debt

5 Great Tools to Use on Your Debt Free Journey

June 21, 2019

When you are on your debt free journey it is important to have some support around you, both practical and emotional, in one form or another. Whether you find it in family and friends, books or through an online community, having support in place will ensure that you stay on track and achieve your financial goals. Here are 5 great tools to use on your debt free journey.

The Total Money Makeover Book

The Total Money Makeover is a book that I have spoken about on a number of occasions before and one that I will always recommend to anyone on a financial journey. It is the first of the great tools to use on your debt free journey. Dave Ramsey’s book takes you through a number of steps designed to help you get out of debt, secure your finances and plan for the future. Whether you are at the very beginning and in need of someone to hold your hand or you are well on your way to becoming financially free, this book can help you.

Dave also has a Youtube channel where he shares snippets of his radio show as well as many great advice videos. These are fantastic to listen to as they allow you to hear stories from others in the same position. The comfort of knowing that you’re not the only person in your situation is invaluable.

The Debt Free Community

When you find yourself faced with a mountain of debt and feel like there is no way out it can be incredibly lonely. Most people don’t talk openly about money and it can be very isolating. Thankfully there is an entire community online that speak openly about their money troubles and the steps they are taking to become debt free.

Predominantly found on Instagram, the Debt Free Community can be found by searching #debtfreecommunity. Many accounts even choose to share their financial figures openly. This is not only reassuring but motivational. Watching others make progress, whatever speed they are moving at, encourages you to be honest with yourself and motivates you to do something about your own debt.

A Physical Budget

It goes without saying that if you want to make a difference to your money habits and clear your debt you are going to need a budget. This is possibly the most important of all the great tools to use on your debt free journey. Whether it is something simple that helps you to keep track of your income and outgoings, or an in depth system such as the zero based budget that Dave Ramsey promotes, knowing exactly what you have and where it is going is the only way to take control of your finances.

There are so many different budgeting systems available. Personally I prefer to put pen to paper and write out my budget by hand each month. It forces me to think about each item that I’m writing down and allows me to be very conscious of the money that I’m bringing in and the money that I’m spending. There are a variety of paper money planners available, but I like to use this one.

The Cash Envelope System

Setting up your budget can really help you to handle your money well but sometimes we need to take things one step further. It is great to have the intention of managing your money as you should using your bank account and bank cards but if you struggle to stick to your plan, using cash envelopes may be a great additional tool for you.

The cash envelope system is something I’ve written about before. At the beginning of each week or month cash is withdrawn and placed in envelopes allocated for specific expenses in your budget. One might be for food shopping and another for filling your car with fuel for example. Having your budgeted amount in a physical capacity will help you to stick to spending that amount only and stay on track with your finances.

A Simple Saving Method

Whilst the main focus of your debt free journey will be paying down the money you owe, it is also really important to have a good savings method in place. Whether you are pulling together your emergency fund or preparing for upcoming costs, having money set aside will help you to avoid getting further into debt.

There are a number of approaches you might take but when money is tight I find that it helps to keep things simple. My favourites are skimming for digital saving and keeping a jar in the kitchen for loose change.

Different tools and forms of support work for different people. The important thing is to explore them and find something that suits you. Facing a debt mountain is hard, but when you have the right people around you and a good method of tackling your finances your debt journey becomes far more manageable.

The UK Version of the Baby Steps

January 29, 2019

Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover is a book I have spoken about many times before. His debt payment process of using the Baby Steps is an absolute favourite amongst the debt free community and it has helped many people across the world to become financially free. It is however aimed at financial practices and products in America. The tips can therefore be a little hard to navigate if, like me, you are based in the UK. Here is my guide to the UK version of the Baby Steps.

Please remember to make sure that all minimum payments are being paid no matter what stage you are in your debt free journey.

Baby Step Zero – You Need a Budget

The very first and arguably most important baby step is to set up a budget. It will be impossible to take control of your money without first understanding where it is coming from and where it is going. Sit down on your own, with your partner or with your family and get to grips with every single penny that travels through your bank account and your pockets. Make a note of everything, long forgotten subscriptions and all!

