Irresponsible spending resulting in £21k debt at 24

DebtFreeMe6

I have been reading debt diaries which has helped me to realise my spending problem is out of control. I am 24 and have been struggling with debt since 2020 and have created a debt problem of just shy of £21,000 which is just disgusting, I have been so ashamed and really need to stop this spending to make me feel good behaviour.

The stupid thing is that I earn really good money for my age and have clearly just been living way above my means. My job has predominantly been in sales meaning my monthly wage can fluctuate and I have been living pay to pay and not saving anything. I’m so mad at myself for being so irresponsible! I first realise my problem in 2021 and told my mum and partner at the time my debt was £10k, my mum helped me to put a plan in place to clear this which I did for some time but I have now doubled this amount.  

Me and my partner live together with our cat, no kids yet. 

My problem is spending money on other people, footing the bill when I don’t have the money, paying on a credit card even though I have money in the bank. (I had an Amex card which I thought was a good idea to spend on to earn points, not a good idea as the interest rate was high and I just kept transferring the amount to a 0% balance transfer card). For a period of time I was so unhappy at my job, working nearly 7 days a week, long hours and because I was earning good money I thought this was ok. This is what lead me to buying stupid things to make me feel happy or the odd occasions I had time to go out I would spend a stupid amount of money because i thought I had to make the most of it.

My first step that I made today is cutting up all of my credit cards and I am going to stop making 0% cash transfers and balance transfers to new cards. Most of my debt is interest free which should hopefully help me to clear this quickly. 

I am too embarrassed to tell my mum and partner right now and my aim is to cut the debt in half by June. I have recently got a new job and guaranteed commission for my first 6 months meaning a stable income for this period. 

Ideally I’d like to be debt free or as close to by this time next year. 

I am going to complete a SOA soon to help me understand what my outgoings are and any advice on tracking income spending etc would be really appreciated.

Brie

Well done for recognising there's a problem but also a solution.  

DebtFreeMe6

Thanks Brie. I really think keeping a diary here will keep me accountable! 

Waywardgirl3

Following for support! I am nearly 31 and stuck in the same overspend cycle with just over 30k of debt. Wish I'd come to my realisation ten years earlier so i think you are going to do great and wishing you the best of luck.

DebtFreeMe6

Waywardgirl3 said:

Following for support! I am nearly 31 and stuck in the same overspend cycle with just over 30k of debt. Wish I'd come to my realisation ten years earlier so i think you are going to do great and wishing you the best of luck.

I have just seen that you also have started a diary so will follow along. Thanks and all the best to you too!

HampshireH

Good luck. I would reconsider talking to your partner.

They will notice your change in spending habits and if they aren't onboard/aware of why they could expect the same lifestyle which will mean you are conflicted when out and not buying everyone a round etc. It will make it harder to say no unless you avoid scenarios like that entirely, which again could lead to questions.

If you are upfront they can support you not to be in that social situation 

gwynlas

It might really help you keep on track if you tell your mother and partner, theyy do not have to stop you spending but give you gentle reminders of what you are trying to do when you suggest spending. I would be very surprised if you actually have additional spare income to clear this debt within a year without denying yourself any pleasures. Perhaps it would be easier if you allowed yourself a budget for things that would keep you motivated and clear the debt over a longer period.

DebtFreeMe6

Here is my statement of affairs, me and my partner are lucky to be renting a family property for a really low price and I have included my share of those bills below.

Taking the advice from Gwynlas I think rushing to pay it off quickly might make it a difficult year and have given a weekly budget for spending/socialising/special events.

Any advice is welcomed!!

Income:

Salary - £2800

Total: £2800

Outgoings:

Mortgage/rent - £354
Council tax - £107
Electricity/Gas - £107
Water - £25
Home phone -
Internet - £20
TV license - 
Sky/NTL -
Mobile phone and insurance - £91 (24 month contract ending November 24)
Food - £250
Home insurance - £17

Car charging - £50
Road tax - 
MOT -
Service -
Car insurance -

Gym - £40
Lashes - £40
Amazon Prime - £8
iCloud and Apple Music - £13
Cat food - £74
Cat Insurance - £29
Holiday - £125

Total: £1,340

Debts:
Credit card name, Balance - £ , Limit - £ , APR - ??% , Minimum payment - ?%
NatWest - £7,521 - £8,250 - 0% - £76
Virgin - £5,388 - £5,600 - 0% - £55

Tesco - £1,611 - £8,000 - 0% - £20

Loan name, Total Borrowed - £ , Length of term , ?? months , APR ??% , length left - ?? months
Santander - £13,000 - 60 months - 1.9% - 28 months - £235pm - £5,900 left

My plan for next 6 months
£200 off each credit card = £600
Continue paying £235 off loan = £235
£125 per week budget = £500
£125 savings per month plus any remaining from weekly budget = £125 
6 month bonus of £1,000 straight off the loan 

June Debt would be reduced to £14,183 and hoping another 6 months would be sub £10k as some of my outgoings will reduce. I will be due a pay rise in a year which I can increase payments for the following year…

 

katsu

If you stick to it you'll be surprised how you can change your way of thinking. 

