5 Years Come To A Head

Notahobbit

Thanks everyone. Really nice to see some replies, definitely helps to know there's a soundboard of understanding people out there 😁

We're definitely watching things to ensure we still spend quality time together not just sat on the sofa on our phones, but without breaking the bank. Like you say @twiggy86, it's so easy to spend £30+ for a simple evening out. Our incomes should mean we can do that stuff, but card repayments wiping out half my pay make it unfeasible.

It's funny you should all mention a 0% shift - that's exactly what we looked at yesterday. According to the MSE app, my rating is 5/10. I don't think too bad given what I owe, right?

I was really surprised to see that NatWest approved me for £7k giving the amount I already owe. I've got 0% for 16 months, just had to pay a 3%ish transfer fee. 

But I moved all of Card 1 (which I'd got down to £5.6k), and a chunk of Card 3. I also got paid this weekend and, per our plan, paid an extra £1k chunk off Card 3. So I have a slightly different order to update below... I also still have the usual direct debits for these cards to come out, which are all fixed above the minimum. 

Status 24/05: 

Card 1: £6450

Card 2: £8000

Card 3: £̶3̶9̶0̶0̶ > £2150

Card 4: £3500
Total: £̶2̶1̶,̶8̶5̶0̶ > £20,100

Notahobbit

Couple of days past and two different updates.
Marriage: so much better these last couple of days. Bar another discussion about money and my paying back plan, yesterday was almost like before me telling her about the debt. So that's good. But definitely a way to go before back to normality. 

Debt wise, I made an extra payment on Card 3 which bought it down to £2k. That also brings down my total remaining under £20k, which feels great. Interest is still to be added for May, but since my monthly payments (due first week of June) are above minimum, it'll stay there. 

Status 26/05:
Card 1: £6450

Card 2: £8000

Card 3: £̶2̶1̶5̶0̶ > £2000

Card 4: £3500

Total: £̶2̶0̶,̶1̶0̶0̶ > £19,950

Smudgeismydog

Under the £20k barrier, well done 👏🏼👏🏼

Notahobbit

Nothing major has changed over the last week. It is the first month of my wife covering all the big bills, allowing me to make an extra 1k payment every month. This will be the real test. Since we're at the start of the month some more card payments have come out - which results in a couple of milestones with balances coming down. Some of them only small reductions but seeing Card 2 and 3 coming down into another 1,000 bracket is nice to see. With my plan, Card 3 will be paid off by the end of August. By that point, Card 4 should also be under 3300. 

Status 05/06
Card 1: £6450

Card 2: £8000 > £7700

Card 3: £̶2000 > £1900

Card 4: £3500 > £3300

Total: £̶19,950 > £19,350

enthusiasticsaver

Good you have a plan and that your wife is being supportive.  Lesson learned hopefully in that being transparent with finances should have alerted you both to problems when the debt was a lot lower.  How is the ebaying going? 

Ordinary_Yet_Unique

So much better when things are out in the open and you can tackle the issue as a team! 

Notahobbit

Wow I didn't realise just how long it's been since I've updated this thread! June was a hectic month with health problems and time off work. But, back to normal. And I didn't take my eyes off the goals, keeping on track.

Last month was the first in years that I've ended the month out of overdraft, before getting paid. That was a big achievement.

I've also managed to get 1 of my cards down to under £800! The lowest I've had a card balance in a very long time. By August, it'll be paid off, closed, and cut up. 😁

Annoyingly, the balance transfer card I took out has actually gone up slightly since my last update. I forgot to take into account the transfer fees. 🤦‍♂️ I had also given updates on here before interest was calculated and added... That'll teach me to update the thread too early in the month! 😂 So I'll end this post on an overall total, but individual cards later this month.

My 2 big achievements are: overall debt is still down, and a card under £800 (that I started this journey at nearly £4k)

Updated - 02/07
Total: £19,350 > £18,675

June's monthly payments haven't been taken out yet, so in a couple of weeks this should be down by another £4-500

@enthusiasticsaver - eBaying went well, and raised nearly £1400. It's meant I could afford to pay over £1100 on one card instead of just £150. We'll use the rest to cover other expenses over the next couple of months. 

Ordinary_Yet_Unique

Many thanks for the update.

Chocolatefund

Keep it going!  Once the momentum gets going, then you’ll find yourself staring at debt payoff number crunching lots and it will keep you focused.  Worked for me.

Notahobbit

Thanks! It's definitely starting to feel like the momentum is going, and you're right - it helps from a mental and a motivational perspective. I've checked a couple of times my credit score in the last couple of months, just to get an idea of overall health. It dropped slightly because I took out a new card (balance transfer for 0%).

But it my overall percentage credit use has gone down massively because of how much I've paid off so far. Look forward to seeing that show on my report. I know not to get too hung up on it, because we don't have a "universal" credit score system, but I'm finding a good overview.