Maintenance OS now Im out of debt....

beautiful_ravens

Ok, Hi!
So, I paid off all my debts, hurrah, but Ive noticed that my spending has gone up a bit now Im safely in the black- more oven-cook food, less HM food, a few more ebay purchases - any ideas how I can keep things in check but still have a few of the luxuries we went 4 years without? EG I now get lots of fresh fruit and veg instead of bread and pasta- its great but is upping the shopping bill considerably. I keep having 'lets treat ourselves' thoughts...like every day:eek:

DundeeDoll

Well done raven i'd keep with the Grocery Challenge. Do a budget for your new income(ie without debt to pay off) so your GCshould be higher than before. This way you'll be able to treat yourself without going back into the red. If you dont have one i'd also strongly recommend some savings

lizzyb1812

Have you thought of giving yourself another challenge? You've obviously done really well re the challenge of clearing your debts so how about putting that energy into another one? Don't know your situation or aims but there must be something you'd like to achieve - a holiday/wedding/car/supporting a charity/pension/getting out of the rat race early, etc, etc. Sorry if that list sounds materialistic :rotfl:

The Grocery Challenge might be a good start but it needs to be done with a further aim in mind - ie what are you saving for? To make ends meet doesn't seem to be what you need - so what do you need? Use the skills and determination you have used to get out of debt to achieve something really meaningful to you.

beautiful_ravens

Hm yeah, I think youre both right, Ive gone a bit wishy-washy and need another goal! Ill have a look at the Grocery Challenge, and decide on a 'thing' to do next!
Thanks

joedenise

As I've recently retired from work and only have my work pension but don't get my state pension for another couple of years my goal once I'd got out of debt (about 5 years ago) was to save some money to help for the these 2 years.

Didn't save as much as I could have done because we still wanted (needed) our holidays so really I had 2 savings goals at the same time. You might want to have 2 or more goals rather than just saving for the sake of it.

Denise

alec_eiffel

I think it's "natural" to have a big of a splurge and overdo it for a little while when the debts are all paid off. It's a bit like a coiled spring you're waiting and waiting for that day and then boiiiiiing off you go! But to keep things in perspective if you're splashing out on a few bits from ebay and some fresh fruit and veg it's not necessarily the type of blow out you might have had in the past.

It can be hard to find the balance though, I found it useful to think about what did I hate doing/not doing when all the money was paying off debts and what was ok and striking a balance. Having a couple of "shove in the oven" meals for lazy days is ok, maybe buy them when they're on offer. Fresh fruit and veg, maybe go for seasonal stuff so it's cheaper.

It might be useful to keep a total of how much you spend on a splurgey month, compare it to how much you spent when paying off debts and pick a figure inbetween for your new grocery budget. That way you're not scrimping unnecessarily but you're not spending just because you can.

[Deleted User]

save for a special super holiday at somewhere you have never been before 5 years ago I went with my oldest friend and we toured NE of the U.S. by car for almost three weeks We had a fabulous time and met some smashing people .The Americans we met thought it was a hoot two little old english ladies doing a 'Thelma and Louise' around their country.At one point when we got lost we stopped at a roadside place for directions and had an escort of 10 Hells Angels on their 'hogs' to the closest freeway.They were lovely chaps and were tickled pink just to talk to us .A memory that will live with me forever

hilstep2000

When my Mum gave up smoking she still put her "ciggie money" away. She and my Dad celebrated their Golden Wedding in New York and Las Vegas on the strength of that!
Set another goal, and go for it!

sonastin

Take the amount of your monthly debt repayment and use a proportion of that (no more than half - less if your disciplined) for treats as a reward for being debt-free. After all, life should be better now that you're in the black. Choose your rewards according to what you missed while in debt, be it ready-meals to save the hassle of cooking, a meal out once in a while, a night out, etc.

Save the rest of the debt repayment money in the best savings account you can find. That way you'll have a rainy-day fund for either big treats (if the pot gets big enough to leave some in...) or big disasters (like car repairs, boiler breakdown, etc) and you won't find yourself back in debt again.

Other than the budgeted "treat" fund, live the same life you lived while you were paying the debts off as you know you can afford that. If the treats are properly budgeted and accounted for, you won't slide into debt accidentally by treating yourself beyond your means.

DebtFree2012

Some very good points here.

Fresh fruit and veg are hardly bad purchases and I would continue with them (as long as you are not wasting). I'd save at least 50% of your old repayment for things that you would like to plan to buy for and use the remaining 50% for your splurges. See how it balances out over a few months but never stop budgetting.

Congratulations and Good Luck.

BitterAndTwisted

What Sonastin said: stash half of what your debt-repayments were in a savings account. The best kind, to avoid the temptation of dipping into it, is one where you have to give a couple of month's notice to get your hands on it.

I'd suggest some of the other half is allocated to a treat or two, otherwise what would be the point of becoming debt-free?

Being free of those horrible debt-shackles must be a wonderful feeling. Savour it.