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

annetheman

2Scratters said:

Have you done a stock check of the food already in your cupboards and fridge/freezer?

That is fantastic advice, thank you! I will do that before I go and purchase the things on my list! I've also decided to stick to the ALDI super 6 no matter what other fruit I'm tempted to buy. So whatever's in the freezer will HAVE to go well with butternut squash (or whatever else is on sale!)

savingholmes said:

Good luck on your journey. You have great income - and as you say with focus and discipline you can crack this.

Thank you so much - I don't like to "what if" the worsts too much but the fact is if I lose my job, or can't work for some reason, I am stuffed - that's why I have to knuckle down on it thoroughly and fast. It's not lost on me that the higher my salary has grown, the worse my debts have become. I need to prove to myself I have admitted this and changed my behaviour -- by staying focused and disciplined, exactly as you say! 

I can do this!

Aimingforthegoodlife

Hi! I am also OPing my mortgage- £50 as well as sorting out some debt. I agree that if you can afford to, it feels good to do a little something! I pay an extra £600 a year off my mortgage this was and I am sure it is something like £1.75 interest to every £1 borrowed so it does add up. Love the snowball calculator, that is great, it really shows you how much of a difference is being made! I look forward to following your journey and seeing you smash this!

annetheman

@Aimingforthegoodlife thank you! I agree, the mortgage is often the biggest debt, so little chips away really helps, even if it's a tiny amount comparatively! I have cut my overpayment for the mortgage down to £25, but it's still better than nothing - after the unsecured debt is gone, I'll ramp that up *smash emoji!*

Yesterday I decided to have 3 non-spending days - today is a spending day unfortunately, looks like tomorrow will be too!

Today I spent £23.99 on meal replacement shakes (weight shedding alongside debt shedding!), which'll last about 2 months. I've added it to my Amazon spend this month and it's already at £46.28 (budget is £150)!

I buy a lot of my household things on Amazon: loo roll, kitchen roll, laundry supplies, cat litter, shampoo and conditioner, toiletries - all on subscribe and save so getting the lowest price.

I'm a Costco member and even Costco's amazing bulk buy prices don't beat Amazon subscribe & save - but it'd be interesting to make that comparison after factoring in the now £89 Prime membership... 

I'll read the forums to find out what other things people advise bulk buying on - for me, food is the one thing I cannot bulk on (live alone and lots ends up being wasted), but surely most other things it makes sense to... 

annetheman

Good news on the way... I got £15 back from an Amazon order and have a buyer for my horribly uncomfortable PC chair at £20 on Friday.
So I have a budget of £50 per month I can spend on house things including furniture. I need to find a comfortable office chair; the reason I'm selling my current is it gives me horrendous backpain...
I'll be buying second hand and add my sale cost to the overall budget so should have £70 to spend on an ergonomic chair.
Will go around the charity stores this weekend and Facebook Marketplace... Good to have a whole weekend to find one!

savingholmes

Great news on the sales and refunds. 

Hope you find a decent chair.

2Scratters

As you live on your own just asking is it really necessary that you buy in bulk? Do you order too frequently? Do you ever get to half used of the last item before reordering. Shampoo and conditioner you could make that stretch further by not using as much when you use it. Same with toothpaste - split/cut the tube open you could get another week probably. 
You have done really well to notice/recognise with a bigger wage comes bigger debts and it doesn't /shouldn't be like that.  You really can smash this in less time than you think too. 
2 Scratters x

annetheman

Thursday!
I haven't found a new chair but I've decided to go ahead and sell my current one, then wait to see if my new job will allow me to expense it as a home office cost... If they don't at least I'll be almost able to add little into next month's home budget so I might be able to get something better.

My first food spend of the month is imminent; I'm heading to ALDI and had a look at what I have and can make meals out of first.

Budget is £30 for the week, but I would be SO happy if I can spend only about half of that... That'll leave enough for a Soda Stream refill, too.

