Clearing My Debt

LP121

Hello All! I would like to remain anonymous but I am starting my own diary to keep track of my debt clearing progress. I will not delve into too much detail as I am not sure it would be allowed, but since the age of 19 I got into a bad habit and managed to get myself into a considerable amount of debt. Fast forward five years, I am 24 and still in debt. Although, a much better position than years ago, I am sick of being in this cycle. I fear for my future if I do not tackle this soon enough. I currently work full time alongside completing a university course (BSc). I'm not sure if figures are allowed in this forum but I am currently in about £16,000 of debt, down from about £25,000. In comparison to a few years ago, my salary has increased to just under £30,000 per annum. I had 'odd jobs' throughout the pandemic, as I had been made redundant. I have completed my own Google Sheet and have calculated how much I money I can throw at my debt per month after rent payment, bills etc, keeping a few hundred aside for savings. I have a few different lenders in which the calculated completion dates are all different. Once I have finished paying off one, I can use the extra money and throw it towards the next lender. At the moment I have calculated that I could be out of debt by the end of next year, or close to it. That is the goal for now. I will try to update as much as possible to keep myself motivated. Maybe others can follow along with tips, I could use all the help at the moment!

Current Debt - £16,638

Pinknails101

LP121 said:

Hello All! I would like to remain anonymous but I am starting my own diary to keep track of my debt clearing progress. I will not delve into too much detail as I am not sure it would be allowed, but since the age of 19 I got into a bad habit and managed to get myself into a considerable amount of debt. Fast forward five years, I am 24 and still in debt. Although, a much better position than years ago, I am sick of being in this cycle. I fear for my future if I do not tackle this soon enough. I currently work full time alongside completing a university course (BSc). I'm not sure if figures are allowed in this forum but I am currently in about £16,000 of debt, down from about £25,000. In comparison to a few years ago, my salary has increased to just under £30,000 per annum. I had 'odd jobs' throughout the pandemic, as I had been made redundant. I have completed my own Google Sheet and have calculated how much I money I can throw at my debt per month after rent payment, bills etc, keeping a few hundred aside for savings. I have a few different lenders in which the calculated completion dates are all different. Once I have finished paying off one, I can use the extra money and throw it towards the next lender. At the moment I have calculated that I could be out of debt by the end of next year, or close to it. That is the goal for now. I will try to update as much as possible to keep myself motivated. Maybe others can follow along with tips, I could use all the help at the moment!

Current Debt - £16,638

Love the honesty, I think it’s a really good idea to do these diaries as it’s almost a way of telling people what’s really going on! I’m thinking about starting one too, even if nobody reads it, someone might and it’s a way of getting my head out the sand! 

What’s your plan in terms of making repayments to your debts? Will you be cutting back elsewhere? What’s your normal expenditure like? 

LP121

Pinknails101 said:

Love the honesty, I think it’s a really good idea to do these diaries as it’s almost a way of telling people what’s really going on! I’m thinking about starting one too, even if nobody reads it, someone might and it’s a way of getting my head out the sand! What’s your plan in terms of making repayments to your debts? Will you be cutting back elsewhere? What’s your normal expenditure like? 

Yes if anything it's for me to keep track of how I'm doing. Almost a motivational tool to keep going! I live with parents, don't have big rent payment / mortgage so I have a decent amount a month after bills etc to make a good start. I have multiple lenders at the moment but once one is finished I will use the extra money to re-pay the next one. For example I have had a £300 payment come out of my pay for the last year! This is due to finish in 2 months, so then I will have an extra £300 a month. But instead of saving this amount I will put it towards the next lender. I don't have many crazy outgoings, the majority is bloody debts! 

LP121

After reading through this forum a little bit more I have downloaded the app to sell some old clothes. I have bits laying around that I do not use so I may be able to get something here to throw at the debt. One of my biggest downfalls is my lack of patience. I have also decided that I am going to save a minimal amount per month to chop away at the debt faster. I don't think a management plan is necessary or other options.

WinterWarrior

You can indeed share figures, statements of affairs (outgoing, incomings, etc) on this forum. It’s all anonymous and there are so many helpful people on here. It sounds like you are following the Dave Ramsey snowball method, which is an excellent plan. 

Good luck. 

Brie

You've taken the most difficult step in admitting that there's a problem and then the very positive one - doing something about it.  It sounds like you have a good plan set out and I'm wishing you every success in achieving your goal to be debt free.

enthusiasticsaver

I think if you have minimal living expenses if you live with parents you can get this sorted easily. List the debts in interest rate order and repay the most expensive first. Dave Ramsey’s mantra is to tackle the smallest debt first and so on and if that helps motivate you better then do that but paying off the expensive ones first will save you money. Can you get 0% balance transfers still? 

LP121

enthusiasticsaver said:

I think if you have minimal living expenses if you live with parents you can get this sorted easily. List the debts in interest rate order and repay the most expensive first. Dave Ramsey’s mantra is to tackle the smallest debt first and so on and if that helps motivate you better then do that but paying off the expensive ones first will save you money. Can you get 0% balance transfers still? 

Thanks for your comment. I did look into 0% balance transfers this morning, I have one offer for a 1k transfer card but I'm not sure it would be worth it as all of my lender debts are over this sum.

LP121

Just created an NS&I premium bonds account today to invest my savings per month into. Although I won't be saving too much because I want to reduce my debt quicker, but it'll be a start. It keeps it a little bit fun aswell.

LP121

12 days since I made this diary. So far I have created a NS&I bonds account for small savings per month, created a Vinted account and listed all the bits in my wardrobe that I do not need / wear. I think I'll do a similar thing soon for eBay and have a clear out of miscellaneous items that I don't need! Even if it's not a lot of money at least I will have a bit of a clear out. I haven't been able to take advantage of swapping banks because they wont accept my application. I'm going to keep reading on here and teaching myself the best ways to tackle this.

Floss

Have you tried Nationwide  or Monzo? I can share my Monzo referral if it helps - a free £5 is better than nothing!