Mopping up the mess - my final debt free journey!

clearmydebts

Afternoon all. I am wrecked. Had 22 under 8's running around my house yesterday afternoon for DS's 7th birthday. They all had a ball though, so that's the main thing.

Renewed my home insurance this morning and saved €200 off it by shopping around. I also paid it upfront. My aim is to pay as many things as I can this year (upfront) and divert into debt re-payment. Next month I have my TV licence that I plan to pay upfront and then in Sept car tax and Oct car insurance. Not sure what car insurance is like in the UK but in Ireland it is crazy at the moment.

Signature seems to be going down very very slowly but things just keep cropping up.

craigmcdonagh

I am after some advice regarding my credit.I have recently been knocked back for a loan even though the bank says I am a very good customer.I joined a few credit scoring companies and have 4 negatives against my name.1 of the negatives is 3 debts adding up to about 1200 pound.If I pay this off would this then be cleared off my credit report ?

clearmydebts

craigmcdonagh wrote: »

I am after some advice regarding my credit.I have recently been knocked back for a loan even though the bank says I am a very good customer.I joined a few credit scoring companies and have 4 negatives against my name.1 of the negatives is 3 debts adding up to about 1200 pound.If I pay this off would this then be cleared off my credit report ?

Hi Craig,

I think you might be better posting this query in this section of the website as you'll get some good advice: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=257

Good luck!

clearmydebts

Payday! Thank goodness for that!

I've done the money shuffle and have just been able to pay off my loan. Have still not gotten under 25k but definitely next month. It's going down and that's the main thing. OH got another €300 deducted from his wage due to a HR mess up with health insurance. This is the second month he's been deducted a large sum of money but everything should be back to normal next month.

What I have been doing though, and it's probably why my debt isn't going down quicker is trying to reduce the amount of direct debits we've been paying by paying off things in a full instalment rather than every month. So last month I paid the home insurance in full and this month I am paying the TV licence in full. Then I need to save up for our car insurance and car tax in October. I'm hopeful to be able to pay them in full as well and divert the extra money into savings so we can always pay in a lump sum.

Tete_en_l'Air

Well done on getting the loan paid off CMD!

And great work on paying in lump sums - this is what I try to do wherever possible, and then I have piggy banks on my bank account to put away enough each month to cover it next year. Even though I'm still paying 'out' each month it doesn't feel as stressful as it's not like DDs when you're never quite sure if they've gone out yet or if there'll be enough to cover them. I'm just a bit of a control freak I think.

Have a great weekend! x

clearmydebts

Tete_en_l'Air wrote: »

Well done on getting the loan paid off CMD!

And great work on paying in lump sums - this is what I try to do wherever possible, and then I have piggy banks on my bank account to put away enough each month to cover it next year. Even though I'm still paying 'out' each month it doesn't feel as stressful as it's not like DDs when you're never quite sure if they've gone out yet or if there'll be enough to cover them. I'm just a bit of a control freak I think.

Have a great weekend! x

I agree it's nice to have the money in bank and be able to pay out in a lump sum rather than bits and pieces coming out every month.

clearmydebts

Pay Day today and I am well under 25k now. Things finally feel a bit more settled financially and I think we can finally start to make proper inroads towards the debt.

Hoping to get under 23k next month.

We went to Disneyland Paris last week and it was brilliant. Exhausting but brilliant. I honestly don't know how people do it every year though, it was so intense. Definitely back to Spain for us next year! We had pre-made snack packs for each day so only really had to buy dinner at night. It worked out much cheaper than I thought it would so is definitely doable if you are a bit savvy.

clearmydebts

Afternoon all!

I am going to try and check in more often as I think it will help keep me on the straight and narrow. 22 days to payday. It seems so far away

We've had such a busy and expensive month with my brother home from Oz but I the rest of the month looks quiet (ish) and to be honest I am looking forward to a few quiet weekends. Am going to try extra hard to meal plan this month. I am usually quite good but have fallen by the wayside a bit since my brother & family arrived!

We are going away for a week in July with my sister and family in Ireland and I have more than half the holiday money saved so I'm quite happy with that. We also need to book flights for BIL's wedding in Spain at some point but I have a flight tracker on the price and it has remained at the same price for months.

I am confident we will be able to pay at least €1,000 per month towards our debts (if not more). I just can't wait until my credit card is clear and it is just the loan left. Hoping to get under €23k next month, assuming no interest is applied to the loan.

I should have explained further up, my debt sig was changed from sterling to euro, that's why the debt looks so high in comparison to last year. When I got the loan I changed all the figures to euro as we live in Ireland now.

clearmydebts

Plodding along now until payday, which is next Thursday. Got some good news in the form of an unexpected tax rebate yesterday €450 so that was a very welcome surprise. Unfortunately it won't be going off the debt but it will go towards our holiday in Ireland in July, meaning that will be totally paid off next week. It also means I'll be able to put some cash towards our emergency fund which dwindled after Disneyland Paris.

Quiet enough weekend planned here. A friend is dropping by tomorrow and we are meeting other friends and their kids on Sunday. Apart from that it will be ferrying the kids about to their various activities.

Trying to spend as little as possible before payday next week. We've had a really tight month spending wise this month but we have more or less kept to budget. Don't think we'll get under 23k this month but am hoping to pay off between €700-€1100 depending on whether interest is applied to the loan or not.

Met with an architect as part of a charity thing during the week. We pay €90 to charity and get an hour of an architects time. I am so motivated now to pay off the debt so we can re-configure our kitchen and get bi-folding doors in. We would be getting a loan out for that but it would be the first time in about 15 years that we would have a loan out for something proper, instead of for consolidating debts.

clearmydebts

Pay day was last Fri. Unfortunately interest was applied to the loan so very minimal amount gone off my signature. We've also been hit by other expenses so have kept some money back in my bank account rather than paying off the credit card and having to use it again.

* Swimming term needs to be paid on Saturday €156 for the 2 kids
* Booked flights to Spain for BIL's wedding in Oct. I had a flight price tracker on it and the flights came down by €120 so it was definitely the right time to book. They were €545
* DS has an appointment with a consultant re: suspected allergy on Friday. We have gone private as public waiting lists are ridiculous. I've no idea of the cost but we will get some back
* I had a doctor appointment last week so that was another €55. I will get €40 of that back due to OH's medical insurance
* Car failed the NCT so we have to spend some money fixing that
€90 for summer camp for the 2 kids.

So lots of added expenses but hopefully next month we will be back on track.