Once you have an understanding of your current situation you can then begin to tell your money where to go. Beginning with the large payments such as rent or mortgage, bills and so on, all the way down to the £1 you pay on a Sunday morning for the paper, begin to track everything that you will be spending your money on and remove anything you no longer need/want/require.

In order to be strict you have to give every penny of your income a job. Don’t be tempted to put rough amounts into your budget or leave a “just-in-case” amount at the end. If there is something left over once all expenses are paid then that can begin to contribute to baby steps one and two and can be labelled accordingly. This method is called zero based budgeting. You can read a great article on it here.

Baby Step One – Emergency Fund

With a budget in place we now need to put a small financial buffer in place. It is time to save your emergency fund of £1000. I’ve written a full blog post about it here which explains the concept in detail. In summary, you want to save a pot of money as quickly as possible and store it in a safe but easy to access place such as a instant access savings account. Dave recommends saving £1000.

Your emergency fund is to be used only for emergencies and you have to be strict with this. It is not for shopping or booking a holiday because the funds haven’t quite arrived in your bank account yet. It is for things like a boiler breakdown or unexpected car repairs for a vehicle that you can’t live or function without.

If you do have to use your emergency fund don’t be disheartened. It has saved you from having to borrow even more money and should make you feel stronger financially. It’s not a set back! Once the emergency is handled top your fund back up as quickly as possible.

Baby Step Two – the Debt Snowball

Once your emergency fund is securely in place it’s time to put all of your focus on your debt. There are many different approaches to this, however the method that myself and the baby steps follow is the debt snowball. To begin with, compile a list of every single debt that you have. This can be a very challenging task if you have been hiding from your total but please do take the time to do it.

Now that you have your full list of debts, order them from smallest to largest. This is the order in which you will attack them. With all minimum payments already being covered it’s time to look at our budget and that “left over” amount that you uncovered at the end. Whether it is £1 or £1000, this is the money you are going to use to get rid of this debt once and for all. Let’s say for example that we have £100 left over in our budget.

To begin with you might have something that looks like this:

Debt 1 = £1500 minimum payment = £57 +£100 “left over”
Debt 2 = £2700 minimum payment = £88
Debt 3 = £3600 minimum payment = £121

Paying the minimum amounts only on Debt 1, it would take you over 26 months to clear the total and that is without interest. Increase this to £157 however and this debt will be cleared in 10 months. Much better!

Now we snowball this amount and add £157 (minimum payment of debt 1 + “left over”) and throw it at Debt 2. Of course debts 2 and 3 would have reduced by a small amount each with minimum payments, but this is just to show the method.

Debt 1 = cleared
Debt 2 = £2700 minimum payment = £88 + £157
Debt 3 = £3600 minimum payment = £121

Paying the minimum amount only on Debt 2, it would take 31 months to clear the total. With the added help of the £157 snowball it would take only 11 months!

You see where I’m going with this? Let’s snowball the payments from Debt 2 and throw them at Debt 3. Now, instead of paying £121 to Debt 3 each month you’ll pay a whopping £366 instead.

Debt 1 = cleared
Debt 2 = cleared
Debt 3 = £3600 minimum payment £121 + £245

With the minimum payments only it would have taken 30 months two clear your third debt. With the snowball method it will take you only 10 months.

This example is based on debts which have no interest to attached to them and each individual situation will be unique, however the principles to follow never change. Use the same approach and you will clear your debts far sooner than you once thought possible!

Baby Step Three – Your Full Emergency Fund

To begin with you set up a small emergency fund to give you a bit of a safety barrier against the unexpected costs that life likes to throw at us. Whilst it can be really helpful and reassuring to have, £1000 won’t last you too long if something like redundancy or long term illness was to occur. This is where the full emergency fund comes in.

