Thread for supporting each other during debt repayment?

[Inforapenny2]

I’m not sure how successful this will be, I remember a thread quite some time ago where people would list their debt and encourage each other with paying it off. I’m hoping this can be one of those?

I’ll start. I have £6,500 on my credit card. Some of this belongs to my partner for a recent holiday we have booked. I want to have this at 0 by the end of the year, but that might be wishful thinking!

No other debt. Usually really good with money but I’ve let things spiral after some recent life events, diagnosed depression/anxiety. The debt doesn’t help! It is manageable though.

I am getting a bonus next week so I am hoping to pay off a small chunk then.

I will update every month. Anyone want to join?

@namechangeasimsoashamed thank you for sharing how an IVA works. As before, well done for tackling the issues and getting it resolved!

@SeasideRock i completely understand how you feel. It’s a vicious circle isn’t it. Every month when you make a repayment, you think about what you could do with that money instead. Yet you did spend the money… hence why it’s being paid off. That’s how I feel anyway.

thank you! I’m really pleased. Still a bit disappointed in that I won’t be in a position to repay that much going forward, it was only because of my bonus. But it’s still a dent either way.

@Inforapenny2 well done on paying off £800 🎉 that is a really good chunk! ☺️

please can I join?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been in debt. I was never taught about how to budget or save from my parents or anyone really. It doesn’t help that I am an impulsive spender!

To date, I have quite a significant amount to pay off.

loan @ 0% £3,050.00
CC 1: £3,130.00
CC 2: £1,287.00
CC 3: £390.00

Total: £7,827.00

It’s dcary writing that down and so so upsetting. I don’t have much to show for it either. I feel trapped and like I can’t breathe when I think about how stupid I have been all my life. I am determined to pay it off this time and be debt free by the time we re mortgage in 3 years. By Christmas, it should be at £6,027.00 🤞🏻

Well done @LoveMeNot6 for posting. It can be so hard seeing it written down… but I found that by doing that I became e aware of it and more determined to pay it off.

I’ve changed tack a like as I’ve seen some advice on here somewhere.

I currently have 0% cc, so have decided to pay the minimum for the term which is 25 months. But put what I was paying, which was £300 in to a high interest savings account. Then use this savings to pay the card off just before the term ends.

I’ll test it out for a couple months to see if I have the will power 🙈

@LoveMeNot6 of course you can join! Well done for writing it all down. How amazing that you’ll be down to £6,000 by Christmas - what a goal! Please make sure you check in as I’d love to hear your progress.

@oObyeOo thats interesting. Please let me know how that goes - I’m intrigued!

I agree that writing it down makes me feel more determined. It keeps me accountable!

Can I join??
Up till midnight tonight desperately trying to work out how I’m going to afford life. Shifted around £800 credit card debt onto a 0%, also got a loan to pay off for upcoming wedding (exciting, but expensive) and using a budget app to realise I just haven’t got any money to budget!! Please tell me any tricks for minimising weekly debit card spend? I think I’m going to take Apple Pay off my phone and start leaving my debit card at home!!
Goal is to pay off cc debt in one year, get some kind of control on my spending so I’m not getting into even more debt, BAN myself from catalogues (just paid off last Christmas!) and avoid going into my overdraft.
It’s so nice to realise I’m not on my own. We are really struggling on a household income of around £60k, both working full time plus overtime. Which seems like madness!!

@amandanorgaard please do join! So sorry to hear you’re struggling. I agree with removing Apple Pay and keeping your card at home. I think no spend days work really well. In my head I think I will then buy whatever it is that I want the following day but by the following day I realise I don’t need it / don’t want it, especially with little food items in between shops.

i think all your goals sound excellent. No point in getting into debt over one day, perhaps see if you can put a small amount to one side each month for Christmas now, even if it’s just £10.

It is tough isn’t it. On paper these salaries look excellent, but living is just so extortionate.

I got back from Greece today. It was a lovely holiday but it does mean that I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pay an extra £200 off the credit card before my next pay day.

i am still pleased that I paid off £800 though. I will try and pay off some more, even if just £50.

Can I join!! I've nearly 4k on cc. I am hoping to at least half it by the end of the year.

