My debt struggle

ryry91 · 7 January 2018 at 12:23PM

Hi guys!
So I have been trying to keep a debt free diary for some time now after stalking these forums for a goodly while and not really commenting much but this year I thought I would try and commit to something for once and actually get cracking on some of this debt of mine!

My Story:
At the tender age of 26 years old, I currently have £8,032.63 worth of debt on various credit cards and catalogues. This does not include a car I have on a PCP deal and paying out for my university fees directly as I do not qualify for student finance (long story).

How did I get here?
It is simple really, holidays and living beyond my means! Trying to keep up with friends who are more well off than I am and also trying to help my parents when my Dad was diagnosed with cancer and Mum was laid off from work.

My Goals:
My main goal is to be rid of the £8000 ASAP as myself and my fiance are desperately trying to save for a house, although that is becoming increasingly difficult when I have this debt hanging over my shoulders.
Once this has paid off I will have more money to sort out buying a car outright and can put more money in the savings pot for a house!

Recently I was dealt a small blow by my job as I need to do a 7 week placement as part of my university course, during these 7 weeks I will not be paid. So I also need to ensure I have money saved for that!

At the same time as all of this, I have a holiday coming up in August that I need to get spending money together for (ideally £750+). Not asking for much am I?

Plan of action:
I currently work in education, I earn just over £1400 a month which I am hoping will increase once I have finished university in 2019! However presentlyt, this is what I have to work with!

I am looking into getting a second weekend job for a couple of hours, however this is proving to be quite difficult.

Some people may turn their noses up at it, but I am also doing matched betting. This is something I have done for some time as more of a hobby rather than earning mega-bucks! It earns me roughly £50 a month extra which I am putting into savings for my no-pay period in March and April.

I am also doing private tutoring 3 days a week, although I get paid every 10 weeks by these as people buy blocks of 10 for a slight discount, the next time I get paid from these is March time.

Hopefully, I will stick to keeping this updated every week! Best time for me to post will be a Thursday or Friday.

sourcrates · 7 January 2018 at 2:56PM

Hi,

You need to re-post this in debt free diaries, or i can move it for you ?

ryry91 · 7 January 2018 at 10:22PM

Please move it for me! I thought I posted this in the debt free diaries section! What a doofus!

sourcrates · 7 January 2018 at 10:30PM

ryry91 wrote: »

Please move it for me! I thought I posted this in the debt free diaries section! What a doofus!

Doing it now for you.

Poor_Single_lady · 8 January 2018 at 12:33AM

Hello and Welcome.
Hope keeping a diary is helpful. I'm sure more helpful and knowledgeable people will be along to say hello but just wanted to post to say welcome.

Wish I had stopped my debt growing at 26! Good luck for your journey.

fatrab · 8 January 2018 at 7:34AM

Hi and well done for deciding to sort your debt out!

Regarding matched betting, I'm no expert but a chap I know does it very successfully, so much so that he paid for his £25k car outright purely from the proceeds of it. But as per every gambler I know, you only ever hear about the wins, never the losses.

I wish you the very best and look forward to your updates!

ryry91 · 8 January 2018 at 10:39PM

Thank you guys for your kind words, I have done really well today!

I have a really bad habit at work of going over the shop to get something a bit more interesting than just a plain old sandwich but instead of getting the meal deals like I normally do I have stocked my cupboard with soups for the next week that were on offer so hopefully that will save me a bit of money this week!

Also made £11 profit on matched betting, which will complete on Friday, was my first time "Dutching" a bet which was really nerve wracking as I had to use a lot of my profit to get a decent pay out. That said I used in conjunction with a qualifying bet which saves me losing a few pennies.

In terms of the second job, I have had an email today from a charity offering paid work to support children with Autism and giving their families respite which is really exciting! So hopefully something comes out of that! Even if that earned me an extra £100 a month, that is better than nothing at the moment!

It is all looking positive at the moment, fingers crossed!!

ryry91 · 11 January 2018 at 9:38PM

I had a wobble...
I broke my promise (refuse to call them resolutions) and bought a lunch meal deal! However it isn't as bad as it sounds as it was paid for by finding some spare change in my bag that I didn't know I had! So that isn't all bad!

In other news, I managed to take on another child for tutoring so that is another £100 coming in a month and I have been offered a zero hour contract with a charity for paid work with a requirement to work at least one weekend a month, so I can pick and choose when I want to work which could be amazing, however I do not want all of my time to be taken up with work, I need to consider what is more important, having a bit of a life, or sacrificing my time for the moment and paying off all my debts.

Matched betting wise I have made £4 on a football game, haven't had much time to look for any dutching opportunities as of yet but £4 is better than nothing!

ryry91 · 14 January 2018 at 8:10PM

End of the week roundup

So it's not been a horrendous week! I have managed to make £15 worth of profit from matched betting. I have had a good clear out today and have sold three items for £20 and have put a lot of other items I do not use up on ebay/facebook to sell so hopefully they go soon.

I had an emergency whilst travelling to university on Friday and left my oyster card at home, so had to put £12 on my credit card as I didn't have enough money on my debit card! But that said, I get paid tomorrow so I can use my travel money for the month to pay that £12 off straight away so it isn't the end of the world!

Hopefully next week brings more moneys!

laurag89 · 14 January 2018 at 10:47PM

I didn't want to read and run!

Its brilliant that you have created a diary and been honest with yourself as to how you have reached this position - I am in quite a bit more debt but for very similar reasons: Holiday's, Just generally living about my means!

But it sounds like you are very determined to get it paid off and that is the important thing!

Looking forward to following your progress x

ryry91 · 15 January 2018 at 9:47PM

It's as I say to my friends:
Living a champagne lifestyle on a lambrini budget! Except I never stuck to the lambrini budget otherwise I wouldn't be in this mess!

I just noticed your signature Laurag! I like the idea of doing surveys as a way of saving for xmas! I might just have to copy you :P

My debt struggle

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free