In debt all my life time to face up to responsibilities

dprovan

Created a signature which felt a big step as it will follow me around the site. Another step in facing up to the reality. Initially I was disapointed that the debt was only down by £573 in the month but I was forgetting that we had built an emergency fund of £500 in last month so over a £1000 put aside in the month. Now we have the £500 emergency fund everything will be going to the debt.

With the above in mind my target is to have the debt total down by another £1100 next month.

AppleMatt

dprovan wrote: »

Created a signature which felt a big step as it will follow me around the site. Another step in facing up to the reality. Initially I was disapointed that the debt was only down by £573 in the month but I was forgetting that we had built an emergency fund of £500 in last month so over a £1000 put aside in the month. Now we have the £500 emergency fund everything will be going to the debt.

With the above in mind my target is to have the debt total down by another £1100 next month.

Good news, dprovan! :j:j

Another tip may be to read through some of the posts here of people that have reached their "Debt Free Day" - they are so inspiring. People with 20k, 40k, 60k that have cleared it all :T:T

2joanne

dprovan wrote: »

Created a signature which felt a big step as it will follow me around the site. Another step in facing up to the reality. Initially I was disapointed that the debt was only down by £573 in the month but I was forgetting that we had built an emergency fund of £500 in last month so over a £1000 put aside in the month. Now we have the £500 emergency fund everything will be going to the debt.

With the above in mind my target is to have the debt total down by another £1100 next month.

Loving your sig!!!!:money: Think you've done the right thing sticking to the £500 emergency fund and servicing the debt too...as for your comments about being the dreamer type and thinking if the ne t 2/3 years...that's exactly what I'm like! And the thrill of the spend/dog ...I get that too...but gues what....since I started on this journey on 7th June....my new 'fix/dream/thrill' is the thrill of making another repayment, shaving a little extra of the grocery budget..moving one step further to that golden DFD...it's better than the thrill of any spend...even the big ones...and best of all...I'm happier for it


Wishing you every bit of success on your debt free journey...keep posting everyday u can, the support on here is amazing ...it's keeping me on track and it will you too.....

dprovan

Posted some items on ebay and gumtree. It was educational as well as worthwhile in terms of the finance. All of the items are items I have not used in the previous 9+ months but there was still a reluctance on my part as I feared I would not get what they were worth. I have no idea what my interpretation of their worth is based on but I know it was more than I am going to get. But interesting that I didn't have the same thought process when buying/spending also interesting that items that have no practical daily use seem worth holding onto when I have such debt and have had challenges managing month to month.

I have lots more to list so will do that over the forthcoming days/weeks.

Moneysaving exploits are going ok. We went to the seaside yesterday. Spent the day on the beach, had a picnic, went to the park and then spent a little bit of time letting the kids go on the rides. Grandparents gave the kids £4 each so this paid for the rides and then we went for ice creams. Were out all day getting home after 9pm. It was a really enjoyable family day. Later my wife and I reflected on how different the day would have looked 6 months ago. It would have involved an evening meal probably £50-£60 and lots more money spent on the rides etc. When we set the limit of £4 each we expected the kids ot play up more, yes there was the expected grumble, but no more than there would have been whatever the limit was.

Today was bank holiday monday. My wife wanted to treat the kids to breakfast out as they had been asking to do this all summer so we did this for £14 for us all. It was nice to do and whilst we could have saved that money Im glad we did it. No other spends after that. Again bank holiday monday would have been a big spend day, we seen a fancy wine rack, a bargain at £125, would look lovely in our dining room. That would have been sitting in the corner 6 months ago! Now not only do we not even think about it I feel angry that this kind of purchase got us here.

Back at work tomorrow. Don't mind going back actually. Need to get to the gym after work and get into a bit more of a routine fitness wise. I ran a marathon 3 months ago and haven't run more than 5 miles since. I am beginning to feel quite unfit.

goodnight.

2joanne

dprovan wrote: »

Posted some items on ebay and gumtree. It was educational as well as worthwhile in terms of the finance. All of the items are items I have not used in the previous 9+ months but there was still a reluctance on my part as I feared I would not get what they were worth. I have no idea what my interpretation of their worth is based on but I know it was more than I am going to get. But interesting that I didn't have the same thought process when buying/spending also interesting that items that have no practical daily use seem worth holding onto when I have such debt and have had challenges managing month to month.

I have lots more to list so will do that over the forthcoming days/weeks.

Moneysaving exploits are going ok. We went to the seaside yesterday. Spent the day on the beach, had a picnic, went to the park and then spent a little bit of time letting the kids go on the rides. Grandparents gave the kids £4 each so this paid for the rides and then we went for ice creams. Were out all day getting home after 9pm. It was a really enjoyable family day. Later my wife and I reflected on how different the day would have looked 6 months ago. It would have involved an evening meal probably £50-£60 and lots more money spent on the rides etc. When we set the limit of £4 each we expected the kids ot play up more, yes there was the expected grumble, but no more than there would have been whatever the limit was.

