Frugality to pay of debts?

AIW · 2 July 2018 at 8:06PM

Hi I am new,
I have been reading for a while, I don't want to go in to the ins and outs of it but I have £58,0000 off cc debts. I only have a little money less than £100 a month to spare after all direct debits which may I add are all on the cheapest tariffs etc, the only way I can start to tidy up my mess is the spend less on the utilities and groceries, and maybe bring in some more cash through non conventional ways, no more cash can be generated through work. So is it possible to pay debts by living as frugally as possible? Gonna have to do something, I need my life back I am so depressed, but at the end of the day its my own fault.

mark55man · 2 July 2018 at 8:23PM

Hi there. Frugal living is a speciality here. Especially on the Old Style boards. You have a big debt (you know that, that's why you are here), but by no means the biggest and people have got though it.

People will be able to help when you hve put up a SOA (Statement of affairs) - read a few other diaries to get a feel. http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Keep posting - it will keep you honest. You can eat really cheaply, you do need to keep an eye on keeping a balanced diet.

Approved foods gets a lot of love on here - sells a lot of long life food that are nearly at or just over their best before date.

mark55man · 3 July 2018 at 7:00AM

very surprised not to see a bit more action on the thread but keep going, provide some updates your plans your thoughts your SOA a list of dents and interst rates, all chilling stuff, but necessary

most people pop on once or twice a week, mostdiaries update from once a day to once in a blue moon - entirely up to you. dome diarists confess to wanting to be left alone - confessional style :-) again up to you

AIW · 3 July 2018 at 7:48AM

Hi Mark,
Thankyou for your comments, yes I thought I might have had a bit more support, early days I guess.
The way I wanted to do it here was not to list my SOA as I have it all written down, as I said in the first post all my direct debits are at the cheapest they can be, all debts are paid each month (minimum payment only), I only have around £75 spare at the end of each month, so the only way I can do this is to cut down on the utilities and groceries etc and maybe make a little extra, but not through paid employment as its just set hours. We are barely getting by, but I am determined somehow to do this, so extreme frugality here we come. I am hoping to post again later and shall try and post daily to keep motivated.

GlendaSugarbean · 3 July 2018 at 7:51AM

If you're struggling to meet the min payments abd your debt is accruing interest, would it be a good idea to take to one of the debt charities to freeze interest and set up a payment plan? Might give you a wee bit more leeway.

AIW · 3 July 2018 at 7:54AM

Already doing, Glenda.

AIW · 3 July 2018 at 7:57AM

What I need to do is chuck more money at the debts as I just want rid, the smallest is under £30 and the largest around £20,000 and lots of others with from several hundred to several thousands, making up to the £58,000, so it's a new month and I was going to start with the smallest and I will update my figures at the end of the month, don't know how we are going to do this, but can't carry on like it anymore. Its going to be a long old journey, but I am positive at the moment so that helps.

mark55man · 3 July 2018 at 9:10AM

Love the signature AIW :-)

If you have a few low hanging fruit go for it to keep it simple, but best advice is pay the highest interest

Working_Mum · 3 July 2018 at 9:35AM

Hello AiW,
Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? He advocates repaying the debt by size of balance and then "snowballing" the payments you make against the next debt. It is motivating to see the debts fall one by one. You can access his videos etc on Youtube and are completely in harmony with the messages here.

Have you checked out the "Old Style" Forum here? It is rammed with great money saving ideas, reducing food waste, making your money go further and living a happy and healthy fulfilled frugal life. I love the Old Style Forum!!

I paid off over £90k of debt following a divorce with a low self employed income and I found that keeping an eye on where I was spending my money and doing something constructive towards paying my debts every day (normally in the morning) helped. Once I had updated my spends book, made a payment etc I knew I had done what I could for today and refused to worry or stress about it.

You can undertake surveys etc to raise an income - either in cash direct to your bank account or via gift cards etc - Swagbux, Prolific, OnePoll plus various others - I did these a lot last year to increase my Nectar card balance (have over £100 on there for Xmas) and buy Amazon Gift Cards so i could use Amazon for presents etc - they can be time consuming but it is worth investigating using your time wisely if you cannot increase your hours.

Have you considered selling anything which is surplus to your requirements?

Read diaries here and there re hugely motivating and you can glean tips with everyone you read.

((hugs))

Good Luck!

Starmummy · 3 July 2018 at 9:43AM

Hi and welcome.

Addressing the problem is such a good step. Try to keep a spending diary so you can see day to day with where your budget is. Some people on here use spreadsheets, some use pen and paper, some use an app like YNAB.
as working mum says look into Dave Ramsey or snowballing. Picking off some of the easy targets (like the £30) can really help motivation.
Also get to know your interest rates, if you can move as much as possible to interest free debt will make so much difference.

I'm sure support will pick up soon, there are a lot of diaries on here so some tend to get a little lost amongst all the updates. keep posting the accountability is really helpful.

Take care
SM

AIW · 3 July 2018 at 9:44AM

Hi everyone thanks for all the encouragement, I am taking all your advice on board and exploring all avenues. I shall update you later on what I have been up to today.

Frugality to pay of debts?

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