I'm absolutely not showing off and I'm so sorry to all those struggling at the moment. I'm posting this as something for me to look at over the next twelve months, every time I have the urge to spend money on nonsense.
I have been dragging a pile of debt around with me for years, transferring it from one card to another, paying a bit off and then spending it again. For years my dh and I were short at the end of every month. We were crippled by nursery fees and car payments and I just don't know what. It was easy to use cards to top things up, PayPal credit, a Next account for clothes.
I have now worked out the maximum I can afford on my remaining debt and worked out that if I stick to it I can pay off my two biggest debts in 12 months. I can then use the money I save on those to pay off the rest.
If I am strict and careful I can be debt-free within 14- 15 months. This is mind-blowing and I so desperately want to do it.
Every time I think I need something new I am going to look at this message and ask myself 'Is it worth it?'.
This is all my own debt, my dh is really sensible with money and I have accrued this, not secretly, but totally on my own. Takeaways when he is away or working late and I can't be bothered to cook, 'oh I love that' when I know I can't afford it and don't need it. Spending money I don't have had become a habit and I could always find a way to justify it to myself.
It stops NOW!
I want to be free of this and I can be.