Now that every penny of your debt is cleared (YAY), turn your focus to saving 3 – 6 months worth of expenses. To keep things simple you might choose to use the snowball amount that you have been throwing at your debt and put it straight into savings instead. The amount you save is an entirely personal choice based on your own circumstances. The main objective is to have enough stored away so that should something unfortunate occur, borrowing money doesn’t even cross your mind.

Baby Step Four – Invest

With your debt paid off and a healthy emergency fund in place it is time to think about the future. No matter your age it is incredibly important to put long term savings in place for your retirement and the sooner you can do this the better.

Whether you have a work place pension in place, investment in stocks, a lifetime ISA or a combination of different investments it is key to find something that will grow well and remain secure over a long period of time. I don’t personally have the knowledge and experience to be able to advise the best approach to long term savings and investments. Research into the options that will suit you personally is the best way to begin.

Baby Step Five – Saving for Family

In the American baby steps this stage focuses purely on saving for university funding. In the UK we are lucky not to have the same fees involved in further education, although it does still cost a lot of money. There are many stages of life that are costly however and if you have a family you may decide to save money in order to help them out with things like university, wedding and first home expenses in the future.

As with investing, this is a very personal step unique to each individual and so it is best to do your own research.

Baby Step Six – Paying off Your Mortgage

If you are a home owner then you will most likely still have one debt left; you mortgage. Whilst it is considered a “normal” debt as few people have the money to buy a house outright, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t aim to pay off your mortgage early.

In the UK it is possible to overpay your mortgage by 10% each year without penalty. I took a quick look at a mortgage calculator to see what impact that might have on my own mortgage for perspective. If I was to overpay as much as I could each year I would be able to pay my mortgage of 8 years sooner than anticipated. 8 years! The thought of being able to liver mortgage and debt free, with only a handful of bills to pay is incredible.

If you currently rent your home, this is stage where you would look to save a large deposit in preparation to buy and then progress with paying off your mortgage as soon as possible.

Baby Step Seven – Build Wealth and Give

You may wonder what there is left to do now that every penny of debt has been cleared and you have strong savings in place. Baby step seven is the stage where true financial freedom is achieved. You now have the ability to grow your wealth and give. After years of working hard to reduce the burden of debt and grow your security you can enjoy your money and share it.

Some would argue that you should “give back” throughout your financial journey, no matter which stage you are at. Whether it is donating to charity, giving back to your community or giving to your church for example. Once again this is a very personal decision.

If you haven’t yet read Dave’s book I highly recommend you do. Whilst knowing these fundamental steps is key to the process, the stories and advice shared throughout the book are also invaluable! You can find it here on Amazon. (I’d like to note that this is an affiliate link. There will be no extra charge added to your order, but Amazon send me a small commission as a thank you.)

Do you implement Dave’s steps currently? If not, do you think you will begin to in the future? I would love to hear your thought in the comments below!

Debt Payment Progress Report 13 – 25/01/19

January 25, 2019

Every two weeks I share my debt payment progress report with you. I post my new debt total and some of my money making efforts. It can be so easy to get caught up in the day to day payments, especially when my total is going down slowly. These reports help me to record my journey and stay motivated as I look back over the progress I’ve made so far!

My new total!

As of January 25th 2019 my new debt total is £14,272.74 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

That means that since I last updated you about a month ago I have paid off £163.13. My new total debt payment to date is now £2541.55, which I have calculated to equate to 15% of my debt total. (I should note that I have paid in more than this, however some money has gone straight to interest). The following debts now remain:

Loan One £6399.46
Loan Two £5579.92
Credit Card One £0
Credit Card Two £2293.36

I feel like there isn’t too much to report on this week, but in a way that’s a good thing. After a very slow November and December work has picked up a bit and so most days have been spent freelancing. There hasn’t been much time left on the side for any surveys and the like, but freelancing pays more so I’m not complaining at all. I’m not quite breaking any income records but it is far more consistent than it was before Christmas so I’m really happy.

