Mimis money makeover

Mimismoney23

Well today I decided now I have figured out the loan repayments I thought the £80 I have in my savings account would be better spent reducing my loan. So I paid that this morning and this reduced the interest by £149.56!!! So I reduce it by £229.56 overall. So now the loan is £10256.72. It has 48 months left so I really need to keep these overpayment going to reduce that. I think its the best one to pay off early as the interest is so large and it will have the most benefit.
Plus I can't access it like I can with the credit cards so it's definitely paid off and gone.
Going to be tricky to pay much more off this month with Christmas and both children's birthdays on the way but I will try.
Total debt today: £27429.62
Total paid this month: £533.73
I decided today to work out realistically how long it will take to pay everything off and if I maintain the same amounts currently over the time rolling payments into debt payments as the drop off I believe it will be 34 months. Which isn't too bad considering the amount I owe. But, its too long, my eldest is 16 in about 9 weeks and by the time he goes to uni at 19 I need everything paid and a nice little savings buffer as my income will change significantly then. So that's 43 months I have left before then. So I could do with 12 to 18 months of savings time so if I aim for 24 months to clear the debt that's realistic. If it goes sooner great but I think that is achievable. 

_Dolly_Rocker_

Wow what a difference!

Mimismoney23

_Dolly_Rocker_ said:

Wow what a difference!

It really is. I am so pleased now I can focus on getting rid of this big one. Hope you Xmas shopping is going well

Mimismoney23

Well its been an exhausting week and haven't managed to update on anything. My sons exam invoice came today so that £500 I need to find from somewhere by 16th Jan and a new tutor at £20 per week so it's all adding up. I am desperate to buy a dishwasher because I cannot cope with the washing up but persevering as I know I can't afford it. I'm almost done with Xmas shopping. Will update the totals on Friday when I get paid. 

Sarahwithlove

That's a great saving of interest. I'd definitely focus on that one! 

Mimismoney23

Happy new year everyone.
I have totted up all my debt today ready for the big push the next fee months. I have managed to make a big dent this month although my credit cards have gone up a little bit as I lost my debit card a couple of days before Christmas so I am looking to transfer money from the bank on to them this week.

1st Jan 2025

1845.36 Sofa

2703.33 Store card

5795.80 Car

9406.86 Loan

488.20 Phone

2276.47 CC

3661.57 CC

589.37 PP

Overall 26,766.96

Overall down £1196.39

It's a good way to start the year to get over that £1000 mark paid off. My main goal this next few months is to try and get rid of this loan. It's reducing really quickly with all my extra payments getting rid of the huge interest so I am making that my main goal for now. The 2nd goal is to not use my credit cards and so the payments will reduce the balance rather than them creeping up. The other balances I will focus on when the loan is paid. I am looking forward to the year and getting this loan especially gone.
The sun £9.50 holidays are out soon and so I have decided as we live near loads of the sites instead of an abroad holiday with the kids I am booking a lot of the 9.50 weekend in our local holiday parks so they can have lots of mini holidays for not a lot of money. That's definitely a bonus of living in a holiday spot. 
I hope everyone has had a lovely new year and is ready for a great year. Hopefully with a lot less debt. 

Mimismoney23

Well doing well today. Started the 1p a day challenge on mse forum to try and get saving for next Xmas. That will be over £600 for next Xmas with little effort and make a big difference to avoid Xmas debt.
I've got both children's birthdays over the next 4 weeks and to pay for my sons gcses so I have some huge bills this next couple of weeks but luckily I have already bought most of my daughters presents for next week so it's just the final touches left. 
Will be glad once this next month is done so I can put every other penny into getting the debt down. Roll on March lol

Mimismoney23

So it's payday next week so I am spending this week getting my self ready so I can distribute it all before I over spend.
I have joined the mse grocery savings challenge on the forums to try and hold myself accountable for the grocery budget. I did spend £30 on a slow cooker to help me make some better meals as we have very limited cooking options in the new rental. I have got 2 £5 off £40 spends at Morrisons so I plan to use them to reduce my spend a little this month. I have made a years budget of £4000 for all groceries and eating out. I wanted to be realistic as I know I spend triple what I should on food and I won't cook loads so I am trying to be practical. Food is one of my main overspend areas so hopefully £80pw will be realistic. I have got some money wallets and will be using cash to try and get into the habit of when it's gone it's gone and being accountable in the supermarket. I have made a plan that any excess each month will go to making me an emergency fund as I currently still don't have one and it will make me feel better to have a buffer. The 1p saver is coming along nicely too and I am ahead of schedule with it so hopefully at tougher points in the year I will be ahead of the game and those savings will pay for Christmas.
I am hoping to use this year not only to reduce debt but to get ahead of next year's bills where I can so again I have some savings wallets that I am going to allocate little bits to to cover bills. I am hoping if I get this going over time I will have enough to be a month or two ahead in case I need it.
So no balance updates right now as I will be paying all my bills and extras next week. I feel good and once the final birthday is done in 2 weeks no more big planned expenses for a few months. With the council tax break for 2 months also I am looking forward to using that money to pay my big loan down.
Heres to another good week.