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Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!
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....and a very happy New Year and 2018 to you and your family.Finally Debt Free! - July 2016 🌟
Finished Emergency Fund- £10,000 April 2017
🌟
RETIRED: MAY 2021!!!!😀🎆
My diary: “Seasidegal's Scrimpy Retirement Diary!”0 -
FiscalPickle wrote: »I discovered a fantastic use for the slow cooker at this time of year: mulled wine! It heats it right through without burning and with a slice of orange and a cinnamon stick the house smells so festive. Kept on low it’s the ideal temperature to serve through the evening. In true MSE fashion I’m using wine bought last Christmas :rotfl:
:T This is such a good tip! :T(Although I guess you have to remember to tell folk that it will still have a higher alcohol content that "normal" mulled wine?).🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
EssexHebridean wrote: »:T This is such a good tip! :T(Although I guess you have to remember to tell folk that it will still have a higher alcohol content that "normal" mulled wine?).
Hmmm, I might have forgotten to mention that part to the guests! No one was driving at least :beer::rotfl:£20k debt paid off, now saving for mortgage deposit
In the process of shedding 42lbs0 -
Hope everything is OK GC - you've been very quiet. Thinking of you and hoping that 2018 turns into a good year for you. XI Believe.....
That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery
Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present.
happiness isn't achieved by getting extra things,
but by getting rid of the things that make you unhappy0 -
Happy New Year! Hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year
I've been very quiet recently as pretty overwhelmed with work. We had a couple of resignations in my department and although we've got a new person starting mid-Feb, there is a lot of extra work to pick up. To be honest, I think that even when they start there will still be a lot of additional work ... we lost one F/T and one P/T person and the new person is P/T. Eek!
Anyway, enough about work for the time being! Let's talk Debt Busting!
Almost a year of being part of this forum has taught me that when it comes to debt busting, knowledge is power. I can't believe the extent to which I was happily ignorant about my finances, simple things like not knowing which credit card had the highest rate of interest, what subscriptions I had set to auto-renew or the date that my insurance policies expired.
I feel much more empowered because I know exactly what my situation is now, and I think it is always better to know the facts, even if facing up to them is sometimes very scary!
For example, this month I've been able to save a whopping £180 on my contents insurance by keeping on top of the renewal date, putting some money aside during 2017 to pay the premium in one go instead of monthly, and shopping around instead of accepting the renewal quote from my current insurer. (I also worked out exactly what our insurance requirements were instead of signing up for the "best" i.e. most expensive option).
In 2018 I have two big areas of focus. #1 is to be more patient with myself, sometimes there are easy wins or things that make a big difference and sometimes it is weeks or months of slogging along looking after the pennies and not seeing much movement on the debt figures. I have to trust that it will work, and that the small economies will have a big pay off down the line.
#2 is to plan ahead. 2017 has taught me that I can't just avoid thinking about and planning for unpleasant, difficult or even 'waste of time' things and hope that they'll never happen because having no cushion or emergency fund in place makes things much worse than they need to be.
I'll probably continue to be pretty quiet over the coming 6 weeks but will make more of an effort to check in because it does help keep me on track
Good luck everyone and see you soon!0 -
Glad you're OK GC and it sounds as though you have good plans in place to get you through this year. XI Believe.....
That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery
Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present.
happiness isn't achieved by getting extra things,
but by getting rid of the things that make you unhappy0 -
So much of what you said resonates with me GC - avoiding thinking/ planning is definitely one of them if it's something that's too much for me to want to think about!
Sorry that you're overwhelmed again with work - I think we were in similar situations last year with massive workloads and although mine is ok right now (just started back yesterday) I know it's going to ramp up pretty soon and I think i'll be right back where you are now. I know we can both get through it!
Hope the rest of your week is okCC1: £4481.14/ £5031.14 (12% paid off, £600) | CC2:£3307/ £3807 (14.4% paid off, £550) | Loan: £10,528.20/ £15,792.30((33% paid off, £5,264))
July debt total: £24,630.44 | New debt total: £18,316.34 | Total debt paid: £6,414.10 (26%)
*My debt busting and savings diary*0 -
Hi GC, just popping in to say Happy New Year :j£20k debt paid off, now saving for mortgage deposit
In the process of shedding 42lbs0 -
Well done GC - that's sounding as though you've really got the building blocks in place to see this through now! You're right about the knowledge thing - the other thing I'll say on that is that you know how the skillset to maintain that knowledge, and that is something you simply won't lose. It really is one of the biggest factors in people getting, and then staying, debt free - the knowledge and the skills to foresee problems and expenditure and have the plans in place to deal with it.🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Absolutely love following your thread GC, I!!!8217;ve been a bit caught up of late so not been able to check in but you do keep me going and give me hope. Thank you, looking forward to your next update.This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0
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