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Queen_of_the_Hive
Posts: 1,189 Forumite


I'm one of those boomerang DFW. Was on here previously having cleared 10k of debt post marriage breakdown, divorce and moving on. Was debt free for a couple of years and due to some pretty rough set of circumstances find myself back here with an even bigger debt. This debt is not from being frivalous, far from it. Life has been a real struggle and now at the start of Summer 2025 am trying to turn the ship around but in honesty I am scared, worried and feeling a bit lost.
Without being a bore and diving into too much detail. My partner and myself we found ourselves at the peak of the cost of living crisis in 2023 in a no choice situation to move from our lovely rental in London to a much cheaper area away from the city (we went north!) but in doing so we were able to get some stability by buying our home instead of renting. We were completely outpriced in London and felt very at risk because our set of circumstances were not as attractive as other renting families. I had to make some very hard choices for family.
We bought the house in early last year (Jan 2024) and moved in at Easter 2024. Come late summer 2024 my partner was then diagnosed with a life limited condition which has meant for us a lot of hospital stays, harsh treatment and scary moments. My partner is a bit older than me, but it also cost him his job and put him into retirement and I found myself balancing work, hospital & my partners medical needs and family still in London. The opportunity to buy the cheaper options in train travel wasn't there as I didn't know how my OH was going to be with his health and honestly its been firefighting the whole time.
Thankfully my family in London are doing well, my home is nice but dated and my partners health is in recovery and I still have my job so a lot to be greatful for.
I'm just about to take on some more hours at work to support a major project and feeling like a bit of peace and calmness is returning to life at the moment. The kind of condition my OH has, it will come back and may limit his remaining time. Debt reduction is going to be very slow because I have to travel regularily which is expensive and will hinder progress and my partners condition is unpredictable and can mean hospitalisation for minor illness.
So in a nutshell the debt is approx 18k in a mixture of 3x credit cards, an overdraft and a small family loan. I have the upto date figures etc but for now just starting this new diary is me putting a stick in the sand and committing to a better debt free future.
2025 financial goals & challenges!
1). Mortgage (started Jan 2024) £107,542.12 / £122,400.00 Overpayment total: £904.60 (Inc Sprive yr 1 o/p £19.16 & £55.34 reg monthly overpayment) Equity 27%
2). #7 Save 1p a day challenge 2025 £150/£780
3). £2109.85/£3000 in Investment ISA (34/50 investments)
4). Increase cash savings & saving pots
5). Keep debt to a minimum.
Favourite quote: 'Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gunna get!' Forrest Gump
1). Mortgage (started Jan 2024) £107,542.12 / £122,400.00 Overpayment total: £904.60 (Inc Sprive yr 1 o/p £19.16 & £55.34 reg monthly overpayment) Equity 27%
2). #7 Save 1p a day challenge 2025 £150/£780
3). £2109.85/£3000 in Investment ISA (34/50 investments)
4). Increase cash savings & saving pots
5). Keep debt to a minimum.
Favourite quote: 'Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gunna get!' Forrest Gump
5
Comments
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Found you and subscribed queen! Because you are incredibly impressive and I love your writing style. Love Humdinger xx1
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Humdinger1 said:Found you and subscribed queen! Because you are incredibly impressive and I love your writing style. Love Humdinger xx
Aw Humdinger! Thank you!2025 financial goals & challenges!
1). Mortgage (started Jan 2024) £107,542.12 / £122,400.00 Overpayment total: £904.60 (Inc Sprive yr 1 o/p £19.16 & £55.34 reg monthly overpayment) Equity 27%
2). #7 Save 1p a day challenge 2025 £150/£780
3). £2109.85/£3000 in Investment ISA (34/50 investments)
4). Increase cash savings & saving pots
5). Keep debt to a minimum.
Favourite quote: 'Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gunna get!' Forrest Gump1 -
'If life gives you lemons, go and make lemonade'Today its time to start making that super tasty lemonade! - Cheesy I know but love a good motivational quote!Its time for me to be honest with myself and share my debt (ex mortgage).and to add a bit of personality have labelled each debt a shade of yellow. Why not bring a bit of warmth to a dull situation.Debt 1 - CC1 'Mustard' - £6995.90Debt 2 - CC2 'Banana' - £6897.02Debt 3 - Overdraft 'Champagne' - £495.96Debt 4 - Family loan 'GOLD' - £620Debt 5 - CC3 'Sunshine' - £3585Total as of today - £18,593.88The VISION!Short term:* Be brave to take some difficult choices.* Reduce some of the debt.* Consider some home renovations.* Take a trip of a life time to visit family in Aus.Long term:* Its going to sound a bit strange, but my priority is not to be 'debt free'. I do want to be free of debt but my current life set up is complicated and so I am focused on paying down debt whilst making some memories and having some experiences. Not to say they have to be expensive experiences just striking a balance.* Be in a position to support my children in education or training post 16. Uni / apprenticeship / training.* Due to my partners health, its a painful reality that his health may decline and eventually he may pass in the next few years. Its not easy to write about, nor speak to friends but I would like to have some preparation "just in case" as we do support each other with our financial affairs.Immediate actions:* Reclaim expenses for a recent work trip.* Check the progress of a train ticket refund.* Its payday this coming week so monies will be allocated.* Check the % interest rates on the credit cards.2025 financial goals & challenges!
