Keeping Motivated During Debt Free Journey

EssexHebridean

lazer-zxr wrote: »

Apologies, but as I understand it,

1) This isnt a DFWB diary ... it was a question thread in the DFWB general forum.
2) The OP asked the question:

How do other people keep motivated during their debt free journey?

So I've posted what we've done as a treat during our DF journey.

So no thread Hijacked, other than your misplaced criticism Essex H. Thanks.

You posted your own story, then asked for opinions on it. That's rather different. But I appreciate your thanks anyway,. Feel free to hit the usual button...

EssexHebridean

Sharon87 wrote: »

Everything except £1500 is on 0%, the rest is on 4.9% now. It's hard to work out my exact debt free date, snowball calculators are useless as when a 0% deal comes to and end I transfer it and there's no snowball calculator that takes that into mind. If I pay £300/month it'll take 3.5 years to pay everything off, but that doesn't include any interest or fees, so probably a few more months, maybe 4 years. But I would like to pay more towards that when I earn a bit more - hopefully should get a pay rise next year as I move up in my career. Also a new housemate means I will pay less council tax (my current housemates's a student) so that means a bit more money towards savings or debt. Obviously if I pay more than £300/month I will be debt free sooner, so I will try and do that.

The holiday's not just for SAD, my current job is quite stressful right now and I need some time off, even just 4 days to help de-stress! I haven't had a proper holiday this year and thanks to Quidco and hotels.com it's super cheap (£192 for flights, hotel, breakfast and dinner!) The rest of the cashback will go towards savings or debt. Haven't decided how to split it yet. Holidays are the one thing I never used to do, but these days I feel I need them more, even if it's just a weekend away. I would rather spend money on a holiday than unnecessary clothes or stuff that just clutters up my room.

As for freecycle, it's a bit rubbish in my area, and it may sound snobbish I don't want someone's old book case! Other things I wouldn't mind, but I want a new bookcase and you can get them cheap. I did actually go to IKEA today to buy all the small bits to replace my housemates things she's taking. I spent a total of £28 lol! I did intend to buy either a book case or a new TV stand today, but the book case was too big for my friend's car and couldn't find a TV stand I wanted. My bookcase is too small now which is why I need to replace it, I need a tall one, it's served me well for 10 years, now it needs replacing, especially as the back is taped up to hold it together! I don't replace anything unnecessarily. only when they start falling apart or become redundant.

How much were the light alarm clocks, that was something I was thinking of getting to help me wake up in the darker mornings.

Given a choice between what might be a very well made bookcase, that simply require a clean up and perhaps a lick of paint or a rub down and re-stain to look really nice, or a cheap IKEA option that realistically won't last well and will need replacing before long, I'd suggest that "someone elses old bookcase" might well sound a better option? Would calling it "Antique" rather than Second-hand help at all? We still have several bits of furniture at home that we were gifted by others as they no longer required them, and all have lasted far better than cheaper stuff we bought brand new for ourselves, I have to say.

A suggestion in place of spending money on a daylight alarm clock - a table lamp on the opposite side of the room, on a timeswitch that sets it to come on a few minutes before your alarm goes off, might well work and be a far cheaper option?

Determined New Ms from what the OP has said I assumed that the 2018 holiday was already booked, in which case there may be a deposit to be lost if cancelling?

Sharon One further point - you've mentioned earning a large sum in cashback - you are remembering that in those kind of amounts you will need to account for tax from those figures, aren't you?

Sharon87

Does cashback count as taxable? Never heard that before! I will look into it. I have to do a self assessment.

The holiday in 2018 can't be done on £500, it's a specific thing. I'm going to see NASCAR in Daytona, so tickets for that week is about £500 anyway! I've been wanting to see NASCAR for about 10 years. It's been put off so many year due to money, so we finally set a date and will stick by it (unless anything really drastic happens).

The book case - depends on what a second hand one looks like. If I find one in a charity shop or something that looks good I may go for it. I was going to buy a new second hand sofa, but put that off for a while. My brother found a really good second hand sofa for less than £100. I can use throws to cover it up if the colour doesn't match what I want.

My quidco cashback that's 'tracked', but not confirmed is £1200 or so now! Some of that won't track as it's been cancelled.