Today was bank holiday monday. My wife wanted to treat the kids to breakfast out as they had been asking to do this all summer so we did this for £14 for us all. It was nice to do and whilst we could have saved that money Im glad we did it. No other spends after that. Again bank holiday monday would have been a big spend day, we seen a fancy wine rack, a bargain at £125, would look lovely in our dining room. That would have been sitting in the corner 6 months ago! Now not only do we not even think about it I feel angry that this kind of purchase got us here.

Back at work tomorrow. Don't mind going back actually. Need to get to the gym after work and get into a bit more of a routine fitness wise. I ran a marathon 3 months ago and haven't run more than 5 miles since. I am beginning to feel quite unfit.

goodnight.

Sounds like a really great money saving bank hol...well done!!!:T

dprovan

We were paid this week (September pay) and had plenty of good intentions, then the heat went off (oil heating). First of all we thought the oil had run out so £315 later there was oil in the tank but still not working. £145 later we have a new burner and pipes fitted! So there is a hefty dent in the September money saving plans and emergency fund....

The oil is covered in our monthly budgeting but the £145 needs to be found from somewhere. It is fair to say that we both felt a bit flat after that one but Im trying to stay positive. Im focussing on the fact that a few months ago that would have had to have been paid on a credit card and the reality is that its going to take us 3-5 years to clear this debt and things will happen along the way to challenge us. So onwards and upwards.

Ive been thinking about money a lot lately and more specifically our relationship with it. I have realised that people who are far more wealthy than me ie people with savings and investments live more frugal lifestyles than us certainly in the past and probably even now they dont live far more extravagently or comfortably than me now. The difference between us is that they have greater security and I imagine less worry about money than us. But despite all of this I still need to work on the notion that we are cutting back. I am increasingly appreciating that its not cutting back but having greater respect and maturity for money. I don't think we have the emotional aspect of this completely clear just yet, but I do think we are getting there.

I have to get more motivated to sell stuff, will look to do more over the weekend.

weezl74

Hi, great, honest diary, thanks for it, and all the best in your quest.

I just thought it might be helpful to say that your figure for child benefit monthly is £204.66, rather than £188, which should give you a little more to play with when snowballing.

I'll include my maths just in case it's useful:

(£20.30 + £13.40 + £13.40) = £47.10 (weekly Child benefit for 3 children)

£47.10 x 52.142 = £2455.89 (annual child benefit)

£2455.89 / 12 = £204.66 (monthly child benefit)

£188 is the 4-weekly figure

I just did the maths as my third baby is due next month, so it's topical here too!

dprovan

thanks weezl74 I had not realised this. I had noticed that the payment arrived on different dates but never took the time to esablish why!

today the washing machine broke down what can I say... fingers crossed it can be fixed. Tomorrow will involve a number of phone calls trying to sort this as cheeply as possible.

On the plus side we are still spenfding prudently and have got a number of things listed on ebay which have some interest so I am still hopeful that we can put something extra to the debt this month.

Lots of chats between my wife and I on an almost daily basis about where we are at, where we have gone wrong and overall just recognising the changes in our behaviour, rationale and circumstance and having a greater appreciation of how others manage money.

2joanne

In the face if a little adversity..you're soldiering on...well done and best of luck with the ebayng!

dprovan

I am clearly not the most prolific writer (22 days since my last post)!

I have spent the morning reviewing and updating my spreadsheet which records the total debt and planning what needs to be covered next month. Our debt total is not tumbling as quickly as I would like, but it is falling so I need to be pleased with that. Further more we get paid on Tuesday and we still have money in the bank. It feels so good not to have to run around moving money from a to b or using credit cards to cover day to day expenses.

September was a busy month as usual. Its amazing when you look back to things that have happened it feels like months ago. My 40th came and went and my wife and I had a lovely meal out, and a few drinks and the grandparents looked after the kids. From a finance perspective a number of challenges came our way. Boiler broke (£190) and ran out of heating oil (£390). We have now budgeted to put money away each month for heating oil so shouldnt have to face this again. So this along with the usual kids needing new shoes, trousers meant we couldnt pay as much to the debt as I had hoped.

October: This month I have an electric bill and telephone bill to cover. In addition one of the cars needs work done to it which wee have been delaying and the other needs 2 new tyres!! On a plus all of this is covered in budget.

We have bought one of the kids christmas, he has wanted a fire engine from smyths for months and there was 20% off this weekend so we got it and paid for it cash which felt good. Two more to get...

It all feels a bit of a slog sometimes, other times I don't even notice that we are being more careful. My wife and I regularly think back to how we used to behave and can so understand how we got to this point. Not only did we have the regular expense that comes with a family of 5 but we bought what we liked/wanted when we wanted. That is the bit that has changed.

I feel a bit flat that 2 of our ccs are now moving from 0% to 14% this month and next month. My wife keeps reminding me that we can still pay them, it just means we are paying less to the debt. I have applied for so many 0% and been refused so will have to wait a few months, get the debt down a bit and hope I can replace them with 0% soon. The thing is I have spent the last 4/5 years moving from one 0% to another with the debt increasing rather than reducing and that never bothered me. Now the debt is coming down and we are paying interest and I feel down! Just shows how my thinking has been irrational.

It is a beautiful Sunday morning and I am off for a family walk before settling down to watch the sunday football. I hope everyone else has a lovely day.