Let's do this!

Lilith1980 · 28 January 2018 at 12:56PM

Hi everyone :hello:

I've been a member on the forums for some years, but not been active for a long time. I really want to get myself out of debt and feel that keeping a diary will keep me accountable so I came over here

My debt has accrued since my 20s where I think I bought things to fill a void without being able to pay them back. I've been a bit of a "I need to have it now otherwise I'll never be able to have it!" type person. It's only recently (I'm now 37!) that I've been able to give myself a talking to and say if I don't have the spare cash then it can't go on my cards. I'm spending far too much on minimum payments which could go towards holidays and treats etc.

Dealing with my debt has also been difficult as I've been a been a student for about eight years :eek: so paying the fees has come first, although for my latest (and final!) course I had to pay for some of the fees on my credit card. Not ideal by any means but the career opportunities and salary will enable me to pay off more towards my debts.

I'm studying a doctorate and will be doing my viva in March 2018. A few months' ago I got a new job on the understanding that I would be qualifying in my profession shortly. Once my viva is passed (assuming I don't totally botch it!) I'll be qualified and my salary will increase to a level where I can pay £200-£200 per month extra off of my debts.

But it's not just the salary increase which will help. My whole mindset has to change and I hope that by keeping this diary it will help motivate me to keep going and wipe this debt off for good! I'll post my numbers in the next post.

I look forward to "meeting" you all. Please feel free to chip in with money saving ideas or other ways to reduce debt as I'm aware there are wiser souls here than myself

Lilith1980 · 28 January 2018 at 1:32PM

All my debts are on credit cards, with MBNA being the highest rate:

Barclaycard - £6,502.77
Tesco Bank - £4,135.51
MBNA - £6,839.99 (credit limit is £12,500)

Total debt - £17,478.27

My total minimum payment for all these debts is £418.81 per month.

I have no room on my Barclaycard or with Tesco Bank to transfer some of the MBNA balance unfortunately. MBNA currently have a promotional rate of 6.4% (I think) until 2023 for balance transfers. I did think of transferring my Tesco Bank balance, but this would take me up to almost my limit on MBNA and I wasn't sure if that would be detrimental?

I couldn't figure out how to edit my first post, but it was meant to say I could pay £200-£300 extra off my debts once I had my salary increase but this won't be until around June time.

Goals
Well, until June the goal is to use what spare cash I can to reduce my debts. In order to actually have spare cash I'm going to need to do the following:

Reduce my monthly shopping bill. We pay about £180 for my husband and I, plus a small dog, but with better meal planning we could reduce this a bit. We don't buy branded items and we take our own lunches to work already so that's not a problem.
Stop/reduce spends on takeaways. We can always buy frozen pizzas or treat meals from the supermarket instead which would be much cheaper.
Stop/reduce buying "wants" rather than needs (i.e sweets, soft drinks)
Unfortunately my beautiful cat, Charlie, had to be put to sleep on new years' day however, it was costing £80 per month for his special diet food and insurance so I'll be paying this off my card which was used quite a bit for his different treatments at the vets
I've recently signed up to Swagbucks so I need to be consistent in doing the surveys/searches and shopping to get SB points (I've already cashed in £5 from them :j)
I've signed up to Prolific Academic, People Per Hour, and Academic Minds in the hope of earning some extra cash for my writing skills
I'm putting away a bit of money towards Christmas presents and also towards my car MOT and service which both fall in October. I'd rather have a pot set aside for these things than having to put them on a credit card because I've left it 'til the last minute.
My husband and I are going away to Cornwall in June so we're going to have to put a bit of money aside until then to pay the balance (£200). Again, this is better than leaving it until June and then trying to find the whole lot in one go.

Barriers
It's worth listing what might get in the way of me reducing my debts as we all have our weak spots, not matter how well intended we are!

Needing to keep my "wants" versus "needs" in check and not spend what I can't afford
Being patient. Sometimes my lack of patience in being able to pay off big chunks of debt means I discount being able to pay off smaller chunks. For example, I shouldn't dismiss paying off £5 here and there just because it might not be the £100 I want to pay off.
Emergency spends. Sometimes life throws up things that might require some unexpected spending. I guess if I can refrain from unnecessary spending then this will lessen the guilt if something crops up.

