Debt Free Diary 2021

[Deleted User]

Hi, Happy New Year to all.

 I am new here on the forum, but have used MSE tips for a long time now.

I wanted to post my debt free diary as somewhere to keep a monthly tally of my progress and a copy of my plan that I can refer back to.

As of January 2021 my total debts are:
CC1 - 2950 @ 0% until November 2021
CC2 - 420   @ 0% until March 2022
CC3 - 1685 @ 0% until May 2022
CC4 - 3820 @ 0% until September 2022

The cards are not used, and are purely there to clear the balances.
After all non negotiable outgoings including minimum payments on these cards, I am left with an extra 300 to pay debt or save with.
I plan to use that 300 to pay off the card with the 0% offer that is ending the soonest.
I have also started selling items online that I no longer use  to make additional payments.
Once the cards are paid off I plan on using the money I'm used to paying out to make an "Emergency Pot" to cover my essential outgoings for 3-6 months.
I would also like to invest in a stocks and shares ISA once I have more disposable income.

Thanks for reading, any additional tips for earning extra money, passive incomes particularly, most welcome.

Sunshine_girl2

Hi Deleted_User , welcome on board . 

I have used survey sites in the past my favourite prolific academic , the money adds up after a while. There are many others just can't recall at the minute. Plus don't forget to use cash back sites, topcashback and Quidco. 

Good luck with it all. 

enthusiasticsaver

Sounds like you have a good plan.  I  think I would start a basic emergency fund sooner than when the cards are repaid though so you are not tempted to use credit if you have an unavoidable expense. If you don't have a house, pet  or car though it is not so critical as those are usually the reasons for emergency funds being needed. Even £500 is a  good start. All being well though that first credit card should be gone by November. 

Supertryer

Welcome!

sounds like a good plan and I did similar paid off the debts and then started savings!

I would agree to definitely sell things you no longer need or use every little helps and £1 soon turns to £10/20/50/100 and also reduce any outgoings if you can!

[Deleted User]

@Sunshine_girl2 Thank you very much for the tips, I will check them out.

@enthusiasticsaver Thank you, good call about the basic emergency fund, maybe I'll use the money from decluttering and selling online for this instead of extra CC payments.

@Supertryer Thank you, glad to hear from someone else who has done it successfully!

I'll update my balances monthly, thanks for the nice welcome all.

[Deleted User]

This weekend is monthly shop time, I've decided to drop down a brand or two on all but the things we don't want to do without, and I've managed to get a discount card to use which will reduce the bill by a big 15% where I generally shop.

I also managed to join a wholesalers for no fee, which will work out cheaper on things like washing powder, dishwasher tabs, snacks, drinks etc. I've picked up more than a months worth of each for a similar price I'd generally pay for a months worth at my regular supermarket, so a saving over time there.

I'm planning on using the money saved from the normal spend to kickstart a basic Emergency Fund Pot this month, and maybe in the following months I'll add a little extra to my CCs and keep the EFP topped up too.

Have a great weekend all!

[Deleted User]

Slight change of tack after reading some great posts and advice on here. Instead of overpaying my cards month by month I am going to save the amount into a spare account I have and all being well, pay it off as the 0% expires. My thinking being that by holding the money I will have a readily available fund for emergencies etc if needed, instead of paying it off the CC only to put it back on if something unexpected should arise.

As of February 2021 my total debts are
CC1 2920 @ 0% until November 2021
CC2   410 @ 0% until March 2022

CC3 1660 @ 0% until May 2022

CC4 3780 @ 0% until September 2022

Overpayment Fund - £300 Christmas Fund - £200 Emergency Pot - £50 Car Pot - £50

Additional Earnings

Surveys -     £10

Selling  -    £170

I'm saving these extras up in yet another pot with no use in mind just yet. I may end up just filtering them to the existing pots for Overpaying, Christmas, Emergencies and Car.

No Spend Days - 7
I only realised this after going through my account this morning, I think with some effort I could maybe increase it to 10 days this month. That will be the goal anyway.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week one and all.

