Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!
Options
Comments
-
enthusiasticsaver wrote: »Well done on getting to the end of your first debt busting month and it looks like you have reduced your debt by £558 unless of course you have an overdraft which has gone up?
I assume you are tackling the most expensive tranche of the mbna and Barclaycard first as they are charging the most interest?
Thank you! Yes, I'm pleased with the overall debt reduction although it doesn't look like much on each balance. I don't have an overdraft (finally paid that off last year) and haven't had any unofficial overdrafts this month either.
You are right, I'm tackling the 27.9% and 27.6% on MBNA and Barclaycard first.0 -
armchairexpert wrote: »What a brilliant set of updates! I'm also looking forward to the end of the month so I can budget, what are we like?
You're doing great, and I'm super impressed that you're addressing it with the counsellor as well: spending is often so emotional, and digging out those root causes is hard, important work.
Thank you! I've got a quiet weekend planned and am really looking forward to sitting down and getting to grips with my budget.
I don't think I've ever really looked at my spending habits in such detail before. Partly because nowadays I'm a "functioning" overspender and it has been so easy to convince myself that everything is fine, and partly because everyone in my family (me included) has treated my spending/shopping habit as a sort of frivolous, silly indulgence. Even though it is difficult to talk about because I am so ashamed of myself, it has also been good to say how I really feel about money out loud in a place where I'm not being judged for being "silly"."aspirational salads" is such a great way to put it. We are all just buying a lifestyle not food anymore when we do buy those little expensive pots.
These last few weeks of bringing in my own lunch have been a revelation about my food spending habits, I tell you! Every time I bought one of my aspirational salads, I would give myself a break about the amount of money I was spending (also in the £6 region) because it was healthy and I was "being good" with food so I didn't have to be good with money.
I used to have a real resistance to making a quick and easy lunch for myself (like sandwiches & a packet of crisps) because it wasn't "healthy" and yet 9 times of out 10 what I would end up buying for lunch would be a hot wrap, a packet of crisps and a portion of pre-prepared fruit (to compensate for the crisps) which would cost around £6.50 a day! It's like because I didn't have a big multi pack of crisps in the house I could think "oh I hardly ever eat crisps" :rotfl:
This month of budgeting has really made me confront some of the mental hoops I would jump through to justify spending so much money.Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »Wow, looks like you are coming to the end of your first month totally in control of things, well done!
Looking forward to seeing how you address the budgeting aspect next month - I'll be watching for tips
Thank you I think that having a month of mindful spending behind me will help with the budget - I'm sure there are still some surprises lurking in my bank statement, but at least I will be able to go through and get a realistic picture of what I spend in a month minus the excesses of past shopping trips. 0 -
Love that you hit your target, nay, smashed it!
Mindful spending, and achievable targets, tis the way to success :TDebt Jan 2017 = £42kMay 2022 = £15k0 -
Now your making me think of the hot wraps. I used to love the chicken and jalapeño back in the day " Your vibe attracts your tribe":D
Debt neutral 27/03/17 from £40k:eek: in the hole 2012.
Roadkill 17 £56.58 2016-£62.28 2015- £84.20)
RYSAW17 £1900 2016 £2,535.16 2015 £1027.200 -
For what it's worth, I totally recognise myself in your whole lunch-buying cycle. It's really amazing what lengths the human mind can go to in order to hide undesirable truths from us!!! But hey, at least you've identified it, and its all about moderation isn't it, both in diet and in money.
I really hope that one day in the future, you'll be able to say out loud to your family "oh I wish I hadn't spent how I spent in the past but I'm really proud of how I've changed those habits, and now I'm a saver!!". I think it's very interesting how family "narratives" can shape how people act and I think sometimes they can be self-fulfilling prophecies - if your narrative has been "Oh Georgina is such a spender, shes always out shopping" maybe it makes you want to live up to that picture to maintain your familiar role in the family, you know? It's comfortable for you, and what you're used to. Anyway, I'm just musing out loud because I've been up since 4am due to a stinking cold, so I'm probably due a nap already - I hope you don't mind me sharing my thoughts!
Well done on a great month and I hope you have many more. I'm crossing my fingers that you get a good result from your annual bonus; you're doing such hard work addressing your deeper problems with spending, I really want for you to be able to knock a nice little chunk off the debt totals in one fell swoop! But have a little treat for yourself too :-)
Ada0 -
Although I've recognised I need to sort my debts out, I'm not sure I've had a true LBM as I know in Jan/Feb I still spent on things I shouldn't have done. I just watched the pennies a little more than usual. You've completely hit the nail on the head with "mindful spending". Do I need it? Can I afford it? I need to engage my brain more. I'm certainly a boredom shopper but maybe need to look deeper into why I want to escape home so much! Freedom from the chore or being a working Mum I think mainlyGeorgianaCavendish wrote: »I think that having a month of mindful spending behind me will help with the budget - I'm sure there are still some surprises lurking in my bank statement, but at least I will be able to go through and get a realistic picture of what I spend in a month minus the excesses of past shopping trips.
