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How to pay off your credit card and get out of debt

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How to get out of credit card debt

Before we moved over to Ireland, we were living paycheck to paycheck and both of us had massive credit card debt. It’s not like we had an extravagant lifestyle in South Africa, we were both earning good salaries – we were just terrible at budgeting how to spend what we earned each month.

We both come from fairly conservative, budget conscious families so I am not really sure why we were so bad at managing money. I can only put it down to the fact that we just ignored the issue, and thought about living in the now, without much consequence for the future. But the truth is, the lack of a good budget and the fact that the last week of the month was always the hardest – it really did worry us. We spoke about it a lot in private, we lay awake at nights plotting how we could get out of debt. Looking back, we never really made the necessary sacrifices to budget properly and we never honest with ourselves about how we were spending money.

How we got into debt

A couple of things happened which I think caused the debt to spiral out of control, the biggest being that we bought a house. We used our credit cards to finance some of the hidden costs that come with buying a home (transfer fees and legal fees etc). Being in so much debt, especially credit card debt, was a hard lesson to learn. I don’t regret buying our first home together, but I do think I would do it differently if I could do it all over.

We both can be people pleasing, so often when people invited us out for dinner or to go away for the weekend – we said yes, even though we knew we couldn’t really afford it. We wanted to have a certain lifestyle, one were we went to great restaurants, bought things for the house and ourselves, and went away on nice holidays. Before we sold all our belongings, and packed up to come to Ireland, we had both maxed out our credit cards. The money we were paying into our credit card each month was basically paying off the interest only, and by the time the end of the month rolled around, we had maxed our credit cards again.

How we got out of debt

Fast forward to the decision to move to Ireland. Although we didn’t realise at the time, this was the second chance we had been waiting for. Selling all our belongings, including our cars, helped us pay off some of the debt.

We came over with 2 suitcases each, 3 boxes that we shipped over (which we probably didn’t need), and some savings that we got through our last paychecks, paid out leave, and selling our belongings. This fresh start meant that we had to do things differently. We both agreed that once over in Ireland – things would be different. We didn’t know it at the time, but we ended up living on one salary for a year – and yet we still managed to pay off the outstanding credit card debt and start saving properly. This is how we paid off our credit card and got our of debt:

Stop using your credit card

We started with our credit card debt first because that was the biggest, most obvious debt we knew we could tackle. It was an obvious move, but we stopped using our credit cards – we took them out of our wallets and put them safely away in a cupboard at home. This meant that when we were out, we didn’t have the convenience of using them.

Pay off debt each month

Each month we paid back our credit card debt, and at the end of our first year in Ireland we paid our last lump sum to the credit card on Black Friday of all days. I guess that shows you how our mindset changed over that first year abroad. We saw paying off the debt as more important than buying something new.

Know where your money is going

We both have credit cards here in Ireland. I actually haven’t used mine at all – it is still in the envelope it arrived in. We use Rob’s credit card only to rent cars, but we pay off the car rental costs as soon as we book a car. The credit card is now only used to hold deposits, or to buy something we intend on paying for in full at the end of the month. We prefer to stick to our budget each month, and have carefully consider all the things we spend money on each month – everything is accounted for. From obvious bills and food costs, to getting my nails done and paying a small fee for my blog maintenance. Every euro we spend is accounted for. At any given point in the month, we know how much we have left for groceries (we do a weekly shop now) or our entertainment budget – yes, we now have an entertainment budget. We also have a travel savings pocket that we use to save up for holidays we plan to do. Once you get used to sticking to a budget, it becomes habit.

Prioritise how you spend your money

Living on one salary forces you to prioritise. You quickly discard the things that are not essential – like eating out, coffees, even things like hair appointments, and a big one for me was that I stopped buying clothes. I started realising that we were trying to buy our happiness, but that being in debt made us unhappy – so we learnt to say no to things we couldn’t afford and through that – we started to pay off our credit card debt. We used bonuses and tax refunds to further pay off our debt. In the past that money would have been spent on some big thing we really wanted – but what we really wanted now was to get out of debt.

