200......200.......0
Overdraught....................1000......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........12692.....445.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,361
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,586
Available for debt repayments........... 775
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 445
Amount left after debt repayments....... 330 -[COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]at mo theres nothing being paid off the OD[/COLOR]

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 235,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -149,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -12,692
Net Assets.............................. 73,808

Hope you dont mind I've just put a few thoughts on the soa, x

CountZero

Managed to put a few hundred extra to paying off the loan this month and have updated my SOA as I've got rid of the car which should free up some extra cash to get debt free sooner. I walk to work so it really is a luxury. Making progress and knocked over a grand off in two months

May 2015 £12,692
July 2015 £11,479

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2361
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2361

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 640
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 78
Electricity............................. 23
Gas..................................... 35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 17
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 200
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Charity................................. 15
Gym..................................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1382


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 235000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 235000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 149000...(640)......2.8
Total secured & HP debts...... 149000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Overdraught....................1000......10........5
Credit Card....................2750......50........20
Loan...........................6929......225.......8
Second Loan....................800.......200.......0
Total unsecured debts..........11479.....485.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,361
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,382
Available for debt repayments........... 979
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 485
Amount left after debt repayments....... 494

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 235,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -149,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,479
Net Assets.............................. 74,521

catriona79

Good luck with the quest.

I'm just now returning to tackle my debt too, after a while of coasting!!! Similar story, debt due to house buying and renovation, but it's time to get rid of it now!

IWillBeFree

Best of luck! Easy to get in debt when owning your home - as I know only too well!


You can do this


IWBF x

CountZero

Been a while since I posted and thought it was worth doing another SOA to keep myself motivated and see how far I've come.

I have now paid off one of my loans and put a dent in all the others apart from the credit card which has gone up by a couple of hundred.

I'd set a convervative goal of reaching 9k of debt by Christmas and have managed to get it down to £8,994 already :j

Did a fair bit of overtime over the summer which I put towards the debt and now bulk cook most of my meals on a Sunday which has saved me a small fortune. Had got into a bad habbit of picking up expensive ready meals and take aways.

It's a real slog and I've still got a long way to go. Thanks for all the support, it really helps!
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Total monthly income.................... 2400

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 640
Management charge (leasehold property).. 70
Council tax............................. 78
Electricity............................. 23
Gas..................................... 35
Water rates............................. 29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 15
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 50
Contents insurance...................... 10
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 200
Charity................................. 15
Gym..................................... 40
Overdraught interest.................... 10
Total monthly expenses.................. 1450


Assets
House value (Gross)..................... 250000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 250000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 148000...(640)......2.8
Total secured & HP debts...... 148000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................3000......60........0
Loan ..........................4994......225.......8
Overdraught ...................1000......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........8994......285.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,400
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,450
Available for debt repayments........... 950
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 285
Amount left after debt repayments....... 665

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 250,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -148,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -8,994
Net Assets.............................. 93,006

catriona79

Hello again,

Lovely to see you have come back. Our debt now is in roughly the same region, mine is £9.5 k - so you're slightly ahead.
I've recently started updating regularly too, as I rented out my second spare room and have been trying to be as thrifty as possible to firstly become debt neutral (all debt is on 0%) and then see how things are and maybe pay off the debt. At least I'm not adding to it, which is a great feeling!

What is your plan? Down by another £900 by Xmas?

I have subscribed

CountZero

Hey Catriona, just had a read of your diary and have subscribed back

I can relate to allot of what you said, especially about wanting to have a life while paying back debts!

Congrats on getting down to £9.5k, thats a big dent in the original figure. Smart move renting out a room, that must of moved you debt free date a fair bit?

Going to try and get my debts down to £8.5k for Christmas though won't be making much progress for a few months as I'm going on holiday for the first time in three years. Saving up for it so I won't end up in more debt but will only be paying a few hundred off my debts a month until March whenI'll be off to the states