Debt Free 2019 and a Wedding to Save for!

Lockylocky10

Evening all,
I'm one of those people who read through hundreds of debt free diaries and find them super interesting. Lucky for me I'm not in thousands and thousands of pounds of debt (although I can see how quickly it can happen) however I do have a couple of credit cards I would like (or need) to pay off.
I enjoy writing every bit of thought down, so I know it's out my head and if I write it I have to do it right?!

I also get married in 2020 so need to save save save for that, were also renovating a property (half way done, just the big projects left to do). I have just got a promotion at work so I'm able to use the money I never used to have against my credit card payments).

So debt wise, I have:
HCC - 24.4% - £387 (paid £200 just before Christmas, was 0% but know I can pay this off within my next payslip)
BCC - 0% - £2,307 (we are owed £600 by a friend that is paying us weekly, which is going off this card, leaving a total of £1,707 to pay)

There are two of us, but I want to pay this off myself using my own wages which is fine by me! I next get paid on 21st Jan and will be paying off the HCC in full which will just leave me with the BCC to pay.

Wish me luck! I'm excited to be debt free and money saved up for a wedding by this time next year. :beer:

DestinyGamer

Congrats on the wedding Locky! That’s awesome :heartpuls You’ll easily pay off that debt by the sounds of things. Keeping a diary on MSE will keep you accountable and help you pay it off quicker so you can start saving. I look forward to celebrating with you when your debt free day comes

Lockylocky10

Thanks DestinyGamer! I've just caught up on your thread and I'm loving your new attitude going forward!

blue_eyed_girl123

Have you booked a wedding venue so you know costs etc? I've been using an app called WedHappy which is so useful to track spends . Good luck with debt busting!

Lockylocky10

I've just downloaded, thank you Blue Eyed Girl. We have, we're actually getting married abroad so its much cheaper than if it were in the UK!

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary

Lockylocky10

Thanks Beanielou :-).

Me and the better half have just spent a couple of hours decluttering and have managed to get rid of about 5 bin bags plus numerous boxes! I’ve donated a big bag of old bedding and towels to an animal shelter and also made two sales on Facebook. Only £10 but that’s £10 in the pot!

Lockylocky10

Happy new year all! I’ve sold 2 more items equalling £15 so that’s £25 into the pot!

I’m going to be saving £10 a week into my monzo pot which is locked down until November, that’ll be around £500 come Christmas. My partner is going to do the same which will give us around £1000 so we can use that for food/everyones presents.

I’m also going to give myself an allowance each week which I will put into my monzo account (say £50 a week) and once that cash has gone I need to wait til the following week.

Lockylocky10

I gave myself a £30 budget for anything I needed for once I returned to work, I’ve spent £1.68 in 3 days which is fab (and that was on lady things so had to be done).

I’ve also started my Christmas savings and have £11 in there already. With m0nzo you can create savings pots and have them locked down until a certain date, meaning you can put as much money in there but it can’t be touched and no money can be removed which is great, I’ve locked it down until 1st November. If I can stick to doing £10 per week up until then il have £430 to spend on Christmas.

I have a few savings accounts already that I like to keep as back ups/wedding savings as well as pay off my card balances, I also have £120 in my t0p cashback that I’m going to transfer to my premium bonds.

[Deleted User]

Good luck on your journey x

Lockylocky10

I gave myself £28 on Boxing Day, and then another £10 a week later as I hadn’t spent it but wanted to give myself funds just to tide me over I have £17 left which I’m super happy about!! I get paid next Monday, I also haven’t spent any money at work (on coffees, lunch etc) for 3 weeks! I feel like I’m going in a positive direction.

Bit of advice, I’m really savvy on our household bills but wondered if anyone had any ideas on where we could save even just a few pounds:

Mortgage - £670
Council tax - £145
Water - £40
Cat insurance - £22
Gas and electric - £70
Sky - £18
House alarm - £48 (partner stays away a lot, worth every penny in my eyes)
Tv licence - £12
Home insurance - £25

I also have my car insurance due on the 6th Feb, the renewal has come in at £313 but if I go elsewhere I can get £50 cashback. Going to give my current providers a call and see if I can get some money off.