£50k to zero - made it across the finish line

remote_control

The travel post and work post are definitely very similar to me! When away we also just do free stuff and in cities we walk everywhere. In my opinion part time work and travel sounds like a nice option rather than early retirement but I'm in my thirties so I might have a different opinion in twenty years time.

I have a job I love but I've engineered it so I only work my hours as I don't want to be available to them at all hours! I love flexible working and having a boss who trusts me, although I don't really use the benefits of this much. 
I agree with Moneybelle, you are a legend! 

One-step-at-a-time

Thanks @Moneybelle37 and @remote_control what lovely comments to come back to!
I'm closer to 50 than 45, and have worked since I was 16 - supermarket  jobs, holiday jobs all the way through uni, no time off after uni just straight into work. The appeal of early retirement gets stronger by the day, I'd just never considered that it might be possible before! Ideally I'd like to be done by 60 - had I had my head screwed on pension-wise 25 years ago that would have been a piece of cake; but only wising up at this late stage means that I have a lot of creative thinking ahead of me.

One-step-at-a-time

Just made a rounding down payment meaning that CC #3 of 5 will bite the dust when the next scheduled payment goes out at the end of the month. Victory is getting closer!

Dottles1

You are doing so well One step, even though I don't post often I'm cheering you on at the side lines.
Keep plodding on and you'll get there

One-step-at-a-time

Thanks @Dottles1 - I hope you are keeping well!
It's been a pretty decent start to the week - the ancient rustbucket sailed through the MOT; I can't remember the last time that happened! DH has also managed to save a chunk on his insurance this year, so the car pot is ahead of itself.
CC3 will be gone by the end of the week. I can close it through the app which almost seems like an anticlimax.

One-step-at-a-time

I decided I needed a pick-me-up this morning, so I've cancelled my DD for CC3, made the payment online and I am now waiting for the app to update so that I can close the account. Payday is here, so no need to wait any longer (this one was actually due to go out on the 8th not the end of this month as I'd thought) for the scheduled payment to go through. Next week I'll adjust the DDs on the two remaining cards to ensure that the next one gets cleared in May. I can't tell you how nice it is to have wiped two lines off the February spreadsheet!

I also keep track of how far my SRP would go if my job went up in smoke; it's now at the point where it would cover all the remaining debt and 4 months of living expenses, or 10 months at a bit over minimum payments, so that's a good virtual cushion to have.

I've got bits of annual leave booked in for February & March now. It's never usually a struggle for me to use it up but I'm carrying over as many days as I am permitted to this year. One of my friends works for a company that allows you to sell back unused annual leave; for once I wish that was the case here! 

One-step-at-a-time

I need to stop refreshing my banking & card apps waiting for this !!!! payment to go through, and accept that I won't be actually closing the account until tomorrow. Maybe I should just have a card burning ceremony to keep me happy!   

mark55man

Doing a great job !! - changing from a reliable wifi is a disruption best avoided (although we have just done that from an unreliable one!) 

Destroying credit cards is a pleasure to be savoured, so just think of it as prolonged gratification and not infuriating delays - along the lines of revenge is a dish best served cold 

remote_control

Yeah I wouldn't change wifi. When we were younger (and maybe a bit more MSE) we used to change wifi providers and deals alot. We had some terrible wifi and often found there were surprise fees for installation or routers and things. I'm not sure if that is still the case now. We've been with current company for 6 years and have reliable wifi so it would take a lot to make me move! 

One-step-at-a-time

The deed is done! Poured myself a coffee, logged in to the app and shut it down. The 'reason for closing your account' option list was extremely unsatisfying ('I don't use the card' was as close to accurate as it got). Good start to the weekend, anyway.