Emergency fund vs. Debt payoff

enthusiasticsaver

What a great start. You will soon start to see results on the debt coming down if you stick at it. Do you want me to move your thread to the diaries section so you can come back and update it every so often? Keeping on posting does help to keep you on track.

I guess you are targeting Barclaycard first with only 14 months left on the current deal?

System

Another congrats post. It'll take time and it may appear you're getting nowhere then one day you'll look at your account and realise that the amount you're seeing in the balance is all yours, its not going to be going out to service debt.

clairebeth

I am also currently reading The Year of Less (it was like £1.50 on kindle!) Also finding it really inspiring, I'm a big fan of 'living small' and it has given me a boost to declutter again!

Poorexgirlfriend192

I have struggled for 3 years to get mental health support from NHS and there seems to be very little funding for it.
I would suggest applying for PIP (Personal Independence Payment) if you have a mental health disability, this is regardless of whether you work or not.

jmb2006

Firstly, I'd like to say well done at working so hard to get your addiction under control. And your girlfriend is too !!!128522; And well done for working at gaining control of your budget/spending.
I'm not a financial adviser, I've simply learnt from my many mistakes in the past. I noticed the payments you're making on 0% debts means they won't clear in time. Interest, often compounded, can then be added to your debt. Also, if I understood properly, your paying the minimum on your debit cards where interest is charged, this approach means it can take decades to clear. You are paying a lot on one loan but didn't say when it needs to be cleared.
With all that in mind, I thought I'd make a budget where priority is given to clearing those debts too, but can't work out how to send it to you !!!9785; I didn't use this sited budget sheet-too confusing for me.
As each debt clears you can choose what to do with 'spare' cash, maybe put in ISA towards house deposit??
Many charities run courses (free) on how to budget, so you have all the knowledge you need to take control of your budget. I use CAP Money, but many other great ones out there to make it easy. And as wages, life, etc remember to recheck your budget
Hope all goes well for you both
:T

[Deleted User]

jmb2006 wrote: »

As each debt clears you can choose what to do with 'spare' cash, maybe put in ISA towards house deposit??

Or use it to "snowball" the debts, until they're all cleared.

TheR3ader

It's been a little while since I posted here, I've spent the past couple of years really focusing on myself and my debts, the advice and understanding from people here have been a huge help to me.

For the first time in my life, my debt is finally decreasing. I've gotten healthier, worked on my eating disorder and spending addiction. I still have a loan but no credit card debt, my loan is much smaller and more manageable. I've been able to afford to buy a house with my other half and pay for a wedding too.

I just wanted to come back and share this progress (mostly for myself) to show that there is a light at the end of the very long consumer debt tunnel. Sometimes I still struggle to see it, especially on bad days where the amount of debt feels overwhelming but looking back on my post from 2 years ago really helps to put things in perspective to see how far I have come.

Thank you to everyone that commented and offered advice! I hope that in a year I will be able to post that I am debt-free (minus my mortgage).

DayDreamerandGeneralWaster

Well done 🙂

ryanm8655

Fantastic news. Didn’t notice the dates so have just read this from start to finish and was thinking how well you were doing at making cutbacks back in March (2018).

How did you get the cards done? Any words of wisdom?

TheR3ader

Hi Ryanm8655,
I committed to paying off a minimum of £200 a month, up to £400 depending of monthly expenditures. I started with the smallest card first as it was the easiest milestone to achieve.
I gave myself a "play money/spend" budget of £100 a month (and I still stick to that despite my income increasing to a monthly take home pay of £2,500).
Sometimes it got really daunting and I felt like I would never get rid of the credit cards. For me, I identified it was important for me to also have an emergency fund. This did slow the rate at which I repaid debts but having an emergency fund meant that if something went wrong, I didn't feel like I "undid" all of the hard work I put into clearing the credit card. I also found that if I didn't have an emergency fund, it caused me so much anxiety that I actually ended up spending more to calm myself down.

I guess the key for me paying off the cards was identifying my spending triggers and addressing those first