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Main site > Forums > Essential Money > Debt-Free Wannabe > Debt Free Diaries > 2 years to smash the debt !
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      Storm89
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    • By Storm89 3rd Jan 18, 2:45 PM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    2 years to smash the debt !
    • #1
    • 3rd Jan 18, 2:45 PM
    2 years to smash the debt ! 3rd Jan 18 at 2:45 PM
    I'm starting a new diary because I didn't keep my last one up and I'm feeling rubbish about not paying off as much as I had wanted. My last target was to be debt free by the summer of 2020 but I'm determined to set a new target of December 2019. Taking it a year at a time though, so aiming for debt to be £10k by December and savings to be £3k (currently have no savings at all). I need to do this for my kids, I wish I could give them experiences and not have to cut back so much because of the silly mess we're in.

    As it stands the debt is
    Credit Card 1 - £6,330.83 0% ends in March
    Credit Card 2- £7,660.01 0% ends in November
    Credit Card 3- £1,873.59 0% ends in June
    Total - £16,027.43
    I need to figure out how to start shifting some of that debt onto other 0% cards soon I just don't know how to go about it. A card we have with zero balance has offered us 0% for 12 months and the amount we could transfer is around £5100 so not enough to cover the card that's up in March. So I'm not sure what to do really about this. I'm considering getting another 0% card but worry we won't get accepted.
    We're a family of 4 with a 7 year old and 4 year old and income from all sources is
    £2816

    Outgoings are
    £1516.62

    It gives us a surplus of £1299.38. I don't want to put it all on the debt but we're setting aside £500 a month for that. I've also created some savings accounts on my mobile banking that I've named and decided to set aside each month:
    General Savings - £250
    Very- £100
    Clothes- £40
    Center Parcs- £100
    Christmas and Birthdays- £100
    Anything we manage to save on top of this will pay off debt
    Having no savings in 2017 meant I had to use Very to buy things we needed. A hoover, pushchair, washing machine etc. We now have a balance of £1000 on there that's interest free as long as I pay within 12 months of when we purchased the items. I should count this in my total debt but it's too depressing to do so and I'll be paying it off anyway

    I've booked us a little holiday at Center Parcs for October half term. We've not been away at all last year and won't be going anywhere else until then , I just felt that I wanted to get the balance between paying off debt and having a little treat. I'll be using this thread to write my ramblings even if nobody reads it !
    Last edited by Storm89; 03-01-2018 at 2:51 PM.

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      fatrab
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    • By fatrab 5th Apr 18, 3:08 PM
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      What's this?

    fatrab
    I'm quite wary of deals like that "was £200 now just 50p"


    It was never £212, it's £94.99. It's a £94.99 mattress. Agreed as above - no reviews = no buy it!
    You can have results or excuses, but not both.
    Wannabe debt free by Dec 2022 - Wannalose 3st in the process - 1st 11lb lost so far
    April's Goals - 15/21 NSD - 15/20 Lunches - 20/28 AFD - 21/31 TAFD (take away free days)
    31 x £2 coins (#32)

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    • By Storm89 5th Apr 18, 4:48 PM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    There were reviews for the cheaper one it has 4.5 stars. I've ordered it now before i saw this reply... I hope it's good enough! It's pocket sprung 1500. I was surprised cos the other one was 800 springs for £219 . I'm regretting it slightly but at the same time was trying to save money. Watch this space I'll let you know how we get on with it.

    Sorry!

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    • By fatrab 5th Apr 18, 5:50 PM
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      What's this?

    fatrab
    Sometimes you do get bargains but it's like furniture places, they're always "on sale". Load of piffle to make you think you're getting a great deal.

    I'd just ignore the "was" price and take it at face value
    You can have results or excuses, but not both.
    Wannabe debt free by Dec 2022 - Wannalose 3st in the process - 1st 11lb lost so far
    April's Goals - 15/21 NSD - 15/20 Lunches - 20/28 AFD - 21/31 TAFD (take away free days)
    31 x £2 coins (#32)

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    • By JoJoC 6th Apr 18, 11:50 AM
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      What's this?

    JoJoC
    Hey Storm - hope you're well?

    I'm no help at all on the mattress front - my husband and I (pre-kids) walked into a showroom and bought the most expensive bed/ mattress in there. Don't get my wrong, that was 8-9 years ago and it's still going strong and it's a fabulously massive and comfortable bed, but it was a bit extravagant of us! I know nothing about spring count and all that stuff.

