42k of debt but feeling good!

UKmoneysaver

DebtFreeWannaBE wrote: »

That's great news. It's certainly a good feeling to get back into control of something that had at once felt quite out of control. I was so happy to consolidate everything into one payment and finally see the debt going down. It's a great feeling of achievement.

Yep when I told my wife that this month we'll be paying over a thousand pound off our debt her face lit up! As someone above said, within 3 years this should be all gone.

With set monthly payments it'll make sticking to it so much easier!! 2-3 years of pain and then we'll be on the straight and narrow!!

enthusiasticsaver

Yeah, we've already had that problem. Far too easy! I don't even know the PIN numbers of most of the credit cards.

Good move. Credit cards are for use as temporary interest free option only for either cashback if you have that sort of card or for extra insurance on purchasing large items. I set up a direct debit to pay it off in full each month. Something you might want to consider when you eventually debt free.

Yes, in fact working out our budget was something I did (for the first time) about 4 years ago. I've since become really good at managing it now and frequently check bank balances etc. I have a cool spreadsheet and I tick off payments as they're made etc.

This month we have started having a weekly pot of cash for food/petrol & days out/clothes etc. Because one thing we found was our 'spare' money was never there come the end of the month! So far it's working brilliantly and actually could mean if we can make it work for the next month or two I'll increase our debt payments further.

I always think it is worth while paying for everyday items with cash like trips to pub, other entertainment, food, petrol etc and sticking to a weekly budget. My other favourite budget tool is emergency fund so you are not tempted to dip into overdraft, use credit card if essential car repair, washing machine or boiler breaks. Essential if you have a car or a house.

Yep when I told my wife that this month we'll be paying over a thousand pound off our debt her face lit up! As someone above said, within 3 years this should be all gone.

With set monthly payments it'll make sticking to it so much easier!! 2-3 years of pain and then we'll be on the straight and narrow!!

Great you both on board. Depending on how much interest you pay on your loan and how much you raise through hosting students it could be as little as 31-32 months which is just over 2.5 years. As you say 2-3 years of watching every penny and then you will have more than £1k per month spare. Good luck.

PoorGuyNextDoor

I can definitely relate to this! Iv similar levels of debt and income to use but playing around making a budget seeing how quick I can pay things off motivates me more than anything!! Good luck, il follow with interest!

UKmoneysaver

PoorGuyNextDoor wrote: »

I can definitely relate to this! Iv similar levels of debt and income to use but playing around making a budget seeing how quick I can pay things off motivates me more than anything!! Good luck, il follow with interest!

Thanks, I'm really hoping that posting on here will keep that motivation. I might start a proper diary and do a SOA as there may be things that I could save further that I can't see!