Is Is Possible For Me To Be Debt Free By 30? (27/09/2009)

candyblue

It seems there is a lot of us wanting to be debt free by 30! I have 18 months to go but I am trying for half the amount, as this is more doable and i feel I can stick to that. Anymore would be a bonus.

Maybe we can gee each other up. Joining the challenges definitely works for me and I have signed up to the pay 20k off by next Christmas.

Good luck

painted_lady

I had my light bulb last August, aged 29, I realised I was pregnant with my baby due 2 months before I was 30. I didnt like the thought of bringing up baby on debt. I owed over £16000 then. Of that debt, I have now got £900 left. I am very proud of myself as I havent worked since March, have a 8 month old and am also ill. It can be done, but for me it was changing my spending habits and also had a couple of windfalls, of which I used the money to throw at the debt. I am now setting up my own business and needed a loan to do this, but this is productive debt which more than pays for itself.
I claimed bank charges back and was owed a large amount of backpay by the DWP and a refund from a course with the OU, which is mainly how I got the money down.
You can do it if you focus on it, good luck.

newmum1

redsquirrel80 wrote: »

Good luck - I'm also aiming for when I'm 30, just three months after you! The spending diary is a good idea - I also find the weekly challenge, i.e. setting a budget for anything 'extra' above the bills/ food etc a great help.

I can't see anything glaring in your SOA, maybe you could find somewhere cheaper for the hair cuts, try a local college that does hairdressing or trainee night at salon?

There seems to be quite a few challenges kicking off for 2008, maybe join one of them for ideas and motivation for making some extra money?

And once again... good luck! :beer: x

Me too im 30 dec 15th 2009 I have been aiming to be debt free by that date for a while i guess id better get my ar*e in gear eh

redsquirrel80

newmum1 wrote: »

Me too im 30 dec 15th 2009 I have been aiming to be debt free by that date for a while i guess id better get my ar*e in gear eh

I'm sure we'll all get there - good luck to you too!

saver03

It is now official my mum has transferred the money into my account and I have paid off my Cahoot loan online which should take approximately 4 working days.

I now only owe my mum money so I won't be paying any interest and can overpay if possible.

It is £16300 I owe in total and we have agreed to set payments of £450 per month and I can pay more if I have it. I do have a standing order for this and can change it online so that is convenient. I will be savoing money in my isa at £250 per month and will hope to use the majority of it to pay loan off.

:A As it is my day off I am doing a lot of ebay listing and gaining some extra money as well as making a dent in the 10 boxes that I have under the stairs!

saver03

cocalls wrote: »

RENT £410
COUNCIL TAX £88
CONTENTS INSURANCE £23 Is this buildings/contents look on quidco to see if you can get cheaper
MUM LOAN £450
WATER £15.66 ring up to see if this can be spread over 12 months
TV LICENCE £13 check this is right mines 11ish
VIRGIN MEDIA £30 (phone, tv and broadband)ring threatening to leave and they give you cheaper deals i do this every 6mths or so!
MOBILE £39.99 this is high is it for 1 or 2 can you get payg or ring to get a tariff cheaper
GAS £40 (on meter so high as it is winter)maybe reduce the time you have the heating on each day
ELECTRIC £25 (on meter)Make sure everything is turned off at mains and cut back
FOOD £100 (for 2 people and 1 cat, including toiletries and cleaning stuff)
WEIGHTWATCHERS £17.95 (monthly pass)
HAIR £25 approx. (have it done very 6 weeks)
ISA £250 (holidays, birthdays, Christmas, pay off debt sooner)
TOTAL £1527.60

Incomings
OHs £1280
ME £570 approx. (every 4 weeks and sometimes more if I can do extra hours)
TOTAL £1850 approx.

Difference £322.40

Hi there its def doable id start a spending diary to see where the extra money goes do you mind me asking why you are on such a low wage? Id say that this is one of the biggest problems if you can get more hours and/or a better paid job then you'd be debt free in no time good luck!!

:T Hi thank you all for your advice and kind words of encouragement. :T

My insurance is contents only, I got it through Quidco and got £125 back. It was the cheapest I could find with the best cashback. I have my engagement ring covered for out of the house and as it is worth £3000 it adds a lot to the payments.

I thought that I was paying the water over 12 months so I better check and see what I can do.

We paid the tv licence in full and the £13 is what we have been saving to pay in full again so hopefully this will be too much and we will have some spare.

I was recently paying £50 for my virgin then I did ring and threaten to leave that is why they are doing it for £30 and I have a box in the bedroom too which is free for 6 months. But think I will ring up every 6 months and see what they can do for me. :T

I know that my mobile is VERY high :mad: That is my own fault as I wanted the Prada phone and this was the best tariff I could get it on for free. I was told by Phones 4 u that I would be able to change tariff for a cheaper one after 3 months but when I called Vodaphone I was told I had to wait 9 months :mad: So I will be calling again in February to reduce it. When the contract is over I will look online and get a deal with cashback and on a low tariff. I may consider payg but we don't use the home phone to call out we use my mobile so the free minutes come in handy and I do text quite a bit but I am trying to cutdown. :rotfl: I can't remember what it was like and how I coped before mobiles!! :rotfl:

I know that the gas and electric need to be cutback on and I must get into the habit of turning everything off at the plug before bed. We do have the thermostat at it's lowest point before it clicks itself off. I hate that the gas is so high in winter it is the central heating and we do try to only have it on for 4 hours a night when we are both in.

I am contracted to work 28 hours per week and that is how I have worked out my 4 weekly income. I usually do more hours especially now at Christmas and I should be getting a bonus but that won't be much. I am currently looking for a new job as I am really unhappy at work at the moment. It will, however, be quite hard to find new employment as I have ill health and I once spent a period of 14 months off sick.

:money: Any advice is greatly received :money:

miss_corerupted

i would love to join in with this but i'm 30 in march so i won't be able to do it!!! May 31??

saver03

Well I am sure we can keep each other going and motivated to reach our debt free goal of 30.

tealady

Hi I know you are on a meter for gas and electricity but have you checked (via a cashback site of course) to see if you are on the cheapest tarifs?
Is there any way you could have monthly/quarterly bills?

saver03

Not too sure about that but it it something that is definately worth looking into, thankyou