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Finally taking back control after a decade of debt
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I've just read your diary all the way through and wanted to say how much I appreciated it - I was so similar to you at uni and just after, and am only now digging myself out of the hole... Thanks so much for sharing your story!0
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Thank you @Strether2020! The support has been great, and it’s just a huge weight off my shoulders to write about it. Love yours too - opening up and talking about it helps so much.
An update - it looks like I’ve managed to get in my new company just in time for a little bonus! I’ve NEVER had a bonus before in my life, it’s a fantastic surprise and once it comes in I can look at allocating it to one of my pots.
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Woo hoo! That will make for a good Christmas present. Love a bonus although previously mine have just gone straight to a handbag fund 🤣Credit Card 1 - £6249.99 £4,900
Credit Card 2 - £13,481.47 £12,985
Total debt - £19,731.46 £17,885
Emergency fund £9300 -
Great news on the bonus. Sounds like you have sorted the transition from monthly to weekly. I would suggest you build a buffer to cover the bills and direct debits and maybe even use two different current accounts. One just for bills and one for spending money on food etc.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£162.90
Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£70000 -
Thanks - that’s what I’m planning on doing. I’ve essentially calculated what my monthly wage would be and I’m working on getting to a point where I have that amount set aside by the end of each month. Then the income for the next month can go in a pot, where I withdraw the monthly funds I need.
The bonus is going to go towards that.0 -
My new year’s resolution - apart from all this debt free business - is to stop getting take out food. I’ve signed up with a deal for Gousto and it’s helping me be a bit more creative with meal planning.I’ve created a rigid plan to get myself a month’s worth of salary by the end of February, so that I can transfer each weekly pay out of my current account, live off what I’ve built up, and then only withdraw what I need at the start of each month.0
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Debt free and wider savings goals mean I’m aiming for £24,000 in the next 24 months. I know it’s only been a few weeks but already I’m feeling less spendthrift.
My spending tracker has been going for a full year now and it really helps you focus on where the wasted spending goes.2 years is pretty daunting, even if I’m building in an emergency fund. I’ve also increased the amount i want to save in case I’m out of work. That element really set me back last year and saving that amount has pushed my goals back a few months this year.
I know I’ll likely need to balance transfer the CC this summer but I feel it’s worth it, right? Pain now for long term gain?0 -
Feeling the uphill battle today! I know there’s some house stuff that will be coming up over the next few months to pay for. And that overall figure for what I want to achieve in the next few years is daunting.Is there anywhere I should look for some motivation?0
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Other diaries on here are always a good place for motivation - there are plenty of folk at a similar life-stage to you as well so it can be good to cheer one another on!
Glad to hear you've settled well in the new job and how fantastic getting a little bonus already too - that's brilliant!
Definitely yet to doing another 0% BT if you need to - absolutely no sense in paying interest if you don't have to - it just makes an already tough job harder. A suggestion though - decide how long you think it will take you to clear that card now, add on 3 months as a safety buffer, and get a card with a 0% period as close to that timescale as you can as that will be a really good incentive to get it cleared.
I assume you got the mobile sorted out but I hope you aren't paying anything like as much as £20 a month for SIM only?!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Thanks @EssexHebridean - appreciate the motivating words!
Agreed re: the BT - I need to stop beating myself up about it and minimise my outgoings. I know everything I’m doing is for the ultimate end goal, I need to stop focusing on the number going down as I’m quite impatient!
Re: the SIM only contract - I know it’s pricy but I need a lot of data for work (I’m stuck on a BT broadband deal which is not providing the coverage I need in my new home) and I’m getting £6 pm back via the work from home tax break. It’s down from the £50 pm I was paying for the phone originally.0
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