Day 2 - breaking it all down

Tesco loan - £15,412 Window finance - £3,490 Tesco loan arrears - £2,180 Payday loan £1,334 Car finance - £1,171 Credit card 1 - £1,161 Mortgage arrears - £737 Bank overdraft - £450 Holiday - £325 Credit card 2 - £190 Credit card 3 - £184 Whew that is a lot of debt I know :/ BUT I have a plan and I am sticking to it (mostly). Now I am a fan of the snowball method but I am doing things a little differently. The loans that have a set end date this year, car finance, payday loan, and holiday I am letting them end naturally. I aim to have my mortgage arrears paid off by August payday, Tesco arrears shortly after that and the rest are ad hoc. The reason I am doing it that way is because it feels like it makes the most sense for me. Arrears are bad to have on my credit report so I want them gone and I don't want to be harrassed about them. Credit cards don't really scare me, especially card 2 and 3 because those are such small figures in the grand scheme of things and things like car finance and payday loan will just make me feel like I have so much more money each month once they are gone. I was really hoping I would get a tax refund this year, but I got one last year and I think they just do one year refund and next year you owe them, that's my theory anyway. I definitely feel more in control of it now than I ever have so it's all good, but any tips in the comments I am open to hearing it. I really just want to have more free cash each month, although there is a slight elephant in the room. At any point I could lose a chunk of my monthly income, because I currently am renting out a room but if they leave (which is likely in the next 3 months) I will have to reevaluate a few things. Hence why my aim is to reduce my outgoings so it doesn't feel like I am taking such a hit. Once they are gone I genuinely don't want anyone else living with me, but being sensible if it means I can get things paid down sooner, even for like 3 months then that would make the most sense. But I will cross that bridge when I get there. For now I think this plan will work, but if anything changes then I can always update the plan. I have paid off big chunks of debt before, then I got another big loan to do my bathroom renovation, then shortly after that was out of work for nearly 2 months (with no savings) and then got a low paid job which didn't even cover my bills. Very stupid but I do love my bathroom lol. My aim this time round is to save as well where I can, and also not overpay on things so much so that I am left back at square one, without enough to make it to the next payday. That is kind of what happened this month, also mixed with going out and enjoying myself every weekend but I don't regret that. I am happy that I am in a better position now then I was just 2/3 months ago, and I will say it is down to my new job and salary. A well paid job can literally change your life and this one definitely has. Next post I will go into more detail about each debt and how I got there, also maybe a little sob story about all my struggling times, as I do think it is good to reflect on how far I have come. Until next time... - Girl in debt xo