[Deleted User]

Been a really quiet month on the spending front and I’m not complaining. Started listening to the YNAB podcast from the beginning, the episodes are really short so easy to listen to for me, and they are full of good tips and methods to budget and make every pound work for you. Would highly recommend.

As of March 2021 my total debts are……

CC1 2890 @ 0% until November 2021

CC2   399  @ 0% until March 2022

 CC3 1635  @ 0% until May 2022

 CC4 3740  @ 0% until September 2022

 

Overpayment Fund - £600 Christmas Fund - £250 Emergency Pot - £100  Car Pot - £100 Additional Earnings Pot - £240

 

Additional Earnings

Surveys -     £18

Selling  -      £49

I've decided to use these extras to pay off the smaller CCs once I have the right amount. Sort of combining the snowball and avalanche methods.

No Spend Days - 11
Very quiet month on the spending front. Thanks lockdown! (Looking for the positives)

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful month one and all!

[Deleted User]

Been another really quiet month on the spending front and I’m not complaining. Made a good amount of profit selling products online and have managed to use some of the money to clear my smallest balance CC.

As of April 2021 my total debts are……

CC1 2860 @ 0% until November 2021

CC2 1610  @ 0% until May 2022

 

CC3 3700  @ 0% until September 2022

 

Overpayment Fund - £900 Christmas Fund - £300 Emergency Pot - £150  Car Pot - £150

Additional Earnings Pot (after clearing smallest CC) - £151

 

Additional Earnings

Surveys -     £20

Selling  -      £280

I've decided to use these extras to pay off the smaller CCs, and the 1st one is gone. I will continue this. Sort of combining the snowball and avalanche methods.

No Spend Days - 9
Very quiet month on the spending front again. Sure it will be all change as more places reopen.

Happy Easter if you're celebrating it and thanks for reading. Have a wonderful month one and all!

[Deleted User]

Had a good Spring clean and made a good amount of profit selling bits and pieces I cleared out online this month.

As of May 2021 my total debts are……

CC1 2830 @ 0% until November 2021

CC2 1585  @ 0% until May 2022

 

CC3 3660  @ 0% until September 2022

 

Overpayment Fund - £1200 Christmas Fund - £350 Emergency Pot - £200  Car Pot - £200

Additional Earnings Pot - £810

 

Additional Earnings

Surveys -     £10

Selling  -      £660

Nothing planned for these extras this month, a few big  birthdays coming up for family and friends so may well use for gifts/days out when allowed and I will stash a bit away for a rainy day.

No Spend Days - 7
Spent a fair bit on a couple of mini shopping sprees when everything opened up again, got a lot of essentials that won’t need buying again for a while and some treats etc because why not, didn’t go outside my regular spending budget for things like this though, just haven’t done it for so long.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful month one and all.

[Deleted User]

Made a good amount of profit selling bits and pieces I cleared out again online this month. If anybody has old football shirts or toys from the 80s they don't mind parting with, they seem to go for a fair bit I've found.

Had a holiday too so spending was a little higher than usual for the month, but all paid for no credit used, so I'm happy with that.

Car insurance is also due in June, I tend to pay annually and my mileage has dropped drastically, so I'm hoping the Car Pot I've been saving in will cover the years insurance.

As of June 2021 my total debts are……

CC1 2800 @ 0% until November 2021

CC2 1560  @ 0% until May 2022

 

CC3 3620  @ 0% until September 2022

 

Overpayment Fund - £1500 Christmas Fund - £400 Emergency Pot - £250  Car Pot - £250

Additional Earnings Pot - £1915

 

Additional Earnings

Surveys -     £5

Selling  -      £1100

.Just adding these extras to my additional earnings pot for now, but I'm thinking once it is level with the CC balance with the 0% ending soonest, I may pay it off. On the other hand I may just sit on it for a while as the economy/job/business situation is still quite shaky here at the moment.

No Spend Days - 12
I tried to be good before the holiday so I wouldn't have to scrimp or think about a budget too much while away, so it was worth it to go without for a few days more than usual and not check the banking apps daily while away.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful month one and all.