My diary for the future...

susie81

Hi everyone.

I've been lurking around the boards for a few years now really and dipped my toe in the water with challenges and things but never got off the ground. I'm hoping a diary/blog where I can ramble on will help me to keep on track a bit more.

I've had numerous LB moments over the years - well flickers really where I sit down and try to sort out our finances, and things have got better really when I think about it, but we could probably have been debt free by now if we'd put our minds to it. I should say there is me, my OH and our two dogs.

Our problem is one of control and getting round to things! Hopefully this will help.

My OH and I have around £30k of debt including student loans but not the mortgage. I'll get an exact figure when I update the accounts this month. I try to see it as our debt but really it is mainly his from before we got together and the early years of our relationship before I was anywhere near his finances.

Since I got involved, and my salary has gone up, we have managed to make sure it is going down rather than up and he no longer spends on the credit cards. This has been over the past couple of years. Talking to him about it has been hard because of his pride and even after 9 years it is still a difficult issue. It's a lot better than it used to be though.

Thing is, I'm 27 and want to start a family. He does too but our money situation is what is stoppping us. I always planned to start a family when I was 25ish and that obviously hasn't happened. Now I still have to wait until I feel we can afford it especially as I am the main earner in the household and won't be when on maternity leave. He feels bad as he thinks he is holding me back from my dreams.

Anyway, once again I am about to try and plan for the future hence the diary. Hopefully we can stick to it - if we can get one month of not overspending under our belts then maybe that will spur us on a bit more as at the moment it feels impossible to gain control.

Here's to the future....

ziggles50

Hi Susie
Here's to your future too...:D

LeeSouthEast

Good luck ! Welcome to diary land

susie81

Thank you to those that said hello.

Well, I entered some comps last night after starting my diary so fingers crossed XX

I was really happy with last night as I made a list of things to do during the day but being realistic - one of my faults is that I come up with unrealistic tasks to do and when I can't complete them it gets me down - but we got them all done!!! OH helped of course and he was in charge of the list to make sure we did everything.Was realistic for once too as we completed the list a lot quicker than I thought we would and I had time to start my diary and do some comping. Made me feel great though - actually getting things done that I wanted to.

I'll make a list of things to do after work tonight and post it up later. Let's see if I can't evetually get my house, finances, life and everything in some sort of order!!

samantha3101

Good luck...i will be catching up with your diary daily! x

Walkinshaw

susie81 wrote: »

I've had numerous LB moments over the years - well flickers really where I sit down and try to sort out our finances, and things have got better really when I think about it, but we could probably have been debt free by now if we'd put our minds to it. I should say there is me, my OH and our two dogs.

I'm completely with you, I had LBM's and suddenly I get lazy

Things came to a head and I fell seriously ill and I've had to properly sort things out and I'm waiting for a call about my DRO today so fingers crossed that will be it! (Though me being me says it won't work :rolleyes: )

Well done for finding the right path! Best of luck for staying on it too!

susie81

Hi Walkinshaw - that's completely it - I get lazyitis. I have so much going on and that has to be done I can't seem to do any of it.

Good luck with your plans - what does DRO stand for by the way?

One of my problems is that I suffer from depression and have done for years - I've just coped with it or not as the case may be. But in December 2008 I started seeing a councillor and things have been looking up. I've had a really bad month in July where I seem to have gone completely backwards but August is going to be another fresh new start - I have so many of them!! At least my OH understands me better now and so he helps me through it more - couldn't do it without him:A.

I'm to try and set realistic goals that are achieveable as it cheers me up when I do achieve them. Hopefully that will help my depression issues as I won't feel like a failure any more. Tiny steps and all that.

I'm rambling again - get so carried away - you'll find that out more as we go along!

Started today's list for me and my OH - I email him during the day so he can add to it to. I'll edit it as I go along.



Me:

• Tidy bedside table
• Catch up on some work time - about an hour
• Update diary
• Comping

OH:

• Make tea
• Watch football - City are playing tonight so that comes first!!
• Complete some surveys

OH currently does mystery shopping to try and bring in some more money and has started surveys today. I used to do them but I haven't got the time to do them properly so he said he'll do them instead. Once my exams are over I'll try to start doing them again - the ones I can do as well as him of course.

Tomorrow I'll try and look at the accounts. I would do it tonight but he needs the computer.

See you later

edinburgher

Hi Susie :wave:

How much of your debts are student loans? If so, are these government loans or bank loans? If they are of the income contingent government variety a lot of people don't class them among their 'real' debts as the payments are typically quite small.

susie81

Hi edinburgher

It is income contingent (SLC) - I pay enough off it through my salary!! I include it because at the moment I'm keeping track of the balance because I make overpayments on it. Well my mum does. She gives me money every so often to go towards my student loan. I can't put it against the other debts as a morals thing - she knows about them but wants the student loan cleared so I'll eventually have extra funds in my net pay. Going off some debt is better than none at all even if it's not the most cost efficient.

And his student loan debt is SLC but of the repayment variety so it is deferred every year. Obviously interest is being added on but at a lesser rate than the credit cards isn't it.

I like to include them as it is still debt at the end of the day and I won't be happy until it's all gone. And really my student loan went on a new car when I started work after uni so I suppose it is more of a car debt when I think about it.

edinburgher

I like to include them as it is still debt at the end of the day and I won't be happy until it's all gone. And really my student loan went on a new car when I started work after uni so I suppose it is more of a car debt when I think about it.

That's probably the most mature way to deal with it! I think of my student loan as a bit of a leech - it just sits there getting slightly fatter every year It's not really much of an incentive to climb up the job ladder...

savingholmes

welcome to diary land - just popping along to wish you luck