30 in age, 30 in debt

h07_2012

I’m creating a diary in the hopes I will realise my goal of being debt free and undo the mess made in my 20’s. I’m hoping to use this to keep me accountable and on track. I feel I’ve addressed most of the issues which led me to this point and now have a decent paying job (£35k ish) I’m determined to clear the majority of  £30,000 debt over 2023 (and what we have left of this year.) 

The amounts below are as they stand 20/10/2022. The interest on the loans will be reduced as I overpay. 

My monthly  income after tax is £2237. My outgoings at the moment are £1086 (inclusive of car.) I don’t wish to drag this out so would like to spend the next year clearing around £1000 a month from my debt. I’m getting rid of the phone in June 2023 for a rolling sim. 

I intend to use this diary to track amounts owed. Although I’ve never missed a payment, I don’t wish to spend my 30’s losing so much money to interest as I have throughout my late teens and 20’s. The perpetual debt must stop. 

Debt as of 20/10/2022 
Starting amount Owed / now

Barclaycard £2845.35 / 
Fluid credit card  £3103/ 
Halifax credit card £910/
Post office CC £427/
Capital one £451/
Tesco credit card £239/

Updraft loan £4828/
Monzo loan £3388
Monzo flex £1042/

npower debt £500/

Next catalogue £1150/ 
Very £1255 /

car hp £3886/

Halifax overdraft £1500/
Monzo overdraft £2000/

Total = £27,524.35
Wish me luck, h x

h07_2012

Debt as of 21/10/2022 
Owed / paid

Barclaycard £2845.35 / 
Fluid credit card  £3103/ 
Halifax credit card £910/
Post office CC £427/
Capital one £451/
Tesco credit card £239/

Updraft loan £4828/
Monzo loan £3388 / £3371
Monzo flex £1042/

npower debt £500/

Next catalogue £1150/ 
Very £1255 /

car hp £3886/

Halifax overdraft £1500/
Monzo overdraft £2000/

h07_2012

Debt as of 21/10/2022 
Owed / paid

Barclaycard £2845.35 / 
Fluid credit card  £3103/ 
Halifax credit card £910/
Post office CC £427/
Capital one £451/
Tesco credit card £239/

Updraft loan £4828/
Monzo loan £3388 / £3342
Monzo flex £1042/

npower debt £500/

Next catalogue £1150/ 
Very £1255 /

car hp £3886/

Halifax overdraft £1500/
Monzo overdraft £2000/

elsien

Good luck although I have to be honest it does seem like quite an ambitious target. Have you decided which ones to pay off first with the higher interest rates, or are you looking to get rid of some of the little ones to give you a psychological boost?

vampirotoothus

Hi I would recommend using a snowball calculator to work out the best order to repay these in (it could save you some money if any of the debts are charging interest). Good luck with your plan V x

h07_2012

elsien said:

Good luck although I have to be honest it does seem like quite an ambitious target. Have you decided which ones to pay off first with the higher interest rates, or are you looking to get rid of some of the little ones to give you a psychological boost?

Thankyou. I think it is ambitious, I will see how I get on. I’m hoping for some backpay which will help too. I had considered snowballing, but it’s the fluid with the interest that is my priority and the loans. 

h07_2012

vampirotoothus said:

Hi I would recommend using a snowball calculator to work out the best order to repay these in (it could save you some money if any of the debts are charging interest). Good luck with your plan V x

Thankyou. The fluid is the worst, want to get rid of that and the loans first. There are 15 payments left on the Monzo so that will naturally be gone next year through the repayments. Trying to keep chipping away as sometimes it doesn’t feel like I’m making much of a dent. X

h07_2012

Debt as of 22/10/2022 
Owed / paid

Barclaycard £2845.35 / 
Fluid credit card  £3103/ 
Halifax credit card £910/
Post office CC £427/
Capital one £451/
Tesco credit card £239/

Updraft loan £4828/
Monzo loan £3388 / £3333
Monzo flex £1042/

npower debt £500/

Next catalogue £1150/ 
Very £1255 /

car hp £3886/

Halifax overdraft £1500/
Monzo overdraft £2000/

h07_2012

Debt as of 30/10/2022 
Starting amount owed / paid

Barclaycard £2845.35 / £2941 
Fluid credit card  £3103/ £3202
Halifax credit card £910/ £888
Post office CC £427/
Capital one £451/
Tesco credit card £239/ 

Updraft loan £4828/
Monzo loan £3388 / £3331
Monzo flex £1042/ £883

npower debt £500/ 

Next catalogue £1150/ £1033
Very £1255 /

car hp £3886/

Halifax overdraft £1500/
Monzo overdraft £2000/

Thoughts: not as great an end to the month as I’d have liked. I will be able to update fully in a few days when more payments have gone out / cleared. The interest rate on fluid has increased so this must become a priority for payments. 

I’d like to try and break down my ‘big goals’ into micro goals. 

Big goals

1) become debt free
2) save for a house deposit 
3) lose weight to become healthy
4) have an emergency fund
5) to have changed my mindset so I view as if I don’t have the cash I can’t afford it; credit should be for emergencies. 

micro goals
1) stop buying unnecessary items; draw out the weekly food budget in cash; take an inventory of what we have in; make over minimum payments; transfer any ‘spare’ money at the end of the month towards debt; wean myself off my overdrafts; close down catalogues once paid; regularly review budget; stop buying takeaway and meal plan; work towards removing certain credit facilities such as Monzo flex (once payment made reduce limit - done for this month.

2) at present, continue to transfer £10 per week to my LISA (I accept this would be better put towards debt but this is acting as a psychological motivator); keep focussing on once the debt has gone, the money lost to interest will be money saved; never miss or make a payment on anything; a default from November 2016 is due to drop off any day (focus on the progress)

3)stop emotional eating and address this; prioritise self care and a good nights sleep; use the gym membership I’ve budgeted in

4)this will be tackled once the debt has either gone or substantially reduced. 

5) to only buy consciously, do I really need it?!

I hope to be able to come back to these goals in a years time and feel proud of myself. 

h07_2012

Debt as of 3/11/ 2022 
Starting total 21/10/22= £27,524.35
Now 3/11/2022= £26,936

Starting amount owed / now
Barclaycard £2845.35 / £2941 
Fluid credit card  £3103/ £3047
Halifax credit card £910/ £888
Post office CC £427/
Capital one £451/
Tesco credit card £239/ £214

Updraft loan £4828/
Monzo loan £3388 / £3103
Monzo flex £1042/ £883

npower debt £500/ £480

Next catalogue £1150/ £1033
Very £1255 /

car hp £3886/

Halifax overdraft £1500/
Monzo overdraft £2000/

I’m hoping as I progress, I can come back here and scroll through and stay focussed as I see the balances dropping. I’m hoping I can earn some extra wages next month, I’ll be using this to reduce my overdraft and with that reducing the limit. I’ll still keep a small overdraft long term but hope to stop living in it by the end of this journey. 

tacpot12

Well done on the progress you have made. I wonder if you might find it also helps with your motivation to have a TOTAL amount owed figure in your report so that you can see the total amount of progress you have made? 

It us very hard to stay motivated, but looking back at the progress you have made is a great motivator to keep going - if you don't keep going, then all the previous pain and hard work was for nothing. While the numbers are still large it does feel like you are not making much of a dent, but the numbers will start to fall and all that you need to do is keep them coming down at a good rate, and soon you will see your list of debts getting shorter. 

I agree your target of clearing this debt by the end of 2023 is very ambitious, but you won't know what you can acheive unless you try, so good luck with your efforts.

Once you have cleared your debts, you will know how much disposable income you really have and can start to save hard into your LISA for your house deposit, and emergency fund. Your house deposit can also be your emergency fund, but if you do buy a house and you will need to think about how you replenish your emergency fund once you also have a mortgage to pay - no one said it was going to be easy, but the satisfaction to be had from acheiving your financial goals is great.

There is one further suggestion I would make and that it to change you mindset about credit being only for emergencies. I would say that credit should only be for emergencies IF you had not had the good sense to save an emergency fund. You already know that saving for emergencies is a good idea. Borrowing for emergencies is not a good strategy - in an emergency, you will tend to take the very first credit offer you are accepted for which might be very expensive and inflexible. Save for emergencies, and bigger purchases, and only use credit for spreading the risk of a big purchase - the lender is also responsible for you getting what you have (or will) pay for.