This year I’d really like to increase my income in order to allow me to pay more debt off each month (and of course enjoy more when the debt is gone!). On quieter days I’ve been spending a few hours contacting potential new clients via email and have had a handful of responses. I know from past emails that many of these will come to nothing, however two look very promising so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Going into February I have a few big expenses coming up which have the potential to dent my debt payments a bit, but all going well I will have some new clients sending work over which will help to counteract them. I don’t want to jinx anything just yet, but I’m feeling really positive about the coming weeks and months. Excited to update you again in two weeks and see where I am!

You can find my previous reports here.

Failure can happen on your debt free journey and that’s OK

September 17, 2018

Whether it’s a blip or a major set back, failure can happen on your debt free journey. From using your credit card on something you know you shouldn’t have to needing to spend £1000 on your car repairs, it happens to all of us. The important thing is that you learn from it and ensure that you do everything you can so that it doesn’t happen to you again.

Reasons we fail on our debt free journey.

There are so many things that can make us feel like we have failed. From personal experience, lack of planning can be the most common cause. When you’re in the midst of throwing everything you earn at your debt payments it can be so easy to forget about extra costs in life. Of course, we’re all aware that birthdays, Christmas, Car MOTs and many other things cost money, but as they are not weekly or monthly costs we can often lose sight of them.

When I first began to face my debt this was something that caught me out on more than one occasion. With an irregular income from being self-employed and the desperation of trying to cover all of my bills and fees, I was often left short when it came to going out with friends or covering Christmas gifts. At my lowest point, I went to the ATM to withdraw £20 to cover a dinner, only to find I had -£35 in my account. I had forgotten about a bill that was due to be taken from my account on that day and there was nothing I could do about it.

Of course, this is not a mistake that only those in the early stages of their debt free journey make. Several months into my own I feel like I am on top of things. Then earlier this week I realised that in January my tax bill is due. I’ve been so focused on my debt free journey that I’d forgotten to ensure that money was set aside. Thankfully it is not a huge bill, just over £1000, and I will be able to save for it in time. Unfortunately I will need to slow down my debt payments until I have that money set aside as a result.

What can we do to avoid them?

Use an emergency fund.

If you’ve never heard of an emergency fund before, take a quick look at this post and then come back. Once you know and understand an emergency fund, it doesn’t need any more explanation. Have one in place and if an unplanned expense arises you will be ready to deal with it.

Use a budget and stick to it.

You need a budget. It’s as simple as that. At the beginning of each month, sit down with a calendar and get familiar with your money. Everyone in the family who contributes to the pot should be included. Know where your money is coming from and where it is going. What events do you have coming up? Are there any big expenses expected? Should you be saving a little extra than normal? Planning ahead this way will definitely save you from hitting crisis point.

If, like myself, you have an irregular income read my budget for irregular income post. When your income is uncertain it can be tough to prepare for unexpected outgoings. On top of my budget and emergency fund, I now keep a float of £500 in my current account. This helps me combat potential slow months and ensure my minimum payments can always be made.

Use sinking funds.

Sinking funds, no they have nothing to do with boats. They are essentially saving pots with names. Whether you choose to use separate accounts, have money jars in the kitchen or just keep a note of what is going where, the idea is simple. Instead of having general savings, allocate portions of your savings to specific things.

Let’s use the money jars as an example as often something physical is helpful. You might decide that over the next year you need to save for a family holiday, Christmas, birthday presents and car repairs. You allocate a jar to each of these and decide how much each will need. Now every time you put money into savings you divide it appropriately between the jars.

How does this help you avoid bumps in the road with your debt? It removes the surprise of irregular costs. You won’t be caught out by something unexpected arising because you already have a fund ready and waiting to cover it.

Track your spending.

Over the last couple of weeks I have started to track my spending whilst tracking no spend days. Each evening I make a note of all of the spends from that day and of course if there are none, it counts as a no spend day. This might sound ridiculously simple but it has had such a positive impact on my spending habits!