Bad news today about the looming recession and increasing inflation means I can't assume £10 is enough anymore - I might have to increase food budget in future, but will try my best to keep it as it is...

stymied

Sorry, random questions and thoughts: how will you visit your partner if you don’t have a travel budget for that? Is your mortgage on a fixed rate? Do you have a freezer? Have you claimed your tax back from WFH for the last couple of years? What do your no spend days include - just active spending or direct debits too? Why only 3 per week - what tempts you on the other days?

I filled in a health and safety when working from home type questionnaire (hybrid worker) and work agreed to buy a chair for me but it did take a good few weeks to arrive.

I’m a big fan of a nice spreadsheet and applaud your goal to reduce your debts and fully own your own home but for a diary that’s only been going a short while and still in the first hard cut back phase you have mentioned a few impulse? purchases - sofa bed, diet drinks, soda stream, office chair. Presumably your new allotment will need tools and seeds too.

£150 per month on Amazon seems like an awful lot when that doesn’t even include gifts, cat stuff or home decor. Could you transfer more of this budget to seeing your friends more instead?

I think this first month as a spending diary alone will be a revelation and give you a better benchmark to base future months on.

CMD79

2Scratters said:

As you live on your own just asking is it really necessary that you buy in bulk? Do you order too frequently? Do you ever get to half used of the last item before reordering. Shampoo and conditioner you could make that stretch further by not using as much when you use it. Same with toothpaste - split/cut the tube open you could get another week probably. 
You have done really well to notice/recognise with a bigger wage comes bigger debts and it doesn't /shouldn't be like that.  You really can smash this in less time than you think too. 
2 Scratters x

That's actually something that has really impacted my groceries. Before, when I've seen the brands that I like on offer, I buy a tonne of it thinking that'll save me money. Then the next week, I buy a tonne of the next thing I like on offer. So rather than a £40 weekly shop I think I can actually do for 3 of us, It costs around £80 every week. This month, I have tried to just think about my immediate need and I have shopped in Tesco rather than Sainsburys to get £8 cashback on my first shop. But total, without looking at the Offers (they're really not there for us!) was £35, and I'll just need bread, milk and bananas halfway through the week.

annetheman

stymied said:

Sorry, random questions and thoughts: how will you visit your partner if you don’t have a travel budget for that? 

No holiday budget - I'm not going anywhere until I pay off the debt. 

 Is your mortgage on a fixed rate? Fixed Do you have a freezer? Yes! Fairly small but it'll do! Have you claimed your tax back from WFH for the last couple of years? Yes! What do your no spend days include - just active spending or direct debits too? No active spending at all. Why only 3 per week - what tempts you on the other days? Groceries and household, nothing interesting!


I filled in a health and safety when working from home type questionnaire (hybrid worker) and work agreed to buy a chair for me but it did take a good few weeks to arrive.

I’m a big fan of a nice spreadsheet and applaud your goal to reduce your debts and fully own your own home but for a diary that’s only been going a short while and still in the first hard cut back phase you have mentioned a few impulse? purchases - sofa bed, diet drinks, soda stream, office chair. Presumably your new allotment will need tools and seeds too. Allotment isn't new, March 2022, but everything else has its place in budget (namely: house stuff, Amazon, groceries, *was house stuff but now work expense!*)

£150 per month on Amazon seems like an awful lot when that doesn’t even include gifts, cat stuff or home decor. Could you transfer more of this budget to seeing your friends more instead? Budget is based on real life use stripped down. Just today my Lenor unstoppables arrived - £8! 

I think this first month as a spending diary alone will be a revelation and give you a better benchmark to base future months on. Thanks! I've actually used this spreadsheet since I was saving for my mortgage deposit in 2019 (thanks to this forum!) so it's very accurate for me. The minute I stopped using it, after I got the mortgage and went on a spending spree.... well, here we are now!

I've added some answers if it helps and for anyone in a similar situation