The dreaded D word

snorfing_along

Yes they should. I've sent an e-mail to the recruiter who set it up, I'm assuming they don't want me for an in-person interview but some feedback would be nice

snorfing_along

Confession time, the debt is up to £15,138! Whoops this is what happens when I take my eye off the ball but I'll be cutting up my regular spend credit card tonight although I can account for every penny that has increased the debt the regular credit card spend (I pay this off every month) will slow me paying debt the rest of the debt
I have a plan to pay off £600 a month and have everything cleared in 24 months-ish and I'll pay more when I can. This is double the min payment amounts which is good and I'll be keeping a close eye on when the 0% balances end.
Feeling a bit better regarding the bad news from a few weeks ago, it's still bad and some of the debt increase has come from a result of it but there was a small silver lining yesterday which has helped to lift my mood (sorry if it sounds a bit cryptic)
Bad news on the new job front - I didn't get it but I aced the interview but I was lacking a little bit of experience but I'm expanding my team hopefully where I am currently which will be great just waiting for approval from the board. The good news is that I'll be set some KPI's so that I can hopefully get a bonus next year - which will of course go towards the debt.
My new car is going well and is cheaper to run so that's good on the MSE front and it doesn't need an MOT till 2020 so just a service to pay for in Jan (need to find out how much this will be and put some money aside before hand).
Trying to keep the post a bit more MSE and I'll try to post a little bit more regularly to keep me accountable (maybe just to myself I'm not sure how many people will read this lol)
Sorry it's bit of a ramble!

snorfing_along

So much for posting more regularly! But I am now back on it properly and my DH seems more on board than he has before (his light bulb has been on but on a low wattage but now it's burning bright!), which will make it a lot easier for us both to get through everything. I have now cancelled my regular spend credit card so this month is feeling a bit scary as I have no back up, but I have left more money in my account as a sort of emergency fund - which will move to the actual emergency fund at the end of the month. I have £150 in there to start it off and £40 saved toward the house insurance due next month

snorfing_along

Just had a read through my posts for this year and it's amazing how much better I'm feeling compared to a few months ago. My anxiety was through the roof and my debt rose with it. There definitely is a correlation between mental health and debt, in future I think that if I have issues with anxiety again I'll have to just make minimum payments and make sure I have some additional money saved up it cover issues as they crop up. This year has been particularly horrible and it'll be nice to have a fresh start in 2019 and I hope it's a more positive year from my DH and myself

beanielou

Glad to see things are ticking along nicely for you

snorfing_along

Oh well, just as things were starting to get better, they're getting worse instead. DH has been a bit unwell and hasn't been at work so his wage will be taking a nose dive for the next couple of months. We can afford to cover everything but it'll mean no saving and only minimum payments to the credit cards. IT's typical it happens just as I had everything on track and was making a good overpayments to the cards.
Also I've had a couple of bad days at work so I'm back on the hunt for a new one. Hopefully I'll do a bit better this time


On day I hope things can just be a bit more straight forward.

beanielou

Keep plodding.
Hope your OH is on the mend really soon.

snorfing_along

Here for the usual new year, new me post. The debt is almost exactly the same as my signature which I'm surprised about so I'll leave that be for now. I need to transfer some of the Barclaycard balance as the 0% will be ending in March, I've got a new MBNA card and I'll be transferring as much as I need to then after I get paid this month I'll do a proper update and I can hopefully get myself on track for debt busting. I'm aiming to pay £8k off the debts this year, so in theory they'll all be gone in 2 years but I'm sure life will through up some surprises in that time.


The job hunting did go exceptionally well and I was offered a new job but I turned it down as I would have potentially have to work away Monday to Friday every week, the salary was good but there is more to life than money. I have a second interview coming up for a new job but again I'll have to think carefully about how a new job could effect plans for this year, if they offer me a role.


It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has started a family at the same time as paying off debts and how they managed with maternity pay, making payments and buying things for the baby?

beanielou

Most things for babies can be bought second hand in next to new condition as they are used for such a short time

enthusiasticsaver

Ideally you would wait until the debt was down as far as possible or cleared and have some savings to tide you over a maternity leave and ensure that you have a buffer to cope with a drop in pay which you inevitably will have. Work out the maternity pay situation you will receive and when the lower payments kick in. It is also important to realise that childcare costs are expensive unless you have family to help out and you get little help with that. You can try inputting your details into a benefits calculator to see if you qualify for anything.


As beanielou says lots of stuff can be got second hand from fb selling pages as it is not used for very long. The biggest expense is childcare and loss of income while on maternity leave.