Ok, here goes nothing!

LauraB89 · 30 October 2016 at 6:43PM

Hi everyone!

I have been lurking on here for a couple of weeks now, and I am finally brave enough to come out of the shadows to say... "hi!"

My current situation - I have debts that I have never really tried paying off (2 x credit cards - 1700 in total, 1 x loan - 800, and 2 x overdrafts - 700 in total) - so 3200 all in (excluding 12k PCP car)

I have approx 15k in shares (depending on the FTSE that day!) and 2.2k in a first time buyer's isa.

My LBM has come as I am getting married next year, and I want to buy a house (so that I can have SO MANY BABIES).

So, for the last 3 weeks I have been diligently tracking all of my expenditures and I have always had all of my outgoings on a spreadsheet.

I am fairly confident that with my salary and bonus I can get most of it paid off in the next 6 months, and being qualified as a financial adviser I don't have any excuses for not knowing how :eek:

So!

Here is the plan;

- Cut out £100 from monthly spending
- Get through xmas this year and still pay off debts
- Get both overdrafts and credit cards paid off by the end of the year

I currently don't live frugally in any way other than with food. I love shopping, new clothes, getting my nails done, expensive haircuts, and going out...:money:

So - food-wise, I make my list and buy only what I need (£50 per week, for 4 adults - two of whom pay me to cook for them. I am a good cook apparently!).

I just need to keep the same attitude to the rest of my spending!

TL;DR - loves food, need to stop shopping..!

Littlebirdie · 30 October 2016 at 7:29PM

Hey,

Firstly well done on being smart enough to understand and have money in shares....it scares and confuses me!

Also, it must be such an exciting time of life - planning and wedding and wanting to buy a house.

I've subscribed - good luck x

LauraB89 · 30 October 2016 at 8:01PM

Hi Littlebirdie!

Thanks, I am very excited - that's my motivation to sort myself out finally!!

Ah the shares are an odd one, I bought them through a sharesave scheme at my previous job and they have started (literally) paying dividends so I don't really want to sell them.

Weirdly, I get paid on the 15th of each month, so I will keep on with my spending diary and then analyse my spending after.

Already decided to stop my fortnightly gel manicure

Anyone else just sit on Rightmove every night??

LB x

LauraB89 · 30 October 2016 at 8:25PM

Ok, so today was a non spending day - We went to the zoo (mum paid for everyone) and took a picnic (chicken and salad wraps).

Put a shoulder of pork in the slow cooker, had pulled pork, mash and fancy kale for dinner. Got LOADS of meat left over (pulled pork stir fry tomorrow night mmm!!) and I have got some leftover mash and kale for bubble and squeak for lunch this week

mmmm!!! Good food is definitely going to get me through this next few months.

Tomorrow;

- Another non-spend day
- Last day of the month, so I should know my bonus for November pay (hopefully about £1k - I can throw this at my biggest CC)

Lots to do, just wish I could speed up time!

Bobarella · 30 October 2016 at 10:56PM

Good luck with your journey Laura. The dinner sounds yum!

LauraB89 · 31 October 2016 at 3:53PM

Thanks Bob - it was so tasty - today I had bubble and squeak for lunch!

I tried to set up YNAB today - but I am pretty sure that my budget is too weird to work!

I have 3 main issues;

1. I get paid on the 15th of the month - so annoying
2. I am in a house-share that I sort out all the bills for - so I have "income" from that
3. I work in sales - so I never 100% know how much I am getting paid

That being said, their rules really resonated with me. So I am going to keep on keeping on - got to reconcile at the end of this month (15th November) to see how my initial budget fared and then adjust for the following month.

I was hoping to stay out of my overdraft in my Lloyds account this month, but it hasn't happened. It's free, so I am not going to stress about it, but make sure that I don't fully use it all up. I am hoping that in my Halifax account I can keep out of the overdraft by moving my emergency money (£200) in there.

THEN, when I get paid, I can move the £200 back out and get rid of the overdraft on that account all together!

Hopefully, if I can stay within £100 of my limit on my Lloyds account, I can get rid of that one as well and be totally overdraft free (for the first time since starting uni way too many years ago..!).

Once I have the overdrafts sorted, I can get started on the credit cards - 1200 on one and 425 on the other - I am pretty sure I can stash £400 a month or so into them and be sorted by Feb!!!