    Hope your mattress turns out to be a good buy and if not, you should have 14 day returns?
    CC1: £4601.14/ £5031.14 (10% paid off, £480) | CC2:£3407/ £3807 (12% paid off, £450) | Loan: £10,788.72/ £15,000((28% paid off, £4211.28))

    July debt total: £23,838.14 | New debt total: £18,796.86 | Total debt paid: £5,141.28 (22%)
    *My debt busting and savings diary*

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    • By Storm89 6th Apr 18, 7:32 PM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    I think it's no returns if it's not in it's original packaging . So it had better be bloody good. Jojo hope you had a good holiday? I'm heading over to your diary in a second to see how you're doing. Fatrab I feel like you are right though and I'm worrying a bit I should have just gone for the more expensive one...it was with Very as well so I would have had longer to pay it off .
    My glasses broke the other week so I've just spent a fiver fixing them. I've got to pay £10 for a doctors note to get us a pass to not queue at Alton towers (for my daughter. We went with our season passes the other day and the usual evidence that we give e.g. diagnosis letter , disability allowance proof etc ; was only enough to get me a free carers pass. It didn't work for the queues they want a doctors note stating why she can't queue. It wasn't a great time to be honest and was really overwhelming for her , we went on one ride and came home).
    So already I've eaten into the savings I was hoping for at the end of the month- especially with the mattress . However , my hair was only £65 instead of the budgeted £130 so maybe it won't end up as bad as I'm expecting.
    Barclaycard payment has gone out so that's the first of the direct debits towards the debt. I'm going to have another look at the budget for the month and see if I've not gone off target too much -wish me luck !!

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    • By fatrab 6th Apr 18, 8:22 PM
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      What's this?

    fatrab
    No, I think you've done the right thing buying the cheaper one tbh. No point getting into more "debt" if you don't need to.

    Good luck with the rest of it!
    You can have results or excuses, but not both.
    Wannabe debt free by Dec 2022 - Wannalose 3st in the process - 1st 11lb lost so far
    April's Goals - 15/21 NSD - 15/20 Lunches - 20/28 AFD - 21/31 TAFD (take away free days)
    31 x £2 coins (#32)

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    • By Storm89 8th Apr 18, 10:10 AM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    Good morning
    Everything is going well here and nothing to report debt wise. I've seen a 4 bed semi for sale (new build) . The people who live in the attached house are letting us look round because there is no show home of that style anywhere locally. It's got amazing views of fields behind it that won't be built on. I know we can't go for it though because I'm waiting on this 4 bed detached that won't be built for another 18 months which gives me more time to clear debt and then save for moving fees. It's not as nice an area but we need the time to save.
    It's so annoying though because the house has gone up 10k in just 9 months apparently. I hate how this debt has such an impact on everything !
    Lazy day today helping DS with his homework ready for back to school tomorrow. I keep forgetting to re-do my budget after the extra costs this month with the mattress etc so I'll probably do that as well.

    Sorry!

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    • By enthusiasticsaver 8th Apr 18, 11:17 AM
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      What's this?

    enthusiasticsaver
    There is a premium on brand new houses so I would do a comparison on other 4 bed detached houses in the area before buying to make sure you are not overpaying. They told us when we bought our 4 bed detached house in Cornwall 30 years ago the fields behind us would not be built on. There is a massive housing estate there now . We still love the house and area though.
    Debt free and mortgage free and early retiree. Living the dream

    I'm a Board Guide on the Debt-Free Wannabe, Mortgages and Endowments, Banking and Budgeting boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Any views are mine and not the official line of moneysavingexpert.com. Pease remember, board guides don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com

    Sorry!

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    • By Storm89 9th Apr 18, 7:32 AM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    Wow that must have been annoying when they built the housing estate ! It's good you still like the area though. We are in a new build at the moment we really liked choosing our own kitchen and bathroom etc. I've had a look at 4 beds on our estate (we quite like the estate we are on because we have a doctor's surgery and a little Sainsbury's etc) but they are a similar price to the new builds around the corner , some are around 30k more. I'm hoping to haggle a bit as well when we do buy anyway. The thing with buying second hand houses is we would have to spend more doing it up or changing things when with a new build you choose all that at the start. I would love an old Victorian terrace as well though, with minton tiles in the hallway lol. I'm looking forward to being debt free and being able to weigh up my options over which house to buy , hopefully it'll fly by.

    Back to school for my son this morning, then we're off to do the shopping and have a huge clean up in the house after the kids being off for Easter. It'll be good to get back into a routine.

    Sorry!

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    • By kerron7 9th Apr 18, 7:49 AM
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      What's this?

    kerron7
    I can wait till we are in a position to buy our own house. A few years to go though yet.

    Another week off here still, good luck with the clear up.
    25.02.17 - £20,810.73
    03.06.17 - £19,222.94
    05.04.18 - £18,118.08

    Emergency Fund - £1/£500

    Sorry!

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    • By Storm89 9th Apr 18, 8:09 AM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    Thanks kerron, you'll get there . Once you're on the property ladder you feel so much better , our mortgage is less than our rent was 8 years ago which is crazy.
    Enjoy your extra week off - my kids had 2 weeks but must have broken up the week before you did. We are on countdown for May half term now !

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    • By Mumoffourkids 9th Apr 18, 8:12 AM
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      What's this?

    Mumoffourkids
    I can't wait to be on the property ladder again as well. I keep looking at houses even though I don't actually have the deposit saved up yet! If I go the shared ownership route, I will end up with a new build. I have had two new builds before and it is lovely knowing you are the first to live in a house. Although I prefer older houses as they tend to have bigger rooms and bigger gardens!

