Good Friday Update: £39,800 cleared - what I learned

Babybelles

Well done on the debt busting. You are inspiring us all & showing what can be achieved with hard work. I resonate a lot with how you speak about debt, especially about thinking small amounts don’t do much (of course they do), & how you need to tackle your way through the debt rather than trying to find easier solutions. 

One of my reasons for getting into debt was through buying too much stuff for me & my family. I bought beauty products, toys, home furnishings etc without much thought. I’ve now sold, donated & decluttered around 80% of the stuff I really didn’t need or want. It’s been such a hard slog listing everything on eBay & sorting out Lego sets etc but I know I needed to go though the hassle of it all to change my ways. I’ve lost not only money but precious time having to declutter my life. Debt just isn’t about money owed, it really does stop you from living the life you want. 

Thanks for posting your journey, without a doubt you will inspire others & help to keep them focussed. Good luck with getting rid of the remaining amount, I shall follow with interest.

vixx_123

You've truly inspired me. Thank you 😊 

Newstart3

Well done on your hard work. 

I have never heard ‘debt is robbing your future self’ before & somethings just clicked in my head. I’ve spent my morning creating a new budget.  Albeit I’m not in debt anymore (I did owe £20k+ around 6 years ago), I really need to start saving properly. Thanks for inspiring me

longtimelurker2020

Update: Good Friday? This is the best Friday I’ve had in a long while! Thought I’d stop by to provide an update to my story. I’m now completely, totally, absolutely debt free. It feels surreal; I guess it will hit home next payday when no repayments go out.

I committed to clearing my second and final CC before Easter, and nearly hit a wobble a few days ago when it came time to make the final  payment; for some reason I didn’t want to make it. I’d taken the short, painful route to debt busting and was suddenly fed up applying all my spare income to debt. I figured I could leave that last small balance on the card, and let it slowly peter out. After coming so far, I stood in my own way - self sabotage, if I’ve ever seen it. Anyway, I gave myself a good hard mental slap and paid it all off. 
Total debt cleared: £21k loan + £8k CC2 (March 2020 to Apr 2021) + £10,800 CC1 (Sept 2019 to Feb 2020) = £39,800

I need something else to focus on and drive me, so it’s time to set some pension, savings, and investment goals. 

TheAble

Quite a sum 😊
I've just got 2 (chunky) payments to go on my cc as well. Looking forward to closing that account at last!

DrCarrie

@longtimelurker2020 Great stuff! Congratulations. Thanks for sharing. 

sonofmerton

longtimelurker2020 said:

nearly hit a wobble a few days ago when it came time to make the final  payment; for some reason I didn’t want to make it.

that is quite common. for example someone owes 5k on a card they have 7k in their bank.  handing over 5k  simply to see 0.00 owed on a credit card is is very hard. you aren't getting anything physically for handing over all that cash. but i say you are getting the mental freedom. that is more valuable than anything that can be bought.

well done. 

longtimelurker2020

TheAble said:

Quite a sum 😊
I've just got 2 (chunky) payments to go on my cc as well. Looking forward to closing that account at last!

Good luck @TheAble, you’re very nearly there. The end seems so far away at the start, then suddenly it’s within touching distance. See you on the debt free roll of honour thread ( if you choose to post there.)

longtimelurker2020

DrCarrie said:

@longtimelurker2020 Great stuff! Congratulations. Thanks for sharing. 

Thanks @DrCarrie

longtimelurker2020

sonofmerton said:

longtimelurker2020 said:

nearly hit a wobble a few days ago when it came time to make the final  payment; for some reason I didn’t want to make it.

that is quite common. for example someone owes 5k on a card they have 7k in their bank.  handing over 5k  simply to see 0.00 owed on a credit card is is very hard. you aren't getting anything physically for handing over all that cash. but i say you are getting the mental freedom. that is more valuable than anything that can be bought.

well done. 

That makes a lot of sense - I got nothing much in return, no fanfare or fireworks; very anti climactic. I think the psychological reward will come on payday when no payments go out