misstara's debt diary 2014

A question about : misstara's debt diary 2014

Have been in debt for about 10 years (and been lurking on here for ages) but had kidded myself into thinking I was doing quite well - always making the minimum payments plus a little extra, occasional purchases on credit cards but generally plodding along ok.

Until last week I calculated that last year I managed to reduce my debt by Ј350 - yep that's Ј350 for the entire year which is roughly about the same amount that I pay towards my debts each month. Clearly I'm going to have to make some changes or be in debt forever!

Current debt stands at around Ј10,500, split over 2 credit cards with about Ј2000 on each and a loan with about Ј6,500 left to pay - will have to dig out statements to check exact figures.

I'm going to turn 30 later this year and the realisation that I have been in debt for the whole of my 20s is scary. I certainly don't want to be in this position in another 10 years!

So to start off my debt free journey, I have made a Ј3.00 payment towards one of my credit cards today - not much but at least its a start!

Best answers:

• Exact figures for debt: loan - Ј6409.78, cc1 - 1949.53 and cc2 - 2098.78, interest still needs to be added on for this month so this will rise a bit except cc2 which is interest free for another 20 months. Ideally I would like my total debt to be under Ј8000 by the end of the year. Think it is doable as long as I really focus.
  Had the day off work today, sat down with OH earlier and made a meal plan for the rest of the week. So Ј19.32 spent on food shopping.
• So a NSD today, mostly because I have no money until I get paid tomorrow but still good.
  Not done much today, gym this morning then made a pot of soup which will do my lunches for the next few days, then work.
  Looking forward to getting paid tomorrow to pay a wee bit off my debt!
• So payday today! I have two part time jobs, one paid weekly and the other monthly so got Ј117.78 from weekly paid job today.
  Paid Ј17.78 to cc1
  Spent Ј18 on a birthday present
  Spent Ј4.65 on eggs and veg at local market
  Put aside Ј20 for electricity bill (due in Feb)
  Put aside Ј10 towards wedding expenses (not my wedding!!)
  Leaving Ј45ish to do me until next Friday
  Will need around Ј10 for bus fares to work and going for lunch with a friend during the week, have budgeted Ј10 for that. Hopefully should not need much else so will put anything left by next Friday towards cc1.
  Over the past few years, a lot of my family and friends have got married and I have two this year. One is fairly local so shouldn't be too expensive but one is the other side of the country so will need probably Ј150-200 to pay for travel/accommodation.
• Hey misstara,
  Good luck on your journey. When are you planning to get debt free? I am also turning 30 this year (eeek scary scary thought) and would be amazing if I can ditch the debt before then.
• Hi Misstara,
  Sounds like you have a good plan in action.
  I am similar to you, but turning 40 next July and haved vowed to have killed off all or nearly all of the debt by then. (Fingers Crossed)
  Good luck, I have subscribed to your diary xx
• Hello Kei and StressedSteph. I'm aiming for dec 2016, think 3 years is doable! Good luck to you both. Would love to get rid of the debt before the 'big' birthday but not going to happen in 5 months!
  Quick update for yesterday as I was so tired after work I just crashed out and didn't post. Minimal spend yesterday: Ј3 to post birthday present and 50p on a baguette to go with my soup for lunch.
• Sorry Misstara I missed the bit where your birthday was in only 5 months. Wow would'nt that be nice to clear the debt by then, but completely impossible.
  Good cheap days yesterday of Ј3.50.
• Yeah would be nice but not going to happen! I quite often have days where I don't spend much but really really seem to struggle with NSDs so will try to improve this month.
  Am currently enjoying a well-deserved gin and tonic at home after having a busy weekend at work. Have tomorrow morning off so looking forward to my lie-in already!
  Spends for today are 6.43 in butchers and 4.96 on milk, sugar and bread.
• Hi misstara
  Best of luck with your debt free journey. I had roughly the same amount of debt (maybe a little more) in my mid-20s and I was determined to put myself in a better financial position by the time I was 30.
  It was a tough slog ended up (ended up selling my car and all sorts) but it was worth it as I managed to clear all the debt plus save a deposit for a house which i got in 2010.
  I'm much better with money now and I'll be starting my mfw journey as of next month
  DC
• Good luck on your journey
• Thanks DC and shinner! DC, reading about stories like yours on here gives me the motivation to finally become debt free.
  Well, lie-in this morning didn't happen as realised I had to take timesheets up to 2nd job so I get paid on Friday. However, since I was up early I have had a productive day so far - been to the gym, supermarket and done some cleaning/washing. Now just getting ready for work.
  Spends today: Ј1.99 on some thank you cards, Ј10.38 in supermarket and will spend Ј3.70 on bus fare later. Hopefully that will be it for the day!
• You become even more motivated once you start to see the debt decrease
  Just a quick thought - do you use the bus enough to warrant a weekly/monthly saver bus pass? If so, you might be able to save a little bit there
• Can't wait to see the debt decreasing! I tend to walk as much as I can and only get the bus if I finish late at night or if the weather is really bad so a bus pass wouldn't really save me any money unfortunately.
  Another NSD today so far so pleased with that. A night out planned with the girls tonight - was going to cancel but realise if I become a hermit to save money, it will just lead to a massive blow-out! So the plan is to go out and just have a couple of soft drinks so at least I'm being social. As an added bonus I won't spend my day off tomorrow hungover!
  In the last couple of days, I have had to throw out a pair of leggings, a pair of jeans and a pair of boots, all of which were just too tatty to wear anymore. Usually this would mean I would go and buy replacements even if it meant putting it on the credit card. However, I have more jeans, more boots and more leggings so its not the end of the world if I don't replace them straight away. I want to replace them but I don't need to! I just need to keep reminding myself of this and stay away from the credit card.
• Hi Tara,
  Well done on taking the first steps on your debt free journey! That's the hard bit done... it sounds silly but I'm actually enjoying NOT spending money! I'm enjoying tracking what I spend and I get a buzz from seeing the money I have leftover (perhaps I'm just a saddo- LOL!)
  Sounds like you're certainly going in the right direction. Can I ask if you have an order of priorities that you're going to tackle the debts in?
  Good luck on the journey - I'm going to subscribe to your thread so I can keep up x
• Had a lovely lunch with my friend today, cost 12 pounds (no idea why but pound sign does not seem to be working on my computer) so a little over budget but worth it. Had a bit of a chocolate craving today so 1 pound on chocolate and then 5.51 payment to cc1.
  Looking forward to getting my monthly wage on Friday so I can make a bigger payments off the debt.
• Hi Mistara,
  Me too, my payday is on Monday, first one of the year!
  Well done so far and good luck x