Making 2026 a debt busting year

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi all

So, DH and I have been in debt for years, mostly credit cards, and decided to make a real effort last year to start to clear them.  The aim is to have them all paid off by the end of 2027.  We have no mortgage but do have a loan for some for some work on the house which will be cleared in April 2028. 

We started 2025 with £39138 on the cards and have reduced that to £30241, it would be nice to clear £10,000 by the end of the year but we will see.  We also now have a small emergency fund and savings pots for things like car repairs and heating oil.

Now the negatives, both our cars are 12 years old (part of the card debt so no finance).  We need them both to get to work.  We have no plan for replacing them other than a hope that they keep going for another couple of years.  DS1 gets married next year, a low budget wedding but it will no doubt cost us something.  DH and I have been away a lot this year (UK holidays) and by the end of the year will have probably spent £3,000 on holidays, days out, meals/takeaways and entertainment, which is a lot.

As part of the plan we agreed that we would both keep 15% of our net pay for ourselves.  This gives me £450 a month, which just disappears.  I need to get a grip on this, DH saves and he gets far less than me.  I have a ridiculous amount of clothes but I still get tempted. 

I need accountability.  My main goals are to manage my own spending money and budget better.  We have done OK but I want to do even better next year. 

YORKSHIRELASS

Well it's been an interesting few days.  DH was on sickness benefits for a time last year and when he went back to work DWP kept paying him and he had to make 3 phone calls waiting in a queue a ridiculously long time to get them to stop giving him money.  We knew they might ask for it back but decided to whack the overpayment off his card and deal with it later if we had to.  They now want £1100 which is fine, it was always a gamble.

The car goes for MOT and service this week, I have saved up but maybe not enough.  We don't spend too much on Christmas and have a savings pot for presents, but we do need to budget something for a bit of extra food.  We also have a couple of family weekends away coming up but both will be fairly low cost. 

joedenise

If the £1100 is too much in one go you can always ask for a payment plan to spread it over a longer period.  It was worth the gamble and you knew you'd need to repay it at some point but this time of year is probably the worst time for anyone, even if you don't spend much on Christmas!

in_need_of_direction

i wouldn't just accept the amount that's being requested.  given that the dept failed to action your notifications, there may be an arguement to have the amount reduced by 2 weeks or so

YORKSHIRELASS

Thanks both.  We paid the DWP back in full.  We both agreed that it wasn't worth the huge amount of effort to dispute it or sort a payment plan, and they did overpay DH so it's fair enough really. 

I am waiting for the last few transactions to go through then I can finish my 2025 spreadsheet.  I am now thinking about goals for 2026.  I have a balance on Next and another on PayPal that I have been sort of ignoring (£1700 in total) so that's my first priority.  I stopped using credit cards at the beginning of 2025 but now I need to stop using all forms of credit unless it's a life or death emergency.

We are meeting up with family for New Year and they like to spend so I have already floated the idea of sharing the cooking on NYs Eve and NYs Day rather then going out.  I figure that if we plan this properly in advance it will be easier for them just to go along with it. 

Sarahwithlove

What do you spend your £450 on? I would set yourself a stricter budget and then you will be less tempted. Maybe give yourself a weekly allowance? For clothing I'd make a one thing in, 2 things out. Could you sell some of it on vinted to give yourself a clothing allowance? 

YORKSHIRELASS

Sarahwithlove said:

What do you spend your £450 on? I would set yourself a stricter budget and then you will be less tempted. Maybe give yourself a weekly allowance? For clothing I'd make a one thing in, 2 things out. Could you sell some of it on vinted to give yourself a clothing allowance? 

Thanks I spend £80 a month on a facial which I really want to hold onto as I have terrible skin, likewise I spend £44 on yoga classes which I love, but I happily gave up my gym membership.  I can do YouTube videos for free and we have a spinning bike.  My hair costs £30 a month so that should still give me just under £300 left.  In December this went on a couple of nights out, clothes, Christmas presents and odds and ends, although I did save £75.  I do have some clothes listed on Vinted but could probably sell some more.

I do need a weekly allowance, and I just need to stop buying stuff that I don't need.