A Thread for After Debt?

buffster_2

After becoming debt free at the end of November, I used the last of my office relocation money (the excess anyway) in December to repay my money pots, from which I'd borrowed to pay the last of my debt before interest kicked in.

I also added some extra to cover car repairs and servicing, which I'd never really covered before. Good timing, as I had a tensioner seize, which pulled off the drivebelt and brought the car to a halt on the motorway.

Got a nice £216 bill, and had to pay £50 in taxi fares as the RAC obviously don't realise how big Glasgow is and booked me into a garage nowhere near my work. I'm now waiting on that £50 coming back to me from the RAC.

I decided that January was going to be my 1 month where I didn't watch my spending and just relaxed and enjoyed it. I did OK, but ended up spending more than I'd have liked and therefore didn't have much to save towards a new car, which is what I've decided my savings will be for.

So I suppose my disappointment at the end of that month has taught me that if I don't watch my spending then it'll be very easy to lose track and fall behind where I should be in my savings, if not end up back in my overdraft.

I start a new job on Monday and will be able to car share again, which will be a huge help in cutting my fuel costs, as I live 60 miles away from where I'll be working (old job was 80 miles away). Any spare pennies from my travel budget will be put into the car savings pot at the end of the month.

I went and sorted out my mortgage yesterday as well, as my fixed rate deal was coming to an end. I've managed to convert 40% of it to a repayment mortgage, with the rest left as the original endowment and it's actually costing me £40 less per month than I was previously paying, even with a 2% interest rise.

Once I've saved up enough for a new car, the mortgage will be my next target.

Feeling-good: I think it's like when you achieve any goal and suddenly there's no target and you don't quite know what to do with yourself. If you've not only cleared debt but paid your mortgage off, then there may be a lack of a target to work towards. Have you thought if there's anything needs done round your house? Maybe save towards that?

As for the coat, think of it as an investment. A decent winter coat for £50 will probably do you a good few years and with the weather we've had the last couple of years and it seems we're about to get, then you'll get your money's worth out of it. I spent £120 on a coat back in my big-spending days, but it did me for 10 years through freezing winters in NE Scotland.

There's plenty posts on here advising DFW's to include a small treat every so often to keep them going, so why shouldn't you do that too? If you haven't bought a decent coat in years, then let this one be your treat. You're reluctant to spend now and you know you won't go out and buy another one tomorrow.

As for being terrified of money, don't be. You've proved you can deal with it in paying off that amount of money and staying strong afterwards so you don't get back into old habits. Enjoy that feeling, at least. You've done brilliantly.

JulieGeorgiana

I wrote a long response yesterday morning, one handed on the mobile… and MSE lost it

Dizzy I suffer eczema and psoriasis and two years ago when TTC I decided to try natural products and found this >>> cream which is really REALLY good, and I can even use it on DS and Eliza

SOT Congrats on the ToE

Aly Nice to see you again, you’ve been missed. Well done on your job, and the savings. Looking forward to seeing you on the Debt Free Roll of honour.

Oldtractor why don’t you start one? A ‘Personal Savings Tread’ where people choose the amounts and time frames themselves. I save by financial year so it would be great for me

Rising could I get a copy of that letter? Although my ex and I have a financial ‘clean break’ I think we are still linked financially.

I ‘borrow’ from other pots when I started building them up. Now I only do it between the ‘holiday’ and ‘present’ pots because holidays happen in the summer, and I buy Christmas/birthday gifts for the year in January. I wouldn’t worry about it too much unless you don’t think you can replace the money x

Feeling good I think everyone on here has felt that way, and most of us still do to some extent. I wouldn’t let your fear control your life, but I would let it act as a reminder to stay debt free. If you NEED a coat, I would look around and research and make sure you get the best offer and value. Then I would put it on the new credit card, set the money aside and pay for the card in full.

Savvy Money Welcome and Congrats on becoming debt free.

BiB lovely having access with credit, and not touching it is lovely

Well I am really pleased how well Eliza is doing, she off the antibiotics and the dr is pleased with her toe and she just needs antiseptic cream 1 or 2 times a day now. She is more awake and alert now and doing so much better.

DS needs a new mobile phone, I found one at MrT for £9.97, used clubcard vouchers and paid 47p

Hope everyone is well x

rising_from_the_ashes

backinbusiness wrote: »

I know how you feel. I've had repair bills of £350 since the turn of the year! It's a pain, but at least we now have the funds to do it, and are not bunging it onto a credit card (to be forgotten about/ignored!). (Also I don't think there is anything left to go wrong with my car now!)

Funnily enough I was thinking about it late last night & came to that very conclusion - if it had been this time last year, I would've just had to bung the whole £400+ on the cc and "worry" (or not which was more likely:o) about it at a later time.

buffster wrote: »

I decided that January was going to be my 1 month where I didn't watch my spending and just relaxed and enjoyed it. I did OK, but ended up spending more than I'd have liked and therefore didn't have much to save towards a new car, which is what I've decided my savings will be for.

So I suppose my disappointment at the end of that month has taught me that if I don't watch my spending then it'll be very easy to lose track and fall behind where I should be in my savings, if not end up back in my overdraft.

Welcome Buffster:D - I did exactly the same thing. Thought I could relax a little and stop writing in my spending diary..... when that month's cc bill arrived - I realised that I was wrong and (for me anyway), I still need to stick to the "old habits" and keep writing everything down so I realise how much I am spending.

