A Ditherer's Diary (again)

Aspiration

The other big positive here is once you’ve cleared the BC everything else is low or zero interest which will support the momentum you’ve got. You should be really proud!

ryanm8655

Naomim said:

I've just adjusted what I owe on the credit cards and the interest.  This is how it currently stands:

Barclaycard £3690.40 @ 21.04%

MBNA 3 £2200.47@ 3.2% until 12/10/21

Barclaycard £8898.53 @ 0% until 01/08/21

MBNA 2 £4555.18 @ 0% until 22/10/21

Virgin Money £5826.95 @ 0% until -1/03/2022

Halifax £6588.12 @ 0% until 01/07/22

Credit Card Balance £30,991.97

Great work! Makes such a difference when so much of the debt is interest free. Now time to get rid of the barclaycard. 

One thing to be wary of, although it’s over a year away, you have a cluster of cards that offers end on in the autumn of next year. It’s be great to get ahead of the curve on those once you’ve cleared the Barclaycard and MBNA.

Naomim

Aspiration said:

The other big positive here is once you’ve cleared the BC everything else is low or zero interest which will support the momentum you’ve got. You should be really proud!

Yes I'm pleased I'll actually be hitting the debt rather than interest

.ryanm8655 said:

Naomim said:

I've just adjusted what I owe on the credit cards and the interest.  This is how it currently stands:

Barclaycard £3690.40 @ 21.04%

MBNA 3 £2200.47@ 3.2% until 12/10/21

Barclaycard £8898.53 @ 0% until 01/08/21

MBNA 2 £4555.18 @ 0% until 22/10/21

Virgin Money £5826.95 @ 0% until -1/03/2022

Halifax £6588.12 @ 0% until 01/07/22

Credit Card Balance £30,991.97

Great work! Makes such a difference when so much of the debt is interest free. Now time to get rid of the barclaycard. 

One thing to be wary of, although it’s over a year away, you have a cluster of cards that offers end on in the autumn of next year. It’s be great to get ahead of the curve on those once you’ve cleared the Barclaycard and MBNA.

Yup I've sorted them in order. I'm hoping now I've cleared the Tesco card they may offer me a 0% I can move the Barclaycard to then start on that MBNA debt and unlock some more balance transfers. Fingers crossed 🤞

Naomim 

enthusiasticsaver

Good work on getting most of the debt onto 0% deals and almost  in the twenties now. The good thing is that the deals expiring next year are not until August and October so hopefully plenty of time to get the debt lower so the balance transfer deals are more forthcoming. Hopefully you are also tackling the overdraft as those are expensive now. 

Naomim

We took the decision to take a 3 month mortgage holiday during Corona to specifically target the overdraft, so this will be cleared by July. 

Naomim

I've been tinkering with my spreadsheet.  I "think"  if MrM and I continue working from home for the next 6 months, we could almost have the interest bearing Barclaycard amount cleared down.  Between our commuting and the child benefit coming in, we could make an overpayment of around £500 a month on top of the £600 I already pay towards the cards.   Obviously this is depending on whether we remain wfh.  

I've also been thinking about our television needs.  We currently have Virgin TV with super duper fast broadband and a landline - apparently it was cheaper to have the landline than have the package without 😕  And we have Netflix.  14yo only watches Netflix, usually Japanese anime, 10yo is some of the kids channels, netflix and youtube and I mainly watch programmes on terrestrial channels. I love films but prefer the cinema experience and don't tend to find the time to watch films at home.  MrM is ALL THE SPORTS.  So for me, it's great having Virgin but it's very much an expense video recorder as I never watch anything when it's on.  Our contract is up in October so I was thinking about reducing down the package if we can, or removing Virgin. I will need to investigate how we can have the sports channels only. I believe NOW TV do a Sports pack which may be more suitable?   At least I have a few months to think about this.

It's 14yo's birthday in 3 weeks. I have budgeted for the birthdays so need to get on Amazon and get ordering!!  Although, we are getting him a hamster as his main present and just a few small bits.  

It's been so hot, the  pool has been put up in the garden, it has a small leak so I need to get a puncture repair kit.   It's a large pool I got in 2018 so it needs to be up for as long as possible. I have a filter my father in law gave me last year but may need some chlorine tablets too.  

Naomim

mrsmoneypenny90

hey Naomim
 Have signed up to your diary, well done for what you have achieved so far. I just wonder whether instead of over paying the CCs should you maybe focus on the overdraft with their recent change in interest fees being around 40%!!! Theiving so & so’s! 

mrsmoneypenny90

🙃 just read your earlier comment about clearing the OD by July, good plan! I have taken a payment holiday on my car finance, which will not incur any additional interest, and am throwing that extra cash at the debts! My husband has had to take a pay cut though so it’s swings & roundabouts 

GeorgianaCavendish

NowTV do have a sports only package, we use it when the F1 is on and cancel as soon as the last race weekend is over. They often have offers on the sports package so worth looking out for when your Virgin subscription is over. 

We have Netflix too. I usually ask for a Netflix voucher for my birthday or Christmas and MrC does the same, so we usually get between 3-6 months “free” each year. 

Naomim

mrsmoneypenny90 said:

🙃 just read your earlier comment about clearing the OD by July, good plan! I have taken a payment holiday on my car finance, which will not incur any additional interest, and am throwing that extra cash at the debts! My husband has had to take a pay cut though so it’s swings & roundabouts 

Thanks for subscribing, sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself but it also helps getting everything written down. At the moment the bank isn't charging interest on the overdraft either so what used to be a £60 a month payment is also being thrown at the credit cards.  The mortgage will cost additional interest but like Baldrick, I have a cunning plan.  Firstly, once credit cards are reduced a bit more, remortgage to lower interest rates, then once credit cards gone completely, overpay the mortgage to reduce that interest right down. 👌

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. It's a tough time for so many.

GeorgianaCavendish said:

NowTV do have a sports only package, we use it when the F1 is on and cancel as soon as the last race weekend is over. They often have offers on the sports package so worth looking out for when your Virgin subscription is over. 

We have Netflix too. I usually ask for a Netflix voucher for my birthday or Christmas and MrC does the same, so we usually get between 3-6 months “free” each year. 

I'm going to have a look at the NOW package.  Funnily enough the F1 is probably at the bottom of his sports viewing.  One of the reasons we swapped from Sky to Virgin was so we could get BT Sport as Sky wanted too much money for it and Virgin was a cheaper option with better broadband and all we lost was Sky Atlantic.  We have a lovely smart TV in the front room but have never used it for streaming so not sure how I'd watch stuff on CH5 etc. Another thing to investigate, although I think my friend has a freeview box she can record on so I'll look into that also.  I think we will need aerials putting in as when the house was renovated there was nothing.  Kids watch netflix on their phones or 14 through his PS4.

I know it's all months away but I want to be prepared for when it needs doing and have time to convince MrM we don't need to pay for 500 channels to watch about 10 at most.

Naomim