Within just a couple of days of starting my efforts were already having a positive impact. I managed to avoid going to the shops for snacks, picking up a few unnecessary items on amazon and getting a takeaway. As you are forcing yourself to be more conscious of where your money is going you take a second to consider it first. Try it and see what happens. Set yourself a challenge to have X number of no spend days in one month and see what impact it has!

Remember, failure does not mean that you are no longer able to tackle something. It’s difficult to face, but it can teach you so much. Take each hurdle that you face as a learning opportunity and keep going. Keep working hard. You’re doing an amazing job and soon you will be debt free.

How do we get into debt?

September 10, 2018

Here on My Debt Diary I talk a lot about what I’m doing to get out of debt. Everything from putting together an emergency fund, saving money and making extra money to make sure that my debt total goes down as quickly as possible. The same goes for the debt free community as a whole. What we don’t discuss so much, is how do we get into debt in the first place.

I reached out to a handful of fellow money bloggers who each have their own story to tell when it comes to debt. Whilst debt is equally horrible for each and every one of us, no two of these stories are the same. Instead of surrounding them with a narrative, I am going to leave each blogger’s words as they are.

Perry Wilson from Stupid is the Norm

“I’ve been in crap loads of debt and been bankrupt after a customer went into liquidation owing me £44,000. Had the BMW’s and luxury yacht holidays all on ‘chucky’. I got into debt to impress people who didn’t actually give a toss. Stupid Is The Norm apparently.”

Victoria from LyliaRose

“Before I hit 20 I got into serious debt (£17500) and hit debt crisis. It was all irresponsible and personal debt from a bad shopping addiction and depression. I was always trying to make myself happy, but made things a lot worse. I spent 5.5 years on a debt management plan paying it back.

Unfortunately I am now in debt again in my 30s, but I can afford to repay this. I took out a home improvement loan a few years back after buying my first home that needed totally doing up and I’ve recently got a 0% credit card to pay over £3000 for dental work I need done this month. Though I’m in debt again I can afford the repayments this time and it doesn’t feel so irresponsible as it’s actually paid for an investment.”

Claire from the Money Freak

“I started getting into debt when I had to give up my job to look after my disabled son. Taking him to his appointments weekly in various places (often a few hours journey away) was a killer financially.”

Francessca from From Pennies to Pounds

“I went into debt over stupid things…I basically had no money due to an unsupportive spouse who wouldn’t let me leave the home to work or help pay for childcare costs so I was stuck in the house with my baby and would scroll through social media…as always happens with that, I wanted what the influencers had and couldn’t see why my daughter shouldn’t have the same things and opportunities as others just because of her Dad.

I had depression at the time which didn’t help as I didn’t really think things through rationally – I had never been in debt before and I won’t ever again.

Oh and a bit went on my wedding as I had to pay for basically all of that myself too! I soon realised that it was a silly mistake and I wouldn’t be able to pay it off, but I turned to earning extra cash from home and managed to pay it off all by myself. (And now I’m getting divorced)”

Mel from Mels Money Mindset

“My story is actually my partner’s story. When I met him, his dad had died about 6 months beforehand and he left his well paid job to move back in with his mum (she lived about 4 hours from where he was living at the time).

He just went crazy with the credit cards. As well as drawing out cash on them for things they did need like food and to pay bills, he also started buying things he didn’t need…for example 4 x DVD players! By the time he got regular work again it was too late – he was up to his neck in debt and it soon got to the point where he couldn’t even afford the minimum payments because of all the interest charges and late payment fees.

It took us a couple of years of hard graft and some serious negotiation to get him out of debt, by which point we were living together and had a baby on the way and to this day we will not have a credit card again. We’ve been debt free over 10 years now, but I still worry about it, even though we are in a much better place financially. In the wrong hands credit cards or loans can be dangerous.”

Eileen from Your Money Sorted

“I went into debt at college, because everybody else seemed to be living off their overdrafts and student loans! I decided that being sensible with money, saving it up from my summer job to see me through the year, was boring, and I would just “join the club”.

