Three Years of Tears to Yippee I'm Debt Free!

babs

Hello All... This week I have finally faced my debt demons and I know I have to do something about it.

I am 59 years old, married and financially, to the outer world I look like I am doing well, I have a good income, I go on nice holidays, drive a nice car and live in a nice house but I have been for the last few years paying minimum payments on credit cards (around 45k of debt) and wondering why it never seems to go down. I waste money like you wouldn't believe, never sell anything and rather give stuff away to friends, family and even strangers. I am the first to volunteer to buy lunch when out with friends and I know a lot of this has got to stop. 

My main income is from fostering 3 children from a very deprived background and I love to treat them. We eat out a lot, I buy them nice clothes, I take them on amazing holidays (think Cruises and Florida), We have lots of days out and I really don't want this to stop but I know I have to at least rein it  back a little bit. 

So I am hoping by starting this debt free diary I can start to hold myself accountable, get advice and see where changes can be made. Thanks for listening and will start by listing all the debts I have when I go pull them all together. I have managed to switch some of them to new 0% rates this week, but now playing the waiting game till some of the empty credit cards offer me a cheap switching rate. 

I am confident I can clear around 45k in 3 years working hard at it.. Three Years of Tears to Yippee I'm Debt Free! 

Sarahwithlove

Well done on the fostering, such an amazing thing you're doing. You are giving them a great life with or without all the treats and im sure they appreciate having a safe environment more than all the extras. Good luck with your debt free journey

weenancyinAmerica

You might want to encourage them to learn skills that will help them later on like getting good deals at boot sales. How long will they be with you and when do they "age" out of the foster system over there. Here it is age 18. We had a group home for 6 young men that one of my clubs I belonged to supported. One thing we did for them was to create a list of what they would need to set up housekeeping when they left and then boxing things up for them - pots and pans, dishes, towels, bedding, etc. I don't know if this would help your three - but maybe you can help start a "hope chest" for each of them and teach them how to shop as part of their activities. Have they seen that much of the British Isles? Maybe better to have some of the vacations closer to home. Good luck on your journey.
Keep posting on how things are going.

babs

weenancyinAmerica said:

You might want to encourage them to learn skills that will help them later on like getting good deals at boot sales. How long will they be with you and when do they "age" out of the foster system over there. Here it is age 18. We had a group home for 6 young men that one of my clubs I belonged to supported. One thing we did for them was to create a list of what they would need to set up housekeeping when they left and then boxing things up for them - pots and pans, dishes, towels, bedding, etc. I don't know if this would help your three - but maybe you can help start a "hope chest" for each of them and teach them how to shop as part of their activities. Have they seen that much of the British Isles? Maybe better to have some of the vacations closer to home. Good luck on your journey.
Keep posting on how things are going.

Thanks for the good advice and will endeavour to take the advice onboard. Here is the answer to some questions. 
1. The children are 15, 14 and 13 (I also have a 9 year old at the moment but he is returning back home to parents next week 😃). They are long term with me which is 18 but to be honest, I never kick them out and they are welcome to stay here as long as needed so we have a few years to go till independent living. 

2. We have done the British Isles quite a bit but sometimes that works out more expensive than the taking them abroad, especially as I need at least a 3 bedroom rental. We tried caravaning but they were bored and fought constantly (they need their own space). Teenagers are hard work and hard to please when it comes to holidays 🙈. 

3. I will definitely start a hope chest! 

babs

Credit Cards

Virgin - £13177.30
M&S -  £ 5399.38
Next Card - £817
MBna - £6837.28 - 0% till Aug 2025
Lloyds - £7148.68 0% till Dec 2027
Barclaycard - £11142.50 till 0% till Feb 2027

Total Debt: £44522.14


Empty Cards

Halifax Credit Card with a £14000 limit but no offer rate currently
Santander Credit card with a £3100 limit but I use this as main card when travelling as zero fees and I always pay it off religiously.

Short Term Action Plan

I have just applied for a new 0% (till feb 2028) HSBC card and will transferred £7200,00 (£8000 limit) on it from the Virgin card.

Hoping to balance transfer the remaining amount (11,376.68) that is occurring interest payments on to the Halifax card if any offer comes along soon otherwise will have to work at paying off these debts first

Pay off Next Card over next 2 weeks

kimwp

Have you done a statement of affairs and created a budget? They are crucial to changing a financial situation.

babs

kimwp said:

Have you done a statement of affairs and created a budget? They are crucial to changing a financial situation.

Not yet. Children are back at school on Monday so I am going to dedicate a few hours then to do one and will post it here. 

Archergirl

Well done on making a start, try making a list of everything you spend so you can see what you are spending on 'unnecessary' stuff, knock that on the head and pay it off a card instead.........

weenancyinAmerica

Have you considered a stay-cation where they can do things with their friends each day without needing to leave home - even if is just a day to play games or have someone spend the night or experiment with hair styles.

twiggy86

My one little comment is to check out Vinted for clothes as there are definitely bargains to be had on there! That should definitely help save money whilst still treating them to "new to them" clothes. Good luck! 

babs

Thanks for all the advice people so far! 

The SOA is a work in progress and scaring me to honest. I am such a shopaholic it's unreal. Meanwhile, I have worked out I need to allocate at least £250-£300 a week to pay off my debt if I am going to achieve this goal within 3 years. Its certainly doable on my current income. 

Mondays in payday for me so I paid £448 off the Next Card. I have also applied for another card to transfer some debt onto to that should be here this week. 

Current debt overview now: Week 1 

Starting Debt: £44522.14
Current Debt: £44,074.14
Payment Week 1 - £448
Total repayment - £448