2020 - Clearing the debt the start of our journey to FIRE

Savingtomove

Hi Everyone,

The last 5 years have been very hectic and the result has been a ton of debt.

Our networth isn't bad as we set up some rental properties in our early 20s which are doing well. But our personal day to day finances have taken a battering due to having two babies in the last four years. My youngest has just turned 8 months and I am back to work this week but have decided to go self employed and started my own business. In the long run I will earn more but it will be a slow build!!

I am also wanting to shift about 4 stone!! and get my house in better order......

Our debt currently stands at;

Family loan £18,800
Car loan £800
Personal loan £22000 ish
Credit card £4902.39
Total £46,502.39 - Holy Cr@!!

We make regular payments on car loan (£169), personal loan (£365) and credit card (£100)
We also save £500 per month in regular savers and will pay this off one of the debts at the end of year.

I'm planning to get our food spends down, sell some stuff and then throw any extra I make from the new company over what we need to live at the debt.

I feel it could be a long road!!!!!!!

The long term goal is to move house and work towards retiring early - Debt is the first step..

Savingtomove

So plan today is;
Money
Plan food for the week and keep food shop within £40
List 5 items on f@cebook for sale.

House
Ironing!!!
2 x loads of washing.
Batch cook some mini quiches and apple and banana muffins for the kids
use up left over veg for soup for my lunches this week.

Weight
Swim - Done (makes me feel good to put it on the list and tick it off!!)

Jazee

Good luck Savingtomove. We had over £50k of debt and paid back every penny, so it can be done. Not retired yet as I like work but I have gone part time.

Maybe if you post you SOA here, other folk can give advice on where to cut back. I'm sure someone will be along with the link soon.

Savingtomove

Jazee wrote: »

Good luck Savingtomove. We had over £50k of debt and paid back every penny, so it can be done. Not retired yet as I like work but I have gone part time.

Maybe if you post you SOA here, other folk can give advice on where to cut back. I'm sure someone will be along with the link soon.

Thanks Jazee a SOA sounds like a good place to start. I don'r really know how much we are spending on food etc so I think I will set up a spreadsheet and track our spending for a month to get an idea. I have tried YNAB several times but have really struggled with it.

Savingtomove

So got a few bits from a list done but def room for improvement. I think I'm going to do weekly and daily lists so that I don't set too much to do on the days I have work on or the kids are needing a bit more attention!

Here is where I got to;

Money
Plan food for the week and keep food shop within £40 - Done £38.74 woop woop!
List 5 items on f@cebook for sale.

House
Ironing!!! - only about 1/3 of it done before littlist one decided to start crawling over for attention!!!
2 x loads of washing. - Done
Batch cook some mini quiches and apple and banana muffins for the kids
use up left over veg for soup for my lunches this week. - Done

Weight
Swim - Done (makes me feel good to put it on the list and tick it off!!)

In good news I have had a bit more work through for next week. We have money saved to cover Jan and Feb living expenses so anything I make is extra for the pot. I originally thought we would pay any spare money off the credit card but I think I will split it against a emergency fund and paying the car loan off early (due to finish in May)

Little one had her first taster session in nursery yesterday and she seemed to love it so fingers crossed it is a smooth start!!

House is still a mess so thinking of trying the TOMM to see if it helps. I've read a little bit about it so planning to get started today. Hoping the weather holds so we can do a little trip to the local park with the kids. If not it will be a arts and craft day at home.

So plan for today/ this week;

Daily
TOMM - Make beds
Clean floors
One item in the bathroom
Clean floors
30 min room clean
List 5 items on facebook
upload receipts to receipt hog.
survey x 1

Weekly
Finish packing away xmas decs.
sort through DD2 clothes and see what she needs. A old work colleague says she has loads to get rid of so have a nosey at those.
Start my spending tracker
Get business cards sorted and look for networking events to drum up some more work.
Do a list of all the food in the freezer and cupboards.
Get Ironing up to date.

DrSpendLittle

Happy new diary! Good luck with your debt free journey

noobinvestor

What sort of business are you looking to get into?


Good luck!

Savingtomove

DrSpendLittle wrote: »

Happy new diary! Good luck with your debt free journey

Thank you I'm excited to get started!!

Savingtomove

noobinvestor wrote: »

What sort of business are you looking to get into?


Good luck!

I work in healthcare and am doing the same job I did pre mat leave but just working for myself rather than a company. I have plenty of contacts so I'm hoping the work should flow. So far so good which is great!

Savingtomove

So far so good! Here is how I have got on with my lists -
Daily
TOMM - Make beds - done
Clean floors - done
One item in the bathroom - done
Clean floors - done
30 min room clean - done
List 5 items on facebook - Done and two have sold already. £20 in the over payment pot woop woop.
upload receipts to receipt hog.- Done I'm now about 2/3 of the way to payout.
survey x 1 - Done getting towards £5 payout.

Weekly
Finish packing away xmas decs. - Done - all packed away and house looking so much better,
sort through DD2 clothes and see what she needs. A old work colleague says she has loads to get rid of so have a nosey at those.
Start my spending tracker
Get business cards sorted and look for networking events to drum up some more work.
Do a list of all the food in the freezer and cupboards.
Get Ironing up to date.

So good start so far. Last two days have been NSDs. £20 for facebook stuff and TT of £3.22 so £23.22 towards car loan. Now much but from might acorns and all that jazz.....

A bit more work through today - long may it last. Should have an idea where we are at towards the end of the month. I've got the kids home tomorrow so trying to think of something free, indoors and active to do tomorrow.......might be another day dancing to Disney tunes!!

savingholmes

FIRE is a great goal to keep you going. Don't forget normal pension contributions as you go - they really add up over time. Do you have a date in mind when you expect to get each of your debts cleared. It can help to list them either in terms of when they are due to be paid, highest apr or by amount. Could your car be paid off quickly for example to make you feel like you are making more progress? Is there anything you can sell to chuck at the debt? Do you have a £1000 emergency fund? It can really make a difference to how well you sleep at night...