1). Mortgage (started Jan 2024) £107,542.12 / £122,400.00 Overpayment total: £904.60 (Inc Sprive yr 1 o/p £19.16 & £55.34 reg monthly overpayment) Equity 27%
2). #7 Save 1p a day challenge 2025 £150/£780
3). £2109.85/£3000 in Investment ISA (34/50 investments)
4). Increase cash savings & saving pots
5). Keep debt to a minimum.
Favourite quote: 'Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gunna get!' Forrest Gump5 -
Your circumstances are as they are and priorities are different. You have to work to your priorities2
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Hello Monday,A tiny bit of MSE for me today. Having some home made soup from the freezer. This soup was made by my partners sister as 'recovery soup' when he was poorly. OH wasn't going to eat it and it seems a waste to not eat it so am going to enjoy it for lunch this week. There is quite a lot though so sadly there will be some wastage.2025 financial goals & challenges!
1). Mortgage (started Jan 2024) £107,542.12 / £122,400.00 Overpayment total: £904.60 (Inc Sprive yr 1 o/p £19.16 & £55.34 reg monthly overpayment) Equity 27%
2). #7 Save 1p a day challenge 2025 £150/£780
3). £2109.85/£3000 in Investment ISA (34/50 investments)
4). Increase cash savings & saving pots
5). Keep debt to a minimum.
Favourite quote: 'Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gunna get!' Forrest Gump0 -
Hello Tuesday evening!Last week was payday and was able to pay down a bit on the debt by:Debt 1 - CC1 'Mustard' - £460Debt 2 - CC2 'Banana' - £200Debt 3 - Overdraft 'Champagne' - No changeDebt 4 - Family loan 'GOLD' - £10Debt 5 - CC3 'Sunshine' - £120Some of this was salary and some was a bit of savings. Sadly I will still be adding amounts to the credit cards and interest is to be added too.Mortgage was also overpaid by £55.342025 financial goals & challenges!
1). Mortgage (started Jan 2024) £107,542.12 / £122,400.00 Overpayment total: £904.60 (Inc Sprive yr 1 o/p £19.16 & £55.34 reg monthly overpayment) Equity 27%
2). #7 Save 1p a day challenge 2025 £150/£780
3). £2109.85/£3000 in Investment ISA (34/50 investments)
4). Increase cash savings & saving pots
5). Keep debt to a minimum.
Favourite quote: 'Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gunna get!' Forrest Gump1 -
This week marks first week of extra hours at work. Sadly won't see this in July salary at the end of the month but will do from August so a bit more to chuck at the debt!At the moment trying to decide what should be my best paying debt strategy. Go for highest debt or highest interest? Not sure. Will take a read of the suggestions on here and have a think.2025 financial goals & challenges!
1). Mortgage (started Jan 2024) £107,542.12 / £122,400.00 Overpayment total: £904.60 (Inc Sprive yr 1 o/p £19.16 & £55.34 reg monthly overpayment) Equity 27%
2). #7 Save 1p a day challenge 2025 £150/£780
3). £2109.85/£3000 in Investment ISA (34/50 investments)
4). Increase cash savings & saving pots
5). Keep debt to a minimum.
Favourite quote: 'Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gunna get!' Forrest Gump0 -
hmm, I think the advice is normally highest interest first as you can then 'snowball' those payments into other lower interest debts to pay them down faster over time, but Dave Ramsay says to pay off lowest amount first. I assume as that's because it works as in incentive to then make you commit more to paying the rest off?:eek::eek::eek: LBM 11/05/2010 - WE DID IT - DMP of £62000 paid off in 7 years:jDFD April20171
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Personally I’d aim for the family debt first. If not that, I’d go with the lowest interest charging one. I like to see the number of monthly outgoings reduce. Worst case scenario, it creates a bit of a buffer against price increases.Mortgage at 01.01.14 £119,481.83:eek: today £0 Emergency fund £5.5/5.5k & £200/200 cash.:jWeight 24/02/19 14st 7lb now 12st determined to stop defining myself by my mistakes. Progress not perfection.:T100%through my 1% mortgage challenge. 100% through my pb challenge.1
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Hi I sympathise with your situation with your partners health. I know how difficult it can be. Don't forget to take care of yourself too!
With regards to the cards I would update the above with the interest rates and any end dates (if applicable). Then see if you can BT any of them to a new card using the eligibility tracker on here (including moving that overdraft). Good luck V x1
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