Few things I'm doing, surveys, through prolific. Made £70 in 3 weeks.
Have a look at the fun money club, it's free and lots of ideas.
We've rented out our drive, we are in a tourist town

And the extra boost, I'm working at the polling station for the election, that's nearly £200

Please can I join?
I’ve been paying off store card debt first, about 400 left.
3800 on a credit card (0%) and ~3200 on ikea finance (0%).

I got out of control and impulsive and am now reigning it back in.

I’m following the snowball method but the credit card first as it’s only 0% for 16 more months. I’ve deleted it from my life so I can’t use it.

My aim is to be debt free by January, so I can buy my next home next September onwards without these hanging over me.

I’ve massively cut my outgoings, it’s a struggle but I’m getting there. After September, I can pay 1250 a month towards debt / savings but for now I can only overpay around 150, as have been building my savings back up.

I am less concerned about the ikea finance which is across two plans, as one will be paid off in 9 months and the other 29 months regardless and this is and will remain 0%. The credit card and store cards however are very stressful.

I really struggle with living off a low budget so am treating it as transitional. Also selling what I can on eBay and Vinted. Also doing a bare minimum but essential reno of my flat (which I’m 18 months into).

One thing I’ve found helpful for controlling expenditure is supermarket vouchers. With blue light there’s also a discount off them.

@amandanorgaard you might need to have a month or two similar to mine. I had built up store card debt / credit card debt partly through living beyond my means. These months I’ve deleted credit cards so I can’t buy on them, banned myself from buying clothes or house things first hand, sold a load of stuff on eBay and Vinted and had to get tough with myself. Giving up/ limiting takeaways, buying lunches at work, buying coffee outside the house, meals out, basically my social life etc. I’ve found some of Dave Ramsey(with a pinch of salt) to be useful.

Leave your debit card and home after withdrawing a tenner, I’m terrible for tapping away but operating in cash / vouchers has helped me.

Hi all

just checking in and responding to previous posts after a hectic few weeks.

@trevthecat welcome! What a great goal. Your money earning/saving tips are great. It’s a long day working at the polling station isn’t it from what I’ve heard but for an extra £200… wow!

@Hdkatznahtw125sgh of course you can join! How are you doing towards the end of the month now? Some great tips you’ve got there. Can you please tell me more about supermarket vouchers?

Update from me. Terrible month. I obviously overpaid the cc this month by paying off £800 as I ended up spending a further £200 on it. So annoyed with myself but I suppose there is still a £600 dent.

I got paid this week so I’ve paid off a further £400. I’m really going to rein it in, I need to reduce the debt.

I was sitting up last night thinking/worrying about debt so glad to see this thread! I’m a single parent with a low income and have got myself into a right mess. I’ve been off work and on SSP due to mental health issues so I’m in an even worse position than I was before.

I’m behind on gas and electric and have some rent arrears although I’ve set up payment arrangements for both so that’s a step in the right direction. My council tax have gone done the road of arresting my wages for being two months behind. I was really upset and ashamed at first but they’re not actually taking a lot off and it doesn’t affect my credit rating so it is what it is for now.

I owe £250 on a credit card, £350 to Very and £650 to Next. I’m behind on all of them and my credit rating is now officially in the gutter. My plan is to start with the smallest and try to clear them off one at a time. I don’t have a lot of spare income but I’m hoping to have cleared cc and Very by the end of the year and make a start on Next.

By far the biggest thing hanging over me is an old car I got on finance that I had to hand back early. Stupidest thing I’ve ever done, they sold the car for much less than it was worth and I still owe £6750 on it. I’ve just been completely ignoring it and to be fair, they do the same to me but I would like to rebuild my credit rating in some way so I need to deal with it.

I’ve considered bankruptcy etc but as bad as things are just now, I feel like I can get out of them whereas bankruptcy would hang over me forever. Wish I could turn back the clock and not be so stupid with finances!

