My Debt Diary

Debt Payment Progress Report 15 – 22/02/19

February 22, 2019

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 February 22nd 2019 my new debt total is £11,753.58 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

That means that since I last updated you two weeks ago I have paid off £2406.49 My new total debt payment to date is now £5060.71, which I have calculated to equate to 30% 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 £6236.92
  • Loan Two £5516.66
  • Credit Card One £0
  • Credit Card Two £0 (yaaaaaaaahooooooooo!!)
Debt Payment Progress Report - new debt total on 220219

Debt Payment Progress Report – new debt total on 220219

The past two weeks have been very successful with regards to my debt free journey. That’s a massive understatement actually. Thanks to some financial help I have leapt forward. So much so that I can officially say goodbye to my second credit card. It’s paid off! I’m also 30% of the way through my total now. That feels incredible!

I won’t go into detail about the help received as it’s obviously quite private but what I can express is how grateful I am for the support. When you are moving so slowly on your debt free journey, as I have been over the last few months, it can be draining and disheartening to say the least. This boost has not only helped get rid of a good chunk of my debt, it has also rebooted my motivation.

Now I am left with two loans to pay off. Both with the same bank and both with penalties attached for paying them off early. I’m going to work out my numbers and see if the penalty is worth paying. Of course, following the debt snowball method I should throw everything I have at them and just pay the penalties in order to get rid of the loans. What would you do? I’d really love some advice on this one!

My next debt payment progress report will show a far smaller number, most likely my minimum payments on the loans minus the interest I have to pay. If you’ve been following my journey for a while now though, you’ll already know that I’m absolutely fine with that. As long as the number continues to go down, I’m happy.

You can find my previous reports here.

 

debt payment progress report fifteen - 220219 - pinterest

2 Comments · Debt Free Community, Debt Free Journey, Debt Payment Progress, Financial Freedom, Money, Money Making, My Debt Story, Personal Finance

Finance Book of the Month – Get Rich Lucky Bitch

February 19, 2019

As I make progress towards becoming debt free, I am making it a priority to educate myself more about money. I want to have a better understanding of handling finances, financial mindsets and many other useful topics. My favourite way of doing this is reading. This is a part of my journey that I’m particularly keen to share with you as I believe you could get a lot of value from it. This month I would like to share Get Rich, Lucky Bitch.

Finance book of the month – Get Rich Lucky Bitch

Now on first reading of the title you’re probably having the same reaction that I did. That sounds like a really obnoxious book and definitely won’t be for me. I really want to urge you to look past the title and read on because this book has been incredibly beneficial to me!

I wouldn’t blame you for assuming that the book’s pages are filled with get rich quick schemes and tips on how to make a million in your first week, however this couldn’t be further from reality. In fact, the author focuses with great importance on incremental change and simplicity. This one portion of the book alone has been invaluable for me.

I have a bad habit of covering my noticeboard and planner in a lot of different goals. Instead, I now have one simple goal set and marked clearly. I’ve found myself more focused and intentional as a result. My brain isn’t jumping from one to the other and therefore neither are my actions.

Mindset is also a key factor in Denise Duffield-Thomas’ book, but not in the outlandish way that many books use it. Denise spends many of the pages focusing on money mindset and blocks. She takes a healthy approach to handling bad money memories and encourages you to deal with and clear them. Then you go on to explore and adapt your current money habits in order to move forward.

Most importantly she encourages you to become comfortable with the idea of money. Being rich doesn’t make you a bitch and it certainly doesn’t come from luck. It’s OK to want more. Having a lot of money will not make you a bad person. It opens up opportunities and gives you freedom.

A book that first appeared very over the top and aggressive to me actually turned out to be one of the most common sense pieces I’ve read in a long time. Get Rich Lucky Bitch isn’t about making your fortune at all. It is about becoming familiar with yourself and your behaviours and growing these gently over time in order to achieve the big life goals you have your heart set on, without fear of judgement.

You can find Get Rich, Lucky Bitch here. (This is an affiliate link. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to use it. Thank you!)

 

I absolutely encourage you to begin reading (or listening to audiobooks) as part of your debt free journey. Not only do you learn something as a result, but it also allows you some time to switch off from your debt and all the other goings on in life and just focus on the book in hand.