    I would keep looking at the four bed new vs old prices as well Storm and see what happens. But its such an amazing thing to aim for!
    Total debt Dec 2017 £23090.83
    Mar 2018 £6247.86 72.94% paid
    Emergency fund £472.50/£600
    Total Savings £1704.02

    Sorry!

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    • By Storm89 9th Apr 18, 8:29 AM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    There are pros and cons aren't there to new builds and older houses. I'm always looking too even when we weren't going to move house haha it's a fun pastime .

    Sorry!

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    • By Storm89 10th Apr 18, 7:39 AM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    Oh my goodness I really overspent on the shopping yesterday ... over £100 and I had budgeted £75 a week. I did only spend £60 something the week before so hopefully it will even out over the month.
    We are back into the swing of things with the kids being back at school. I don't have much else to report but hope everyone else is doing well

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    • By Storm89 11th Apr 18, 8:32 AM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    The mattress arrived yesterday and it's fantastic , feels so much better . I can't get another one for the top bunk because it's too heavy for it. I might try and move bedrooms around so they can have a room each but we're so cramped I don't think we can. My daughter ended up falling out of bed last night with the new mattress and coming into ours . The bed guard isn't high enough for the new mattress so I put her old one on the floor incase she rolled off. Hopefully she will get used to it and eventually stop falling out.
    My finances aren't looking as good as I would like but I had a fabulous March so I won't dwell on it. The main thing to me is paying the debt down £500 a month, managing to save for center Parcs, very, Xmas etc & anything else left for general savings is a bonus. Being able to buy a mattress and not think "where is the money going to come from?" Shows I'm not where I was last year with splurging money on rubbish & adding to the debt every month to pay it off the next & the cycle continuing.
    We've decided once the savings have reached £1k we are going to overpay the debt. Originally we wanted to keep putting it into savings and pay off a chunk in October for when the Sainsbury's 0% is up but DH said psychologically , seeing the debt go down will feel better than seeing savings going up (because they'd have to go on the debt anyway). Feeling quite rambly today haha.

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    • By JoJoC 11th Apr 18, 11:31 AM
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      What's this?

    JoJoC
    Hey Storm, I've not been around much lately (busy, busy!) but I'm still reading your diary!

    Glad the new mattress is good - taking that chance saved you a fair bit of money and you're happy with the quality so it's a win-win.

    I think it's fair to be weighing up the options regarding paying the debt down. Whichever way you do it, the debt will be going down so I think whatever works for you and your husband to keep the momentum and motivation.

    Hope your DD manages to stay in bed tonight!
    CC1: £4601.14/ £5031.14 (10% paid off, £480) | CC2:£3407/ £3807 (12% paid off, £450) | Loan: £10,788.72/ £15,000((28% paid off, £4211.28))

    July debt total: £23,838.14 | New debt total: £18,796.86 | Total debt paid: £5,141.28 (22%)
    *My debt busting and savings diary*

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    • By Storm89 11th Apr 18, 7:50 PM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    Thanks jojo it's all the same in the end whichever way we do it isn't it. Hope you're keeping well .

    Sorry!

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    • By Mumoffourkids 11th Apr 18, 8:07 PM
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      What's this?

    Mumoffourkids
    I go through phases of trying to decide what to do with any extra money I get. Sometimes I want to pay it off the debt and sometimes I want to save it! It's a hard decision to make!

    I like your idea of getting to £1000 emergency fund and then putting towards debt though. I think once I have got the holiday spending money saved for our May holiday then I will try to save some money to pay off the debt earlier!

    It's so hard though because I know that I will be able to pay off the debts by October but I would like to pay them off sooner. But then I also want to pay for holidays and save towards a house! I'm a bit impatient!
    Total debt Dec 2017 £23090.83
    Mar 2018 £6247.86 72.94% paid
    Emergency fund £472.50/£600
    Total Savings £1704.02

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    • By Storm89 12th Apr 18, 3:43 PM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    Mumoffour this is exactly how I feel and the cycle I go through haha.

    She fell out of bed again last night ,I'm thinking it will take about a week to get used to it and if I'm honest I quite like the middle of the night snuggles when she gets into our bed - she won't be little forever. Still haven't paid the subs for beavers so that's an additional £15 that will go out tonight that wasn't really budgeted for. At this rate I'll be lucky to save anything at the end of the month on top of my essential pots . Still freezing cold here and rainy , hope we all get some sunshine soon.

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    • By Storm89 13th Apr 18, 11:08 AM
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      What's this?

    Storm89
    Bed situation - she slept all through but DS nearly tripped over her when he got off the top bunk because she was sleeping on the mattress on the floor haha she obviously rolled onto it and stayed asleep. I do think she will get used to it though eventually.
    We've (well DH) spent £10 today on new bowls and cutlery which I don't think we really needed but it's done now. I just noticed it pop up on my online banking after I had sent him out to get bin liners - I thought they're pretty expensive bin liners until he came home with the bowls etc. Haven't had anymore debt payments go out yet .
    My steam iron has broken (again) and I am insured so can get it fixed easily. My only problem is actually doing the ironing whilst it's off being fixed. I'm going to empty the basking today and then call them in the hopes it won't take too long.

    Sorry!

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