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Original poster

Becoming debt free in 2018

448 replies

iammeegan · 16/12/2017 10:55

I've decided to make a plan to become debt free in 2018.
Money and debt give me terrible anxiety which means I bury my head in the sand and it's become out of control!
So starting in the new year and I'm going to stop spending and start paying everything off.
I would love some support and people to help motivate me.
I have already worked out that I can be debt free in 14 months with some serious cut backs and forward planning.
I'm currently on mat leave but will be returning to work in March which will allow me to pay off more each month

So would anyone like to join me?

OP posts:

amelb8 · 05/06/2018 22:04

Hi everyone - been reading this thread all evening and was hoping you might be able to offer some advice?

My debts have spiralled to around £10 since 2015 (was on a v low income at first, then moved to London and it just escalated, which I know I'm completely to blame for). My bank won't consolidate my debts (CCs and payday loans) but my company have told me to contact StepChange and see if they can. If they can't, should I take out a DMP?

I know it's going to take years to pay it all off but how do you cope with feelings of helplessness? Been feeling depressed to the point of suicidal in recent months, so am also on the waiting list for NHS conselling.

amelb8 · 05/06/2018 22:05

Obvs that should be £10k - I wish it was £10!!

Fluffycloudland77 · 07/06/2018 06:45

Have you contacted stepchange?

amelb8 · 07/06/2018 21:14

Hi @fluffycloudland77 - have contacted them this week but they said they don't do consolidation loans. Am seriously considering a DMP but wondering if I could save at the same time as making repayments as I need to save up a deposit to move to somewhere with cheaper rent...

Does anyone have any experience with DMPs? Anything I should be aware of before setting one up? Thanks in advance.

Fluffycloudland77 · 08/06/2018 11:12

It’s unlikely you’ll get a consolidation loan anywhere unless it’s a dodgy lender at 50%apr which long term would land you in more debt.

Stepchange or someone like Christians against poverty can help you negotiate with lenders. They’ll be able to explain all the options open to you and the longer term implications.

TalkinPeece · 08/06/2018 20:52

Welcome @amelb8
I have to say
)))))))) Consolidation loans (((((((((
Nasty smelly things

rather than bundling your debt up, break it down into bite size chunks
list each debt

amount due, interest rate , shittiness of lender, is it in use

all variable payment debt - switch to standing order all fixed rate debt - inform them that you are in difficulty but will service bank : ask them to convert overdraft into loan then get all lenders to freeze your limits

now pull the budget sheet from my spreadsheets thread and work out which money you do not need to be spending

with a bit of hard work, you can be debt free in three years with no credit file marks

twinkledag · 21/06/2018 15:48

Hi all

I am semi back on track.

Tomorrow is payday so back on it 100%.

I am owed around £100 in work expenses and DH is due around £600 in expenses! I am also due a pay rise so I can get back to seriously overpaying.

DH found an old account of his which had £1700 in it! So I am going to use it £1345 of it to pay down one card which is coming off it's 0% in a few days.

Still got a mountain over debt but chipping away at it!

Ta1kinpeace · 04/08/2018 17:25

Bump for the summer holiday crowd trying to keep money under control

twinkledag · 04/08/2018 17:40

I'm still chipping away!!

Ta1kinpeace · 04/08/2018 17:46

Well done you @twinkledag

Are the habits of living within your means getting easier ?

twinkledag · 04/08/2018 20:50

😝 No!

Although I would say I lives haven't changed THAT much, we're just more aware of where the cash goes how!

twinkledag · 04/08/2018 20:51

*now

I should've factored in buying all these drinks to keep cool in the budget 😂

KeynesianFem · 07/08/2018 22:34

There are good finance and budgeting apps out there, such as Money Dashboard, Onedox and www.adminbox.co.uk. They are good for helping you keep control of your household finances.

scaryteacher · 09/08/2018 15:17

Getting there - have just got rid of three of our credit cards, paid off completely, just one to go (sub £4k) and sub £50k on the mortgage at the beginning of next month. Now ds has finished uni and there are no more costs there, we can pay off the mortgage far earlier.

Am going to spend some money whilst dh is still working to make sure we are retirement proofed with towels and other exciting things like that before he retires at 58 next year.

perhapstomorrow · 09/08/2018 15:35

Just stumbled on this thread and have a quick question. My dh and I are just about to take out a loan in order to pay off our credit card debt. However, just seen some of you are doing this standing order trick. Which is better - getting a loan and thereby reducing our monthly payments or switching to standing order payments which means we are paying more per month but I assume we pay the debt back quicker???

Sorry if this has been mentioned before. I haven't had a chance to read all posts in this thread.

Ta1kinpeace · 09/08/2018 22:01

Standing order every time.
)))))))consolidation loans ((((((((
Nasty smelly things.
Set the standing order for what the loan repayments would have been and the debt will be gone in no time

perhapstomorrow · 10/08/2018 00:53

I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong with the spreadsheet but if I were to pay my current min payment on my credit card as a standing order it would take 8 years to clear. My interest rate in over 23%. I can get a loan at 2.89% and installments £50 less than the minimum amount and it would be paid back over 5 years.

Just wandering the reason behind not reccommending a loan to pay off cards.

QueenDoria · 10/08/2018 01:00

Useful hints everyone

dementedma · 10/08/2018 07:05

To respond to earlier poster we had DMP with Payplan and it was a life saver -literally. Took us 6 shitty years to get free but we did. Now only have 40K mortgage. We are in our mid 50s though so that's still a worry. I have one cc for work as I travel a lot but pay it off each month when I get my work expenses. I even manage to save a small amount each month now into a credit union account.I recommend them. Good for low interest loans if you are really stuck

twinkledag · 10/08/2018 14:29

@perhapstomorrow can you transfer the balance on to a 0% card?

Notreallyhappy · 10/08/2018 16:26

perhaps you may need to snowball your cards... put them in order with the highest interest first...we the others at just above minimum on a standing order and throw the rest of the money at the high rate card..when this is paid put that money at the next card..until you get to 0.

Ta1kinpeace · 10/08/2018 17:08

Hi there, perhaps
I'm not sure what numbers you put in, but on a rate of 23.6% and the standard 5% / £5 minimum on the card
freezing at the current repayment clears the debt in 2 years 2 months
which is a lot less than five years

The other thing is that any extra borrowing you take out you'll be persuaded to "round up"

MummyShah369 · 02/01/2019 18:04

Its 2019 did it work?

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