You can read my previous Finance Book of the Month post here.

Finance Book of the Month - get rich lucky bitch - pinterest

Finance Book of the Month – get rich lucky bitch 

Leave a Comment · Debt Free Journey, Finance Book of the Month, Financial Freedom, Healthy Finances

Debt Payment Progress Report 14 – 08/02/19

February 8, 2019

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 February 8th 2019 my new debt total is £14,160.07 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

That means that since I last updated you two weeks ago I have paid off £112.67 My new total debt payment to date is now £2654.22, which I have calculated to equate to 16% 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 £6236.92
  • Loan Two £5679.79
  • Credit Card One £0
  • Credit Card Two £2243.36

debt payment progress report total 080219

We’re already into the second month of the year and time is slipping away. I cannot believe how quickly the weeks are passing now. In saying that, I am please to report that so far things are going well for 2019 and I’m in line with my goals. Freelancing work has remained busier than it was at the end of last year and it looks like it might stay this way for a while yet. Of course, I won’t be getting complaisant. My intention is to find one or two more clients, ideally, to help boost my hours.

One or two small ebay sale have also helped contribute to my payments over the last two weeks. I always say that the pennies add up and small things like selling unwanted items and surveys do help me out. My listings are running low now so I’m going to go through my wardrobe and have another clear out. With any luck I can find another 10 to 20 items that I can list and hopefully boost February’s payments a bit more!

After a couple months off from goal setting I also took the time earlier this week to set myself some goals for the month. You can read them in detail here. Mostly, I just want to get my head down and push on with work but I’ve also added a “treat” in there. Like most people paying off debt I’m in it for the long haul and as motivated as I am, it can be a bit of a downer to constantly be throwing every penny at loans. In February I’m going to make a point of treating myself to something small to keep me going. Maybe just a nice lunch, that would do the trick!

You can find my previous reports here.

debt payment progress report 14 - 080219 - pinterest

2 Comments · Debt Free Journey, Debt Payment Progress, Financial Freedom, Healthy Finances, Money, Personal Finance

Cheap Wedding Rings | Five Frugal Things for January 2019

February 1, 2019

In an effort to pay off my debt as quickly as possible, I’m looking beyond simply making extra money. I have been assessing all of my spending habits, adopting a more frugal lifestyle wherever I can. Each month I will be sharing Five Frugal Things that I have done to help improve my finances and ensure I can reach my goal of becoming debt free as soon as possible.

One

Free flowers. A week or so ago a blogger that I follow posted an Instagram story about some beautiful flowers she had received in the post. At the beginning of the year I set myself some goals and always having fresh flowers in the house was one of them. Yes it’s a small goal, but they make me really happy and so it was an important one for me.

It turns out that the flowers had been free thanks to a coupon code which I could use too. I ordered my flowers straight away and we both received a free bunch of flowers. Now that they’ve arrived I’ve shared my own code with friends and family and it looks like I might be getting free flowers for another month or so. I’m so happy! (Of course this is a subscription service, so I’ll be cautious of the future payments).

Two

Using loo rolls in my living room decor. This one sounds classy doesn’t it? Are you picturing a sofa made of toilet roll or something? Don’t worry, it’s not that weird. I have curtains with eyelets at the top which hang straight down. When I open them in the morning, if I don’t spend time evening them out they always look a bit…meh.

Then Beckyhomesweethome (if you love interiors and chatty stories you’ll love her) shared a tip on Instagram. Pop a loo roll tube between the eyelets of your curtains as you loop them over the curtain pole. It spaces them out really nicely and means that they hang well without any effort. Of course the loo rolls are also free and recycled now too!

Three

Cheap wedding rings. I have mentioned previously that I will be getting married this year. All the big things are sorted now so we’ve been working through the “bits and bobs” list as the big day gets closer. One of the most important things left on our list was wedding rings. We had been warned by friends who have married recently that they would be really expensive so we braced ourselves.

We had a good idea of what we were looking for, something simple and classic with mine matching my engagement ring. Now we just had to find them. A quick browse online took us too Amazon (of course it did) and within about half an hour we had both chosen rings that we loved. The grand total? Around about £115. For both! I was a little sceptical about quality but they’re both high quality materials (14k rose gold for me) and just as promised.