Morning all… end of the month for me and another £500 down. Still plodding along and chipping away. But, as I keep reminding myself, this means I will be free of credit card debt within the year, if I just keep going. Am still using my Starling account for most spending day to day which is really helpful. I’ve booked my car in for a service, safe in the knowledge that there is already a chunk of cash tucked away in a saving space to cover it which is nice. I’ve also managed to stash away a further 850 to cover extra spends across the school holidays.
Finally, I’ve been offered a bit of a pay rise. It works out to about an extra £220 a month, plus mileage, which will make a big difference. I think I’m going to put half towards the debt and enjoy some of it too. At the moment I am considering joining the leisure centre up to road from me… I think I’d use it pretty regularly.
Keep plodding on all!

@MessyNDepressy so sorry to hear that the worry is keeping you up at night. Starting with the smallest is a good idea, unless if one of the others is accruing interest, in which case I would definitely start with that one first. Just persevere - I know it’s easier said than done, but the debt will reduce and your credit score will get better.

So sorry to hear about the car, I have no advice about that but hopefully someone else will. Please don’t beat yourself up though, we all make mistakes. I’m trying to take the positives from it - I absolutely hate being in debt and will do my very best to avoid it in future, when this has been cleared.

@SeasideRock Well done on being £500 down! It sounds like you’ve got a plan, and a very positive one at that. Well done on your pay rise. Having half towards your debt and half as spending money is an excellent idea.

I have c. £6k left on mine. I thought I had spent £200 on it last month but it was closer to £300. Eeek. Still an improvement though.

I want to be at £5.5k by the end of the month. I really want to tackle it as quickly as possible, just so I don’t see an amount leaving my bank account every month for credit card repayments. I’m aiming to have it paid off by the end of the year, but that will be tight.

I don’t know how to edit my above message so I’m adding another post.

I should have also said, around £1.2k of the money on my credit card belongs to my partner. Not only am I going to have a very very low spend month this month to reduce my end of the debt, we are also trying to reduce the amount we spent from our joint account. We put a set amount in each to include enough for food shops and some treats at the end of the month, perhaps a couple of takeaways or meals out. But we are trying to reduce that expenditure from our joint account and use some of that money to tackle the credit card debt. So in theory, at the end of this month if I use £200 of joint account money, that works out as a £100 reduction each.

Joining in with this thread with my 7k of debt. I was working really well on getting it down then was made redudnant last summer, meaning I had to add £1200 to the debt to cover the bills. Got a new job, slightly better pay, better house, after 3 months, but I'm still catching up-was about to get that £1200 gone then my brakes went, a £500 bill 😑

Anyway at the end of July I get a bonus from work, it'll only be £600 after tax but it covers the last of that £1200. I also do matched betting, so my plan is all my profits from that each month will go off debt-£50 at a time to get my £250 overdraft gone, then I'll work on the smallest credit card. Do have all the credit cards at 0% so I'm not paying interest at least.

@Insidelaurashead welcome! We have a similar amount of debt.
So sorry to hear you were made redundant last summer and I’m glad things have improved for you now.
I know what you mean - just as you’re making progress, something comes up. But if we weren’t paying off the debt, and were paying that money into savings instead, we would have the savings to pay for the things that come up! It’s a catch 22.

Sounds like you’ve got an excellent plan. Please check in at the end of the month!

I got a good bonus and could easily pay off all my debt but we are just about to complete on buying our first home. There will be money left over but I really need to learn to drive due to the nature of the place we're moving to, and just because I need to bloody do it 😂 I think I'll get the move out the way as we will need bits for the new house and see what we have left over. Even if I can pay off a grand that's a good dent.

Firstly, Hello everyone who has joined since I joined. Debt can be so consuming but since posting on this thread, I have been holding myself accountable and know I have this thread to keep coming back to.

I have taken on extra shifts so that I can earn more to pay for all the things that I would put on a credit card ordinarily. While I am still really bad at budgeting (any tips would be appreciated) I haven’t put anything extra on a credit card since I first posted.
in fact, I have managed to pay off and close the CC with the least on it. ☺️

My debts currently stand at,

loan @ 0% £2,850.00
CC1: £2,939.00
CC2: £1,087.00
Totalling - £6,876.00

Which means I have paid off £981.00
It’s a good feeling seeing my numbers go down.

How is everyone else doing?

xx

I completely agree, it’s such a Catch22. You think you have more money at the end of paying in off a debt (I’ve been there many times) but it just ends up going else where.