I am not comfortable sharing too many personal details about my finances on this blog but I’m nearing a milestone and it is something I’d like to share: I’m about two months, maybe three, from paying off my final credit card bills. My entire working life I’ve been very good at retirement saving but horrible at savings of any other kind. In fact, I can’t remember anything I’ve actually saved up for since my first car (which, incidentally, cost less than my first month’s rent post-uni). Soon, I’ll be free of debt for the first time in more than a decade and I will have the opportunity/challenge of managing my savings.
My parents have the kind of retirement that seems impossible for my generation. They were teachers on modest salaries, but because of a commitment to saving and sensible spending (plus good market conditions, the fact that they stayed married and probably a certain amount of luck), they were able to retire a few years early and now average three serious holidays a year. Saving for retirement has been drilled into me for as long as I can remember and it’s about the only thing I’ve done right with my money.
I got into credit card debt by living just outside of my means and in expensive cities for years. I’ve never been very extravagant but I don’t say no to myself enough – and I like to travel. A lot. The idea of being completely free of this debt is amazing, but I suspect it takes just as much commitment to maintain as it does to lose. Rather than making a big transfer to Visa each month I can soon divert those funds in directions of my choosing. Will all that extra money make me feel like I can spend, spend, spend? How do I force myself into good habits?
I think the place to start is with goals. I set out to finish paying off my debt this year and that goal is now within reach. I’m not especially disciplined, but setting goals usually does help. So here goes:
- Contribute an additional £100 each month to my personal pension (I may already be doing enough, but why not avoid more taxes?)
- Establish an emergency fund of £3000.
- Create a travel fund to get ahead of our holidays. £1000 is probably fine here but it will need to be refreshed fairly often.
- Start saving for the near- to mid-term future. This is the big one – saving for our family plans, owning a flat or house someday, starting a business (this is a fantasy right now, but who knows?) Basically all other freed up money will go into this fund, so there is no end goal here.
I’d love advice from all you savers out there on how to stay motivated once you’ve become debt free!