Stick to the Budget

I am not saying that sticking to a budget is easy. It is still really hard. In the early months of getting out of debt, we struggled saying no to things. We missed important weddings, skipped out on meeting friends for dinner, said no to concerts and events others were going to. It was really hard to say no to all of it, but we knew we didn’t want to go back to the way we were living back in SA. We figured in the bigger picture, if we stick to the budget, we can do the things we really want to do later. Not everything has to be immediate.

Have a rainy day fund

Once we paid off our debt, we took the money we put into our credit cards and started putting that all into savings. The reality is there might be unexpected costs that crop up during the month that your budget hasn’t planned for. Like one of us could lose our job and we could go back to living on one salary. We now have a nice rainy day fund set up – its not where we want it to be, but we are getting there slowly.

Now that we don’t have credit card debt, and we have a budget we stick to – we don’t live paycheck to paycheck any more. January is not a hard month for us. We have learnt our limits, and we have learnt to focus on the future, by saying no to things right now, or holding off on big expenses until we can actually afford it. Slowly managing our money has gotten easier. I didn’t realise at the time, but getting out of debt was not the end goal – staying out of debt is.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS YOU STAY OUT OF DEBT?

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or join my exclusive Facebook Group. And because I seriously am an open book, if you ever want to bounce ideas off me, or just chat and connect send me an email (I really love chatting!)..

p.p.s. I try post varied content 2 -3 times a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

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How to pay off your credit card and get out of debt

Recap of the Highs and the Lows of 2018

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It is because of all the shitty moments that the sweet moments were made even sweeter. If I hadn't gone through all that crap, I would never have savoured all the joy 2018 did bring. So here is my recap - the good, the bad and the out-right stressful life that was this past year.After all the best nine of 2018 have been posted, and the insta stories that showcase all the highs of 2018 are finally tapped through… I had planned to jump on both bandwagons and share all the highs that made my 2018 great – but then I thought of all the struggles, the tears, the lowest lows and thought that sharing the full picture is more accurate than only glazing over the stress that happened in 2018. It is because of all the shitty moments that the sweet moments were made even sweeter. If I hadn’t gone through all that crap, I would never have savoured all the joy 2018 did eventually bring. So here is my recap – the good, the bad and the out-right stressful life that was this past year.

At the end of 2017 we visited Edinburgh, as a way to end the year on a bit of high since 2017 was the year when literally all the wheels fell off most of our big plans. We went into 2018 hopeful that things would work out, and they did… spoiler alert – it just took 6 months for it to all work out.

In January we headed to Sligo for my birthday, and while it was a great weekend away, my birthday is always a difficult start of the year for me. Partly because I have in the past put heavy expectations on what birthdays should be like, and all the goals I wanted to achieve but didn’t get round to often leave me feeling a bit defeated. 2018’s birthday was no different for me. I was left wondering what I had achieved in 36 years of life, no matter how I look at it, it never feels as though its enough. So while instagram was showing all the exploring we did in Sligo, I was secretly battling with my own demons.

Sligo

If you live in a country that has winter in February, you know that what is the shortest month of the year, ends up feeling like the longest month – it felt like spring was never going to arrive. And for a while, it didn’t, in fact, the Beast from the East arrived instead and we were snowed in for 3 days. Our first snow day as a family, and Jack’s first experience of snow. It ended up being a great break, and we used the time for loads of walks in the snow together.

Snow in Dublin

In March we had our first visitors for the year, Jane and Nic arrived from SA and we spent time showing them around Dublin. We spent our second St Patrick’s day in Ireland in Dublin. Then after they left, I got a chance to head to Lisbon, Portugal for work – it was a busy 3 days in Lisbon but I still managed to fit so much in and I really was grateful for the trip, even if the stress of work was hard.

