Debt Free 2017

Mrs_Hainsworth

Hi newbie here (be kind!)

I've subscribed to MSE for a while now but never really participated in the forums but having had a wake up moment this week I'm determined to get me and my husband debt free ASAP (so that we can start saving a deposit).

Whilst I'm on a good salary my husband is on minimum wage. We have around £4k debt on credit cards (from our wedding) and I have a £13k professional loan which I'm slowly paying off.

I've started taking some steps to get our finances in order - I'm looking into changing my loan to reduce the interest (currently about 8%) and cut unnecessary payments such as subscriptions but I know there is far more I could be doing (tips welcome).

So hello to all on the forum - I'll be trying to keep this thread updated with our progress!

Mrs_Hainsworth

Just a quick update - gathered all the money around the house this morning (some cash that we received as wedding gifts, loose change and the OH's big jar of coppers) and paid it into the bank (£122.16); added some Amazon vouchers to my account (£25); put all our euros in the travel wallet (E13.97).

It probably doesn't seem like much but every little helps!

Now I'm going to plan some meals for the week ahead using up as much in the fridge / cupboards / freezer as we can. And tonight I will be making the OH look at changing our energy supplier.

enthusiasticsaver

Are your credit cards on 0%. That always helps. Are you still spending on the credit cards or are all the debts on there from your wedding?

Mrs_Hainsworth

The credit cards are the OH's. He did a balance transfer on to a 0% MBNA which is the wedding debt (approx £2k) but then we have around £2k spending on a Halifax card, I don't know what the rate is for that one (but will be finding out!).

I have a Natwest card which I had as a student and has a very low credit limit (£350) but I've paid that off this month. I'm also hoping to pay off my Natwest overdraft by the end of the year - in credit at the moment but as soon as the rent goes out I'll be £240 OD without any other spending.

Unfortunately we also need to work out getting a new car as ours has been out of action since last March (most of the spending on the credit card has been paying for hire cars). I've applied for a 0% credit card, partly to cover the costs of a deposit for a car, partly to get a grip on spending and partly to increase my credit limit for emergencies. It probably sounds crazy to be getting another credit card but my plan is, once my overdraft is paid, to pay my bills from my bank account (loan (£400); rent (£815); mobile (£35); gym (£20)) then pay off spending on the credit card (ie food shopping) then anything that's left will go to paying the credit cards - setting my bank balance back to zero each month.

Once the cards are paid off I can focus on my loan. Although Natwest have given me a settlement figure from the eligibility calculator tool it looks unlikely that I will be able to pay it off at a lower rate of interest so I'm going to pay into a savings account (once the CC are paid) and keep the situation under review (hopefully the rates will get better as the amount I need to borrow goes down).

My OH really wants to get his credit cards paid off so hopefully I'll convince him to cut any unnecessary expenditure. That said there are a few things we will need to pay out for - a big family holiday next September and possibly a trip away with friends in May (I'll be watching out for Ryanair and Easyjet sales!) plus Christmas of course (we will be doing out usual homemade gifts but some expenditure is inevitable).

loveis

Hey,

It's hard to get started so well done on giving it a go.

Mrs_Hainsworth

Thanks! I feel like I'm making progress - I've already cancelled several subscriptions which is about £175 saved over the course of a year. I just need to keep on track!

loveis

It's the little things that add up. Account fees I'd just been paying with a shrug and very little thought or not cancelling free trials _pale_

Mrs_Hainsworth

Good progress this evening - although I didn't manage to do any meal planning I did make a start on the huge pile of books/CDs/DVDs that need trading in.

Plus I convinced the OH to switch energy supplier so that will hopefully save a few pennies.

Having now added up our debt - £17,255.72 I'm setting myself a goal of getting it paid off by Christmas 2018.

Mrs_Hainsworth

So today has been rather mixed so far. After having a NSD yesterday I completely failed today by paying £84 on contact lenses :eek:. I normally wear glasses but I want to wear contacts more regularly so did a free trial which ended today. In order to have contacts for the Christmas period I needed to pay for three months' supply. However, I'm very conscious that it's an extra direct debit and will need to factor it into my budget so I'll decide after the first three months whether I'm going to continue with it.

On the more positive money saving side of things I cancelled our veg box and went to the local greengrocers instead. Paid £13 for loads of lovely fruit and veggies to get us through the week and I'll top it up with some greens from our allotment (saving about £6). I also bought some Christmas cards from the Card Factory 32 card for £3.98. As I normally buy cards from M&S I'm making a good saving there.

My main struggle at the moment is wanting to get organised for Christmas but not having any money to spend as I really want to get my overdraft paid off. I think what I need to do is set a Christmas budget and think really hard about what I'm going to do for gifts this year.

Bobarella

Good luck with your debt repayment MrsHainsworth your debts aren't high but you are doing the right thing kicking them into touch now.

brandysnap47

I too have just started my debt free journey, created a budget, strated using the envelope system and this week bought groceries....from a shopping list......relating to a meal plan agreed with my OH. :beer: All of these habits are new to us and although its not pleasent sitting down and laying out you debts its less stressful once you're working to a plan.

there is loads of things I want to do for chrstmas and can't but I now have Christmas in my budget so even though this year is going to be hard what keeps me going is thinking what I'll be able to do next christmas guilt free ( which will be a first) with the money we have squirreled away :j

good luck, you're doing brilliantly :T

Brandysnap47