Debt free before 30!

spendaholic1986

Ok so today's spends:

Halifax CC- £3.66 (rounding down spare in current account)
Wrap and crisps- £3.25

Aiming for a NSD tomorrow and Friday!

Feeling very impatient at the moment with the slow progress, feel like I'm reviewing my budget spreadsheet daily to try to pay off the debt quicker. Patience is not my strong point (which is probably one of the reasons I'm in debt in the first place).

spendaholic1986

Sold a dress on eBay so another £5 paid off Halifax cc! however tomorrow won't technically be a NSD as I'll have to pay to post it but paid by the seller so technically not a spend but still...

moneyonmymindsam

Evening Spendaholic You seem to be doing so well Don't be too hard on yourself at least that debt is going down

belleandthebudget

Yay! I'd say it definitely doesn't count as a spend day if its not your money you're spending.

banwa

Hello Spendy,

Thanks for stopping by to me diary, I thought i would return the cheering on. You owe almost exactly half of what I owe, and are paying it back at around the same % rate.

Anyway, I will subscribe, and pop in now and again

Banwa

teaandcakeaddict

Hi Spendy, I'm subscribing! How are you getting on with those NSD'S? Today was my first NSD since LBM (or at least my most recent LBM, there have been many!) but only because I didn't leave the house!

Good luck anyway, I look forward to reading your updates.

spendaholic1986

Been neglecting my diary a little the last few days and have done a bit of spending over the weekend but had a few small victories too so evened out in my eyes

Had a NSD Thursday as didn't take the dress to the post office until Friday! The weekend however was not so good!

Friday
£9.25 for a round of drinks at the pub- my lovely boyfriend treated me to a meal out so I bought a round of drinks to say thank you!
£17.00- present and card for my uncle's birthday and some magnums- oops!

Saturday
£40 spent in Aldi on a weekly shop, spent more than I hoped but got lots more than would have at sainsburys or Asda! Only a £20 spend really as boyfriend pays half.
£6.60 spent on drinks at the pub for my uncles birthday! But my nan won some money on premium bonds so gave me £10 so this cancels this spend out.
£3.45 extra paid off Halifax card

Monday
£7.84 on few bits from Asda which I couldn't get in aldi

So not the best few days...have a day off tomorrow so probably won't be a NSD. However planning on a NSD Weds, Thurs and Fri!

However I did manage to turn down a city break in January with my uni friend, realised that this was money that I could be paying off my Debt! This might not sound like much but is a big achievement for me!

Feel like I have really turned a corner with my CC's, before I would be using them for anything unforeseen (city breaks included) telling myself that I would pay it off next month but now I can't face the thought of putting another penny on to them!

However one battle I am still facing and which I haven't included in my debt free figures is my small-ish overdraft of £200 (used to the max this month due to overspending). I'm going to start paying £10 a month in to it from next month and pay it off in full in my January pay.

I'm really looking forward to my holiday in November but at the moment it just feels like it's hindering reducing the debts so I'm regretting booking it! I'm saving £100-£150 a month towards this and I just keep thinking of how this could be paying off debt!

Reviewed my budget figures today for next month (feel like I do this too often) and have allocated an increased amount for socialising as this is where I am currently overspending massively. Going to take it out in cash and when it's gone it's gone.

Feel determined to stick to my budget next month so roll on payday!

spendaholic1986

Thanks for dropping in teaamdcakeaddict and banwa!

The encouragement is always helpful and it's nice to know people are reading my ramblings

belleandthebudget

Cash for socialising sounds like a great idea - I should really do this too!

spendaholic1986

Hello,

Ok so I have done a little financial reorganisation and have managed to knock of over £300 in interest but repayments will take some discipline!

So basically my loan with the 8.5% interest has always bugged me as the amount of interest was high but at the time I took it out in a panic without really paying attention to the apr (pre LBM). Anyway I was recently offered a 0% interest money transfer on my Halifax CC so have used it to transfer £3250 to pay off my loan meaning my loan repayments will reduced to £33.82 and I will be increasing my Halifax CC payments with the money saved.

I have set up a direct debit to pay £130 off the Halifax card each month until after my holiday and then will be making payments of between 400-500 per month to clear the balance before the interest free period ends.

Although I know this is a wise financial decision as I am saving a great deal of money in interest it makes me feel nervous that I have around £8000 on two credit cards, having it on a loan just feel different...no idea why.

The MBNA credit card will only receive minimum payments until,the Halifax CC is paid off so will need to find another balance transfer deal in July next year to avoid paying standard interest rates! My credit rating is ok apart from high debt so fingers crossed that will be ok!

So it's payday on Friday and once all my direct debits have gone out my total debt will be under £13,000 which is a good feeling

Although think I need to change the name of this diary to debt free before 31 as I don't think 30 is realistic...however as long as my debt is low enough to get a mortgage by the time I am 30 I will be satisfied.

In other news I may have a promotion (and pay rise) at work in the next few months! My boss is leaving so I am covering her roll in the interim and will have the opportunity to apply for the permanent role when it's advertised. It wouldn't be a huge pay rise up every little helps and all that!

Hope everyone has a good weekend xx