DIARY CLOSED - DEBT FREE IN SEPTEMBER 2022. I was in debt for 33 years.

craftyali

Hi, all. A quick intro - 48 year old Dairy Farmer's Wife from gorgeous Pembrokeshire in SW Wales. Been in debt since the age of 18 (when I was offered an overdraft with a student bank account). Varying amounts over the years, and mostly always been paying well over the minimum amounts each month - EXCEPT for from 2003 when I got divorced, moved to rural West Wales (to live in a caravan) and went from a well paid full-time career to working a few different part-time jobs just to pay the bills. I couldn't cope with the level of debt I had been left with from my 1st marriage, so ended up going bankrupt in 2005. A horrible and very stressful experience. I hated myself and was so ashamed.

However, I didn't learn and my habit of spending to try and make myself feel better continued. I am a crafter (and you will all know that can mean buying everything new to the market, and I ended up with a craft room full of stash that I hardly used) and also had various animals to care for over the years. I spent a lot on vets bills, farrier, pony rugs, new saddles, running a guinea pig rescue service etc, etc, etc.

By 2017 I had a total debt of over £22k - and my only income is from our farm business.

I am not sure why I suddenly 'saw the light', but I finally stopped most of the spending. I have sold lots of crafty stash, no longer have ponies/donkey to care for and been throwing about 70% of my income at the debt. I also got as much interest free credit as I could get, even if it was just for 18 months. A couple of lenders agreed to stop interest/fees straightaway. This has really helped to see my balances go down.

Last month I cleared my catalogue account.

Today I cleared one of the credit card accounts that had started to charge interest again.

My current debt is now less than £8k.

I will continue with the Snowball method - paying a regular amount to the debts, and throwing every penny left in my account at the one which is charging interest and with the highest balance.

The next interest charging account will be paid off in November, and the final one in December.

I then tackle my overdraft (which charges a small fee each month), and then the 2 remaining credit card accounts (both of which are interest free).

July 2020 is my hoped for Debt-Free day.

It is hard to believe that I have less than a year to go.:j

I am still selling crafty stash (£75 so far this month, and at least £60 coming next week), so that enables me to pay for the little extras that keep me on track (I am a cleaning and organisation addict, and learning all about making my own cleaning products, so buying a bottle of an essential oil or stocking my supplies cupboard is a treat for me!). I am realistic and know that I can't be too strict with myself. However, I have grown to love paying off the debt, so will go without something in order to pay a bit extra.

Unfortunately, due to my chronic illnesses (Fibromyalgia mostly) and living in such a rural area, I am not able to go and get a part-time job, and previous efforts to start businesses from home have failed due to my health (physical and mental). I concentrate on reducing our household spending, so that I feel I am contributing in a small way. Once I am debt-free, I will be taking on a lot of the household costs - and will be so proud.

Now I need to go and read a few more of the diaries

I will update at least once per month.

Ali x

Mummy_bear

Happy shiny new diary.

Good luck on your debt busting journey and plastic free living. I'm slowly trying to reduce plastic use too.

Any recommendations on good shampoo bars would be great. Some I've used before have left my hair very greasy.

I've subscribed x

MB

MovingForwards

Good luck, you have already cleared a chunk.

Also, congratulations on looking to start a business working from home

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary

foxgloves

Some fab progress there, Ali. I've shared in my own diary how my debts began as a 19 year old student, were compounded by meeting the very lovely, but similarly endebted Mr F, & were not tackled until I was well into my 40s......I was 46 when the last chunk was paid off.
Am also a crafter..... have spent a small fortune over the years, but I mostly knit now. This year, I set myself a challenge of buying no new yarn (except for knitting presents) & knitting up my stash instead. While I have bought 3 lots for knitting specific Christmas gifts for people, I've also made good use of my stash. I've knitted a little cardi for my sister, some socks for my partner & a couple of pairs for gifts. I find the trick is to look at my stash as a resource, rather than leftovers & it all feels a lot more positive. I know there are a lot more projects I can knit from what I already have.
Anyway, I always say I'm living proof of how a very spendy person can change into a reformed character. You can do it too, & it sounds as though you're making good inroads.
F

craftyali

Mummy_bear wrote: »

Happy shiny new diary.

Good luck on your debt busting journey and plastic free living. I'm slowly trying to reduce plastic use too.

Any recommendations on good shampoo bars would be great. Some I've used before have left my hair very greasy.

