I can do it: £41,000 debt in October 2023. Debt-free in March 2025?

annetheman

I DID IT! I have paid off my highest interest debt, my Natwest credit card @ 24.9% interest in full - and the card is now FROZEN!

Cleared off the balance today of £1,789.34 -- I shuffled things around because...

...I got my mortgage offer from Santander (again!) and it turns out I miscalculated how much it was, so I need less in my savings account to transfer to solicitor, so I used the excess to pay the credit card (bit dopey of me to not realise that, especially with all my complex spreadsheets). So happy!

Green green green on the sheet

Now that is gone, I am in a much better place with the rest of the debt.

Okay - reality check - compared to most people, I'm still in crazy high debt..!! But considering where I was this time last year, I am really so pleased and grateful!

£7,019.31 = Loans (Tesco Loan and Close Brothers Car Loan)

£9,705.31 = Credit Cards (Barclaycard ONLY!!!) £11,760.00 = Student Loan (Plan 1) = £28,484.62 total debt as of 23 September 2024. From £41,000 in October 2023!

 

October - SMASH 5.84% Tesco Loan paying off in full next month.
November - half-SMASH 6.79% Close Brothers Car Loan (decided to overpay it after Tesco as it is the lowest monthly payment and the highest remaining balance). 
0% Barclaycard is lowest priority, but snowball payments on to overpay.

Aimingforthegoodlife

OMG YES! CONGRATULATIONS! Loving this update, and the amount of debt reduced is mindblowing! A lot of people wouldn't even include their student loans, so that might make it seem like people have less. I am so excited to see tesco smashed next month, and the half smash of the car loan!

Better to have gotten the sums wrong in your favour for sure!

beanielou

Great news. Well done. 

annetheman

17 days until I can smash my next debt - I thought about 'control' (or the illusion of it) when it comes to my debt.

I realised today after I packed my lunch to go to work, didn't spend a penny on anything, and resisted the urge to buy things for dinner on my way home and instead made a good meal out of leftovers:

The feeling of satisfaction I get from a £0 spend day like this is especially noticeable for me now because it is something I can control in a time when I am slowly being forced to accept I have no control over my circumstances.

I can't control what's happening with the house: with the underwriting of my mortgage application for the lower rate, with the Title issue, what the enemy solicitors are doing, whether the seller is motivated or not.

With my debt plan, repayment, and saving money, the feeling of control is maybe comforting - but it is still a bit of an illusion, as it is happening way too slow for it to be on my terms! 

Updating my plan
I've enjoyed rejigging my plan to start a more gradual overpay of the Close Brothers car loan of £407 per month to smash that by June 2025, at least. I feel like it's in such a good place, more realistic and accurate than ever. Doable.

Another thing I'm leaning towards during this long wait that is probably very healthy - acceptance that the house renovations can wait! Okay, sort of -- I have to fix the kitchen because it's noncompliant, single skin will cost a fortune to keep warm and I'll struggle to remortgage with it, but it doesn't have to happen in the first year... 

Maybe... 
1. Clear debt.
2. Build very modest (1-3 month) emergency fund.
3. THEN start the big reno!

That plan at least means it doesn't really matter when I move. Staying in this limbo is helping me achieve number 1, I am really grateful.

annetheman

I DID IT! Tesco Loan paid off early today



Opened: March 2021 for 60 months
Tesco Loan @ 5.84%
£8,100
 
Settled: October 2024 at 42 months
Final payment
£2,511.03 

This will free up £144.44 per month which will be added to my snowball going to the final loan (the big boss) Close Brothers. Greengreengreengreen sheet!!!!  

I got paid 2 days early (I guess work will do that if 20th falls on a Sunday), so before I have any opportunity to do anything else with the money, straight to smash this debt. Made a great start to the weekend even better. Seeing the sheet go greengreengreen and paying things off in full is really addictive :P too bad the capital is limited so it's happening so slowly! 

I'm feeling very, very grateful to be able to do this now, even though I have no home of my own, I would never have been able to do this so quickly if I did.. Absolute silver lining.

Happy pre-Halloween weekend, debt smashers!!!

beanielou

Well done. 

annetheman

Thank you so much for your encouragement!!

elsien

Well done, Go you.

https://tenor.com/en-GB/view/claire-dancing-baby-sunglasses-toddler-gif-8389607131296190257

Sarahwithlove

Wahoo that's great news about the tesco loan 

Aimingforthegoodlife

Fabulous work on the tesco loan! Woohoo!!