Recovery from reckless spending
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Well done with the meal plan! Keep this enthusiasm going!Savings as of April 2023 Savings account - £26460.50(14474.88)Current account - £2140.24(4576.79)Total - £28600.74(19051.67) £1010 (£65pm CS/BS) £250 CS/BS/JS0
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A productive half hour today. Managed to get my car insurance down from £113 per month to £38 per month (with a one-off cancellation fee of £52). Result!
Today was also a NSD. If I cycle to work for the remainder of this week, then I won't have to spend penny until Saturday!0 -
Hi,
I was going to ask if you could get yourself involved in a sport and then I saw you were into cycling. Could you join a local club?
Depending on your health a running club, cycling club, golf, fishing whatever you enjoy could give your social scene and your wellbeing a lift. There may be some costs involved (for some sports costs will be minimal) but if it saves money on drink and other destructive behaviour it will pay for itself.
Some running clubs run in different sets from the walk/run lot to the more competitive people so it's worth asking if your worried you're not fit enough - maybe cycling clubs are the same?
I gather open water swimming is great for depression - you can use Google to find lifeguarded venues - a lake near us has a Saturday morning and a Wednesday night for £5. I also read that a rock climbing course can be as effective as anti depressants so worth a try if you're feeling brave (although not the cheapest option).
You have been through a lot but perhaps now it's time to do something positive just for you?
Good luck0 -
Just thought I'd jump in on 2 points...
1) completely understand what you're going through. As a recent divorcee myself I can behave in a very similar way (not the strip clubs as much lol! But can go on clothes spending binges. I think it's my way of re-inventing myself. Also get you with the alcohol consumption
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2) insurance underwriter here. Although adding another named driver isn't strictly speaking fronting, it is a failure to present the risk fairly, so your insurer could still void the policy. Be careful...0 -
Thanks Cariad. I ended up switching insurance companies and saving myself a fortune, and that's without any named drivers, so I'm pleased that I've saved money without taking any risks with cover.
Yeah, the drinking can easily get out of hand. The man who's unhappy at home is always the last man standing. My mates would head home, and I'd stay out drinking alone until the small hours. On one of these occasions, someone beckoned me into a strip bar with a voucher for a free drink. Slippery slope.
Luckily, I was never the sort of guy who needed a drink to get through the day. I was (and am) a binge-drinker. If I go out for one, I can't stop. And not in a fun way. So now I just avoid going out to the pub at all. It's been over a week since I've had a drink and I feel good. I've always been a bit obsessive, so I've taken to this money-saving thing with gusto.0 -
Hi. I'm going to be the odd one out here, and risk getting slated. I haven't had contents insurance for years. All my furniture, and most of my possessions are second hand, picked up from car boot sales, charity shops, given to me, and skip diving. To me they are just stuff. I take the attitude that I am responsible for what is in this house, if anything needs replacing, such as broken appliances, I have money put away for that. All the money I would have paid in insurance is now in my emergency fund. Basically I self insure.
It depends how you value what you have, and if you need to be surrounded by the latest, the modern, the most up to date, and the fashionable, or if you don't mind living with the basics. Looking around my living room I have a second hand four piece suite bought for £50 off a friend. A dining table free, the people next door threw it out. I'm sat on an office chair someone gave me because it was broken, I mended it. A sideboard I bought 30 years ago from a friend for £5. A set of drawers I found in a skip. A Dyson found in a skip. An old desk computer bought new 12 years ago, it's still working. Nearly all my clothes come from charity shops.
I know if I lost everything I have enough in the emergency fund to buy what I need, because my needs are simple. I know not everyone wants to take this chance, but as I said, my stuff is just stuff.
Ilona
I think it's important to point out that the vast majority of folk reading on here will not be in a position to be able to essentially "self insure" in this way - as others have said, even the cost of emergency accommodation, cleaning up a fire/smoke damaged property, complete redecoration, carpets etc, refitting things like kitchen & bathroom and replacement even of just basic furniture - I bet that won't get you any change out of 30k at the absolute best. Most people just aren't in a position to have that sort of money saved - and personally even if I had, I'm not willing to risk money that we would have saved for our futures on needing to be spent in this way. - my £85 a year (I think it was last year) premium is money well spent IMO.
It's also worth remembering that if you were in the position of losing everything bar what you stand up in, you probably won't have the luxury of time to be able to shop around for charity shop bargains or to wait for friends to be throwing stuff out - in itself, needing to sort things out fast can often cost more!
SR that's great work on the car insurance - what a saving! :T🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Thanks EH.
Just finished my third NSD in a row, and I'm on for a fourth tomorrow. I think it's possibly the first time I've done it in my life.0 -
SeekingRedemption wrote: »Thanks EH.
Just finished my third NSD in a row, and I'm on for a fourth tomorrow. I think it's possibly the first time I've done it in my life.
Well done, go for it. One step at a time and you will get there. :T
IlonaI love skip diving.
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