I've subscribed x

MB

Sorry, MB. I have only just logged onto the forum, after some Fibromyalgia flares and being busy with selling crafty stash. My 2 current favourite shampoo bars are from Conchus Life and the Ethique range from Holland & Barrett.

craftyali

foxgloves wrote: »

Some fab progress there, Ali. I've shared in my own diary how my debts began as a 19 year old student, were compounded by meeting the very lovely, but similarly endebted Mr F, & were not tackled until I was well into my 40s......I was 46 when the last chunk was paid off.
Am also a crafter..... have spent a small fortune over the years, but I mostly knit now. This year, I set myself a challenge of buying no new yarn (except for knitting presents) & knitting up my stash instead. While I have bought 3 lots for knitting specific Christmas gifts for people, I've also made good use of my stash. I've knitted a little cardi for my sister, some socks for my partner & a couple of pairs for gifts. I find the trick is to look at my stash as a resource, rather than leftovers & it all feels a lot more positive. I know there are a lot more projects I can knit from what I already have.
Anyway, I always say I'm living proof of how a very spendy person can change into a reformed character. You can do it too, & it sounds as though you're making good inroads.
F

I love knitting, but am fairly rubbish! I have kept my larger needles, as I find them easier to handle, but no suitable yarn at the moment. Might treat myself (and knit another snood) in the autumn.

2 large parcels of sold crafty stash sent off today. Very satisfying to see my craft room getting emptier.

craftyali

Well that was a long gap! I did let extra payments to debt slip and now my Debt Free Day will be November. However, I really want that to be sooner, so just joined the 2020 1% Challenge.

Since last August I have paid off 2 other debts.

Only 2 months to pay the last credit card still charging interest.

My current total debt owing is just over £5000, including a £1500 overdraft (which is actually less than that, as I am not spending all my pay each month).

I pay at least £600 out of my salary each month, and looking around for stuff to sell/monthly subscriptions to cancel.

I have collected pony story books since a child, but going to get those to new homes. Going to see if I can sell on Facebook, or a local bookshop buys books. We intend to change where we live in the next few years and it will be a smaller home(s). Better to really declutter now. I feel so much freer with less possessions, and easier to clean the house too.

My crafting is mostly digital now and moving all photos to digital (got a lot of old photos to scan). Will have only a few digital scrapbook pages displayed in frames, and the rest will be on a digital photo frame.

I read an article about planning for your death, and that includes thinking about the physical stuff you leave for someone else to sort. (We are also doing wills and making funeral plans.). I will write more in this diary about that.

The one thing I am treating myself to this month is a cheap second hand Silhouette Cameo. Had one in 2013/14 and loved it. Sold it to pay a vets bill. Wanted a new one, but would rather get debt cleared first. It will only have basic cutting/drawing capabilities, but will be great to use the fab designs in my library, and perhaps sell some due cuts again (get in touch if you want anything in particular - including personalised stuff).

Must go now and get our recycling out.

Will be updating this regularly.

Ali x

craftyali

Going to post about spending each week. 2 NSD so far this week.

Monday was an expensive day - 2 tyres for my car and treated us both to a car wash (I love having a clean car!).

I am doing a grocery top up shop today (unexpected guest staying tomorrow), but will do a meal plan before I go (using freezer/pantry items).

I need to arrange and pay for the courier for my 2nd hand Silhouette Cameo machine later.

Dentist tomorrow, but I pay monthly, so my check up will be included. Hoping no other treatment needed.

Otherwise, it should be NSD’s for the weekend.

Not too bad.

craftyali

Dentist went well.  No other cost (I pay £20 per month).  I spent just over £21 at a wholefood shop - laundry and cleaning products, and some food.

Going to start keeping a record of what we spend, ie groceries, petrol, pets etc, etc.  Will look for advice and methods online.

craftyali

A quick update.  I installed the Emma app on my phone and iPad.  Linked my HSBC bank account to it (where my salary is paid to and has a £1500 overdraft), and applied to link my Starling account (which I will be using exclusively once my overdraft with HSBC is cleared, and currently I have my monthly subscriptions etc coming out of).  It looks like it will be useful for budgeting once I am debt free, but the main issue is that I use hubby’s credit card for a lot of spending (groceries, petrol, pets etc) and cannot link that, so it is not showing all my spending.

I am going to set up an Excel spreadsheet to track spending.  I use Notes on my iPad to budget each month - with a few months ahead - showing the regular monthly payments, anything extra (for instance if I buy something from a shopping channel and pay over monthly instalments), what I am paying towards each debt, and any cash left for treats (I go to craft workshops, buy occasional craft stash or things for my other hobbies), which I often don’t spend and then it stays to reduce my overdraft.  However, the spending on hubby’s card (which he pays in full each month) is not analysed, except for him going through his statement and questioning what I am buying from Amazon!  It will be interesting to see the exact split between categories.

I am interested in living on a tighter budget, getting an emergency fund in place, having the money in advance to pay for annual/other occasional expenses (insurance, holidays, Christmas etc), and saving.  I also want to have a funeral plan in place and money allocated for this.

I am really positive about our future - 2020 is an exciting year.