£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

mfmaybe wrote: »

So you had £1200 of "spare" income since you started???? Or thereabouts?

If so then that is amazing :T

Quite a lot of it was money I'd pulled out of my business account before my LBM (since when I have been building it up again), and towards the end of the month I stopped allocating extra to fuel and food budgets, but yes, a little under £1,200 'spare' since starting, one way or another!

Well, we have officially made it to the end of February (give or take a few hours, in which I hope not to spend any money :cool: ).

It’s only been a little over a fortnight since I started this diary and really took control of the debt, but I think the numbers are worth reviewing:

12/02/17 Starting debt £67,031.92
Direct Debit (minimum) payments £96.14
Overpayments £321.57
Total paid off debt since 12/02/17 £416.90
Interest added £0
Net percentage paid off 0.62%
Current debt £66,615.02

I’m pretty pleased with those debt busting levels, given it’s our first run at this. I have no idea whether we’ll continue at these sorts of numbers or not - it depends on my self employed income - but at least I know that at the very minimum I can continue to stick to the budget we've made for my lowest level income, and that i we'll get the stupid debt paid off in 111 months even if we only manage that.

As well as all that debt busting, I’ve managed to get my business account up to a sensible level, so there’s enough in there to meet my expected expenses for March, plus all of April’s minimum income already sitting there. Fingers crossed for another month as good as this one, but at least I know I’m better able to withstand it if it’s not a great month.

To Do today:
1. At the end of the day, when any money has come out of the account that needs to, check the budget pots that need to be zeroed for the new month (mainly petrol, family kitty, food, a couple of others), divide up according to formula and make debt overpayment (hopefully!). Done! Only a small overpayment, but every little counts.
2. Send out the last of February's invoices. Done, and paid already, which is why the business account looks so healthy.
3. Social media while working. Done.
4. Finish knitting the hat. Still not done, hoping to sit and knit a little this evening.
5. Post eb@y sale. Done
6. Clear the ironing mountain. I am just avoiding looking at it, which practically counts, right?

To do this week:
1. During our family meeting, focus on ways to save electricity, after the success of last week’s ‘how to save water’ chat. Done!
2. Also during family meeting, try to work out who’s going to need a haircut next month, so we can make sure there is sufficient in the budget. Done!
3. Plan out March working time. Done!
4. Update YNAB for March once we get to the 1st.
5. Sit down with DH once we get into March and chat through current budget situation, so he can see how much positive effect there is from the budget changes we have made.

Week 3: Day 4

New day! New month! New budget! Exciting times.

I don’t have any longer term aims for the month over and above my usual daily and weekly lists, because with my variable income the best plan I can make for myself is to stick to our budget like it’s all we’re going to have, and divide up any extra money as and when it appears. However, this month should easily see our debt fall down into the next thousand bracket, which I think will feel like a big step forward (the previous thousand bracket hardly registered, as we were only £31 above it when we started out!).

YNAB is raring to go, with all the numbers plumbed in and the budget planned literally down to the penny, but hopefully with a little bit of scope for absorbing anything unexpected that crops up.

Two of our children have birthdays this month, which is going to test my budgeting skills to the max, as our presents/party budget currently only contains £90. If we get some extra money in then we’ll be fine, but otherwise I’m going to have to limit ourselves to £30 per present and a very cut-price party (only one old enough to care about having a party). Luckily the child in question only wants a small themed party with a few friends at home, and we should be able to decorate in the appropriate theme fairly cheaply. As long as the cake looks the part, he’ll be happy! I’m hoping to have a little extra to throw at this by the time it comes round though - both birthdays are right at the tail end of the month.

On with the lists…

To do today:
1. Keep an eye on the accounts and YNAB to ensure the DDs that come out today (the vast majority of them) are as expected and that there are no unexpected price hikes to account for.
2. social media while working
3. book keeping for last month (less of an intimidating task now that there’s actually some money in the business account!)
4. Batch cook homemade baked beans
5. Slice and freeze the bread I made yesterday

To do this week:
1. During our family meeting, focus on ways to save electricity, after the success of last week’s ‘how to save water’ chat. Done!
2. Also during family meeting, try to work out who’s going to need a haircut next month, so we can make sure there is sufficient in the budget. Done!
3. Plan out March working time. Done!
4. Update YNAB for March once we get to the 1st.
5. Sit down with DH once we get into March and chat through current budget situation, so he can see how much positive effect there is from the budget changes we have made.