Four

Using the resources I have. As someone who runs two businesses from home I am always looking to expand my knowledge. In the past I have been the worst for purchasing course after course, filled with motivation to learn more. Of course most of them were looked at for a moment and then quickly forgotten about. If I’d given them focus I’m sure they would have been brilliant but without actually using the courses they were just the biggest waste of money.

Predictably, as often happens when a new year rolls around, I found myself filled with new motivation once again at the beginning of January. This time however, I chose to look through the resources I already had stored away instead of looking for something new. I’ve tried to keep things as simple as possible and just focus on one course at a time. So far the one I am working through is helping me a lot and I am now actually gaining value from it and I have spent nothing!

Five

A romantic meal for two…at Ikea. So I know Ikea is a bit like Marmite; some people love it and others hate it. Well myself and my better half LOVE strolling round the shop, having a nosey at all the decor ideas and of course always enjoy the classic meatballs!

Normally we go during the day, most likely on a Saturday but when I found out that the shop stays open until 10pm we had to change things up. This time we arrived at dinner time, enjoyed our usual wander and then sat down for an awesome and very cheap meal. No, it’s not a swanky place and OK it’s not the most romantic, but that’s not the point of dinner with your significant other is it? We had a blast and dinner cost us a whopping £12.

There they are, my Five Frugal Things for the month of January. You can read last month’s post here.

I’ve seen a number of people talking about doing a “no spend month” in February and Nicola from Mum on a Budget has even written a great survival guide about it here so that may be frugal approach to the next 28 days. You’ll need to come back next month to see how I get on!

 

I’m linking up with Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s Five Fabulously Frugal things I’ve done this week linky.

five frugal things January 2019 - pinterest

4 Comments · Debt Free Journey, Financial Freedom, Five Frugal Things, Healthy Finances, Money Saving

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!

The UK Version of the Baby Steps - pinterest

Leave a Comment · Budget, debt, Debt Free Journey, Emergency Fund, Financial Freedom, Healthy Finances, Money, Personal Finance

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

debt payment progress report 13 new total

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.

 

debt payment progress report 13 - 250119 - pinterest

Leave a Comment · debt, Debt Free Journey, Debt Payment Progress, Financial Freedom, Money, My Debt Story, Personal Finance

Debt Payment Progress Report 12 – 11/01/19

January 11, 2019

All of a sudden we have arrived in a brand new year. It has been almost an entire month since I last did a debt payment progress report. After I got caught up in the festive season I decided to just ride the wave instead of fighting against it. I took a break from writing, but not from my debt journey. Let me catch you up on where I am now!

Debt payment progress report – my new total!

As of January 11th 2019 my new debt total is £14,435.87 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

That means that since I last updated you about a month ago I have paid off £184.16. My new total debt payment to date is now £2378.42, which I have calculated to equate to 14% 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 £5743.05
  • Credit Card One £0
  • Credit Card Two £2293.36

debt payment progress report 12 total

If you’ve been following my journey closely you will know that it has been just over a month since I last updated you on my debt free journey. As you can see, I have made some progress on my debt total, but not by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately December was a very expensive month and whilst I was able to make all minimum payments I couldn’t afford to throw anything extra at my debt. My totals have all gone down however thanks to interest the dent I have made in the past four weeks feels tiny!

You can probably tell from the way I’m talking in this post that I’m disheartened and a bit frustrated. I stopped posting for a while partially because I was really busy around Christmas and things, but more so because this debt free journey is bloody hard. I really do enjoy sharing my progress because it motivates me to carry on and I know it helps some of you too, but sometimes hiding away for a bit feels like the best option.

Now that we’re well and truly into the new year I feel like I’m out of my slump and ready to take on 2019. This year has so much potential and I’m really excited to see what I can achieve if I keep moving forward, even if it is slow sometimes!

You can find my previous reports here.

debt payment progress report 12 - pinterest

2 Comments · Debt Free Journey, Debt Payment Progress, Financial Freedom, Money, My Debt Story, Personal Finance

Your Debt Diary – Jodie – One Small Home

December 12, 2018

When I first began following the Debt Free Community on Instagram I was drawn in by the stories everyone would share about their debt free journeys. I find it fascinating to read about the progress others are making and also reassuring to know that I am not the only one in my position.

Your Debt Diary is a guest blog series by money bloggers and members of the debt free community for My Debt Diary. Each week someone new will share their debt story. This week Jodie from One Small Home shares her story of becoming debt free and the action she took to make it happen.

 

What stage are you at in your debt free journey right now?

I finally paid off my credit card debt last month!

What is your debt total?

It was just under £2,000.

What is your “why”?

I just decided one day it was time to get my finances in order. I’d been carrying around this credit card debt for too long, just paying the minimum payment every month. It got to the point that I couldn’t even remember what I’d bought on credit and if I thought about how much interest I’d accrued and paid – well it made me feel sick. It really was time to take my head out of the sand.

Are you following a specific plan or method?

This kind of happened around the time when I decided to have a good sort out and declutter at home. I live in a tiny flat with hardly any storage and I just had too many things that I wasn’t using. I thought I’d try to sell what I could to pay off my debt.

So, I sold a lot of things from makeup, to clothes and even some furniture and jewellery on eBay. I did try other selling sites such as Mercari and Shpock but I had far more success with eBay. I even did a couple of car boot sales with a friend – neither of us made a lot of money but we more than covered our costs, got rid of some stuff and had a laugh along the way. I did have some books, CDs and DVDs that I no longer wanted – so I sold what I could via sites such as Zeffirelli’s, Music Magpie etc.

I started following money bloggers on Instagram and learnt about side hustles such as survey sites, scanning receipts etc so I gave those a go. I’d already been using a cash back site – I just became even more vigilant about using it.

It was all quite piecemeal but every little bit seemed to help and it was so satisfying to see my debt decrease month by month.

What challenges have you faced along the way?

Quite a few things such as finding the time to declutter and list things on eBay, when sales seemed to stall. And actually the last £300 or so was paid off by cash back, I was amazed how quickly that had built up so I decided to use it to just clear the debt off once and for all.

I still have stuff to declutter so I’ve decided to try to boost my savings by continuing with the selling and the side hustles that pay ok and aren’t too onerous to do. I’ll be honest, that I do feel my finances should have been in better order by this stage in my life, but I do feel better that I’ve started to take control.

 

I’d like to thank Joide for sharing her story in today’s post. Please make sure to visit her Instagram at One Small Home.

You can read last week’s post here. If you would like to share your story with Your Debt Diary please leave a comment below with your email address or Instagram and I will get in touch. You can find me on Instagram here.

 

your debt diary - jodie - one small home - pinterest

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Debt Payment Progress Report 11 – 07/12/18

December 7, 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 December 7th 2018 my new debt total is £14,620.03 (My starting debt total was £16,814.29)

That means that in the last couple of weeks I have paid off £250.53. My new total debt payment to date is now £2194.26, which I have calculated to equate to 13% 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 £6561.46
  • Loan Two £5805.21
  • Credit Card One £0
  • Credit Card Two £2253.36

debt payment progress report - new debt total - 071218

Whilst work has continued to be slow, working hard on my side hustles has really helped me to get through the past couple of weeks and ensure I can cover all of my minimum payments plus a little bit extra. I’m not bounding forward with my debt free journey at the moment but my total is still going down and that’s what matters.

Ebay and Prolific Academic were my biggest earners throughout November and are continuing to help me this month. I managed to hit my goal of making an extra £200 by the 28th, plus a little more. I’m definitely going to be continuing my efforts to make sure Christmas is comfortable. Yes I love this festive season, but I refuse to move backwards for the sake of one or two good nights out and a pile of gifts.

I’m also starting to prepare for the new year, getting my tax return out of the way and readying myself for the busy return to work after some time off over Christmas. January is often one of my busiest months and so being prepared ahead of time with things like my blog will free up as much time as possible for me to earn a bigger income and dig further into my debt total.

You can find my previous reports here.

 

debt payment progress report 11 - 071218 - pinterest

Leave a Comment · Debt Free Journey, Debt Payment Progress, Financial Freedom, Healthy Finances, Personal Finance

Your Debt Diary – Jane Has Debt

November 28, 2018

When I first began following the Debt Free Community on Instagram I was drawn in by the stories everyone would share about their debt free journeys. I find it fascinating to read about the progress others are making and also reassuring to know that I am not the only one in my position.

