My Debt Diary

Boggles1234

Hi folks,

I figure since I read everyone else's debt diaries on here, i should start my own to keep track of how much I owe, how much I am paying and generally try and keep me on the straight and narrow until I have cleared it.

Firstly a SOA (all figures monthly):

Income: £1204.67

Outgoings
Rent = 200
Car Insurance = 23
Sky = 21
Mobile = 22 (fixed contract until Feb 09)
Petrol = 30
Gym = 10
Car Tax/MOT = 20.50
Xmas/B'day/Emergency = 20

Total Outgoings = 346.50

Debts
Amount, APR, Current payment, cleared date
Barclaycard = 729.12 @ 22.9% =£100.... December 08
Egg Card = 855.32 @ 17.9% =£75 .......February 09
M and S Card = 1248.34 @ 4.9% (life of balance) =£60 ......May 09
Barclaycard Loan (fixed rate)= 5701.73 @ ?? =£293.70 .....January 10
Egg Loan (fixed rate) = 920.59 @ 15.75% =£108.74 ...February 09
Car Loan = £500 repaid at £100/month ....September 08

I also have an £1800 which a family member has paid for me in effect freezing it on condition I repay them at a fixed monthly rate as soon as I have cleared interest bearing debts. Because it is frozen i haven't included it here.

The car loan is unfortunately non-negotiable. Borrowed from work at 0% when my car died on condition I stick to those payments.

Total Debt = £9955.10 (+1800)
Total Monthly Payments = £737.44


Incomings: 1204.67
Outgoings: 1083.94

Monthly Surplus: 120.73 (for incidentals, treats, social life. Remainder to go off debts at end of month.

I have created a spreadsheet to calculate monthly interest and everything so i can instantly see how increasing one payment cuts final dates and so on. Also the cleared date for each debt assumes that I am going to use cash freed up fro clearing one debt, against the next if that makes sense! I know what mean.

I am ignoring over payments on the loans for now as they are both fixed term loans so would gain no real benefit from over-paying. I also intend to get busy on ebay and anything ls think of to generate extra cash to clear debt faster.

My aims by Xmas 08 are:

To be within 1 month of clearing all non fixed term debts (and overdraft loan)
To lose at least 4 stone in weight
To increase my social world a bit more and maybe find a nice girl.

Here's to a productive 2008 (or what remains of it)

penguin83

Hi Boggles - sounds like you have a good plan for the rest of the year.

Good luck with it and dont forget to keep updating us here. xx xx

Boggles1234

I do have a plan but the problem is I am from the Arnold J Rimmer School Of Planning*.

I spend so long working out the budget and appearing that I am better off than I really am that I then go spending or fail to keep up to it. I am figuring that if I post it here I will have to keep it rather than editing it every month to avoid paying so much off stuff.

Today I managed to not spend anything. Normally on Mondays I get a bacon butty (£1.10) for brekkie and a sandwich for dinner (£2.10). Instead today I made my own before work and put £3.20 in my change pot to pay off Barclaycard at the end of the month.

*Red Dwarf Geek and proud of it.

Boggles1234

Oh shhhhh.....ugar!

The family member who was helping with the OD has now decided they can't.

So as I can't be bothered redoing my spreadsheet I have just bunged everything into that snowball calculator thingie. And it has worked. Even including the overdraft it has managed to save me money on interest charges each month. It does involve doing some minimum payments on one card while i clear another which I don;t like but I have faith.

I've just got to now copy all the payment figures onto my calendar so i know how much to pay on each item each month. i have set minimum payments automatically and will make a manual payment for the excess each time.

In other news, I have just checked my credit file and noticed that I have some old accounts on there. Need to figure out what to do about them.

lisabell

Hey boggles,

Hope you dont mind me bumping in and reading your thread you seem like you have it all under control though so far you are doing it well paying off the larger interest cards first etc..
I wish you luck and will be reading your thread and keeping up to date on it
Lisa

Boggles1234

While I was checking my credit file I noticed I had quite a good credit score. So this morning I have been into my local Halifax branch, applied for a 0% card, explained my situation and been accepted

The egg card has already been cancelled (part of the ones they cancelled earlier this year) so that will be transferred and closed. The Barclaycard will be switched to the 0% card as well. Not going to cancel that one though. 1K limit so will stick it in the safe at work so if I do need a card for emergencies when on holiday etc i can use it but can't get at it on a day to day basis.

I've also sent letters via recorded delivery to both Studio and Debenhams to close a couple of old, unused accounts.

And I went to my bank (Barclays) and as it is a local, friendly branch explained how I was clearing stuff and how easy was it to reduce my overdraft limit each month as I pay it off so I am not tempted to use it. As I go in every friday to pay my wages into my account she has diaryed it in the branch diary to ask me on the last friday of each month if i want to reduce it that month until it is down to £500. (Keeping a small buffer zone for just in case).

And I've also started saving ebay item in TurboLister so when they next have a cheap listing day, I can upload everything in one go.

Boggles1234

Today i paid my first lot of wages into the bank since I started the plan. Unfortunately things are at a bit of a standstill until the Halifax card comes but as soon as it does i am all ready for sorting things out.

I also kept a fiver out of my wage for this weeks spending money. In theory I shouldn't need to spend anything but figured if I have it to hand I can treat myself later this week without being tempted to use my cash car (which incidentally is no longer carried around in my wallet but is kept at home )

And as I left the bank I spotted a bargain in the charity shop down the road - a Wade Natwest piggybank (the daughter) for 50pence so i snapped that up to list on ebay.

Hell1

hi boggles!:j

Just wanted to say good luck! You seem really organised, I wish I was! I will be reading with interest - and hopefully learning.
hell:j

Boggles1234

I'm not that organised.

The problem i have is that I keep it up for a month or so and then slip back into my bad habits. I spent on CC until I had no credit left, then got a loan to clear them but eventually started spending on them again and so on.

Determined to do it this time though.

DEATH-A-LOT

I have the same problem. I can stick within my budget for a set time then i see that i've got money and bang, i go and spend it!!

moneymabel

Boggles1234 wrote: »

I do have a plan but the problem is I am from the Arnold J Rimmer School Of Planning*.

I spend so long working out the budget and appearing that I am better off than I really am that I then go spending or fail to keep up to it. I am figuring that if I post it here I will have to keep it rather than editing it every month to avoid paying so much off stuff.

Today I managed to not spend anything. Normally on Mondays I get a bacon butty (£1.10) for brekkie and a sandwich for dinner (£2.10). Instead today I made my own before work and put £3.20 in my change pot to pay off Barclaycard at the end of the month.

*Red Dwarf Geek and proud of it.

Does that mean that you spend all night writing out a spending plan, Lister spills curry on it and the next morning you go to the bank, shout I am a fish and then pass out???!!!!

( Also a Red dwarf geek lol)
Oh and good luck with your diary btw :rotfl: