Passenger in Life Take 2

Poniesatemymoney

So my last diary lasted for about 2 months and ended May 2017.  It’s so bad that I don’t even remember what I have been doing for the last 3 years 🙈 so this is my second attempt at trying to get my life & money sorted. 

Poniesatemymoney

So after 20 yrs of racking up credit card debt on various cards since I was 18 I now have a balance of £10k on one card. This is a good result as I had about £25k on 6 cards 🙈 it’s 0% for another 12 months.

I have a monthly expenditure card which gives me cash back and I normally spend about £2k a month on this but I clear it every month.  This covers EVERYTHING I put all food, bills, clothes, tube etc on this.  After I have paid the credit card I have zero left per month (or minus) and really I should be saving and also paying back that £10k.

I have an expensive car on finance (definitely not frugal but needed with horses) and my mortgage payment (also huge).  This accounts for 50% of my salary.

I am very lucky and have a great lifestyle but it is funded on debt.  I’m at an age now where really I can’t live like I’m in my 20s.  

So I will use this lock down period to reassess what is important in my life and cut the excess.  

Contemplating whether I should be trying to break down the £10k and pay some off monthly or take advantage of the % and start saving £10k in another bank account? Or chuck into an ISA and withdraw when I need to pay next year? 

Hope everyone is keeping sane during lockdown!

CreditCardJunkie

Hey! Love the name lol, thankfully mines just gone out to the field so will hopefully eat a little less money!
I would just like to say that when I started paying off my debts properly I was advised by the good folk on here not to save it in an account to be paid off when the 0% runs out. Looking back this was definitely good advice. For me I found it was the budgeting was the issue, I paid every spare penny off my cards each month, leaving me with nothing so I continued to use them.
I started using a simple spreadsheet I made myself to track how much I was spending, turns out £10 here and £5 there easily racks up to a few hundred £££ of pretty much nothing per month! I realised I couldn't go on like this & allow myself a set amount of money each month for spending, including birthdays etc. Once it's gone it's gone. 
Extra income has been so vital for me, and it soon adds up!
Good luck on your journey, I've subscribed  

Sarahwithlove

I'd recommend doing a SOA so that people can help you find ways to cut back. I think you need to move away from paying for things on a credit card it makes it very easy for you to just spend without thinking about it. Keep a spending diary and see if you yourself can spot ways to cut back. 

Ponylover

Ponies eat my money too but I wouldn't be without them :-)
What ponies do you have?