Some ideas below


I think it would help if you added which ones are half the amount, as I'm not sure if you pay some bills in full or 50% of the bill so it's 2x what we see below?

DebtFreeMe6 said:

Here is my statement of affairs, me and my partner are lucky to be renting a family property for a really low price and I have included my share of those bills below.

Taking the advice from Gwynlas I think rushing to pay it off quickly might make it a difficult year and have given a weekly budget for spending/socialising/special events.

Any advice is welcomed!!

Income:

Salary - £2800

Total: £2800

Outgoings:

Mortgage/rent - £354
Council tax - £107
Electricity/Gas - £107
Water - £25
Home phone -
Internet - £20
TV license - 
Sky/NTL -

Do you have the TV and Sky but someone else pays? 

Mobile phone and insurance - £91 (24 month contract ending November 24)

You'll be so pleased when this comes to an end. Can you cancel the insurance any earlier and insure it through your contents insurance maybe? 

Food - £250
Home insurance - £17

Car charging - £50
Road tax - 
MOT -
Service -
Car insurance -

Gym - £40
Lashes - £40

Do you really need lashes every month? Could you go every 6 weeks or only on special occasions? 

Amazon Prime - £8
iCloud and Apple Music - £13

What about cancelling one or both of these? If you are going to spend less, so you really need Amazon prime? 

Cat food - £74
Cat Insurance - £29
Holiday - £125

Total: £1,340

Debts:
Credit card name, Balance - £ , Limit - £ , APR - ??% , Minimum payment - ?%
NatWest - £7,521 - £8,250 - 0% - £76
Virgin - £5,388 - £5,600 - 0% - £55

Tesco - £1,611 - £8,000 - 0% - £20

Loan name, Total Borrowed - £ , Length of term , ?? months , APR ??% , length left - ?? months
Santander - £13,000 - 60 months - 1.9% - 28 months - £235pm - £5,900 left

My plan for next 6 months
£200 off each credit card = £600
Continue paying £235 off loan = £235
£125 per week budget = £500
£125 savings per month plus any remaining from weekly budget = £125 
6 month bonus of £1,000 straight off the loan 

June Debt would be reduced to £14,183 and hoping another 6 months would be sub £10k as some of my outgoings will reduce. I will be due a pay rise in a year which I can increase payments for the following year…

 

DebtFreeMe6

katsu said:

If you stick to it you'll be surprised how you can change your way of thinking. 

Some ideas below


I think it would help if you added which ones are half the amount, as I'm not sure if you pay some bills in full or 50% of the bill so it's 2x what we see below? I have rearranged below all items in the first section are the 50% share I pay, everything else it the total which I pay.

DebtFreeMe6 said:

Here is my statement of affairs, me and my partner are lucky to be renting a family property for a really low price and I have included my share of those bills below.

Taking the advice from Gwynlas I think rushing to pay it off quickly might make it a difficult year and have given a weekly budget for spending/socialising/special events.

Any advice is welcomed!!

Income:

Salary - £2800

Total: £2800

Outgoings:

Mortgage/rent - £354
Council tax - £107
Electricity/Gas - £107
Water - £25
Home phone -
Internet - £20
TV license - 
Sky/NTL -
Home insurance - £17
Food - £250

Do you have the TV and Sky but someone else pays? We don’t have sky/virgin as we only watch Netflix/amazon prime so also don’t need a TV license.

Mobile phone and insurance - £91 (24 month contract ending November 24)

You'll be so pleased when this comes to an end. Can you cancel the insurance any earlier and insure it through your contents insurance maybe? I will look into this!!


Car charging - £50
Road tax - 
MOT -
Service -
Car insurance -

Gym - £40
Lashes - £40

Do you really need lashes every month? Could you go every 6 weeks or only on special occasions? For now I’m hoping to keep this, I’ve just given up getting my nails done which was costing nearly £80 per month and lashes is the only expense for beauty now.

Amazon Prime - £8
iCloud and Apple Music - £13

What about cancelling one or both of these? If you are going to spend less, so you really need Amazon prime? 

Cat food - £74
Cat Insurance - £29
Holiday - £125
Cat litter - £30

Total: £1,380

Debts:
Credit card name, Balance - £ , Limit - £ , APR - ??% , Minimum payment - ?%
NatWest - £7,521 - £8,250 - 0% - £76
Virgin - £5,388 - £5,600 - 0% - £55

Tesco - £1,611 - £8,000 - 0% - £20

Loan name, Total Borrowed - £ , Length of term , ?? months , APR ??% , length left - ?? months
Santander - £13,000 - 60 months - 1.9% - 28 months - £235pm - £5,900 left

My plan for next 6 months
£200 off each credit card = £600
Continue paying £235 off loan = £235
£125 per week budget = £500
£125 savings per month plus any remaining from weekly budget = £125 
6 month bonus of £1,000 straight off the loan 

June Debt would be reduced to £14,183 and hoping another 6 months would be sub £10k as some of my outgoings will reduce. I will be due a pay rise in a year which I can increase payments for the following year…

 

@katsu I have rearranged above and all first section are bills that are shared which are just the home bits. 

Aimingforthegoodlife

Sounds like a really good plan, best of luck!