Lisbon Portugal

We ended the month visiting London and our dear friends, Kristy and Kirsten. They pulled out all the stops with a surprise birthday cake for Rob, tickets to watch an Arsenal match, street art hunting, gin and wine drinking, and just spending time with these two on their couch talking till the wee hours of the morning was so good for both our souls. Honestly, through all the uncertainty that we had going on in our life, their friendship has been there for us no matter what. The infinite voice notes from Kristy throughout the whole year was honestly one of the reasons I think I made it through the year.

London with friends

April started off well with an interview on a podcast about our life as expats in Ireland – it was kinda surreal that someone wanted to listen to our story. You can listen to it here. But with all the stress that followed us from 2017 still left uncertain, I hit breaking point and suffered my first of many panic attacks this year. Anxiety and stress all bubbled to the surface and I was left making some heavy decisions about who my friends were, and how I planned to recover and get back up. I am grateful that looking back, I can see that I did eventually get back up – but at the time, April was honestly one of the hardest months for me. At the end of this month we decided to make a few changes, and started looking at moving out of the city and somewhere closer for me to travel to work.

At the beginning of May we visited more friends in the UK, Derek and Candi and they showed us around their new home. We visited a lot of places with them including Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, York and even dipped into Wales for a day.

Wales

Even though we had no idea what was happening with our expat lives, we decided to take a huge risk and move to our dream home out of the city – it was a move that at the time seemed crazy to do, since we had no idea what the future had in store for us but it is one I am happy we made because in the end, things did work out and this new home has meant new friendships have blossomed and we have better life balance and a place that we can truly feel at home.

friends that become family

In fact things worked out just 2 weeks after we had moved in… Rob’s work permit came through and it meant that he could start his new job. We found this out the day we landed in Glasgow, and were about to start our road trip through Scottish Highlands to Inverness. It was the relief we needed to truly enjoy our second trip to Scotland. Scotland will always hold a special place in my heart because of this. Looking back we went to Edinburgh in December 2017 unsure if it would be our last trip abroad, and ended up opening the future for us and extending our stay indefinitely in June 2018. Life really does have a way of working out in the end.

Dunnotarr Castle, Scotland

As a way to start anew, in July we did a road trip just the three of us to explore West Cork and the Beara Peninsula. It’s a part of the country that is so wild and untamed, possibly one of my favourite trips of all time. I also started yoga twice a week, and it had life changing effects to my mental head space.

Beara Peninsula, West Cork

In August, we saw our family after nearly 2 years after leaving South Africa, Rob’s parents came to visit us. We spent just under two weeks doing an epic Irish road trip starting with a trip up to Northern Ireland visiting places like Belfast, Giant’s Causeway, Castlerock, Coleraine, Derry, and ending the North of Ireland adventure in my now favourite visited county, county Donegal.

We continued the Irish roadtrip with Rob’s parents into September, this time heading to Leitrim, then heading south to Cobh, Waterford, then Dungarvan, then along the copper coast, all the way down to Kinsale. September saw the final end to our immigration stress, with my work permit renewal being processed after 15 weeks of waiting.

Cobh, Cork

In October I decided to invest in myself, and I started the unselfishly me 8 week course.  It instilled some more good habits like listening to inspiring podcasts, journaling, and daily meditation. The course uncovered a lot of what I had failed to work through mentally in previous months and I learnt a lot about myself and the kind of life I want to live. Including letting go of toxic relationships and forgiving myself. I did a lot soul-searching and honestly can’t recommend meditation or this self love course enough. At the end of October we did a road trip as a family and explored Hook Peninsula, in Wexford. Another great part of the country, even though this trip was slightly less run around and see all the things – we perfected the art of slow travel and fully rested that long weekend. We came home feeling recharged and rested.

Hook Peninsula, Wexford

In November I had to travel to Killarney for a work event, Rob joined me and we had a great trip with my work friends. For the rest of the month I continued to practice yoga, journal, meditate and finally felt the anxiety and panic attacks ease a bit. I am learning that its best to take life day by day and to stop worrying about the future so much, rather focus on being present and mindful in the moment.

