Countdown from £28k...

enthusiasticsaver

That would be great to be down to around £7k in the autumn.  As you say the lockdown has meant many of us can save more.  We have rearranged two holidays and with no meals out etc we have managed to save loads since March. 

ryanm8655

Thanks for the reply. It would be great...I'm just looking ahead at my spreadsheet on that front as I have a choice between savings and clearing debt now.

A couple more cards will be gone at the end of the month which means another £130 of DDs to reallocate. Then at the end of July another £834 card will be gone and another £30 DD.

On top of this I currently pay £500 on my Barclaycard and £46 and £50 on the Natwest and Virgin, respectively.

If I keep the payments as they are and, after clearing the three smaller cards, make no further top up payments then my monthly debt clearance will fall by quite a bit (£1858.23 in June and £1430.01 in July). Then only £596 in the following months.
Given all of the debt is on 0% I am thinking of diverting more of my money to savings, I'm just undecided about how hard and fast to go with that.

I'm quite attached to seeing my debt go down but at the same time, with it all being 0% and being well ahead of the curve, it does make sense to begin saving for goals beyond debt. My main savings goal is to maximise my £4k LISA allowance before the end of March next year, I pay in £5/week at the moment so could up this a bit. 

As of July I'd need to pay an average of £450/month into the LISA to maximise it by the end of March. Likewise I'd quite like to build up £2k of general savings before I move back to London, which isn't likely to be until the new year at the earliest. If I started saving in August that would mean an average of £350 per month. So from August I could pay £1200 to debt and £800 to savings. By the end of the year i'd then have £5800 debt left on 0% until September and November 2021, £2700 in the LISA (with £1300 left to pay by March) and £2k in general savings. 

I do have a bit of a worry that if I have spare cash I will be tempted to splurge more, so thinking maybe as a first step up the LISA and continue to pay down the debt, then review. I could build up the £2k in savings within a couple of months anyway if I need to.

Opinions much appreciated!

2022ismyyear

Hey Ryan

I am enjoying your thinking aloud regarding your debt plans, I feel like I do something similar by redoing my spreadsheet every few days making tweaks to see how I can approve really sad I know haha

 I think it would definitely make more sense to channel what you can into the LISA before you move out, as your priorities may change slightly in terms of new place, maybe some new furniture, house warming, drinks in the city etc etc. So you might end up spending a bit more than usual when you initially move out. 

Plus if you don’t have too much cash to spare, you won’t find yourself dipping into it unnecessarily because it is locked away in the LISA.

You are doing great! I have diary envy I think I need I think to start one haha 😂 

Sarahwithlove

I'd look to do a fairly even 50 50 split only in case something were to happen you wouldn't want to be left with debt to pay off and no way to do it. But you also need to try have a fairly reasonable emergency fund. It's hard sometimes to get the right balance. 

Bizzywizard

Hi Ryan,
Glad to see you are doing so well with your debt busting. I have all my debt on 0% and just want it gone, so I am overpaying. I hope all my debt will be gone by xmas or feb 2021 at the latest, I am wishing this year away! I think having a small savings pot is good, but concentrate on ridding your debt. Once its gone, you can then really save big time and maybe the interest rates will improve.
Good luck!

enthusiasticsaver

Will you be able to get rid of the debt entirely by the time you move back to London?  That would be the biggest help given the expensive cost of living and working in the Capital.  I agree saving alongside if the debt is 0% though is sensible and having a substantial buffer to help you with the costs of moving back.

IrishSean

Agreed. As long as your not having to pay a lot to continue to shift debt, get a load into that LISA. I had to save deposit in the olden days (late 90s) with no govt saving schemes. 
LISAs & HTB ISAs are fantastic tools.
That aside I did max out a TESSA in the 90s which paid about £2400 interest over 5+ years.. imagine those returns these days on an ISA, lol.
I'm chucking what I can into premium bonds as u know. 
I contacted Virgin and asked about a money transfer to allow me to kick my last 1.5 / 2k down the road @ 0% again, in the autumn; awaiting a reply.
Am considering a few car flips as lockdown eases but can't get registered with company's auction, their website is utter bull-sheet😂

ryanm8655

Thanks for the replies all - I think you’re right. Best bet is to max out the LISA but continue to put the rest towards debt.

Could easily reduce the amount I put towards debt for 2 months and build up £2k, or even within a month at a push so no need to rush.

I’m not certain what the future holds. I have an interview next week for a promotion and am also looking at changing career longer term, which will involve more study and potentially staying here for longer. It’s all quite uncertain so priority is get the debt gone and LISA.

IrishSean

GL with interview fella; my mrs got a £10k promotion in March; increase transformed our finances, thankfully coincided with me wising TF up and getting debt cleared and savings up once & for all😂
Have bid in for an mx5.. prob needs a clutch & exhaust section. Even with lockdown those wee sports cars are still hot as hell, lol (plus ppl wanting wind in the hair post lockdown). If I get it & it's a nice July it shud fly out; more to throw at Virgin CC if I flip an OK profit ( V who said no MT in the pipeline but they'll let me know). Banks are so wonderfully generic & impersonal at times, haha.

IrishSean

Looks like you could be down to around your final 5 by year end; on the home run then💪💪