Very small pat on the back

missrlr

When I started on this site in 2006 I was buying my first home - managed to get a deposit and money for the bills etc and I worked out with the help of this site that I would basically not have a phone / internet / TV at all and £70 per month to feed myself - all other bills including transport to and from work were paid. Perfectly doable! So I got the house about 1 year before I thought I would be able to!
So I got a lodger and a good friend let me grow veg in her veg garden in return for some meals each week so the finances eased and I had a pay rise and life went on, bought the car I had always wanted, did the repairs to the house, replaced the furniture (well recovered the 3 piece suit) and so on. No debt at the end of this, how proud was I?
One of the aims I then set myself was to get a slush fund together - I am acutely aware that I have an ASU policy but also that this may take time to kick in, and I am a little paranoid about money. So my aim was small chunks to make the most I can and at the same time do things like go on holiday. I pay everything on a credit card then pay in full so I can be 8 weeks "in arrears" on cash-flow.

First aim was 1 month's net salary in an account
Then money for the current credit card spends plus 1 month bills
As above plus tenant deposit
Then 3 month's bills
3 month's bills plus deposit of tenant
6 month's my share of bills
6 month's my share of bills plus deposit of tenant
3 month's net salary
3 month's net salary plus deposit of tenant
3 month's total household bills plus deposit tenant
then we will go from there.

All the time this was an increasing target as pay rises came into being and also I was spending not just battening down the hatches and saving (getting married didn't help but still no debt from this one :money:) plus was dripping money to the mortgage to reduce that one (had to take a 30 year term out! )

This has become a case of "so what is my emergency plan and how long have we got" due to forecasted changes to the now joint household income and a realisation of the amount of debt now jointly owned. :eek:

So I here by declare I have reached the 6 month's my share of bills plus deposit of tenant point in my plan. In theory with the savings we are making to the household expenditure this tiny buffer should give us a couple month's breathing room to pay back all the current spends on credit cards switch to cash only and take some drastic actions to sell cars / houses / kidneys if the dreaded happens. :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

I should feel a lot more positive about this, I just feel scared about the uncertain future so thought if I posted on here then it might make it less scary and I might let the good bit sink in. :cool:

Yargo1

Wow. you have done so well.. good food for thought for me.. well done!

GeorgieFTB

Man... you are worse than me... and I thought I was paranoid...

OK lets face facts... you have a problem... your blood pressure must be through the roof!!!

I will get serious now, if I was you, and I could be in a not to alternate reality, I would pay off the cards with the savings when they become due and work in cash now if you are getting too stressed. You have always managed to live within your means I'm not sure if the worst happened it would be any different.

Well done for your past financial planning and good luck with the future planning!

Gx

missrlr

Ha, someone who has a little insight as to the madness of my mind.

actually have very low blood pressure which in itself is a possible dramarama! Yes I am paranoid, comes of growing up in a house with either feast or famine on money (mostly famine and the feasts were never well managed) OH attitude is "we are not destitute yet" and I am a bit more proactive than that so possibly stressing about something which is not strictly necessary yet.

The fact is I have just been made aware of the £380k we now jointly owe (:eek: 1 year ago I owed £123k on a mortgage!) as a result of getting married and having joint finances with a debtor.

Cash could be the way forward, need to get DH on board with this. Oh and cross our fingers that he income doesn't change. Re-reading all the bumpf about it there is 9 month's notice period and also it's not guaranteed this year or throughout the UK (he works for a large former national company) so perhaps we will have breathing space after all.

Will suggest cash convert (really wanted the companion voucher from Amex / BA for our holiday - but where will the other money to pay for first flight come from? companion voucher is a little lost cause)