Torc Waterfall, Killarney

We ended 2018 with a trip of a lifetime visiting my whole family in Mauritius. My brother and his family live in Mauritius and my parents made the trip out from South Africa so that we could all spend Christmas together as a family. It was a lot of sun, sea, drinks, swimming with dolphins, running and screaming with my niece and nephew, simple moments with my family in their home, pushing my niece and nephew on the swing, playing hide and seek, cuddles, tears, laughter… it was indescribable all the joy and sadness I felt in that holiday. The joy of spending time with family and loved ones, and the sadness in not knowing when the next time will be.

Mauritius

So there you have it. The highs and the very lows of 2018. And when I look at it all set out in this blog post – I realise how much we have done; we visited 6 countries and explored 21 of 32 counties in Ireland. We did a lot of local travel and 2019 will be no different – we plan to see more of this beautiful country we are fortunate enough to live in. We plan to continue to face the struggles and admin that surrounds living away from home and in a foreign country – hopefully with a little more grace, and with a lot of deep breaths.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, WISHING YOU AND YOURS THE VERY BEST IN 2019!

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or join my exclusive Facebook Group. And because I seriously am an open book, if you ever want to bounce ideas off me, or just chat and connect send me an email (I really love chatting!)..

p.p.s. I try post varied content 2 -3 times a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

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It is because of all the shitty moments that the sweet moments were made even sweeter. If I hadn't gone through all that crap, I would never have savoured all the joy 2018 did bring. So here is my recap - the good, the bad and the out-right stressful life that was this past year.

What to bring to Ireland versus the things you should leave behind

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Moving to Ireland? This list might help you decide what to keep, what to bring with, and what to leave behind.When Rob and I decided to move to Ireland, we purposely opted to not send a lot of stuff over. we sold most of our things online before we came over – and came over with two suitcases each plus 3 boxes we shipped over. That might sound like a lot to some people, and quite a little to others. We have had friends who have come over with less than that – and others with way more. Even though we scaled back on what we sent over, I still feel like there were things we didn’t need to send over, and other things we really should have brought with us.

That’s the problem with hindsight, I think we had to come over here and realise what we needed for ourselves, but I do think that this list might help you decide what to keep; what to bring with; and what you could decide, after reading this, to leave behind.

First off, this is the list of things we decided not to bring with us, and we have zero regrets for leaving it all behind:

  • Furniture: depending on where you decide to live in Ireland, moving furniture might not be an option for you. We decided to live in the city, closer to work, this means that our place is a bit smaller than what we had back home – we would have battled to fit our stuff in here. Also, the place we rent here in Dublin came furnished. Most rentals in the city come furnished. This is pretty handy for people like us, who didn’t have any furniture to start out with. It has also helped that we havent needed to buy any furniture, which has saved us some cash too.
  • Towels/Linen etc: This was purely a space issue, we didn’t have the cash to send over lots of boxes, and to be honest, with IKEA and Penneys both relatively affordable – there wasn’t a need to bring over that kind of stuff, when you have such a big variety here that is affordable too.
  • Kitchen appliances etc: I am obsessed with my slow cooker, but the one I had back home was massive and really heavy. Since the boxes you ship over are based on weight, we decided to leave it behind. I felt really guilty because we had a lot of great gifts from our wedding, but made the choice to rather not come over with too much. We decided to first get here and then make the call on what we needed to bring over later. We have since bought a new slow cooker and food processor, none of the other kitchen appliances have really been too necessary for right now. Perhaps that will change the longer we are here. We also left behind plates, glasses, mugs etc – all of which were provided brand new in our rental. We did however pack our coffee machine – no regrets for having it here, Nespresso pods are cheaper here than back home!
  • Electrical Appliances: I couldn’t fit my hair dryer into my luggage when it came to flying over, so I chose to leave it behind. The SA plug is different to the ones in Ireland so it would have been a hassle to get international adaptors for all the electrical items – so I have zero regrets for leaving them behind.
  • Most of my Summer clothing: I have mentioned this in previous posts, but before I left SA, I sold, donated or got rid of over 8 large black bags of clothing. Mostly clothes I never wore, didn’t fit me, or knew I would never wear. With the weather being a lot cooler here in Ireland, I haven’t missed any of the clothes I left behind. I even got to donate my old running shoes to a worthy cause – so I have zero regrets for not bringing that kind of stuff with me.

