Debt Payment Progress

Debt Payment Progress Report 6 – 21/09/18

September 21, 2018

Every two weeks I will be sharing my debt payment progress report with you. I’ll share my new debt total and some of the things I have done to make this happen. It will help me record my journey and it will also help me to stay motivated!

Debt payment progress report – my new total!

As of September 21st 2018 my new debt total is £15,700.20 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

That means that in the last three weeks (I missed last weeks post and pushed it up seven days) I have paid off £122.25. It also means that the first £1000 is officially gone. I’ll celebrate it with a glass of wine and a boogy in the living room this evening!

My new total debt payment to date is now £1114.09, which I have calculated to equate to 6.6% of my debt total.

(I should note that I have paid in more than this, however some money has gone straight to interest)

My progress has been slow with my debt free journey since I last checked in. If you read my post about debt failures on Monday you will know I have slipped up over the last couple of weeks! In my haste to pay off as much debt as quickly as possible I forgot about the fact that I am due to pay my tax bill in January. You could say, I had my debt blinkers on.

Focus is of course good when you’re on a mission to become debt free. It is your greatest priority in life and you push to clear your total as soon as possible. This does however make it very easy to forget about irregular payments. Of course, this is why a budget is so important. Sinking funds are also a great way to combat any potential surprises and I’m starting one for next year’s tax bill so I’m not caught out again.

Thankfully I have realised my mistake in plenty of time and I now have three and a bit months to set my tax money aside, although it will slow down my debt payment and that’s frustrating. The important thing, as always, is that I keep moving in the right direction with my debt total, no matter how small the payments are.

You can find my previous reports here.

Debt Payment Progress Report 5 – 31/08/18

August 31, 2018

Debt payment progress report – my new total!

As of August 31st 2018 my new debt total is £15,822.45 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

Do you see that?! I’ve just smashed my way through the £16k point. I’m so so happy about this. Finally it feels like I’ve hit my first milestone. I’m really getting somewhere now! That also means that in the last two weeks I have paid off £273.40.

(I should note that I have paid in more than this, however some money has gone straight to interest)

My new total debt payment to date is now £991.84, which I have calculated to equate to 5.8% of my debt total.

As a result of my efforts to live more frugally and my increase in work load, this has been a very successful two weeks for my debt snowball. Even better, the high work load looks set to continue and so my efforts of paying off more each month will be possible for a while yet.

If you read my post about budgetting with an irregular income you will know that I naturally have financially strong months and financially slow months throughout the year. I expect to only pay off small amounts of money sometimes, but for now it looks like I don’t have to worry too much about that. The emergency fund always remains securely in place of course.

You can find my previous reports here.

Debt Payment Progress Report 4

August 17, 2018

Every two weeks I will be sharing my debt payment progress report with you. I’ll share my new debt total and all of the things I have done to make this happen. I think this is important for two reasons. It will help me record my journey and share with you what works and what doesn’t. It will also help me to stay motivated!

My new total!

As of August 17th 2018 my new debt total is £16,095.85 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

In the last two weeks I have paid off £147.75. It’s smaller progress than last week but look how close I am to getting under £16k! I will absolutely smash through that in the next two weeks. That makes me so happy.

(I should note that I have paid in more than this, however some money has gone straight to interest. This is why the numbers below are larger than the net amount that I have paid off. I have also been putting money into an emergency fund.)

My new total debt payment to date is now £718.44, which I have calculated to equate to 4.2% of my debt total.

If you read Wednesday’s post you will know that I completed my emergency fund. That means two amazing things. Firstly, I am now officially in baby step 2. Secondly, all of my budget (following bills, expenses etc) will now be directed at my debt. The debt snowball is well and truly underway. I’m excited to see my progress in another two weeks!

You can find my previous reports here:

Debt Payment Progress Report 3

August 3, 2018

My new total!

As of August 3rd 2018 my new debt total is £16,243.60 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

In the last two weeks I have paid off £248.72. This is £70 more than I paid off in my last progress report so I’m really really happy. After a slow start to my debt free journey I feel like I’m starting to get some traction.

My new total debt payment to date is now £571.32, which I have calculated to equate to 3.3% of my debt total.

How have I made this progress?

Quite simply, work has been far busier over the last two weeks. I have made a very small amount on ebay and Prolific Academic, I can’t complain, but 99% has come from work. I’m so grateful to be able to say this. After a very quiet June and July it is so nice to have a regular work flow again.

Reflections for the next two weeks

Now that I’m getting into the swing of things I just want to keep going. I’m building momentum between the increase in work, small side hustles and writing the blog. My speed is picking up and I’m really getting to grip with paying off my debts. The trick now is maintaining this momentum. If you have any tips for me do leave them in the comments below!

You can find my previous reports here:

Debt Payment Progress Report 2 – 20/07/18

July 20, 2018

My new total!

As of July 20th 2018 my new debt total is £16,492.32 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

In the last two weeks I have paid off a total of £170.71. At first when I worked this number out I was disappointed. It’s only slightly higher than my efforts last week and it’s such a small amount in comparison to my total. It’s still an amount though and that is what’s important! I’m still reducing my debt.

(I should note that I have paid in more than this, however some money has gone straight to interest, which is why the numbers below are larger than the net amount that I have paid off. I have also been putting money into an emergency fund.)

My new total debt payment to date is now £321.97, which I have calculated to equate to 1.9% of my debt total.

How have I made this progress?

As I am in the early stages of paying off debt I only use a handful of money making and money saving methods at the moment. It is a goal of mine to expand on these in the coming weeks. Here are the ones I have used this past fortnight:

freelance work – £225
prolific academic – £16
ebay sales – £22

Of course my main income method has been freelancing (I’ll talk about this more in a future post) and I have some good news; I’m getting busier again! I mentioned last week how quiet I had been and it was getting to the point of becoming a serious concern, however the work load is now returning to normal.

Projects are still being completed and invoices are still being processed so it will be another week or so before I start to see a little boost in my income but I know it’s coming and that’s what matters. I’m hoping I can may off a larger amount in time for my next debt payment progress report as a result!

Prolific Academic is an income that I have spoke about before so I won’t go into detail again. If you’d like to read more you can find my thoughts in this post here. I have a referral code if you fancy trying it out: click here. I receive a small kick amount of commission from your first withdrawal with no extra cost to you if you decide to use the link, thank you!

Reflections for the next two weeks

I definitely need to stop putting myself down if my total payment for the fortnight seems small. The important thing is that I am making progress. The process of updating you with each progress report is definitely helping my motivation and reminding me that my debt total is getting smaller and that is what matters!

You can find my previous reports here:

Can survey sites and Ebay sales really pay off my debt?

July 9, 2018

If, like me, you have a pile of debt that you are looking to get rid of you have no doubt started the hunt for new ways to make money that will allow you to pay off your debt as soon as possible. You want it gone and you need ideas.

So many money making blogs will provide you with an abundance of tips and tricks, from ensuring that you cancel all of your unwanted subscriptions to taking on six more jobs to earn those extra pennies. OK six might be an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Two suggestions that come up every time without fail are try survey sites and sell your unwanted things on Ebay. But can these really make you enough money to pay off your debt?

Can survey sites and Ebay sales really pay off my debt?

The short answer is, yes.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand why people question it. You’ve found a t-shirt you don’t wear much anymore and popped it online for a fiver. After fees and postage you’re left with enough to buy you a sausage roll if you’re lucky. Then you try a new surevy site and after getting chucked out ten times and earning 15p in the process you figure it’s not for you.

Here’s the thing. It’s about more than the odd t-shirt sale. You need to look past the initial frustration and see the bigger picture. Figure out which sites work for you with some trial and error. Once you click with one or two you’ll be off. Have a bit more patience with it and you will begin to see progress, I promise.

OK, what are my options?

When it comes to selling, there are loads! We all know of the old classic Ebay. It’s straighforward to use and has a huge customer base, so you know your listings have a good chance of selling! Girl on a Pension has written a great post filled with tips for new Ebay sellers.

Have you thought about using Facebook or newer apps like Shpock? Each one is definitely worth a bit of research, but from experience a good piece of furniture can be sold within the hour on Facebook marketplace as it is so accessible to so many people, whilst Shpock seems to really suit smaller items like clothing and shoes.

This post by Wotawoman Diary provides a great indepth look at online selling to get you started and the tips are transferable to all selling methods!

Spend some time researching your options and weigh up the fees and ease of use of each. Maybe put an item or two on each and see which you prefer. Once you have one you enjoy using you’ll be far more motivated to make the effort!

The same goes for survey sites. There are so many available now it’s mad and they are a great way to make money. From experience however, some are far better than others. My personal preference is Prolific Academic. I spoke about it before in this post. It’s easy to use, and once you’ve gone through all of the prescreening questions you’ll only be sent surveys that are relevant. That means you’ll never get kicked out, hallelujah! In the last month I have made just short of £50 with this site alone.

Commitment to the cause.

I apologise if this causes offence, I don’t mean to question the importance you give to your finances…however, having been through the stages of “debt’s normal” and “oh it’ll be fine” I do understand the feeling of not wanting to put in the extra effort for the sake of a couple of pounds. It feels like a lot of work when the payout maybe isn’t the highest.

It’s definitely important to consider just how important being debt free is to you. The harsh reality is that the more priority you give something, the more likely it is to happen. This is particularly true for debt as it is such a challenge to face and an unpleasant one at that. When you really want something, you’ll work for it. You’ll stop seeing frustrations and hurdles and start seeing opportunities.

The compound effect

This is the one simple detail that convinced me that survey sites and ebay can really pay off my debt. Lots of small things can add up to something incredible. This is called the compound effect.

The other day I made £3.27 from selling a top. I consider that a small amount of money. It could just about cover a coffee.

But then we take the more open minded perspective. If I were to make a sale like that every day of the year, that tiny amount becomes £1193.55. Now that’s a significant amount of money! What if I was to add to that £1 worth of survey earnings for each day of the year? Well that’s another £365, so the total is now £1558.55. Would that help you to pay off your debt? It would help me!

With this sort of progress comes motivation, and it is incredible what you can achieve when you’re motivated! Dave Ramsey (author of the Total Money Makeover) has a famous saying, “Sell so much stuff the kids think their next”. Your mindset shifts when you start to see results and you begin to see opportunities to make money everywhere.

Yes, survey sites and Ebay sales really can pay off my debt!

Keep it simple. Find what suits you, work at it, build momentum and then really watch the numbers grow!

Debt Payment Progress Report 1 – 06/07/18

July 6, 2018

My new total!

As of July 6th 2018 my new debt total is £16,662.42

That means I have made less than 1% progress so far. It is a tiny amount. A total of £151.87 in two weeks. But it is a step in the right direction! (I should note that I have paid in more than this, however some money has gone straight to interest, which is why the numbers below are larger than the net amount that I have paid off)

How have I made this progress?

As I am in the early stages of paying off debt I only use a handful of money making and money saving methods at the moment. Here are the ones I have used this past fortnight:

freelance work – £150
prolific academic – £38.95
ebay sales – £48

Of course my main income method has been freelancing. (I’ll talk about this more in a future post) I have to say though, this month has been incredibly quiet and my income has been far lower than normal. It makes me happy that I’ve been able to pay off so much, given the low income!

Prolific Academic is another income method that I have been using for a short while now and I love it. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Prolific Academic is a survey site that offers a good variety of well paid, interesting surveys.

The best bit in my opinion, is that they never chuck you out mid survey, which often happens on other sites and can be so frustrating. You have to go through so so many prescreening questions at first, but push through. This makes sure they send can you relevant surveys. The more questions you answer, the more surveys you’ll receive.

Some days ten surveys pop up, other days I’ll be lucky to have one. The key I’ve found is to keep the page open in a tab when I’m working and check on it every hour. I made £25 in one day last week alone!

I have a referral code if you fancy trying it out: click here. I receive a small kick amount of commission from your first withdrawal with no extra cost to you if you decide to use the link, thank you!

Reflections for the next two weeks

As you can see, my income making methods are few and far between at the moment. My goal for the next fortnight is to expand on these using new apps and websites so I’ll let you know how I get on. I’m also looking into new methods of saving money where I can. If you have any recommendations, do comment them below!

This post may contain affiliate links

Debt Payment Progress – The Starting Point

June 25, 2018

This is the point where I hold my breath and lay all my cards out on the table for you to see. I find this terrifying, but it has to be done. The debt payment progress record starts here. This is my starting point:

Debt Payment Progress

With each update I share I will be keeping a debt payment progress. As I am at the beginning of my recorded journey I am currently at the 0% mark. This is difficult to admit as I have been making minimum payments for a while, however due to interest my total still remains around the same. The reality isn’t nice, but I have to start somewhere.

Breakdown of debt

My debt is made up of four different things: two bank loans and two credit cards. I have very recently paid off an overdraft of £500. I do also have a student loan of £9000, however I won’t be counting this for now. The debts are listed here from highest to lowest and I’ll be tackling them in the opposite order. The debt snowball is the method that I will be using. I have read up on this before, but I’ll be looking into in more detail so I can use it effectively!

Bank Loan One £7524.85 – 44% of total debt

Bank Loan Two £6003.42 – 35% of total debt

Credit Card One £2700 – 17% of total debt

Credit Card Two £586.02 – 4% of total debt

Income Streams

Whilst I am constantly jotting down notes filled with ideas for businesses and money making methods I currently only have one. I am a freelancer specialising in architectural drawing and I work from home. I make anywhere from £500 to £2000 on average per month at the moment. This fluctuates regularly due to the nature of the work.

Beyond this, I spend small amounts of time using platforms such as Prolific Academic. This method earns me a small amount each month and it is great for a small extra boost to my monthly total! You can read about prolific academic in more depth here.

A further income stream I am very keen to explore through this blog is passive income. This is an avenue I have briefly explored in the past and I would love to give it more time and consideration. The key point is that I need to diversify my income by finding further ways to make money.

Methods of Saving

Due to my terrible spending habits I do not currently have a routine for saving money, nor any goals for that matter. This needs to change and I will be working on this from day one.

If you have any thoughts, I would love to hear them!

This post may contain affiliate links.