April Update

I am getting so excited - I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (and it's green) and am counting down the weeks till I will be debt free!
We have just had the government budget and no good news there - I should be grateful the Labour government did give us a minimum wage but really other than that I have gain nothing from more that ten years of Labour government. And the credit crunch will only really affect me when (not if) my taxes or national insurance goes up. I have worked out my tax for this last year and have added it to what I need to pay by July 31 but I haven't added it to my debt total. The amount I owe is the highest amount yet - so looks enormous but I have already paid some of it and the rest will be no problem once all my month debt payments are no more.
My best friend LJ has been busy booking a holiday for me, her eldest son (my eldest godchild) and herself and we are off in just over a week. I know..... I know .... I am clearing my debt but as I have been working very hard to the last four months with out a break I could really do with one. Even if this one involves my having to study up before the trip and will have two days of attempting and hopefully passing my Open Water Scuba diving course. I will be doing this with my godson Joel (who will be turning 11 years old just after we get back) - so I really have to pass this course or I will never hear the end of it. The holiday is all paid for and the spending money is coming out of this weeks cheque. We are off to Turkey again so I am really, really looking forward to it!
Goals for next month to get my debt down to £3,200 and continue with my £5 a day budget. Beyond that I have been thinking about what happens next. I would like to take a long visit home to NZ but at this current time I don't know how wise that would be, so am having a rethink. My work is going okay and I don't want to leave my employers in the lurch, they have been asking if I had any plans of leaving as they really want me to stay. But my Mums is wanting me to come hope for a visit (and to stay!). So I will have to make some decisions! It's getting time to really work on plan "B".

Just a little bit more

To get under the £6k I have paid £3.40 onto the credit card I am working on clearing first and so have brought my balance down to only £5,998.30. A land mark balance in my very checked history of being in debt. My lowest balance in the last 10 years (yep you read that right!) is £6,662.28 and that was back in December 2004. My total debt is at it's lowest level ever!!
This is how my March balances have looked over the years:

2002 £9,141.24

2003 £8,653.76

2004 £7,263.07

2005 £8,147.84

2006 £9,255.26

2007 £14,524.62

2008 £11,828.20

2009 £6,001.70

Getting to where I am today has been a slogg and it has been sometimes the little things that have done the most towards getting my debt level down. I haven't finish quite yet and I have planned a holiday in early May but it is has been budgeted in and is currently all paid for. I will be using my April savings for my spending monies so that should cover it.

Goal for April is to be under £5k by the end of the month - shouldn't be a problem!!