That's all I can think of for now. Any suggestions please feel free to comment

notmy1sttime · 28 January 2018 at 2:13PM

Hi Lileth,
I have no words of advice as I am currently getting my debt totalled up (and my tax return in!) but I am here to support you along the way. I started a diary last month but only managed to post to it once, got scared and still haven't totalled up my debt (until today).
Lets support each other through.

Lilith1980 · 28 January 2018 at 2:28PM

notmy1sttime wrote: »

Hi Lileth,
I have no words of advice as I am currently getting my debt totalled up (and my tax return in!) but I am here to support you along the way. I started a diary last month but only managed to post to it once, got scared and still haven't totalled up my debt (until today).
Lets support each other through.

I agree, it's scary facing up to what debts we have. I hate seeing the number and it doesn't sit easy with me but I'm determined to get a handle on it now. My studying days are almost over so I can focus on putting the money towards the debt. Hope you manage to carry on with your diary, as I'm sure there are lots of people here to support you, including myself

enthusiasticsaver · 28 January 2018 at 2:37PM

Good luck with your Viva in March. My daughter was awarded her PhD a few years ago and the stress it caused her for the 5 or 6 years she was doing it was incredible. She was working full time for the last 3 years though so that was probably part of it and she was lucky enough to have the fees paid and a bursary for the first 3 years though.

It opens up a lot of job opportunities so hopefully that will help you clear the debt. That is a fairly substantial minimum payment each month so it would be good to get rid of the debt for that reason alone.

Lilith1980 · 28 January 2018 at 2:42PM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Good luck with your Viva in March. My daughter was awarded her PhD a few years ago and the stress it caused her for the 5 or 6 years she was doing it was incredible. She was working full time for the last 3 years though so that was probably part of it and she was lucky enough to have the fees paid and a bursary for the first 3 years though.

It opens up a lot of job opportunities so hopefully that will help you clear the debt. That is a fairly substantial minimum payment each month so it would be good to get rid of the debt for that reason alone.

Thank you

Believe me, I cannot wait to finish this doctorate. I've worked throughout mine as well and it's been stressful to juggle everything. Plus, my manager at my last place wasn't very supportive of me doing the qualification which only added to the stress.

I think maybe because it's all coming to an end, it's given me some breathing space to really think about sorting these debts out. I feel more determined and positive in my mindset that I can do this.

Munchin · 28 January 2018 at 3:44PM

Hi Lilith

Good luck. I am a terrible fritterer and my wants are usually treated the same as needs:o. The good news is that you will soon have the extra money to really focus on getting your debt down.

*subscribes.

Lilith1980 · 28 January 2018 at 3:45PM

Munchin wrote: »

Hi Lilith

Good luck. I am a terrible fritterer and my wants are usually treated the same as needs:o. The good news is that you will soon have the extra money to really focus on getting your debt down.

*subscribes.

Thanks Munchin. Looking forward to making a dent in the debt!

Lilith1980 · 28 January 2018 at 7:42PM

Seeing as I started my diary today I might as well add some positive things I've done:

NSD
Signed up for Shoppix and tried to sign up for Shopprize but they have no spaces yet so I filled in the form to notify me when I could apply
Earned 50p for a short survey on Prolific Academic
Got accepted for "whatusersdo" where you test websites and comment as you go through the site using the microphone on your computer. I had to do an audition and keep moving my mouth toward the microphone on my laptop as it's rubbish at picking up sound, but it obviously worked! You earn £5 a test but I'm not sure how often you get sent them.
Had roast chicken dinner and will use leftover chicken for lunch tomorrow
Paid £5 off my MBNA card which I'd cashed in from Swagbucks. I'm owed more points from something I purchased so should be able to pay another £5 off soon

I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow as hubby has passed his lovely cold onto me

beanielou · 28 January 2018 at 7:57PM

Sorry about your cat.
MY fur baby is 17 1/2.

Happy shiny new diary.
I hope all goes well for you.

Lilith1980 · 28 January 2018 at 8:03PM

beanielou wrote: »

Sorry about your cat.
MY fur baby is 17 1/2.

Happy shiny new diary.
I hope all goes well for you.

Thanks Beanielou. Your cat is a good age

My Charlie was a rescue so we were never really sure how old he was. We thought he was perhaps 14, but he could have been older. Hubby and I were talking about him today and how quiet the house is. Cats are great company.

We have a yorkie crossed with a chihuahua. Her and Charlie were good buddies

Let's do this!

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