I had a panic earlier - my self assessment of 2014-15 came back and they said there was an error, apparantly I owe £775 more in tax!! But they got my pay wrong (they used the wrong tax year) so it's a firm phone call to HMRC tomorrow to clear it up! Apparently the company got someone else's tax wrong too! The accounts team did tell me the payroll company they used were useless!

Sharon87

New year is here and I have a plan. Motivation to keep me on track will be tough as I have a lot to pay out for (tax bill for starters!)

I did end up buying a book case and a new TV stand with the cash back, it didn't cost too much either! I did accidentally break my TV though and had to get it replaced. Luckily I have contents insurance and only paid £50 excess, plus a little bit more for the TV I wanted.

I've been doing my YNAB budget for the coming months to keep me on track of what outgoings will be coming out and to budget for those annual expenses properly for a change! My motivation will be my planned holiday and getting my debt down so less money is spent on paying off cards. If I continue at my current rate of debt paying off it'll be about 5 years, but if I can pay off extra it'll be less.

My plan is to keep busy doing things that are free or included in my budget, like going to the gym (£20/month) or watching TV and movies and hanging out with my friends at home instead of going. One of my friends is also on a money saving mission as she is buying her first flat very soon.

Good luck to everyone else who needs motivation to keep on their debt free journey!

SkintTeacher

Sharon87 wrote: »

What kind of small things to use to celebrate? My perception of small may be different than yours! The thing is I try to stick to my entertainment budget each month (between £50 and £100 depending on what's planned and how much money I have), so whether that's a gig ticket or a trip to the pub. I do occasionally enjoy life, but I guess it's just I'm used to spending more - hence the debt!

I know once the debts are paid off I now earn enough to do what I want. I am in the dilemma of wanting my debts off sooner but struggling with lack of social life! Last month I did pay off another £100 on my credit card.

I do also have a holiday in 2018 I'm saving up for, I don't want to use credit cards for it! So I'm saving up for that every month too!

I think maybe I just need to get back to the gym on a regular basis to keep myself occupied and get fitter again! I just wish I had a gym buddy to motivate me!

I really struggled with this, too - my idea of a quiet weekend was £100 spending money - and that isn't on drink just little day trips with the family etc and meals out. I now try to find anything that is free and if a friend suggests going out I just ask if they'd be prepared to stay in instead. Eg. The christmas party (at £50 before taxis/ new outfit/ drinks) was unimaginable so I asked colleagues to mine for a byob and a snack evening - it was great and I spent exactly £4 on some nibbles so the table didn't look bare when the first person turned up! Hope your journey goes well and don't get discouraged - sounds like you're doing a great job!

Sharon87

5 months down the line.

I'm doing fairly well. I have stuck mostly to my budget. I have earned a lot of cashback through work as well as working extra at home. So earning an extra £200 or month or more for the past few months. Some of this money goes straight into my savings or debt, and some of it goes towards entertainment budget. I will need to reign the entertainment spend in the next few months as I've not saved as much for my holiday as I had planned.

Looking at my YNAB my 'net worth' has gone from -£13,690 in January 2016 to -£10,842 this month, which is what I achieved in 18 months(at the beginning of the month, after I get paid but before bills come out lol). Some £1200 of savings is for my holiday, which means around £1700 of that is paid off my debt.

My downfalls have been takeaways, drinking with friends - each trip out has become more expensive, but there's been less of them!

I'm finally budgeting for nearly everything I spend my money on, so annual things, glasses, contents insurance, replacing technology and now I've got to save to pay HMRC from underpaid tax!

I will keep doing what I'm doing and next year I plan to throw everything at my debt (no holidays planned after February, but will save a few hundred for a weekend away in winter 2018).

zippygeorgeandben

You're doing well Sharon87 so keep it up. There's nothing wrong with the takeaways etc but it is like weight loss, all in moderation! Are you keeping up a daily account of your incomings/outgoings? I'm still doing that and as long as as a minimum I'm making my monthly repayments off my debts then anything else is a bonus! I'm not too bad during the week but for me it's online shopping and then when I do go out, it's travel/booze/food. I'll give you a quickexample, I'm attending a wedding as a plus one a week on Saturday. My sister wants me to come up Friday but this will mean definite drinks and a takeaway/meal (so that's £60 right there) so I'm trying to be good and travel up on the Saturday (train fares will be cheaper too).
Keep it up.