Debt free before 30!

spendaholic1986

I've decided to start a diary to keep me motivated and focused on my goals!

Current situation: I'm 28 and want to be debt free by 30 (Nov 2016) although this may be optimistic as I currently owe 13507.28 exactly! The debt was accrued from enjoying life far too much in my early and mid twenties but I'm now desperate to buy a house with my partner of 5 years and start a family!

I started my debt free journey in April and have paid of around 1200 since then.

Debts as they stand:
Mbna card: 3440.07
Halifax card: 1390
Loan 1: 5265
Loan 2: 3066
Very: 422.95

I currently pay around £400 a month off my debts, £331 of this towards my two loans :eek:

Wanting to pay more off the credit cards but struggle as currently saving £100-150 per month towards a holiday in November (booked pre LBM)

Also few people know about my financial situation including my partner (he knows about one of the loans which was consolidation when my debts were around 7000)

Once the holiday is over I should be able to pay between 500-600 off your debts per month which will accelerate being debt free!

When I say debt free before 30, realistically I think I will have to aim for clearing credit cards, loan 2 and very account. The second loan payments are quite low at 112 per month so wouldn't affect my mortgage affordability too much hopefully!

Hoping for some support and motivation from you lovely people who I have already gained so much from just by reading posts

Thanks for reading
Spendy xx

belleandthebudget

Hi Spendy, good luck on the pre-30 goal! I'm trying the same thing although June 16 is my birthday.

spendaholic1986

Hi belle!

Thanks for dropping in :-) I've just had a look at your diary and it's nice to read about someone with similar goals to mine!

Good luck with your pre 30 goal! Let's motivate each other ��

spendaholic1986

So today will be a NSD as having a lazy day with the other half watching films and cooking a Sunday roast!

Trying to stay positive at the moment and looking for ways to make additional cash by ebaying, completing surveys etc. Sometimes my mountain of debt overwhelmes me! Especially as all my friends have bought houses and are starting families, sometimes I feel like I'm being left behind.

It's going to be a lean month as I massively overspend on payday weekend with an un budgeted night out on the town with my sister so trying to make some extra cash where I can to see me through.

Currently trying to think of something nice to plan for my best friends birthday next month...was thinking of taking her for afternoon tea somewhere swanky but concerned this may blow the budget as the places I've looked at in Manchester (where she lives) are going to set me back £25+ each. Also have the cost of the trip to visit her next month to cover so need to ensure I don't end up borrowing money from my holiday savings which will leave me short next month!

Anyway happy Sunday everyone xx

belleandthebudget

Films and a roast sound like a perfect Sunday!

It can really get you down when everyone else is buying and you're still left renting. I had hoped I would be able to buy around 30 but I definitely won't be able to afford it until at least 35-40. Maybe never if I stay in London, they way the prices are going lately.

The sad thing is, if I moved back home to Scotland I could easily buy on my current salary... but finding an equivalent job up there would be near impossible. Catch 22, always!

Enjoy the roast! And afternoon tea sounds lovely but I agree it's usually overpriced for what it actually is. A nice place for regular tea and cakes might work better.

keeponlearning

Have you checked out places like group on or Amazon local deals for afternoon tea?

spendaholic1986

belleandthebudget wrote: »

Films and a roast sound like a perfect Sunday!

It can really get you down when everyone else is buying and you're still left renting. I had hoped I would be able to buy around 30 but I definitely won't be able to afford it until at least 35-40. Maybe never if I stay in London, they way the prices are going lately.

The sad thing is, if I moved back home to Scotland I could easily buy on my current salary... but finding an equivalent job up there would be near impossible. Catch 22, always!

Enjoy the roast! And afternoon tea sounds lovely but I agree it's usually overpriced for what it actually is. A nice place for regular tea and cakes might work better.

London house prices are crazy! But at least you have a saving goal once your debt is paid off

spendaholic1986

keeponlearning wrote: »

Have you checked out places like group on or Amazon local deals for afternoon tea?

I haven't but that's a great idea! Thanks I'll have to have a look later.

spendaholic1986

So today is another NSD Brought my lunch to work as usual (I'm lucky as I work on a business park so no shops nearby so no temptation to spend).

Going for a run after work as the scales were not my friend when I weighed myself this morning back up to my heaviest ever. Back on the diet now with enthusiasm!

From reading these forums I've found that a number of people who struggle with spending also struggle with their weight...maybe a lack of self discipline? Well that's my problem anyway!

Reviewed my budgets today and am going to really struggle this month due to un budgeted spending on socialising- this seems to be a trend every month which leads to me lending money from myself to see me through the month. This has led me to think maybe my budget is unrealistic? I am giving myself £10 a week for socialising but this can easily be blown in one night out! Thinking of upping this to £20 a week then anything left over can be paid off the CC.

My socialising budget probably sounds high to some some of the hardcore money savers but this is a serious reduction from spending £50+ each weekend . I struggle with saying no to socialising with friends and have always been the person up for anything fun so am finding that friends are struggling to understand why I often have to turn nights out/weekends away down now.

I have a few things on ebay ending today so hopefully some will sell and I will have some extra ££ to see me through the month

spendaholic1986

Feeling very happy today as a few good things have happened I found out yesterday that I am getting a £1200 pay rise in work from July payday! So pleased about this as it was totally unexpected as it's unusual to get a mid year salary review but apparently I've been doing well also applied to change my bills current account to Co-op bank taking advantage of the £100 switching offer and £40 cash back through quidco! Also got a survey though today through valued opinions paying £20 reward which I qualified for and completed! Yay!

So pleased to have some extra money each month to pay off my credit cards (pay rise after tax will mean £60 extra a month) and also just to have a little spare money as my budget was looking very tight next month.

Bad news is I've had to borrow £50 from my holiday savings to get me through the rest of the month as currently only have £20 left. I come to the conclusion that I keep overspending each mont as my budget is unrealistic so have allocated a little more to entertainment and am going to start and emergency fund for unbudgeted costs.

Also going to start withdrawing my spending money in cash each month as this helps me visualise how much I'm spending on things.

Going to treat myself to a few new bits for holiday when I get the co-op switch money through...not very mse but feel like I can treat myself as this is unexpected money.m I need to be careful not to get carried away though as I have found sometimes when I start shopping I struggle to stop. Maybe I'll shop online rather than going to the shops.

Feel nervous about falling off the wagon as it has happened many times before, only earlier I was thinking I could put it on the credit card and pay it off when the money comes through...which never happens! Need to stay strong and keep updating my diary.

Anyway that's all for today! Hope everyone's enjoying the sun

spendaholic1986

Happy Friday everyone!

Going to be a relatively cheap weekend thankfully as the bank account is looking low and I've already borrowed out of my savings this month next month should be better though due my pay rise!

Was feeling a little down today but managed to snap out of it! Feeling very broody at the moment as 3 of my friends are expecting babies this year! My OH feels strongly that he doesn't want to start a family until we own our own home rather than renting so I know I'm going to be waiting at least another year, maybe two before starting a family. I know this is the most sensible thing as if we have a baby before getting a mortgage our affordability will be affected and I need to be in a better financial position before planning a baby. But still can't help feeling broody!!

My OH is treating me to a takeaway tonight and going to a bbq tomorrow at a friend's house so fairly cheap weekend

Off to complete some surveys now!

Have a good weekend all x