New Year, Newly Single, Time to Get Rid of Debt

Adorian

My rather bullying and emotionally unavailable other half left me just before Christmas - the relationship had been rocky for a while and he refused to get counselling so it was always going to be finite, but the way he did it was really uncool. He'd not really had much work or contributed financially for many years so the credit cards, loan and mortgage are all in my name and they did get cranked up because, despite not actually contributing, he did like to have a certain standard of living.

On the bright side I'm no longer paying out for his expensive food tastes, cigarettes or the holidays he wanted to take and I can turn lights off/close the doors to keep the heat in, so I'm probably already saving money. Although there are the costs for legally ending the relationship to think about.

Anyway, there's a cupboard full of unused food that I'm sorting through (so far oldest expiry date is 2013) so I'm pretty sure I'm going to be OK for food for the next 3 months plus, even if it gets a bit dull. So, 2021 is the year I get my life back and start the slow and steady trek back from Big Debt to Saving for the Future. Wish me luck!

Adorian

As of today I have the following debts:

Personal loan: £1,330.81 (last payment 17 May 2021!)

CC T £7,899.69

CC S £518.04 (legal fees)

CC N £6,689.08

CC H £9,720.78 (Currently all 0%)

So a grand total of £24,827.59 on the cards and £1,330.81 on the loan.

I have a temporary job that only has to give a week's notice, which is pretty scary, and it's only contracted til March but with the likelihood of it being extended so I want to build up as much of an emergency fund as possible. I recently refinanced my mortgage so that my payments are really low but that means it won't be paid off for 22 years. My aim is to use that additional £300 a month to pay down unsecured debt rather than the mortgage (LTV is c. 31% so I'm not too concerned about this - I'd rather get the high interest debt out of the way then overpay the mortgage and get back on track when the fixed rate comes to an end in 18 months.) - I'd put this in motion some time before my ex-other half jumped ship because I was concerned that when we eventually did hit the rocks I'd be left with all the debt and he'd be left with half the flat so way better off than I who'd basically paid for everything.

My first priority is to get the emergency fund up to cover at least one month's bills so that I have a little bit of breathing space, then split the £300 between emergency fund and paying down debt. I'm going to clear CC S first as it's not very high and it was purely to get legal advice over who's liable for what financially (totally worth the outlay as it looks like it's going to save me at least £8k and keep me the property), then throw some £ at CC H which should trigger a BT offer in a couple or 3 months. Then I can do a BT shuffle between CCH & CCT. Once that's done it will be highest interest rate first.

Once the loan is paid off in May that will free up £270 a month. That's a little way off yet, but if I can stay employed and financially disciplined then I should really start to see some improvements in my finances then.

If you've got this far, thanks for reading. I'm looking forward to the challenge (haven't worked out my debt free date yet; that's for tomorrow) and reading about other people's journeys. Good luck to all of us in 2021!

doingitanyway

You sound organised and committed to change. I'm sure you will do well. Sending you a welcome and a hug too.

Honeysucklelou2

You have a plan to get it sorted out -well done. I started my diary as a newly single mum, a significant chunk of my debt had built up by having to pay household bills/expenses alone, even though I was married. Payment by payment the loan, that I’d had to take out to cover everything got paid off. I’ve still got some way to go but every payment is a step closer to freedom from debt. Wishing you every success in your debt  free journey.

Sarahwithlove

Good luck sounds like you have a plan of action. I'm glad your going to get to keep the property as well. One less thing to worry about 

Adorian

25 days in and I think I'm doing OK, although I may have gone a bit crazy with batch cooking. I made a beef chili bulked out with bulgar wheat and a handful of red lentils plus some cheap sell by date mushrooms and it made loads. I also made coconut chickpea and spinach curry which is lovely and was made completely from things in the cupboard and freezer. Plus lentil & barley soup that again was free - there was even some chicken stock in the freezer! The freezer is now full, which is great news for those days I don't feel like cooking.

Financewise I started at:

Personal loan: £1,330.81 now £1069.64 (4 installments left)

CC T £7,899.69 now £7,857(ish), won't know exactly how much interest until the statement comes out in a couple of days.

CC S £518.04 now £0 (well, £205 for car tax I paid today but I will pay that off on Friday.)

CC N £6,689.08 now £6,586.39

CC H £9,720.78 (Currently all 0%) £9,612.57 but with £1,210(ish) going onto standard rate at the end of the month. I can get rid of about £200 of that if I stick to not buying fun groceries.

I need to chuck some money at CC T in the hopes it will trigger a 0% balance transfer offer. I can then transfer CC H that's coming off 0% which should trigger a 0% on that card in a month or so, then transfer from CC T. Fingers crossed on thatas the interest really eats into repayments.

I'm still really annoyed with myself for allowing this debt to creep up - it was 'only' £15k a decade ago - but at least the mortgage has reduced by over £40k so overall I'm in a better position now, plus nobody sabotaging my work to pay it off - I've saved over £150 on his cigarettes since he left mid-December and kept the fuel bills right down despite working from home. I actually feel as though I must be forgetting to pay a bill or something - I'm actually  feeling in control of my money. So now I just need to also start putting money aside from the car insurance in May which will probably be about £350, thanks to living in a dodgy area.

Onward and upward! As long as I can stay employed - and I'm seriously searching for a permanent job with accompanying holidays and sick pay - I think I'm going to be OK. Hopefully not jinxing myself by saying that...