New diary for 2013: The year of keeping things simple

Ruby789

I very nearly 'treated' myself this weekend. I was in the queue and everything before I managed to disuade myself. It was 'only' £30, and it was something nice for the house which would have lasted years, but right now I don't need it.

I really haven't lost that terrible want to buy stuff, and to treat myself for getting through the week. I either treat myself with food or buying things (sometimes I do both).

What I still fail to understand is that I am still in debt. Because the plan is working I sort of feel like all will be ok so I can relax a bit, but the fact of the matter is right now I am living on borrowed money! And when i'm not living on borrowed money anymore, every spare penny needs to be saved up. I've spent my 20's wasting money and to pay for that recklessness I need to spend my 30's very frugally. I've created this situation myself, and have had many lightbulb moments before so it's not as if this wasn't a choice on some level.



Anyways, my sabotaging nature aside, this is the plan for financial stuff this week.

• Open an ISA, may as well put in as much as I can before the tax year ends.
• Put 5 items up on ebay
• Gather up all dvd's I don't watch and work out the best way to sell them on.
• Food plan for the whole month so I don't exceed my £40 budget. As the food budget is half my normal amount I really will have to make and stick to a plan. I'm terrible for not wanting what I have at home so some discipline is needed.

And generally I need to get organised. My bedroom is overdue it's big clean so I need to get onto that one evening this week. Actually i'll make a start tonight else i'll put it off!

Ruby789

Most of my planned outgoings for the month have left my account and I feel really poor and pretty vulnerable. There isn't much of a buffer between me and needing to use credit, and whichever way I turn someone needs me to spend money and i'm tired fighting to hang onto the pennies. I have a pressie to buy which I didn't account for in my pressies budget. I either take it out of my brand new savings pot , or recalculate the installments to the pressies pot to a higher amount to cover this additional gift (the pot is in credit now seeing as the most money is needed at xmas). In fact, there are two gifts missed off now that I think of it so that can be my only option. This will again reduce the buffer even further next month .

The holiday is also hugely over budget, and I can't free up any cash anywhere to cover the shortfall. Had I known it would get this far over I would have applied for a 0% purchases credit card and put it all on that to manage my cashflow better. It's too late now so it goes on my regular credit card and I pay it off asap.

And all of this (though I know one is a luxury and I should quit moaning about) is going to kill my ability to put anything into the savings pot for months. The savings pot is my way of overpaying my debts without actually paying off the debts (because they're not attracting interest i'm trying to earn interest and then pay them off in full at the last minute). Feel like i'm slipping backwards in reality.

Finding it really tough at the moment. I'm in a much better place than I was, but now that I'm worrying about tomorrow and not today as much, i'm really fairly well depressed.

Ruby789

I did something financially productive :j, after all of my doom and gloom and negativity, I have today adjusted my pressies budget so that there is enough in there to provide for mothers day and fathers day which I forgot to budget for. Plus, the extra two pressies I noted this morning. It has a positive balance, and it's summer and just before christmas that birthdays tend to cluster so I think it will be ok.

Now if people could please refrain from getting married or having kids I'd be grateful! I have £50 in there for miscellaneous which isn't a lot, but in total I'm now putting aside £100 a month on gifts which seems like LOADS! I am also rememebering other people I've not yet accounted for. Seems crazy money so think I need to skim each persons budget by a few £'s and squish those extras in instead.

And I dealt with my M&S bank thingy too.

Ruby789

The holiday budget is now finalised, and hugely more than I thought. I met my savings target, but it's nowhere near enough. I wanted to pay for the whole thing in advance of going and just enjoy myself, but now I'm forced to use credit which feels like a fail .

But it was always a luxury that I couldn't really afford and I was silly to let myself get talked into it. Anyway, it's done now and I am looking forward to it.

So I had the original pot of cash which has gone towards the holiday, leaving me the shortfall to put on credit. This I can pay back over the next two months and I've identified where the money will be coming from. To do this I will continue to skim money off my weekly spending money to go towards paying back for the holiday. It helps to have that reminder every week that I need to make sacrifices to afford treats and luxuries.

Ruby789

It's been a while since I last posted, and I'm back because I have been drifting back into bad habits!

So I now owe a total of £1700 ....... and I have that amount in savings! :j
So though not officially debt free, I am able to pay off my debts should I need to. I am leaving the non-interest bearing stuff run to the end of it's life, and dilligently saving as much as I can. The interest on it will not be anything of significance, but building up a pot of money is more motivating than making the payments to the debts. Plus I worry not having debts will make me think I can start spending again.

But i'm slipping. I have been using the credit card on occasion. At first legitimately, as there wasn't a budget for house stuff that became urgent. But now it's odds and ends, a round of drinks my pocket money didn't cover etc... I've fallen off the diet and budget waggons at exactly the same time, so I know i'm now pretty vulnerable to my self destructive tendancies right now. Putting that out into the world so I can make the choice not to do this to myself!

Bottom line, I have spent £140 unplanned pounds which I need to pay back. I can use next months savings installment to pay this off in full, or I can make myself pay things off the hard way, sacrificing spending money and trimming budgets etc... so that I find the money to pay off each item.

I think the hard way may well be the best way in the end.

heyjude2013

Hi Ruby,

Just read your diary for the first time, you've done amazingly well! It must be lovely to know that you can pay off your debt now with your savings if you wanted to.

Hope you enjoyed your holiday x

Ruby789

:)Thanks Jude

It is a really nice feeling, definately feel like I have more control on my finances. But like I said, so easy to start slipping now that I have money. Though its not 'real' as its for debt payment.

Hope whatever brings you to this forum is working out well too

heyjude2013

Yes i know that feeling! Its so easy to have some money and really want to spend it, I also need to break that viscous circle!

Only recently had my LBM, early days for me. I'll be 25 soon, and suddenly realised that at some point I'm going to have to figure out how to pay for the things I want in my life!

Hiddenidenity

Well done

I agree its so easy to slip .. and slip again .. and again!

Good news you've caught it before it got out of control

Ruby789

Thanks Heyjude and HiddenIdentity.

It's a lot like dieting, getting to goal is the easy bit, staying there takes considerably more effort!

I went through my credit card statement and reciepts yesterday, and I know where all the money went and I've a plan for how to pay off half of it. It's a manageable amount of debt, but I shouldn't buy things I don't yet have the money to pay for, that was the rule I made for myself.