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Sarahwithlove

That's great sounds like a good plan. Just remember if you use any of the emergency fund to top it back up. Good luck 

meerkatpie

Evening Everyone!

Following the comments above, I have done a bit of thinking, especially around my Tesco loan and I thought *why* am I paying interest when I wouldn't need to by moving the debt to a card?

It took me a while but I went for it!

I have moved all of the loan to an 18 month 0% credit card and it has been completely cleared.

So here is the rundown now:

£3400 - Credit Card 1
£5300 - Credit Card 2
£14546 - Car Loan

I have topped up my LISA to £2000 and I have £1000 in my emergency fund. 

With my savings, my LISA for this year should be full by the end of January at which point I am giving myself 3 clear months to pay off credit card 1 (which with a lot of budgeting should be feasible).

I am then going to fill up my LISA with as much as I can after April and hopefully, by the end of the year credit card 2 should be paid up!

It is a big target and something which will be difficult, but I have also worked hard and I have been able to secure a promotion with my current employer, fingers crossed from this I should have some extra cash to get this debt paid down!

I'm just hoping I have made the right decisions and stay focused enough to get this, but right now, this is my one and only goal, so let's hope nothing gets in the way!

Sarahwithlove

That's great news and like you said seems silly to pay interest if you don't have to and 18 months is a reasonable time to pay it back in. Deffo try and maximise the Lisa bonus if you can its worth it. 

meerkatpie

@Sarahwithlove that's exactly what I got thinking, plus if worst comes to worst there is always the option to look at a balance transfer, but I I should have it all paid off by the time the 0% ends so I should be okay!

That's what I got thinking, by the time I get to June next year, with the bonus I will have about 3x more put away than in my Help to Buy ISA so I can get to where I need to be, quicker! 

Thanks again for your help with this one, I definitely feel like I have made the right choices!

Sarahwithlove

That will be a great start to a deposit and hopefully by time you cleared your card you can then save some more. 

meerkatpie

I hope so! I feel a new sense of determination, plus it will feel like a better win when I get them paid off, so it should keep me motivated! 

meerkatpie

Good Afternoon Everyone!

I hope that you are all well and of course, Happy New Year!

Fingers crossed I am starting this year as I plan to go on. Frugal will be my middle name and I have made my friends and family aware that saving and paying my debts is going to have to be the #1 priority this year. 

Following my last update I gave you an idea of where I am at, but I wasn't very specific so hear is the rundown:

Debts:

Barclaycard - £3475.49

MBNA Credit Card - £5458.47

Car Finance - £14254.15

My total debt is £23188.11

It is still a lot but back in September my total debt was: £26025.75, so we have managed to shed £2907.64 in 3 months, which I am proud of to say that I am focusing on my savings at the moment. 

Speaking of which - savings:

LISA - £3451.25

Emergency fund - £1000

So they aren’t doing too bad. 

My LISA should be full this payday and then I can really focus on driving down that Barclaycard which I am hoping will be clear in 4 payments after that. 

My payments for my credit card have been changed, I have set them up to now go the day after payday, so whilst I may have 2 payments this month, that is fine and I can just get the money out of my account ASAP. 

Also, on the plus side, every debt that I have is on 0%, so I am not paying any interest which is a bonus. 

I have been keeping a spend tracker throughout the year to see where my money has been going, I feel *disgusting* to say that whilst I have tried to stay motivated I have somehow been able to spend £1205.33 on eating out, £252.14 on takeaway coffee and my phone has come to £671.72 this year alone!

When I read those numbers I could not quite believe myself! Most of the food was from eat out to help out, making an excuse to not cook at home which I can say I will not be doing again any time soon!

Furthermore this year is a lockdown for my spending, I’m not saying no to the odd costa here and there, but I seriously need to bring it back. My phone contact ends in March so I will be going on a cheap SIMO then to0, so I hope that I’ll be able to slowly, but surely, change my mindset and get my act together. 

Although, despite all this, it does feel like a never ending battle, when I see my credit card balances… it hurts, it makes me feel like I have made terrible mistakes and I wish I could just start again. But that is not how it works. I got myself into this mess, I need to get myself out of it, but any advice on how I can help my mentality through this will be really appreciated, because it does feel like it is wearing me down a little. 

I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas and have a prosperous 2021! Good luck, whatever your goals and remember, you’ll always have support here!  

savingholmes

You will get there. As you've shown you can pay enough to clear the debt within 2 years - and if you find ways of earning a little extra through surveys, cashback and the like you could even improve on that.

meerkatpie

@savingholmes that is true, thank you for your words of encouragement! I am doing as much overtime as I can without making myself unwell and really cutting back my spending! I just need to remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint, every step closer is a step in the right direction!

meerkatpie

Good Morning Everyone!

I have, regrettably, had to dip into my emergency fund  

Having seen the GP for headaches I was referred to the optician and my prescription has worsened (again) so new glasses it was for me. 

Thanks to my wonderful milk bottle lenses, I have had to shell £300 for them, which wasn't expected, but hey, that is what the emergency fund is for. 

So a new plan of action for next month, instead of topping up the LISA, I am putting £300 back into my emergency fund. I am also going to put £700 to one side in my instant access saver as I know that in April I have my car service, insurance and tax due and I would rather pay those outright instead of monthly (especially when they normally charge interest on insurance for paying monthly, which I think is scandalous but hey-ho!).

Then March I will use to put the money into my LISA to make it up to the £4000 this tax year, but I really need to be strict with myself so that I can put the maximum in and make sure it is full before the new tax year so it's all hands to concentration mode. 

Fingers crossed we will be able to get back on track.