Once they are paid off, I am going to close one of them and use the other for my food shopping only - which is about £50 a week (I am pretty iron-willed here, so confident I wont be tempted to use for anything else!). That way I can pay it off in full each month and have the best credit rating ever!!

I think that once my overdrafts are sorted, I am going to make the Halifax account a joint account with the OH. That way we can move over all our DD's and salary into that account and send over just spending money into our main accounts. That will hopefully mean we can be better at saving because - well accountability!

We have only just really started talking openly about money, a couple of years ago, I got made redundant and I gave him £2k to pay off his overdraft. He got back into his overdraft and maxed it out again without telling me

Now we are looking to the future and he has taken a loan to pay off his OD and removed it from his account - we are pretty serious about this house buying and paying for the wedding!!

Need to budget for paying the photographer next month as well - must add to the spreadsheet.

Ok, so today - no spending at all - woo hoo!

I actually think I can make this a spend free week if I can stretch to Sunday without food shopping

Ok - fully motivated now, time to crack on.

LauraB89 · 1 November 2016 at 9:05AM

OK- last night was interesting. Made it all the way to 9.30 pm with no spending but getting some weird symptoms so... popped out to buy pregnancy tests. Big sigh of relief that it was negative - but still worried about it! Stupid coil with its no periods!

Anyway.

Today is a definite nsd as I'm at work all day!

LB

LauraB89 · 5 November 2016 at 10:38PM

OK- it's been an INSANE week! But incredible. Had a trip with work as a reward for winning an award, all expenses paid which was mind blowing. And I managed to do it without spending any money! Today, I went out with the future mil... and spent 40 on Christmas presents, but now I do feel better that I have started. And I got some tasty bits from a fancy farm shop. So I spent about 17 on food, but no regrets because I had some of the sausages or dinner and they were massive and really delish.

So! Tomorrow I need to go food shopping and I need to keep the weeks shop to less than 40something that I have left until payday on the 15th... should be fun..!!!

Over and out x

LauraB89 · 6 November 2016 at 9:45PM

Hiii,

A very successful day today - did a week's food shopping for only £43

learned a new trick - check what lidl has on offer and build it into my menu for the week - thanks lidl!!!!

We have this week;

- Southern Fried Chicken (on offer in lidl)
- Chicken and ham pie (chicken thighs and a gammon joint to cook!)
- Fish and chips (breaded cod, homemade chips)
- TOAD IN THE HOLE (mmmmmmm...!!)
- Shepherd's pie

We have for lunches;

- lots of cold southern fried chicken
- plenty of eggies
- might make a soup!

This will feed 4 adults for dinner and 2 adults for lunches

I have about £15 in my wallet to last me until payday (15th), so if I don't spend any more, then I will have paid off;

- £50 off of my barclaycard
- £119 off my Lloyds loan
- £100 off of my Halifax card

and I will have £285 left in my halifax OD - so hopefully I can get this paid off next month

Slightly nervy about Monday, as I should know by then if they are going to pay my bonus for September (which they're always trying to find reason not to pay!) but should be £950 - which will go straight off of my halifax card.

I am a bit disappointed that my credit score has taken a hit this month - I am guessing it is because of my car finance? Who knows. I will just keep ploughing away at the debts and get back on track!

Next month I should be;

- barclaycard £375
- halifax CC £1164
- lloyds loan £680
- halifax OD £0

Got a phone interview tomorrow as well, for a job with a much better salary - since my current role they have overspent their budget for bonuses and I don't like how they are going about trying to cut spending on bonuses.

over the weekend, I have also made a start on my christmas presents - which has made me feel a bit better.

Only planned spending this week is my dancing classes (1 for the wedding and a new one for fitness!).

Hope everyone has had a good weekend!

LauraB89 · 6 November 2016 at 9:52PM

Ahhh forgot to mention - another £200 in the htb isa in November as well

I feel very proud of myself at the moment for being able to cut down.

I am very sad about the nail situation - I miss getting them done. Buuut £30 a month is just not justifiable at the moment.

Anyway.. that's more than enough from me!

Happy Sunday everyone xxx

Hiraeth · 6 November 2016 at 10:47PM

Well done Laura and good luck with clearing your debts.

I've never had my nails done so not sure what I am missing :-)) but I think that you will feel happier putting the money off your debts.

Ok, here goes nothing!

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