While it meant that I could spend wildly, and have a blast in my final year, it also meant that I finished my degree with unnecessary debts. I absolutely detested the feeling of getting paid, but still being in the “red”, so I vowed once I had my overdraft paid off, that I would never be in overdraft again. And I have stuck to that vow!”

Chermaine from ChammyIRL

“I made the silly mistake of taking a loan out for someone else. Six months later he stopped paying me and I started struggling to meet payments, more money was borrowed to help me get by and it snowballed from there. Never did get the rest of it back but all debt is now fully paid off.”

Whether we get into debt in an attempt to keep up with the Jonses, because we don’t have the maturity to understand what could possibly go wrong, or because of the challenges that life throws at us, we all have one common goal and that is to be debt free.

I’d like to thank all of those who contributed to today’s post. Talking about debt is difficult and it is something we all need to do more often.

You can read about my own debt story here.

How to handle debt when you can’t afford the minimum payments.

September 5, 2018

This is a guest post by Sara Williams. She is a debt adviser and runs the Debt Camel website which looks at everything to do with debt, from getting a payday loan refund to checking your credit rating before applying for a mortgage.

Emma is clearing her debt using the snowballing approach. That’s great – it lets you pay off your debt fast and also results in you having a fantastic credit rating at the end.

But snowballing only works if you can make at least the minimum debt repayments each month. So Emma asked me to write about what to do if you can’t afford the minimum payments.

Don’t “Rob Peter to pay Paul”

First what not to do…unless your problem is genuinely short term, you have to stop and not borrow any more money.

Don’t get a new credit card, or a larger overdraft or ask your mum to lend you some. That is known as Robbing Peter to pay Paul – and it often ends very badly when you have much larger debts and nowhere left to turn to.

If you are hoping to get through the next month or two, is it because your problem is really temporary? If you are just about to start a new job but your first pay packet is 6 weeks away, or your childcare costs are about to drop, or you only have three payments left a large loan then Yes, it really is.

But if the problem now is the electricity bill, but next month it will be new shoes for the children, then there is Christmas… that is a long term shortage of money showing up in different ways every month or two.

What sort of debts do you have problems with?

Debt advisers divide debts into “priority” and “non-priority”. I think most people would agree that rent and mortgage arrears are top priority, but some of the other ones may surprise you – read What is a priority debt? and think if you have any.

If you do, then you need to talk to a debt adviser. Even if your main problem at the moment feels like a credit card bill, if you have priority debts it’s best to get expert help as soon as possible.

Where to get help when you can’t afford the minimum payments.

I have a list of great places for debt advice, depending on where you live in the UK, if you would like to talk on the phone or face to face, whether you are self employed etc. All the places in that list are not for profit organisations who will be sympathetic and talk in confidence.

Don’t worry that your problem isn’t big enough to bother a debt adviser with – debt advisers would rather talk to you sooner when your problem is easier to solve!

And don’t google for debt advice! If you do you will end up talking to firms that have paid Google a lot to get high up in their rankings. And that means they are planning on making a lot of money out of you, even if they say they are “free”.

Ask your creditors to freeze interest – the DIY option

From here on I am going to assume all your debts are non priority.

How much money do you have that you can pay to your loans and credit cards each month? If you work through National Debtline’s My budget that will suggest what you can afford to pay to each of these debts.

When you can’t afford the minimum payments, you can phone the creditor and explain your situation:

say you can’t afford the normal payment;
offer an amount you can afford; and
ask them to freeze interest and not add extra charges.

It doesn’t matter if you can only afford £1 a month – this is known as a token payment.

If you have a lot of creditors, or you can’t face making these calls – talk to a debt adviser. A debt management plan, where the interest is frozen on your debts, could work well for you.

Is freezing interest enough?

If getting the interest frozen on your debts won’t be enough to repay them in a reasonable time, a debt adviser can also look at your other options.

What is “reasonable” here depends on you and how your situation may change.

If you are trapped in a long term problem that really isn’t going to get a lot better, there are a range of insolvency options that a debt adviser can explain to you. You may not want to go bankrupt, but staggering on for another few years and then having to is a worse choice. And there are other possibilities such as a Debt Relief Order (DRO) that you may not have heard about.