So what about the stuff we brought over, but in the end found we didn’t actually need to bring with us? You will find that once you are over here, there will always be some things you bring with you, that you really didn’t need to – take note of this list and then seriously reconsider leaving it behind.

  • Way too many clothes: even though I culled my clothes to two suitcases, I still feel like I brought over way too much. A perfect example is that I went from over 70 items of clothing to under 30 when I moved to a capsule wardrobe last year. I could have saved myself a heap of space if I had left it behind in the first place.
  • Too many handbags and jewellery that I never wear: I think the biggest thing that holds us back from getting rid of things is the guilt we have for throwing things out. I felt guilty throwing out gifts and presents from friends and family, so instead I lugged it overseas and to be honest – I now realise that if I don’t wear something, and it doesn’t bring me joy – I am better off for letting it go.
  • Empty notebooks and too much stationery: I loved Typo when I lived in SA, and I had a pile of notebooks and pens that I brought over because I just couldn’t bear to let them go. And you know what? I let them go in the #minsgame any way. So they couldn’t have been all that important or necessary.
  • Winter coats: This is always a strange one for me. We decided to spend an unreasonable amount on winter coats in SA and when we got over here, we found that in these climates – they don’t actually keep us warm! So we had to go out and buy new coats when we got here. Save yourself the space and effort, and buy your coat when you get here.
  • Basic tees and ‘layers’: Those kinds of things are always going to be super cheap over here, trust me, you can buy them all at Penneys when you first get here.
  • Ratty dog toys: Purely for sentimental reasons, I decided to bring over a lot of Jack’s toys. Some of them were very ratty and worn – and we have since thrown them out. It really wasn’t necessary to bring them with.

Those are all of the things we shouldn’t have brought with us, but like I said – you only know what you know, when you know it. And once we got here, I quickly realised there were a few things we really should have brought with us. This is probably a handy list to keep in mind if you are still planning to make the move. There is still time to pack these in, and trust me, some of them are essential!

  • Rob’s bicycle: Yes there is a bike to work scheme here and you can get your company to pay for a bike and that’s all great, but that is not something you sort out as soon as you get over. We actually still haven’t sorted it out and we have been here a year! Rob is an avid cyclist, back home he had two pretty good off-road and road bicycles. And I think we should have just swallowed the price it would have cost to send them over. Even with the cost of shipping his bike, it still would have worked out cheaper than the cost to replace to the same standard of bike over here. The lesson you can take from us is, if it’s your hobby – bring it with you.
  • Extra Extra Toiletries: I bought new face wash and moisturizer and some make up staples before I left home and I am glad I did, but I probably should have bought more. When you first get over here and you are working on one salary – those things seems helluva expensive in Euros.
  • Poop bags (for the dog): This is a bit random, but my mum and I went into the pet store just before I left and picked up a few packs of poop bags super cheap in SA. It was something like ZAR20 for 300 poop bags. They really didn’t take up a lot of space, so I regret not stocking up on more.
  • A Stockpile of Medication: I know I sound like a druggy but I should have loaded up on things like Corenza C, Med-Lemon, Myprodol, Norflex and Allergex. Strong medication is not so readily available here, and I really think it would have been handy to stock up on some of these things as a base for when we first got here.
  • Wine: We only packed 2 bottles each into our checked in luggage – we should have tried to pack more. I don’t know how legal this suggestion is because I know the limit is 2 bottles, but trust me when you see the price of cheap wine back home, and what they charge for it here – you might as well risk it and sneak in a few more good bottles!