Congrats on the new job:D and great news about car sharing....

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Rising could I get a copy of that letter? Although my ex and I have a financial ‘clean break’ I think we are still linked financially.

Towards the bottom of this page there are forms for all 3 credit reference agencies http://www.thecreditagency.co.uk/credit-report/check-my/financial-disassociation.html HTH:)

So pleased to hear Eliza is feeling much better and all I can say to the mobile is .... WOW!:D Old habits do die hard!

rising_from_the_ashes

Well, I have been and transferred money between pots to fund the new tyres so feeling a bit more in control again.:o

Rightly or wrongly, I have decided that for this one time only, I will not pay it back - I'm still struggling to get on top of the pots and being able to drop payments to them ASAP will make a huge difference and mean I can put more into the emergency savings one sooner.

£50 has come from the (once again wiped out) Emergency Fund and I took £25 from the HI pot - I was due to drop the HI pot payment this month, but if I keep it at current levels there will be enough in it by May.

The remaining £25 has come from the cats pot - I'd had £50 set aside for wee cat's booster but as I'm getting this for £20, there was a bit extra in there.

I'm already down to 10 months to fund next years' car pot - down to juggling with when stuff's been paid on the cc IYSWIM:o so think I'd rather take the hit now and be able to comfortably re-build the car fund for next year - at a normal monthly amount - rather than being behind & playing catch up right from the start.

Anyway, will be off to get the new tyres shortly - and will be very glad of them if the forecasted snow hits:eek:. Stay safe and warm everyone, and have a lovely weekend:) - thanks as always with the support and listening to my insecurities:o

SOT2011

Hi All,

The snow here has stuck, but has stopped for now, will have to see if it starts again. Chilly out there, but the snow does make it all so pretty!

Rising - your pot decisions sound very sensible to me, the emergency fund is there for just that sort of thing, and I agree that planning a bit further ahead so you are getting things in order as much as you can, so that the same doesn't happen next January time, seems by far the best way of moving forward.

Thanks for the link too - I will be checking them all a couple of weeks after I get the confirmation, and sending off letters if necessary then. It is only a couple of months since I checked them all and realised I was still linked to the previous ex-OH, but only on one set of records - and that was 9 or 10 years on.

Julie - great news re: Eliza being well and truly on the mend & what an amazing deal for DS mobile phone!

Hi to AlyBaly, BiB, dizzy and SamToby, lovely to see you all again.

Buffster, Savvymoney & feeling-good & anyone else I have missed (sorry) - great to have you join us, the more the merrier! Congrats on the debt free-ness & look forward to sharing tips & issues - I have already found this thread so supportive & it is really helping me to keep a handle on my finances, but also knowing that it is not just me that finds it a bit of a struggle & a constant juggling act really helps when things go a little off plan....

Happy rest of the weekend everyone. I'm off to work out how I fit a huge £6 chicken into the original meal plan - what a ridiculous impulse buy! I've barely room for a leg in the freezer so I am going to have to see what else I can juggle to avoid any waste.

SOT x

JulieGeorgiana

Rising, SOT I’m much happier now she’s getting better, everyone said I was coping too well for a new mum… but once she got sick, I got stressed and worried and looked tired!! So I am happy things are calming down now and I can enjoy Eliza again

And the mobile is Unlocked too, so he can use his current sim card. He has to pay for his own credit and has only used £3 in 6 months. He used £10 worth of free texts the first weekend he had it, I explained how it’s his pocket money to spend as he wants. But no credit means no going out to play… and now he won’t text unless ‘urgent’ and normally he texts me to call him!! I’m very proud at how frugal he is

Rising I think what you did with your pots makes sense. You have to do what suits you, I find I hate ‘robbing peter to pay paul’ or to empty the emergency fund… it stresses me out. But sometimes it’s just necessary, and you feel so much better once you do it.

SOT Cook the chicken and portion it for meals, it’ll fit in the freezer better and you don’t have to worry about eating a weeks worth of chicken

backinbusiness

Hi all

I spoke too soon!

Got a wee oil leak.

Just had the engine flushed and oil changed and it looks like it's just coming from the dipstick area - hopefully just a wee hose or something. Hopefully a cheapie!

Relatively warm here today and no snow yet.

BiB x

rising_from_the_ashes

Ohhh BiB Hope it is something minor & cheap to fix!


Well no snow here :T but it rained and froze last night and the street looks like a sheet of ice (not a gritter in sight:mad:).

Think I'll be staying inside in the warm and will do some more work on the SOW!

My "anything else" budget was HUGE, however, I've been gradually splitting out into smaller separate ones for things like Dentists, Clothes, Haircuts etc but still a bit of sorting out to do.

Have a good day everyone, stay safe if the weather's bad with you.

JulieGeorgiana

Well i just made a bad financial decision... Eliza just went onto formula! Lucky I had budgeted for it, but had hoped to not need it for quite a while longer! But I made the best decision for Eliza as she was starving, same thing happened with DS at 3 weeks

that's £400+ over a year

But Eliza is happy now, which is all that matters

Hope everyone has a good day x

backinbusiness

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Ohhh BiB Hope it is something minor & cheap to fix!

Had a mechanic friend check it out today. Dipstick wasn't pushed back in properly and also missing it's O Ring.

So both minor, and cheap (apart from a cup of tea!).

BiB