A support thread for people paying off debt #2

[moneyworries9]

Hi all... hope you manage to find the thread?

The last one seemed to be such a success 😃 I will be honest and say that I haven't cleared as much as I would have liked but I know if I hadn't been on here, the debts would most likely have increased rather than decreased. I currently owe

£3,355 - loan
£1,600 - credit card

We do have some cash in our bank accounts. I'm in the process of paying for driving lessons so have about £1,000 in our current account, most of which is to cover that.

On the plus side, when I started the other thread, I had around £2,500 on my credit card and £3900 loan so I'm taking baby steps in the right direction.

The other thread was a huge source of support and motivation for me and I hope that this one will be for many others.

Feel free to give a quick summary to introduce yourself

Quick update
Cc1 1095
Cc2 2250
Total 3345
Going down very slowly

I’ve managed to pay some extra this month . I have to transfer a balance for a new deal soon so hoping to get it down some more before I do
Cc1 2008
Cc2 1095
Total 3103

Hi everyone, joining this for mutual support as hoping to pay off loans taken out for home improvements. I knew I would need the loans, so they were calculated & planned for, but I’m keen to pay them off as quickly as possible now the work has finished. Currently the amount owed stands at £22k.

I’ve calculated all my bills & allocated myself a small amount of spending money (e.g. birthday gifts for friends & family, plus think I’d get depressed if I couldn’t spend anything at all on enjoying myself every now & again!).

My aim is to keep the bank balance in my current account hovering at bills + spending money, and then anything leftover at the end of the month I’ll use to chip away at the debt.

I’m banning takeaways & coffees out - I have a coffee machine at home so every time I make myself one I pay off £3 of my loan for the amount I’ve saved! Plus have given myself a spending ban on any new clothes etc as I already have more than I need.

I’m also selling things on eBay / Facebook marketplace and have signed up to a babysitter site so I can earn a bit of extra cash on evenings when I didn’t have anything planned anyway (did my first sit this weekend just gone!).

My plan is to pay off the loans within two years…which is ambitious but hopefully doable! I don’t have any kids so thankfully it’s just me I need to think about.

Look forward to sharing my debt free journey on here. :)

Helloo my names Coteee and ive been daft!

This year I finally got rid of my debt and as soon as I got down, I rationalised using my credit card once....then it all went to pot.
Scared to look at the balance....I could kick myself.
Sat sorting through bank accounts to get everything in order.

Ive justified tbe continuing spending as, its ok because I need to get some work done on the house...that will require a loan and I can stick it all together, then when I remortgage in 18months or sell next year...ill pay it off.

I think my cc balance is prob the cost of the work needed doing to house or there abouts....so cross with myself

Hey everyone,

I've been around for a while but just taken out a £15k loan for a bee car. It's a fixed payment of £280 or thereabouts every month over 5 years. I'm hoping to pay an extra bit off every month and want to pay off the loan as quickly as possible. I don't have any other debt (other than a mortgage) and want to work towards being mortgage free after my loan is paid off!

Not a bee car - a new car. Stupid autocorrect!!

@Coteeee

Helloo my names Coteee and ive been daft!

This year I finally got rid of my debt and as soon as I got down, I rationalised using my credit card once....then it all went to pot.
Scared to look at the balance....I could kick myself.
Sat sorting through bank accounts to get everything in order.

Ive justified tbe continuing spending as, its ok because I need to get some work done on the house...that will require a loan and I can stick it all together, then when I remortgage in 18months or sell next year...ill pay it off.

I think my cc balance is prob the cost of the work needed doing to house or there abouts....so cross with myself

It’s so easy to do!!… I think you need to look at the amount 🙈

Oct update…

My CC1 rose to £540 last month due to DS’s birthday. I’ve just paid it off fully, but that then has a big impact on money I have left in the bank, so I’n guessing I’ll be eating in to this CC again by the end of Oct. It’s only 0% until Dec so I want to be totally weaned off it by then (hence paying it off fully despite not being able to afford it!) and then I want to cancel it. So far this month it is at £0 😀

CC2 £2721.11… It’s 0% for 25 more months so paying £100 off a month and hoping to have it fully paid off within the 0% period.

Hi everyone, how’s everybody doing ?
Coteeee this is exactly what scares me ! I can feel myself starting to relax lately as the balance isn’t quite as scary( although still way too much ) Ive just bought some clothes from a catalogue which I haven’t used in a couple of years , not a huge amount but I need to keep on top of it .
Update for today is
Cc11046
Cc2 1964
Total 3010

Hi all and welcome if you are new here

MsWalter, that's a nice long 0% and a good way to pay it off.

Coteee, it's difficult to face but it makes things easier when every penny is written down then you can work out a plan of how to tackle it. Many on here have found the snowball approach really works. Mine are 4 x similar amounts, however, so I pay off around £250 on each, every month.

This month, for me, after DP car repairs and no overtime, balance is now 22,800. A bit disappointing but hopefully soon it will be 21+ and I started with about 41+ so that's what I'm focusing on.

Cashoo, I should have added, that's a great plan you have. Well done for getting cracking. We have similar amounts and time spans for paying the debt off. Good luck.

Have transferred my balance from one card so now it’s all in one place . I’ve paid an extra £15 just to see it under £3000.
My balance is now £2995
We have had COVID in our house this month and I’ve spent a shocking amount on internet shopping , I really need to watch that.
Hope everyone’s ok

Well done Greying mum, I would rather have less places of debt too so would have done the same thing. Well done. Under 3k is fab.

Mine has come down again - £21,700.

Thank you everythingissoexpensive and well done to you too
Update of cc now 2897

Well done Greying.

Unfortunately, mine has gone up. School trips fees, car service and repairs, Christmas etc. 22900. Hopefully will keep this under the 23 for January.

Hello I have been reading the thread and previous ones. I currently have £9,385 of debt. Which I am so angry with myself about, as 2 years ago paid a lot off. I have just let it snowball again!

I have the following:

CC 1 3452 paying min payment
CC2 1262 paying min payment
Loan for dental work 1366 paying 341 a month interest free which is due to finish in April
Loan for new drive 2478 fixed amount, but once cash is freed up planning on paying extra
Very account 746 I pay the take 3 amount monthly but it doesn't seem to be going down!
Studio account 81 which I will pay in full when I get paid at the end of Dec.

I am trying to pay off the smaller debts first but honestly I don't seem to see the balances moving much. It is very disheartening. Although our car did have to have an alternator and new starter motor recently which is why the second credit card balance grew!

We do pay a lot in childcare monthly too but our eldest goes to high school in September so this will drop down soon.

My aim is to at least halve this debt by this time next year. Although I would hope that it is more likely 3/4 paid off!

Hi Mumof, welcome. It can feel like such a slog paying off debt. This time of year I find it's particularly hard but at the end of January, I try to be optimistic with monthly targets.

You have probably read on here how many found the snowball method really successful for them which is how you are tackling it - setting minimum payments on everything and paying off as much as possible on the debts in smallest size order

Wishing you all the best with reducing that balance. It does feel good to come on here, at the beginning of the month, if the number has reduced.

Hi to mumof3 and welcome
no update from me yet as I’m waiting for payday

Hi hope it's OK to join. I've got a DMP (debt management plan) with Payplan. I find it very helpful. It means the interest gets frozen and you only pay what you can afford. Which isn't very much with me as I'm on PIP/ESA for health conditions.

The negative is it does bring down your credit rating but only for a set time (think it is six years) and for me well, not getting more credit is probably a good thing in a way.

I would recommend Payplan for anyone looking to set up a DMP or for debt advice.

It feels a relief I have a set amount each month and so interest building up / late charges etc. It is possible to check online and see the amount going down etc and they deal with the creditros for you in terms of paperwork, you can message Payplan with any queries / concerns

Now I'm getting used to not using any cards anymore except by debit card which also has no overdraft so no charges there.

I'm finding it does make me think more about spending when it is not going on credit and going to keep this mindset of being mindful of every purchase made.

Good luck to everyone

Hi oranges and lemons
Finally an update on cc 2798 . The problem with having it all in one place now is I feel like I’m waiting ages to update
I had a small amount on a catalogue and have paid that off too ( but wasn’t added to my total )
Hope everyone is ok and looking forward to Christmas

Hi Oranges, welcome.

I don't know much about a DMP but it must feel like a great weight is lifted having the interest frozen so you know the balance can only go in one direction!.

Well done Greying - 100 off at this time of year is fantastic.

Yes, looking forward to Christmas. Wishing you all a happy and healthy Christmas.

Thanks for the welcome. I think the main thing which is helpful is having zero interest and paying a set amount each month, rather than several payments of varying amounts and interest added etc.

Similar to having a zero percent card transfer I guess.

I'm not using credit cards anymore just the debit card now. They advise a simple bank account and no overdraft or other cards, for a fresh start. Don't have an overdraft anyway.

It feels good not worrying about interest etc and spiralling amounts to pay off.

Best of luck to everyone over Christmas which can be a costly time of year.

Hi all, hope you don’t mind me joining!
It’s been a tough year as I was furloughed for the first 6 months and then maternity for the next! Hate to say it, but I’ve let debt spiral a bit
Received a scary letter from electric companies debt collectors and phoned this morning to put a payment plan in place. Unfortunately it’s more than I can afford before I return to work, but we will manage!

CC- 2092
Loans- 1566
OD- 1500
Other (car, store cards etc)- 1060

Total- 6218

I go back to work in March and plan to chip away at this like crazy. Hoping to have family support with childcare so we don’t have that extra expense.
I will be debt free by January 2023 💪🏻

Hi all, room for another one.

Been reading through the thread and feeling inspired seeing balances going down month by month.
Reviewing my own finances and I'm wanting to commit to really being able to sort out my debts and reach some sort of financial security.

Trying to pay off:
CC1 - £1138.76
CC2 - £775.85
Store 1 - £613.19
Store 2 - £138.12

Hoping to have store 2 cleared by March and then will snowball the balance into CC2. Store 1 is minimal interest and I'm paying boosted payments so its coming down nicely and should be cleared by the end of the year.

The biggest concern for me is that I have absolutely no savings pot, so hoping to really focus on putting some money away to start building this, especially as I have some additional dental work due that may need to go on the CC.

Hi to anyone new on here
Update today 2704 . Have now paid off just over half
Have also started a bit of savings so I have some put away for emergencies rather than use the credit card