HAVE YOU MOVED COUNTRIES? WHAT WAS ONE THING YOU REGRET BRINGING WITH YOU?

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or join my exclusive Facebook Group. And because I seriously am an open book, if you ever want to bounce ideas off me, or just chat and connect send me an email (I really love chatting!)..

p.p.s. I try post varied content 2 -3 times a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

PIN THIS AND READ LATER:

Moving to Ireland? This list might help you decide what to keep, what to bring with, and what to leave behind.

A Minimalist Christmas: 5 Ways to Slow Down This Year

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A Minimalist Christmas: This year we want to try create new Christmas traditions, ones without gifts. We want to really focus on the things that matter most to us.Christmas has always been my favourite holiday of the year. I love decorating the tree, baking treats with my mum, and being at home with family. Growing up I used to love the presents too. In fact, even last year – I wanted a million presents under the tree. I love lots of small parcels – it means you get to spend loads of time wrapping and unwrapping gifts. I used to look forward to what treats family and loved ones would buy me, and also, what I could buy them. I love getting thoughtful and sometimes sentimental gifts, as well as the occasional funny gift too. But this year has been a bit of a game changer for us. For one, we have learnt how to declutter our home and closets. Secondly, we have learnt how to live on one salary, which means our budget doesn’t really account for loads of present -giving this year. And lastly, we are trying to really get out of debt, we finally paid off both of our credit cards just a few weeks ago. So this year we are trying something a bit different… this year we won’t be buying any gifts. Not for each other, or for our family. We both know that we can’t really afford to buy gifts, especially when the best gift would be if we were completely debt-free. And we think our family and loved ones will understand, since we can’t be with them, and sending presents in the post always makes it that much more expensive.

This year we want to try create new Christmas traditions. We want to see how creative we can get with the festive season, and really focus on the things that matter most to us. Being with the ones we love, spending time with each other and enjoying the holidays together. That’s why I came up with some free things to do over December in Dublin.

We are going to try to be more present with each other. We are not perfect, not as individuals or as partners. We want to take some time this year to really be present with each other. Really listen to each other.

We want to laugh more, with each other and with our friends. This year will be the first year that we will be spending the holidays with our friends instead of our family. We have really great friends coming to visit us here in Ireland, they haven’t been here before so it means we get to show them a little bit of our town while they are here too.

We want to be kinder and more gentle with ourselves. We want to lower the expectations we put on ourselves to be all and do all over the holidays. We want to slow down and just live in the moment of enjoying our time together and with loved ones, and really give our hearts and minds time to process the year we have had and our hopes for the new year ahead.

We are going to stop comparing our journey with everyone else’s. Comparison is a strong game that we are all guilty of playing. This year we want to really focus on what we want for ourselves, and worry less if someone else’s way looks better. It is so easy to look on the outside and make presumptions about how other people live, but speaking from experience – what you see on social media is often not the full story, you have no idea what kind of troubles worry them at night to maintain such a life. We can’t choose only the good bits of life, we have to learn to manage the shitty bits too.

We may not be buying or giving gifts this year, but that doesn’t mean we are going to have any less of a Christmas. We are happy enough to sit on the couch, holding hands, watching the twinkly Christmas tree lights and listening to Christmas tunes. Christmas should be about being present, not just buying presents.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS TRADITION?

Unlock the simple life,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or join my exclusive Facebook Group. And because I seriously am an open book, if you ever want to bounce ideas off me, or just chat and connect send me an email (I really love chatting!).

p.p.s. I try post varied content 2-3 times a week; I am also setting up exclusive challenges; guides and templates that I will only share with my subscribers, so be sure to sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox! Sign up now!

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A Minimalist Christmas: This year we want to try create new Christmas traditions, ones without gifts. We want to really focus on the things that matter most to us.A Minimalist Christmas: This year we want to try create new Christmas traditions, ones without gifts. We want to really focus on the things that matter most to us.

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