£23,690 to clear

sudonum-mum

Thank you everyone for commenting.
Its great to be back posting, I have missed you all. I've tried to keep up with some diaries over the last year but time has got away with me. I will make an extra effort to catch up with everyone.

To start the month off I have just paid £140 to my L-ISA as there was no council tax to pay this month.
Done a money shuffle and moved all the rest of my months money to my food/petrol account as all DD's bar a few have come out now.
I will transfer some more to my L-ISA hopefully at the weekend when I have worked out my food budget.

natlie

Hello, 
Just popped in to say hi, we have similar debt levels and I am also clearing my allotment at the moment. It's great to see what others with similar situations are doing. 
Congrats on your new job, onwards and upwards
Nat 

Bizzywizard

sudonum-mum,
Do you know you can split your council tax over 12 months, not 10 like I think you are currently doing? This really helped me to split it over 12 months, so I was paying out the same amount each month and my planning was better on my excel sheet.
This bit might not be popular, but you need to pay back family and highest interest incurring debt before saving into your LISA. Your family may be in debt and need their money back! Also you are paying more in interest on the debt than you are making in the Lisa.
You will not be considered for a mortgage until your debt is smaller and this still might go against you.
Hope this helps,
Bizzy

sudonum-mum

@natlie Thanks for commenting, I'll pop over and have a read of your diary. Allotment clearing is very cathartic, yesterday I started clearing my back garden as my neighbours brambles have come over the fence at an alarming rate.

sudonum-mum

Thanks for commenting bizzywizard. I do know about the council tax over 12 months and not 10, I quite like having 2 months where that money is not needed for council tax and I can pay a lump sum off something else.
I do want to pay my family back asap, they are not struggling and are not in debt so there is no rush but I want to get the smaller one paid back before the end of the year.
I know logic says that you should pay the highest interest rate back first but my LISA gives me a 25% bonus capped at £1000pa and you can't get that bonus back once the financial year has ended so once its gone its gone so for me I prefer to chuck as much in the LISA until 5/4 and then I will go back to paying debt until next January when I will chuck as much in the LISA as I can.
I know I won't get a mortgage with my level of debt but its nice to have a goal to aim for, I'm aiming for 2025 to buy my house.

I know the diary is new but I have been around for years and have read every guide that MSE post. I would say I'm quite savvy, its just my past hasn't been great and I am now trying to deal with it.

enthusiasticsaver

Welcome back and congrats on your new job.  The extra money will come in useful.  I know you asked the question about whether it is better to fill the Lisa for the 25% bonus or repay the credit card at 32% interest and would say that although I can see the psychological benefit of filling the Lisa actually mathematically repaying the credit card is better given the 25.8% you receive on the Lisa for each £100 you invest is giving you less than repaying £100 on the credit card is costing you at 32%. 

I would focus on that 32% debt as much as possible. 

enthusiasticsaver

sudonum-mum said:

I know logic says that you should pay the highest interest rate back first but my LISA gives me a 25% bonus capped at £1000pa and you can't get that bonus back once the financial year has ended so once its gone its gone so for me I prefer to chuck as much in the LISA until 5/4 and then I will go back to paying debt until next January when I will chuck as much in the LISA as I can.
I know I won't get a mortgage with my level of debt but its nice to have a goal to aim for, I'm aiming for 2025 to buy my house.

I know the diary is new but I have been around for years and have read every guide that MSE post. I would say I'm quite savvy, its just my past hasn't been great and I am now trying to deal with it.

Whilst I understand you cannot get the bonus on the Lisa once the financial year has ended you are losing money all the time on interest paid on the credit card. 

tunathe_cat

Hi Welcome back, will wish you happiness and look forward to reading your posts. No advice but baby steps and be kind to yourself.  Happy gardening x 

sudonum-mum

Hope everyone has had a good Sunday.
I wish this wind would bog right off!

I paid £25 to my Santander credit card because I am so close to being under the next £100 (£8 over) plus interest goes on next week so decided to cover that as well.
Just a little milestone - got to celebrate them when you can.

Thanks for the comments. enthusiasticsaver - I'll be paying off the credit card as much as possible after 5/4/21, I know it doesn't make sense to pay into the LISA long term while I have debt but it's just a goal I've set myself in the short term and I like getting a bonus each month - we all like a reward.

beanielou

We all like a reward indeed