Debt Free by 40!

honeypooh1980

I have around £12k in debt just over credit cards which my OH doesn't know about (and cannot know about).

Following a recent bereavement i've decided i need to get myself together and the first things that need addressing are my debt and my weight. So i'm hoping to reduce both at the same time.

I've today managed to move £8.5k of the debt onto a 35 month 0% interest credit card with Lloyds and will shift the rest when i get another offer on my Barclaycard.

I've worked out my income, outgoings and how much i should give myself to spend each week and i'm hoping i'll be able to put £200 towards my debt each month.

I've got my new card set up to pay the minimum amount each month and i'll then top this up, but i want to clear the smaller amounts first so i can then plough everything to one card.

Oh and BTW i turn 35 in July this year so 62 months to go!!

monz

You will get there good luck xx

honeypooh1980

So yesterday i spent £30 on a birthday present for my dad but this comes out of an ongoing savings account for birthdays, Christmas, car and house insurance. Plus hubby pays half of all presents so will get £15 back. That was my only spend yesterday.

Today i've spent £27 on amazon but i needed some supplies for the studying i'm doing at the moment. Stationary is a major problem for me. I spend far too much and i work across the road from a Staples which is a killer.

I am also going out for dinner tonight but shouldn't cost me more than £20 as only going to the pub.

One thing i'm thinking about is that i'm soon going to be getting some money from a bond that my grandma left me. It will total just under £7k but as my hubby doesn't know about my debt i cannot use this.

I'm going to put it into a savings account that doesn't have instant access so i cannot be tempted to touch it. However hubby did agree i can £300 to spend on whatever i want as the money was left as a gift (the rest will at some point be used for house renovations). I would love to be able to treat myself to something but think i may limit myself to £150 and use the other £150 to go towards debt - that way i get a treat that my husband will see and i put some towards the debt.

I've also joined the sealed pot challenge and have £36 in this already. I would like to have £500 in it by the end of the year (or November 5th when we open the pots) as this will cover Christmas presents and go towards my debt.

I've also got my birthday coming up in July so i'm going to ask for money as i want to buy a new dress for a wedding. i'm hoping to get about £150 for my birthday and some of the dresses i've seen are under £50.

One thing i need to crack on with (actually two things) is tackling my weightloss as i've lost the same 8lbs over and over and am not getting anywhere. It's been tricky the last week or two due to some family issues but i've got some time of work now and need to focus on getting things straight in my head and getting back on track.

I also need to give more time and attention to my studying. I read a sample exam paper today (its multiple choice) and felt completely lost! Hence why i've bought supplies to try and assist me. The exam isn't until the end of June so i have about 6 weeks. I'm going to draw up a schedule and need to stick to it. The pressure is on as my work are paying for the course!!

Well i think that is enough rambling for today.

honeypooh1980

Well I've amended my signature to show the full details of my debt.

I'm just waiting for the money from my bond to clear but cannot spend it all. I'd agreed with my hubby i would spend £200 (i'm getting £6800) but as he doesn't have access to my accounts i'm going to clear my Barclaycard then i'm going to work on my MBNA as the 0% on this runs out in November.

I'm hoping the Mint card will be down to under £700 as i have some items to return that will credit the card - actually i have about £100 of goods to return that i paid for my on my Barclaycard so will return these before paying off the card as i can then use the extra £100 to go towards my MBNA card.

Hopefully by Christmas i can get my debt onto just two cards and really work at paying these. If i can pay £200 per month i will have my debt cleared by before i am 40.

I'm also trying to leave my bank cards at home and only have cash with me as its harder to part with cold hard cash than it is to hand over plastic. Plus it means i get change which can go into my sealed pot!!

So far this week i've had 2 no spend days and hoping for another today.

honeypooh1980

So yesterday was an odd day. I spent about £9 but had to buy a gift bag and card and paid £5 for hubby and i at the spiritualist church last night.

It's the first time I've been and am very open to everything to do with spirits and low and behold i had one come through for me! Some of the details being given i wasn't sure about but there were a few and one name that meant something (but not the something i thought as it turned out). The spirits wanted to tell me that i can overcome my disappointment and that i can commit myself and basically if i'm given lemons, make lemonade. It turns out the names i was given weren't on my hubbby's side of the family it was actually the names of my great aunt and my great-great grandmother, both on my mums side.

It definitely something i'll be going back to, perhaps not every week but at least once a month.

It's odd that now i've been told by the spirits to push through and i'll achieve i kind of feel a responsibility to them. I'm sure there are many people who think its a load of bull but each to their own.

So this morning i put another 90p in my sealed pot and made a payment of £200 to my Barclaycard.

I'm off to update my signature now.