I’ve only just realised what a financial mess I’m in.....

DebtFreeAliB

At the time of writing this I am 44 years old. I have been in debt for my entire adult life. I am self employed so I worry about this a great deal. As it stands my consumer debt total is £33,000 (more if you include my car - but I’m not going to at this stage). I am accutely aware that I have no savings and no pension and not a great deal of time to sort this out before I'm put out to pasture. Hence I have decided to do something about the debt situation for once and for all. I have a debt repayment plan and a goal date for debt-free status.

I could, of course, pay my debt off without publishing the fact I'm doing it but I want to keep myself accountable and also, if someone in a similar situation stumbles across my ramblings they might get some encouragement to rectify their own situation and not feel so alone in their predicament.

My (now not so secret) plan is to not have to work full time after the age of 50 - or at least ensure that money is not the driving factor in my choice of employment. I have enjoyed my work life in the past but the shine has definitely worn off in the last couple of years and I would like to do something more fulfilling when I no longer have to focus on maximising my income. So the steps in the dance will be-

Pay off my credit cards and loans by December 2020,

Pay off my car by December 2021,

Save as much as I can towards a modest forever home before April 2025 (my 50th birthday).

What follows will be the edited highlights (and, no doubt, lowlights) of my path to freedom (from debt and jobs I don’t enjoy). It will involve me selling things on ebay, imposing shopping bans on myself, no winter sun holidays etc etc but once I have my head above water it will all seem worth it I’m sure.

DebtFreeMonkey

The first step is identifying the issue and creating a plan to rectify that. Seems like you're well on the way to doing that! Kudos to you.

I'll keep an eye and look forward to seeing all the goals you achieve on your journey since parts of it seem similar to mine.

scoobysnax40

I'm also on the Debt-Free journey, though my end is March 2020 if I manage to stay on the straight and narrow.

It's a tough journey, no doubt about it, but I think it will be worth it in the end. I look forward to keeping up with your successes and those bumps in the road that we've all had. The important thing is to keep going.

Just wanted to wish you the best of luck with your plan

jupitercrash

Sounds like you've got very clear goals, and a good motivation for doing this!

DebtFreeAliB

Thanks. Will be posting regularly with all my money saving shenanigans and will also own up to all the fails too haha

Enoughisenough

Hi,

I’m the same age as you and with around about the same amount of debt. Snowball says 26 months till debt free but hoping to cut that!

Going to subscribe now so I can read all about your successes!

debtfreeme2015

welcome. we are all in this together

DebtFreeAliB

Enoughisenough wrote: »

Hi,

I’m the same age as you and with around about the same amount of debt. Snowball says 26 months till debt free but hoping to cut that!

Going to subscribe now so I can read all about your successes!

Hi Enoughisenough - thanks for the message. We can do it together. I will follow you too and we can share the trip. 🙂

DebtFreeAliB

The lowdown on my debts and the current plan based on APRs:

Debt No. 1 - Credit Card 1 - APR 41% (!!!) - Balance: £5829.81
Debt No. 2 - Credit Card 2 - APR 28%(!!) - Balance £4523.80
Debt No. 3 - Loan 1 - APR 6.9% - Balance £10694.04
Debt No. 4 - Credit Card 3 - APR 0% - Balance £7141.91
Debt No. 5 - Loan 2 - APR ?% - Balance £4682.25

The 41% card used to be 22% until about a month ago. Needless to say it is now my number one priority until it is paid off in full or I can find an interest free card or low interest loan.

I still owe about £30,000 on the car. By the time my 4 year period is up (June 2021) I will still owe £17000. The question then will be do I hand it back at that point and buy a cheap old runaround or do I pay it all off and keep it forever? I do love it a lot but I need to be sensible. All thoughts and reactions welcome.....

DebtFreeAliB

As a woman in her mid 40s who has been enjoying a reasonable income for a few years now I have become partial to having a few luxuries strewn about the place.
One of my absolute weaknesses for as long as I can remember has been toiletries. I can't resist anything that smells good. To this end I have been a Molton Brown devotee for about 5 years, by which I mean that every bottle of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion and perfume has been from Molton Brown in that time.....without exception.

Prices of my favourite products?
Shampoo - Glossing Shampoo with Plum Kadu - £18.00 for 300ml
Conditioner - Glossing conditioner with Plum Kadu - £18.00 for 300ml
Shower Gel - Mesmerising Oudh Accord and Gold - £24.00 for 300ml
Body Lotion - Mesmerising Oudh Accord and Gold - £27.00 for 300ml
EDT - Mesmerising Oudh Accord and Gold - £45.00 for 50ml

I'm not saying I will never have these things again but for someone who has never known what it is like to not be in debt this is a dreadful waste of money.

In a quest to find things that made me feel good for less money I tried a few different products and not many were making the grade. I thought I had spoiled myself forever. But in the end I have found products that I like that work just as well and smell great for the money I'm paying......

Shampoo and Conditioner - I have found a lovely cruelty free brand in Sainsbury's called 'My Hair Matters'. I buy the 'Smooth and Shine' variety. It is £1.50 for 500ml and I have to be honest, I have awful wiry thick hair but this shampoo and conditioner combo make my hair look and feel as good as the Molton Brown did. And comparing the price per wash - £4.50 per wash with Molton Brown (I have a lot of hair) as opposed to 24p per wash with the Sainsburys brand. Calculating the cost over the year - based on me washing and conditioning my hair every other day I save £777.45 per year. (I'm working this out as I'm writing it and shocking myself hahaha...)

Shower Gel - I have found that Morrisons baby shower gel leaves my skin feeling as good as the Molton Brown stuff although it doesnt have the lovely scent. However, I can get 500mls of the Morrisons brand for £1. This means that my daily shower costs me 6p as opposed to £2.40 - an annual saving of....£854.10 :eek:

The final thing I've changed is my body lotion. The Morrisons baby lotion is the best (I've tried a few and body lotion is really important to me) and that is £1.00 for 500ml. This means that I now spend 6p per day on body lotion rather than £2.70, an annual saving of £963.60.

I feel like a right idiot now that I know I have been wasting in excess of £2.5K a year on keeping myself clean and smelling good. But at least I've stopped now.

If you have any stories of luxuries you've given up and what the saving has been/will be please share them. Thanks for reading

Toni'sfriend

I used to use Gatineau for cleansing, toning and moisturising. Can't remember how much it cost but it was expensive, especially the moisturiser. Now I use Boots cucumber at a couple of pounds each but frequently on three for two. Can honestly say I don't notice the difference.