Clawing my way out of debt!

A question about : Clawing my way out of debt!

Hi money-savers! I recently posted about how I'm trying to sort my finances and was so touched by the kind, helpful responses I received. I've decided to start a diary in the hope of keeping myself motivated.

I'll try to post on other people's but I also need to be careful with my time. If I spend lots of time here I might kid myself I'm saving money while not getting any freelance work done. I'm freelance and also studying part-time to retrain in something that will ultimately be better-paid.

I'm currently feeling really angry with myself. A few years ago I had some decent savings. They've gradually gone. On some worthwhile or necessary things: living expenses, tuition fees, dental treatment, counselling which has helped me hugely. And some of it went on rubbish.

For ages I have been over-spending, buying things for all the wrong reasons. So I have ended up in debt. And I can't stop torturing myself with thoughts of what I could do if I still had my savings.

In my mid 20s I worked hard to become debt-free, saved and saved. Then I got to my 30s and blew it.

I don't know how to get over it, how to grieve for this money or rather the life I imagine I could have now if I had been more careful. I need to let it go. It's hard.

My husband earns enough to exceed the tax credits threshold but not enough to support me while I retrain. It's not a luxury or an indulgence; I work in an industry that is disappearing and need to get my lifeboat sorted.

The good news is that my debt is not problem debt. I have a good credit rating and my debt is spread between a fixed rate personal loan and credit card debt that I just moved to new deals, it's 0% until mid 2017. So nothing is going up.

I originally planned to pay the minimum amount and save towards the rest as the balances aren't growing. However I would like less hanging over me so I will try to clear some of it sooner if I can.

Best answers:

• CURRENT DEBT
  First Direct personal loan, Ј7,443.08
  Repayments: Ј101.96 per month
  Ends Feb 2021
  No penalty for partial early repayments
  Fluid credit card, Ј4,755.79
  Repayments: 1% per month
  0% deal ends mid 2017 (need to check exact month)
  Halifax credit card, Ј2,446.25
  Repayments: 1% per month
  0% deal also ends mid 2017 (need to check exact month)
  Ikano bank loan, Ј263.20
  (This was interest-free credit used to buy two sofas)
  Repayments: Ј30 per month
  Ends Nov 2021
  Total debt: Ј14,908.32
  Of which credit cards: Ј7,202.04
  CURRENT INCOME
  I am self-employed and my income fluctuates. It depends what work I get and also some clients pay more quickly than others. I usually earn about 20-23k gross.
  Work billed for so far this year:
  January: Ј1,350
  February: Ј2,452
  Payments received so far this year, mostly for work done in 2014:
  January: Ј187
  February: Ј891
  This is an extreme example. It's normally more steady than this with money coming in in regular dribs and drabs. I hit a black spot in early 2015 and it's been a good thing as it's forced me to look really carefully at my finances and what I'm spending.
  I can't get people to pay more quickly. I'm in an industry where I kind of have to take it or leave it - my clients pay, just not quickly. I'm looking forward to getting out of it, but studying part-time means I have less time to earn money. I'm going to be studying for the next 2-3 years but can start earning money from my new profession in a trainee capacity before I qualify. I can't do it quicker and it will be worth it in the end hopefully.
  I am in some good habits. I never let my current account go under Ј300 ever, for example. I just need to cut spending, scrimp and save more.
  CURRENT MONTHLY OUTGOINGS
  Rent & bills: Ј550 into our joint account covers my share
  Personal loan: Ј101.96
  Sofa loan: Ј30 (I pay this, my husband pays more towards groceries)
  Mobile phone: Ј33
  Contents insurance: Ј10.43 (I pay this, my husband pays the TV license, never got round to moving them to joint)
  Credit card repayments: Ј72 in February (minimum payment only, will make bigger payments ad hoc)
  Contact lens plan: Ј12
  Netflix: Ј5.99 (going to cancel soon)
  Travel to college: Ј48
  Prescriptions: Ј8.05 (I'm taking an expensive medication and can only get one month prescribed at a time)
  Groceries: not sure what to budget for this
  I also need to save as much as possible towards tuition fees, debt payment, dentist, Christmas and other gifts, clothes and shoes, and occasional treats.
  My counselling is now being paid for by a family member. I can't access any other help from family.
• Current money saving strategies and cutbacks:
  - I have stopped buying books on my Kindle. I'm using it to read samples then getting books from the local library. I'll only buy books on it occasionally. (If I get desperate I'll sell it but I really don't want to.)
  - I have cancelled a weekly Graze box I was getting. I'm a bit gutted but don't think it was good value really.
  - Cancelling Netflix soon. I am wary of cutting back on all treats and nice things though so I'm going to see how it goes.
  - I made about Ј200 from ebay sales and trade-ins.
  - I've earned Ј6.75 from survey sites this week. I'm on a couple of really good ones but don't want to say which in case I'm not supposed to be on both!
  - I resisted the Groupon offer for Very.
  - I have stopped browsing online shopping sites and played iPhone games when I felt like shopping. (Ones that were free or that I already owned.)
  - Took my payment details off iTunes so I can't buy stuff!