Messed up again

lilian1977

Hey guys. I am so cross with myself, I have got myself out of debt so many times in the past, and yet again I find myself over £9k in debt at the age of 45. I haven't told my husband, we are only £6k away from paying off our mortgage and he's excited to start 2024 debt free. I need to get this sorted ASAP but need to do it alone, hence this diary. 

I have a £5k loan over 3 years which was to pay off a credit card and a further £4k on an interest free CC. The reason I took out the loan was because I was struggling to commit to paying off the card, so needed something more set in stone to force me to do it.

I do have savings including a LISA that could pay it all off immediately but really want to hold onto them for retirement. I'm going to join the PAD challenge to try and cut this down, but really would like to have it paid off as much as possible by the end of the year.

Hope you can join me on my journey. 

lilian1977

I have just paid off £294.08 to clear a credit card, it always feels like a psychological bonus to pay off the small debts. 

WinterWarrior

Hi Lilian, good luck. Was it joint spending on the cards or just your own? I totally get if you have separate finances (it works for us) and I’m sure you can do this. It’s nice to know you could pay it off if you wanted to.

she_always_has_a_plan

Hi Lilian, good luck! I have almost 8k debt to pay and joined the 'Pay off your debt by XMAS 2023" challenge hoping to through all the extra money at it. Could pay it off with my EF/PB but like yourself I rather not touch any savings. I'm looking forward to read about your journey, all the best for 2023 and fingers crossed for debt free 2024!

lilian1977

I'm back, a year and a half later, and my current debt is in my signature. We have paid off our mortgage in full, so now I just need to clear these two debts and get back to the straight and narrow!

I have joined the PAD challenge and today paid off £9.04. Every little helps! I'm currently making pasta for lunch for the next two days WFH, and spinach and chickpea curry for tonight and Thursday's WFH lunch. Will raid the freezer for DS tea. 

Hope everyone has a happy Tuesday. 

RelievedSheff

Well done on paying off the mortgage.

That should hopefully free up some money to throw at the card balances.

It sounds like 2024 will be your debt free year   

lilian1977

Thank you @RelievedSheff - good luck with any challenges you're doing too.

Just listed some unread magazines (GQ and Vanity Fair) online so hopefully they will sell.

lilian1977

Morning all. Spent an hour or so going through Swagbucks and levelling up on a couple of games so those should credit in a week. What does everyone use the points for? We always used to save everything for Amazon vouchers but DS will be 14 in January and has been wanting less 'stuff' and more experiences/cash for presents recently so not sure it's worth it any more.

Also checked a few Ebay items and sent offers. PAD £5 to CC, had it sitting in PayPal waiting for a charity DD due out next week, but someone on FB Marketplace paid me by PayPal so was able to pay it off my CC.

Lunch today is leftover pasta, at the local theatre tonight so will try and have something quick before going. 

Have great days everyone x

lilian1977

Good morning

Spent an hour on Swagbucks again, tiny PAD (97p, rounding down my bank account), and need to send my brother's birthday card (15p from Card Factory, stamp from surveys). 

Lunch is leftover curry and dinner will be pasta, just need a garlic bread to fill hole in DS' tummy! 37p from Tesco so will also pick up the McCains Smiles - £1.25 cashback on Checkout Smart and 125 Swagbucks on Magic Receipts, so effectively free.

Have good days all.