This post was written by Sara Williams of the Debt Camel.

How to Spread the Cost of Christmas

July 30, 2018

Last week I wrote this post on how to plan for a debt free Christmas. I discussed the importance of working out a budget for Christmas in advanced. This allows you to set aside money each month to ensure you spend the festive season debt free. I wanted to follow that post with some tips on how to get organised and spread the cost of Christmas. In particular, spreading the cost of food and gifts.

Spread the cost of gifts

Gifts are always the largest expense for me, as I imagine they are for most families. There are a couple of ways to handle this without scrimping on the things you give to your loved ones.

Shop in the sales

Some people choose to shop in the January sales, others keep an eye out for good deals throughout the year. Whichever method suits your shopping preference, there are huge savings to be had if you plan ahead. Begin with a list of items for each person that you are buying for. Then simply keep an eye out in the shops and on places like amazon for great deals.

Use a cashback websites

It might be the case that you aren’t able to save money on an item itself however there is always the option to earn some of your money back through cash back websites. Top Cash Back is one of my favourites. Instead of going straight to the seller’s website, check to see if Top Cash Back have a link that you can buy through. You can use this link here to sign up. It is an affiliate link and I receive a small bonus at no extra cost to you if you use it, thank you.

Take part in Secret Santa

This one is a big hit in my family. With so many siblings in my generation now having children, gifts were getting out of hand. Instead we put all seven names in a hat and agree to spend £20 on one gift only. We all still receive something nice and it doesn’t break the bank. It also means you have to spend a lot less time shopping too.

Make your gifts

Making gifts is of course a great option for a number of reasons. Firstly, you can determine exactly how much you want to spend. If for example, you choose to make something like Christmas cookies, you can make as many or as few as you choose. And of course, home made gifts have a very personal feel to them which is perfect for Christmas! From hampers to home made rhubarb gin, there are so many things that can be made on a small budget!

Spread the cost of food

This might be more unusual for some people as most of us are so used to doing a weekly shop or popping into the supermarket to pick up things as and when we need them. It is actually possible to prepare food for Christmas weeks, and even months in advance. What I will say is that I am no culinary genius. I would suggest doing your research in terms of food prep and so on from a more professional source.

Pick up a few items with each weekly shop

There are a number of items that we often buy at Christmas that have long shelf lives. Items such as cranberry sauce, packets of stuffing, dried fruit and melba toast can be bought early and stored in the cupboard. These are all the sorts of “special extras” we buy for the big day where the cost will soon add up. Purchasing a couple of items with each normal shop in the weeks and months running up to the 25th will help you to spread the cost and feel more organised.

Make some items ahead of time and freeze.

So many food items from meat to vegetables can be prepared and frozen ahead of time. Did you know that you can peel, chop and blanche your carrots, parsnips and sprouts and freeze them months before Christmas? Last year myself and my fiance bought most our veggies in October. We prepared them, wrapped them and stored them away in the freezer. They were done before Halloween! Doing this can also help you save time and allow you to enjoy more of your Christmas eve instead of spending the day in the kitchen!

You don’t need to fall for the seasonal packaging.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a sucker for tartan and holly covered everything at Christmas. When you look closer at what you’re buying however, the decoration on the packaging is an excuse to bump the price up.

Last year for example my fiance and I found an amazing looking ham joint in the supermarket that came with an incredible looking glaze and cloves to garnish. When we looked closer however, we realised we could make the glaze for pennies and we already had cloves in the kitchen cupboard. All we actually needed was plain a ham joint, which was at least £2 cheaper!

Incorporate each of these suggestions into your preparation and you will be sure to have an affordable and stress free festive season. You can breath knowing that you are about to begin a new year free of Christmas debt.

For more fantastic tips the Attachment Mummy has written a great post on How to Get to January Without Going Broke.

Debt Payment Progress Report 1 – 06/07/18

July 6, 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 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