Since getting more serious about becoming debt free, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time looking into budgeting and side hustles, and trying to find out exactly where I’m haemorrhaging money every month- money that would be far better spent paying off my credit card!
Despite the emergency purchases, take-aways, and the general ponderings of ‘why am I always so broke‘ as I rummage through my purse to feed the vending machine at work, ugh… I still somehow managed to pay off £200 worth of credit card debt this month*, and am excited to say that my debt has now dipped below £4000!
*We get paid on the 15th of every month, so I used the last £200 of May’s paycheck to get myself below 4k in June.
There’s always a feeling of exhilaration when you crack down the thousands and I’m now sitting at £3700. Which, is still a pretty huge amount, but it’s looking more and more manageable every time I see it.
And so, in a fit of absolute craziness, I’ve decided to give myself the target of CLEARING ALL MY DEBT by the end of the year! asfghjk
Yes, you read that right. My 2019 Goal is to pay off the last of my debt!
I’m desperate to get that balance down to ZERO!
The most terrifying thing about this goal is that I’ll have to pay at least £500 every month. I don’t even know if that’s possible, but I’m gonna try. That’s really all I can do, right? Make the commitment and just go for it!
CURSORY DISCLAIMER
Now, this won’t necessarily mean I’m debt free as (mentioned in my previous post) J and I are going to Australia & New Zealand for around 3 weeks this year. It’s a big trip, and as it’s something we’re unlikely to do for at least another two years (and definitely only if we have the money saved in advance). I’m using it to not only introduce J to my family in Oz, but I’m also introducing him to New Zealand, because this is actually the country I’d love for us to settle down in one day.
It might be a pipe dream, but I don’t want to skimp too much on our trip this year, I want us to be able to see and do everything we want to do without too much of a worry. Which means… yes, I’m being an idiot and I will be booking things on my credit card.
However, because of one of my interest free periods running out, and to avoid exorbitant interest fees, I ended up doing a balance transfer to consolidate all of my debt onto one credit card (Halifax), which has lowered my fees considerably whilst I pay it all off.
That also means my paid-off-card (Amazon) has a zero-balance and anything I put onto that would be joint debt, which I believe between J and myself, we could pay off fairly quickly considering we’re tightening our belts for the duration of this year and trying to get into healthier spending habits.
I know, I know! I sound like I’m justifying getting myself further/back into debt, but honestly I’m not prepared to budge on this one…! And thus, the need of a budget is perhaps the most imperative thing on my list right now. Along with selling pretty much everything I own that isn’t actually screwed down. /sweatdrop.
Wish me luck? Or, if you have any suggestions, those would be nice too!
