One £ at a Time

106 Posts

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker on the DFD Boards but first time poster.
After a whirlwind 3 years of saving and buying a house and getting married, my husband and I have managed to run up some debts and with the cost of living on the rise in all areas, we're finally pulling our heads out of the sand and tackling them.
We recently looked at remortgaging before our fix is up next year to secure a rate now and pay our Help to Buy off, but the jump in monthly payments was a shock and made us realise that we should have a lot more surplus money than we have and we should have less debt! It's still an on-going discussion of should we or shouldn't we, but we've decided the most important thing for now is to tackle the debt in the short term, even whilst we decide.
I won't be listing the mortgage as a debt for now, as the short term I want to focus on my credit cards and loan, which I'm ashamed to say there are a few. Frivolous and sometimes necessary spending when the money in the bank won't reach the end of the month. They are below:
Loan - £690.60 balance - £103.54 per month
Catalogue - £499.78 balance - £15.81 per month
Credit Card 1 - £609.25 - £30 per month
Credit Card 2 - £878.27 - £27 per month
Credit Card 3 - £971.05 - £37 per month
Credit Card 4 - £2398.80 - £70 per month
Credit Card 5 - £3073.20 - £31 per month
Car Loan - £15,367.22 - £320.15 per month
A grand total of £636 a month on debt repayment, which is crazy. Imagine what we could do with that money. Don't get me wrong, we are in an extremely fortunate position that we can afford to pay our bills and have a few luxuries, but we've let the luxuries get out of hand and it's time to reign it in. My other half has around £13k on his cards and is tackling the payments on those too.
I'm posting here to be accountable and to learn from all you knowledgeable and inspiring people. We're going to be tracking NSD's and also making a more conscious effort to eat out of the freezer and plan the meals in advance. I will also be looking to do some PAD'ing where possible too.
We won't be cutting things like the Gym and Sky TV etc, because we still want to have nice things, which I appreciate means will take longer for us to pay the debt back, but we have identified where the money is "wasted" and that's the first big step.
Look forward to riding this rollercoaster with you all!
VW
Long time lurker on the DFD Boards but first time poster.
After a whirlwind 3 years of saving and buying a house and getting married, my husband and I have managed to run up some debts and with the cost of living on the rise in all areas, we're finally pulling our heads out of the sand and tackling them.
We recently looked at remortgaging before our fix is up next year to secure a rate now and pay our Help to Buy off, but the jump in monthly payments was a shock and made us realise that we should have a lot more surplus money than we have and we should have less debt! It's still an on-going discussion of should we or shouldn't we, but we've decided the most important thing for now is to tackle the debt in the short term, even whilst we decide.
I won't be listing the mortgage as a debt for now, as the short term I want to focus on my credit cards and loan, which I'm ashamed to say there are a few. Frivolous and sometimes necessary spending when the money in the bank won't reach the end of the month. They are below:
Loan - £690.60 balance - £103.54 per month
Catalogue - £499.78 balance - £15.81 per month
Credit Card 1 - £609.25 - £30 per month
Credit Card 2 - £878.27 - £27 per month
Credit Card 3 - £971.05 - £37 per month
Credit Card 4 - £2398.80 - £70 per month
Credit Card 5 - £3073.20 - £31 per month
Car Loan - £15,367.22 - £320.15 per month
A grand total of £636 a month on debt repayment, which is crazy. Imagine what we could do with that money. Don't get me wrong, we are in an extremely fortunate position that we can afford to pay our bills and have a few luxuries, but we've let the luxuries get out of hand and it's time to reign it in. My other half has around £13k on his cards and is tackling the payments on those too.
I'm posting here to be accountable and to learn from all you knowledgeable and inspiring people. We're going to be tracking NSD's and also making a more conscious effort to eat out of the freezer and plan the meals in advance. I will also be looking to do some PAD'ing where possible too.
We won't be cutting things like the Gym and Sky TV etc, because we still want to have nice things, which I appreciate means will take longer for us to pay the debt back, but we have identified where the money is "wasted" and that's the first big step.
Look forward to riding this rollercoaster with you all!
VW
July Total - £9,120.95
1
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Replies
Obvious things first -
1. Stop spending! Make the distinction between "need" and "want".
2. Tackle highest interest debt (cards?) first.
Also put together a spreadsheet to log your costs - certainly an eye-opener.
Welcome to your new life-style!
Thanks for your comment. Yep it's a high number, but we're ready to tackle it down. We have a few existing commitments (a honeymoon and a holiday) which we will still need to have some spending for, but we are definitely reigning in the spending.
The loan and car loan are on reasonable interest rates, so I am happy to leave them ticking over. 3 of the cards are 0% and the other 2 are a higher interest, so focusing on paying those off.
Appreciate your advice
Are any of your cards offering new 0% deals at the moment? Or are you able to apply for another 0% transfer card to pull down the debt on one of the high interest ones?
I also, during my journey, successfully got a 24 month 0% spend card from M&S (still one of the top rated on the main board). So for a couple of months I put all my daily spending on that, and was able to use my current account to pay down ones of the pricier CCs.
Obviously ONLY do this if you are confident that you can be responsible with the payments and clear that card before the 0% deal expires, otherwise you'll just be getting deeper. I realise that is not a solution for everyone.
Good luck.
Nothing available for 0% at the moment, so will plug away at the higher interest ones. I think it's because of the balances, so hopefully as things start to reduce they will become available.
Best of luck to you!
We have a busy weekend with prior booked engagements and today is food shop day, so Monday looks to be the first NSD. We're going to aim for 10 this month and see how we get on!
Lloyds CC2 £4912 £2495 6.74%
MBNA CC1 £5783 £572 0%
Tesco Balance Transfer 0% for 22mths £2000
Paid off: Virgin CC £5600, Paypal £2970, Very £3000, Next £3000, MBNA CC2 £7700, Halifax CC £4700, Lloyds CC1 £4000, Vanquis CC1 £3600, Kitchen Loan £2500, Car Loan £2200, Currys £2000, Vanquis CC2 £2500
I don't think our debt is "that bad" but bad enough that we need to tackle it now before it gets to a point we can't. We are both in steady well paid jobs, we've just let things get a little bit out of hand.
You are totally correct that it will take a mindset change and we are ready to do that. We're in a lucky position that at the moment there is nothing we absolutely need. Of course there are want's, but they have been put on the backburner for now.
Looking through your diary and your signature you have done amazing, good luck and long may it continue for you
*Tesco Credit card - £3604.30* - £0.00
*Finance - £581.91 - £0.00
*Dad loan - £5300 - £3800
*M+S Credit Card - £0
*MBNA Credit Card - £1211.88 - £0
*Virgin Credit Card - £3075 - £0
*Total debt - £3800*
*Sinking Fund - £2500/£2500*
*Emergency Fund -£250/£5000*
*Mortgage Overpayment - £46.90/£1000*
Premium Bonds - £200/£1000
Facing Reality - My Debt Free Diary
we have an appointment with the mortgage advisor next week to discuss best options. I work in an industry where I see the cost of living going up probably more so than others.