NaomiCredit Cards NOV 2019 £33,220.42 Sept 2023 £19,951.00 Tilly Tidy 20223/COLOR] Sept £43.71 Here's my diary: A Ditherer's Diary Again0 -
ada-or-ardor wrote: »For what it's worth, I totally recognise myself in your whole lunch-buying cycle. It's really amazing what lengths the human mind can go to in order to hide undesirable truths from us!!! But hey, at least you've identified it, and its all about moderation isn't it, both in diet and in money.
I really hope that one day in the future, you'll be able to say out loud to your family "oh I wish I hadn't spent how I spent in the past but I'm really proud of how I've changed those habits, and now I'm a saver!!". I think it's very interesting how family "narratives" can shape how people act and I think sometimes they can be self-fulfilling prophecies - if your narrative has been "Oh Georgina is such a spender, shes always out shopping" maybe it makes you want to live up to that picture to maintain your familiar role in the family, you know? It's comfortable for you, and what you're used to. Anyway, I'm just musing out loud because I've been up since 4am due to a stinking cold, so I'm probably due a nap already - I hope you don't mind me sharing my thoughts!
Well done on a great month and I hope you have many more. I'm crossing my fingers that you get a good result from your annual bonus; you're doing such hard work addressing your deeper problems with spending, I really want for you to be able to knock a nice little chunk off the debt totals in one fell swoop! But have a little treat for yourself too :-)
Ada
Thank you Ada! Your thoughts about family narrative really do strike a chord. It's funny the way we all get assigned roles in our families and play up to them. My sister is very definitely the baby of the family (even though she is late 20s) and I seem to be viewed as the constant baby sitter because I'm 8 years older. My dad often tells me I should be "treating" her to things or giving me the evil eye if he is around when my sister is paying me back for something. I need to get better at standing up for myself and suggesting that if he thinks she needs treats maybe he can pay for them himself!
I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed re: bonus, the HR emails usually go out a month before THE pay day so that will be early next week. I need to find an online calculator or something so that I can work out how much I'll actually get after tax etc, then I will know exactly how much I'll have available and can plan what to spend it on properly. It would make SUCH a difference if I was able to reduce those highest APRs!0 -
Although I've recognised I need to sort my debts out, I'm not sure I've had a true LBM as I know in Jan/Feb I still spent on things I shouldn't have done. I just watched the pennies a little more than usual. You've completely hit the nail on the head with "mindful spending". Do I need it? Can I afford it? I need to engage my brain more. I'm certainly a boredom shopper but maybe need to look deeper into why I want to escape home so much! Freedom from the chore or being a working Mum I think mainly
Naomi
I'm not totally there yet either, I really need to get to grips with a proper budget!
I see mindful spending as not lying to myself about what I'm spending on and why, so I think you are doing that. Have you tried using OnTrees? I'm finding it really useful to import all my transactions and categorise them, I've already found a couple of things that I had forgotten about, like a couple of takeaways when we were out late on a Sunday and I couldn't be bothered to cook and some dry cleaning for a dress that I really regret buying as it has probably cost me more in cleaning than it did to buy it! So I will either make a takeaway budget or keep an emergency pizza in the freezer, and I think I'm going to purge my wardrobe of dry clean only clothes and put them on ebay!0 -
Love that you hit your target, nay, smashed it!
Mindful spending, and achievable targets, tis the way to success :T
Thank you! :beer:Now your making me think of the hot wraps. I used to love the chicken and jalapeño back in the day
Oh I used to love that one, they don't do it anymore but the Swedish Meatball wrap is pretty good too 0 -
I also get an annual bonus and there are two things I always forget:
1) it may be enough to push you into higher rate tax band for the month, and if so, HMRC may assume that's your standard salary and charge you the extra tax that month. You should then get reimbursed in subsequent payments.
2) student loan company take a proportionate amount so a huge chunk will be taken up by payment to them. At least you can count it as automatic debt busting.... It really hurts to see the amount though. I think they alone took £500 off me this time last year, I almost cried!!
So my rule of thumb is "just count on an extra £100 take home and anything else in my paypacket really is a bonus"!!!
If you find a decent calculator that seems accurate please do share - I never seem to be able to find one.
Ada0
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.1K Life & Family
- 247.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards