The Secret of Getting Ahead is Getting Started

Jox

"The Secret of Getting Ahead is Getting Started" Mark Twain, I'm getting started right now!

Been reading some diaries and feeling motivated to start one of my own and aim to pay off my debts by Dec 2021.

My job is uncertain and there is a chance I will be made redundant in 2020 once Brexit is finalised so I may be able to pay off a chunk of the debts but if not here is my plan:

Santander credit card £3400 (I pay approx £30 interest a month) - aim to pay off by Oct 2020.

Sainsbury's credit card £2279.81 - interest free - need to check when that runs out - aim to pay off by March 2021.

MBNA credit card £3917.70 - interest free until Oct 2021 - aim to pay off by Sept 2021.

Barclaycard £4210.31 - actually my husband's but I pay this off for him with money he gives to me, interest free until Dec 2021 - aim to pay off by Dec 2021.

My mortgage is fixed term until 2027 (£219k outstanding) and if I sell before then will have to pay ERC of approx £13k so will try to avoid that, though marriage is rocky and there is a chance we may need to sell and split the profit. Potential equity in the house is £231k.

I do have savings (approx £2700 with HL and £400 in premium bonds) and pension (approx £42k) and husband has some savings (£2500 in an account in my name as I've been saving this for him as he isn't great with money)

I have a 6 yr old son and have some premium bonds for him (£1500) and savings (£700) in his name.

I'd like to clear the debts and add to savings / pension and pay off mortgage. Would like to sell house in a few years and move out of London to a cheaper house and maybe become a foster carer?

On my own I think I'm quite good with money and frugal but help my husband out a bit. Plus I pay for flights and car insurance for my dad and usually am not honest with him about how much these cost so he pays me back less than I paid.

I'm quite generous as well and always pay more than my share and help out some mums at school who I see are struggling. Aim for 2020 is perhaps to not be so generous as I am probably being taken advantage of to some extent...

A few years ago I paid my friend's rent deposit and arranged a payment plan for her but she didn't pay me back, we're still friends but it does annoy me! It was £350 so not a massive amount but still annoying. Need to put myself first and stop trying to bail out others!

I don't smoke, drink, go out much, I wear the same clothes for years, only have 2 pairs of shoes, I tried to not go on holiday this year but ended up giving husband £1k for his holiday with our son then at the last minute I went to see my dad in another country and spent about £800 with flights and spending money. Will try to not have a holiday next year.

I don't do surveys or have anything to sell, so will see how to make some extra money where possible. Will declutter early next year and see what I can come up with.

Good luck to everyone with the debt busting in 2020!

Jox

Was payday yesterday so paid £500 on Santander card and put some small amounts to overpay mortgage and put in son's savings.

I had a £60 Amazon voucher for doing a survey for work, so bought some things but spent about £40 extra on things I wanted rather than needed, a change of mindset is still being worked on! I bought birthday present for son, hair gel for OH, towels, food mandolin, some other random pieces.

Aim for 2020, give myself a weekly budget for food and travel and other essentials and stick to it, all extra money to go to debt busting.

DebtFreeMonkey

You got this. Just take one step at a time and you'll get there

Jox

Thanks DebtFreeMonkey

I'm not in the worst position but I don't like having this debt hanging over me and know I can do better.

Here's my SOA:

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 500
Benefits................................ 82
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3082

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1100
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 150
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 30
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 62
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 19
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 30
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 200
Childcare/nursery....................... 200
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 40
Other insurance......................... 20
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 100
Emergency fund.......................... 100
Total monthly expenses.................. 2409


Assets
Cash.................................... 2700
House value (Gross)..................... 450000
Shares and bonds........................ 2774.69
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 455474.69


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 219000...(1100).....2.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 219000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Santander......................2770.95...350.......0
MBNA...........................3957.27...50........0
Sainsburys.....................2279.81...50........0
Barclays.......................4210.31...100.......0
Total unsecured debts..........13218.34..550.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,082
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,409
Available for debt repayments........... 673
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 550
Amount left after debt repayments....... 123

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 455,474.69
Total HP & Secured debt................. -219,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -13,218.34
Net Assets.............................. 223,256.35

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Lemon_Tree

Welcome to the boards I'm sure you can achieve your goals with some planning

Jox

Thanks

I've been a big fan of Martin Lewis and MSE forum since 2006 and followed his advice on reducing costs of energy bills and mobile phone / internet providers and getting the best mortgage deals, but have had multiple credit cards, loans, finance, store cards since the 90's.

I used to socialise alot with work colleagues and friends in my 20s and some of my 30s and drank (and paid for many rounds of drinks) and smoked and clubbed several times a week til I had a change of lifestyle in my 30s and cleaned up my act.

I saved £18k in a year and extended the lease on my flat, then a few years later sold my flat and bought a house which is a bit too expensive for us but we're managing as I'm in charge of the finances and make sure all the bills are paid.

My husband's brothers lent us £20k for the deposit and I paid them back in 5 months but it involved borrowing on credit cards to do so. My husband and brothers weren't aware I did this, I just didn't want the debt to them to linger for too long.

My 6 year old son is the prince of pester power (he has been since the age of 2!) and wants, wants, wants a lot, I think he gets a thrill from buying new toys but quickly loses interest. I buy him toys and books from charity shops so he still gets the buzz but it's cheaper on my pocket. My husband isn't so good at saying no and regularly comes home from trips to the shop with our son with a £40 toy which ends up lying unloved on the floor. I've told OH to say no or not to take our son to the shops. The supermarkets sell all these fancy toys so it's a struggle.

Hubby and son have the spending gene, hubby has 4 ikea drawers of shoes and trainers, multiple of every clothes item, regularly buys himself aftershave, goes out a lot drinking and he smokes, all a source of tension in our relationship, he is younger than me and I'm feeling more like his mum as the years go by. He's self employed and gives me money as and when he can but it annoys me that he has the money to go out and buy things for himself and I have to wait for his contributions to mortgage and bills. At least one of us is sensible!

I'm thinking to concentrate on reducing the debts and might look at making some radical changes this coming year, one step at a time!

DancingInTheRain

Good luck on your DF journey.

FootyFanDan

Hi,

I just wanted to wish you luck on your journey to becoming debt free. I have picked up some amazing tips here.

I also had the spending gene I always just went with the 'well I work hard so I deserve nice things' however over the last 6 months I have really become so much better at not just buying for the sake of buying.

You have got this!

katsu

Can you maybe sit your hubby down with the budget and explain to him what your life costs etc?

I was thinking about your statement that he gives you money when he can but also spends money on himself in ways you seem to resent so maybe if he got committed to being part of the household finances he'd change his thinking?

Good luck in clearing your debts.

enthusiasticsaver

I think there are a few red flags here and while your situation is not the worst you have more than £13k of debt on top of a reasonably large mortgage and have a possible redundancy hanging over you. Getting your finances in better shape and maybe changing some of the dynamics around your friends/relations and money will help. You seem to be the lender of last resort and surely if you were to be made redundant your husband would need to step up and pay bills like a grown up rather than leave all that to you. Is £500 his contribution or his whole salary?

Whilst you say that the redundancy could be used to clear the debt in reality it should be to cover your outgoings until you find a new job which may not be as well paid. With an £1100 mortgage payment on top of £550 debt repayments any redundancy payment would need to be substantial to stop you falling into arrears with your mortgage or defaulting on credit cards unless you are lucky enough to get a new job immediately.

I would suggest you stop bailing out your husband and friends/family and concentrate on getting out of debt especially as your husband is not being committed. Most banks and building societies will not give mortgages if the deposit is borrowed which in your case it obviously was. This has placed a greater strain on your finances than it should. I also question why it is you alone who is repaying your husbands brothers.

On the plus side you obviously practice frugality yourself (at the expense of others it seems) and you have some savings and a good wage for now. You seem to be married to an irresponsible spender though and you would do your son a huge favour if you moved him away from your husbands way of dealing with finances (which is let someone else pay the bill) and closer to yours but maybe put yourself first for a bit. Well done for making a start.

Why did you not tell your husband and brothers how you paid them back so quickly? As the debt is now £13k and presumably was £20k you have done well to reduce it and obviously the debt has not occurred through overspending but by you shouldering the bulk of repaying the house deposit yourself on top of you using your savings and your old flat. What does your husband bring to the table?

enthusiasticsaver

There is also no way I would split the equity with your husband if you should split on the following grounds.

Your old flat was used to provide the deposit topped up by the £20k debt you have been repaying alone to your husband's brothers and £18k you saved up (not your husband).

Your husband has not even been covering half the mortgage let alone the bills. I am quite indignant on your behalf. Does he pay half the childcare costs?