£29,303...Enough is enough!

WelshKitty85

Current totals are:

Hitachi - £8,767.76
Barclaycard - £6,118.72
FD - £7,343.75
MBNA - £3,368.42

Total = £25,598.65

Current savings total = £540.00

DH's old car has sold and is being picked up on the weekend. I'm contemplating what to do with the money, but am swaying towards paying off the MBNA card.

mark55man

well done on all your progress - I think clearing one card completely is a good thing psychologically, although doing the sums and working out which reduces the interest by the most is probably more MSE

Starmummy

I found having less bills to pay, as in less individual debts, far easier, less stressful and motivating
WK

WelshKitty85

Thank you both for your input. I've just been checking out mortgage deals and we can apply to switch at the end of this month. We're currently hovering around 90% LTV, depending on the house valuation. There's a big difference in the rates if we can get below 90% LTV so I think it might be worth keeping the cash to one side incase we need to pay a little bit extra off to reach that threshold.

Thick_n_Thin

Hi welshkitty,
Just finished reading your diary and I think you are doing amazingly well! I think one of the hardest things to deal with on the journey is that it’s not linear, there will be many ups and downs, sometimes it feels like you are going backwards but before you know it you will make some progress and get back on track. Well done on your progress so far I will be following with interest!

WelshKitty85

Thank you for such an encouraging post. It doesn't feel like I'm doing amazingly well at times but I try my best to juggle everything.

WelshKitty85

:mad: They didn't take the car on Saturday and I've had threats of police and bailiffs if I don't return their deposit :mad:

We've had 3 more people view though so keep fingers crossed that somebody will hand over the cash soon.

In better news:
DC3s cot sold for £30
Computer game sold for £15

WelshKitty85

Today was a much needed day off with DC3. I'm feeling a bit fed up atm but can't put my finger on what's causing it. I have decided though that I need to start focusing on some smaller targets, so between building with mega blocks and singing nursery rhymes, I've ebayed 3 items, and completed some surveys. I've also transferred £12.26 from PayPal to start a new emergency fund (we already have some savings, but these are ring fenced for long term goals). We've not been as careful with money as we should since DH got full time work and I think we also need to be smarter with what we spend. I don't want to give up on days out etc but just think we need to plan better, check for discounts, pack picnics...

pidge04

Hi there, I haven’t checked in for a while. You are doing SO well. I read a lot that it is the small things which add up to a lot so listing 3 things on eBay and doing some surveys is all part of moving forward in the right direction. Well done! Really proud of you.

WelshKitty85

I've switched mortgage deals - reduced monthly payments by around £150 and knocked 18 months off the term. LTV was already down to 86% so I haven't had to make any extra lump sum payments.

Payments won't actually reduce until September though and I'm a bit worried about how I'm going to balance the budget this month. I need to find:
£85 for DC2 football subs
£160 DC1 performing arts subs
£25 DC1 school trip
£?? DC2 birthday

I've made a few small ebay sales and have about £40 in my savings jar & £35 in a savings account (the other savings are not easy access but could be used as a last resort). It wouldn't be an issue if the car sold, but despite lots of interest it's still not gone.