My Debt Free Journey

abaka

Hi all, haven’t really been posting much.

Still adjusting to the medication.  Headache has all but went but still waking up in middle of the night and I wouldn’t say my mood has improved all that much but I’m noticing a slight change.

In the background, I’m whittling away at the debts.  I’ve still been Padding (need to update the thread) and today I brought my smallest balance down to £2000.  So the plan is for that to be cleared completely in January.

I also think come January I will review my debt repayments.  The big sums I’m making now are great and they’ve made a massive impact but it’s unsustainable in the fact it leaves me with nothing left for myself.  I’m considering after Xmas reducing the 800ish I currently spend down to 350ish and splitting this across the 3 debts I will have left at this stage.  

With mortgages going up and cost of living support for energy not as certain past April as it was thought to be, this means I can build up a bit of an EF.

Reviewing finances and our daughter will be old enough to get into nursery next year which will be considerably cheaper than daycare so that will save us hopefully around 3-400 a month, which might be absorbed by the mortgage increase but for the next few years, I imagine it’s about keeping your head above water!

abaka

Another update!

plodding along still.  Starting to feel like the medication has started to come in.

Had a bit of a nightmare yesterday. I requested a credit limit increase on one of my virgin cards to ensure it had enough balance for me to do my balance transfer.  And I submitted my application.  However I typed in my entire household income for my own income and household….I immediately started freaking out thinking that would seem like I was inflating my income to secure the increase.  I immediately phoned up and the person on the phone was no help.  Rather than having the application go through, I decided to close the account!  (If it was deemed as fraudulent rather than a mistake, the fact I took corrective and decisive action so quickly will be my defence!

That means I have one less card to shuffle my balances between which isn’t ideal.  So I applied for a Tesco card (showed 95% approval chance ) and they give me a card for 20 month balance transfer with a high enough balance to transfer my Halifax card which expires in Feb (I have 90 days to do the transfer which will tie in perfectly)…so I already know I will be able to ensure my biggest debt stays at 0% until mid 2024 which is a huge weight of my shoulder!

Part of me is hopeful that 2024 could be my debt free date but that remains very wishful.

My next highest balance ends in Nov next year and the other two expire in Sep and Oct but I’m hopeful those two will be cleared before they expire! 

sunshine_raincloud

Great that you have managed to get the balance transfer sorted and keep everything on 0% ! It does take a bit of juggling sometimes but sounds like you've got good plans in place!

LittleMissDetermined

Well done on securing the balance transfer card, 0% until 2024 sounds like you've got yourself some decent breathing space! The acceptance is also a good indication of your improving creditworthiness too! 
The Virgin snafu definitely sounds like something I would do, I try to get things done as quickly as possible and skim reading isn't the best for official docs  
Glad you sorted it out anyway, even if you did have to close it.
LMD x

abaka

Yeah, I probably didn’t have to close it, but I’d rather not take the risk.  It also means that next Sept or Oct when I’m on the hunt for another balance transfer I might be able to get another virgin card and benefit from new customer longer offers!!

and yes I did think it was a great sign of my improving credit worthiness:  The balance they’ve given me is over 7k which I’m really really shocked at!!!  Much higher than the Virgin one I closed yesterday.  But considering I’ve now opened a new bank account and a new credit agreement, I think I need to hold off any new accounts for 12 months as my credit rating might be taking a hit now!

abaka

Hello.  Almost payday for me.  

Mood is pretty good and I think the tablets are having the required affect!  I’m still grinding my teeth a little and having occasional hot flushes (which means I’m saving on gas!!!!) but feeling good.

So I had commented on a few weeks back that one of my MBNA accounts was 1% minimum payment when I always paid 2.5% previously and I thought I was just mistaken.  Well turns out, one of my MBNA cards charges 2.5% and the other charges 1%.  No idea why, it made me look at my two empty Lloyds cards and one of them has a minimum payment of 1% and the other has 2%.  

It doesn’t mean much because the card that has the 2.5% minimum payment is the one I’m overpaying on and will have cleared in Jan most likely.  But I’m definitely going ahead and cancelling the two cards that aren’t 1% minimum payments!!!  

I will still have enough cards that I can switch balances between which is all that matters.  But in case I do have any issues with rising mortgages/bills in the future.  Having cards on 0% and that allow me to pay the cheapest sum possible will be key to keeping above water.

I did also get a swagbucks cash out of £10 which has paid for my Disney plus subscription this month.  Win win! 

LittleMissDetermined

Hi @abaka, just catching up from a busy weekend. Nice pay out from Swagbucks, I can never manage to get anything on there. 

In terms of cancelling cards, I haven't closed any of my accounts yet as I didn't want it to increase my credit utilisation levels which can negatively impact my credit score.  Just something to consider before closing any, just because you have them, doesn't mean you have to use them.

LMD x

abaka

Hey LMD!! Thanks for the tip!

I am aware of the impact on my credit score but as I’m not going to be applying for any credit in the next few years I think I’ll go ahead.

I have today cancelled my Lloyds and my Halifax card which is a reduction of 5500 of my available credit.  I’m still nowhere near using half of my available credit so any impact should be minimum.

LittleMissDetermined

Congrats on closing the 2 accounts   I am looking forward to closing the majority of mine when I finally clear that pesky CC7
LMD x

abaka

Payday!!  October was a very expensive month between new nephew being born and wife’s birthday!  However yet again I didn’t go into my overdraft and I actually managed to make a bigger payment than I anticipated in my MBNA payment.

Have been feeling a bit rough last few days.  Convinced it’s Covid but we don’t have any tests so we can’t test but it feels somewhat the same as how I felt in July!

This weekend, my new Sky is being connected which means farewell to my expensive Virgin package.

Also having a Halloween party in my parents house for the grandchildren and lots of party good so looking forward to that.

and it’s Robbie Williams this weekend which I had bought for my wife’s birthday.

Busy weekend!