Your Debt Diary is a guest blog series by money bloggers and members of the debt free community for My Debt Diary. Each week someone new will share their debt story. This week Jane from @janehasdebt shares their journey so far and the extraordinary challenges they have faced.

 

What stage are you at in your debt free journey right now?

I am stuck in a time warp. Look more like it. I have been trying to get out of debt for the past 10 years. Part of the problem is that I have ADHD – also known as not being able to rationalise anything because of getting into a space of being hyper-focused and also being impulsive. I have fortunately learned to curb everyday expenses both using personal finance tools like budgeting and using the cash envelope system. Critically stopping big purchases due to my ADHD is still a work in progress (like financing cars or buying concert tickets).

For the most part I was doing well but a few years ago life literally flipped me upside down and shook everything out of me within a year’s time. Divorce, passing of mein Kind, my own health issues, and my car was totaled at the other person’s fault. I had to draw my focus somewhere, so I went back to school by taking out student loans, I had to rent/deposit a new place, and I bought a new car to replace my just-paid-off previous now totaled car. Plunged myself into another $23,000 on top of my already 38,000 (total – $61,000).

Then I found Mr. Money Moustache blog and the forums. It was a godsend to me at the time I found it. The diversity of people available and their brilliant knowledge in personal finance saved me. I am still not in a good place with debt. But overall I am in a much better place with my finances – awesome credit score due to bills being paid on time, budget brilliantly, put 10% away in my retirement account, increased my income, increased my net worth and now craft my own cash envelopes.

What is your debt total?

Between health, education needs for my other Kind, and financing another used car (major mistake) – at my highest I have owed $81,120 (April 2018). I am now at $69,324.

What is your “why”?

The worst thing ever was not being able to take extended time off when mein Kind got sick. I didn’t have the family to help, I did not qualify for FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) and I couldn’t quit my job without sinking into homelessness. Twenty four hours a day I was working full-time, taking care of two in separate locations, attending health appointments and commuting hours at a time. I was exhausted and I was in a flurry of frustrating emotions at the lack of support every corner I turned.

I will never be in that space again.

Are you following a specific plan or method?

I try follow the Dave Ramsey baby steps 1 and 2. I keep a strong budget. Discretionary expenses are cash only (with pretty envelopes). But I don’t always have a full emergency fund. Actually it’s one of my pet peeves because I can never keep it filled up.

What challenges have you faced along the way?

Being in debt for so long…actually I have been in debt my whole adult life. But at the time of being mindful of my debt I have not been able to get my debt down! It’s so frustrating. I’m on a roller coaster without the ability to get off of it. Frankly it is tiring! The last stint was my car breaking down and deciding it was better to finance another than spend the $4,000 to fix it. That was such a bad decision.

I am kind of freaking out about my debt load because die hard planning for retirement is now coming into focus, Um, no bad nursing homes wanted nor do I want to be broke. With a problematic and expensive U.S. healthcare system, it’s a scary thought not having enough money available. Especially when I think of everything else I am concurrently financially managing and/or trying to save up for.

What are you doing to speed up the progress of your debt free journey?

The past few months I haven’t been able to snowball. The 4th quarter is when all my annual expenses come due and I didn’t have sinking funds available to cover them. So the snowball portion and payment plans covered these expenses. Fortunately, starting in 2019 my snowball will resume.

As for side hustles, it is not working out for me. I don’t much to sell off and side hustle opportunities are not coming to fruition. I plan on trying a couple of other side hustles in the new year. I’ve started saving my $5 bills to help me fund my emergency fund.

All extra money received (i.e. tax return, bonuses etc) will be thrown at paying down debt.

When do you plan to become debt free?

As long as I stay cash only with discretionary expenses and keep the credit cards out of the picture (because ADHD and CCs don’t mix), I will be debt free 4th quarter 2022. God help me.

 

I’d like to thank Jane for today’s post. Please make sure to visit their Instagram at @janehasdebt.

You can read last week’s post here. If you would like to share your story with Your Debt Diary please leave a comment below with your email address or Instagram and I will get in touch. You can find me on Instagram here.

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