woah... are those MY finances??

stewby

Wow!! Congratulations on paying off 12.2% of your debt!! That is amazing!!
:dance:

Hopefully, today will find you all well rested and relaxing as it is very almost xmas.


Stuck in that age old dilemma of: feeling slightly chilly in my bed (nightshift not laziness)... do I get up and fill bottles which would make me warmer in the long run but colder in the short term, or just keep going and hope I don't freeze completely.
:think:

Having a giggle about our different ways of doing finances. Yours sounds so intelligent and mine sounds like the sesame street version.
:rotfl:

Only 10 days left to a new financial life... and only 13 until the diet begins too... Getting ready to welcome in 2014.
The year of little changes having a big effect.

Fmess

hey stewby

Hope you have managed to warm up! Did you opt for the hot water bottles?

I don't think my plan sounds very intelligent, I read it and think, how did I not figure this out earlier?

I am so excited about the New Year too! Although, I have decided I am going to try and follow The Skinny Rules 'diet' book from 27th December. My friends are trying to enter me in a half marathon in June and I currently can't run up the stairs, so think I'm going to have to lose weight and shape up very quickly!

Have you moved into your mum and dad's yet? x x

stewby

hey fmess.

At least you are preparing for things now which is better than still being in the dark so to speak. Always look at the positives.


Yep, I filled the bottles. However, heading out to a party soon. A very last minute thing, but will be very mse as it is in a house and I am taking my own drink. (uncle's 60th birthday).


Wow!! a half marathon!! Then there is definitely no backing out. Fingers crossed it all goes well. At least we can support each other on here to keep focussed.


In money news: I have spoken to OH and he is willing to put £1 a day into a pot and also split the weekly challenge money with me!! So we are now saving together!!
:j

The aim is to use the £1 a day money on xmas 2014 and the weekly challenge money will be going towards our holiday in 2015. (our first non-credit card funded holiday).


Away out now so see you soon.
Hugs.

Fmess

Wow, saving together! That is brilliant, good on your OH for being so on board.

My OH is a million light years away from a light bulb moment and savings are a foreign concept. However in the last few months, he has sorted a few financial things out, making our joint money management a little easier (we have a 'joint' account which we both pay a set amount into, and each have a personal account for the remaining money from our pay packets). I am hoping this year he may save enough money for us to go on holiday together (and pay half each), fingers crossed.

Hope you have a great time at the party

stewby

So... been thinking a lot of future plans. (dam the fact that a new year is upon us). These things always have a habit of sneaking up on me despite being very predictable.


Still feeling quite rotten about destroying December and I discussed my savings strategy with my Dad who has reminded me that I don't just have debts now... I will have future debts too (car insurance, MOTs, house insurance, road tax, etc). Feeling a bit stupid that I didn't realise this earlier and had to be told.
:embarasse

So, the plan is to attempt to cut back on the food budget. I feel like I need to be sensible as I do have to buy petrol and food. However, I am going to be on a diet and fully intend to batch cook a lot of stuff. Diet should mean no processed foods so that should push the costs down a bit.

The details:
£101 - Weekly challenge in January (my half).
£31 - the pound a day challenge in January.
£80 - to parents (owe about £800 now I think).
£140 - for food for the month. (works out at £35 a week).
£40 - petrol for the month.

£392 - Monthly total.

This means that I would be able to pay off my parents by October and my credit card in December.
HOWEVER, this could change!! As my work has not paid me for any extra hours, I have worked out (with my bad maths though) that they owe me about £400 - £500!!
Although there is a large part of me screaming "throw it at the credit card"... the words of my dad are still ringing in my ears. (adding to the credit card for those bills I haven't thought about). So, I am now wondering whether I should be keeping it for any "non-surprise bills".
I am never any good at figuring out this stuff. Have always been indecisive.


Don't get too excited fmess... I don't think OH has had his LBM yet. I am a wee bit disappointed though. When I was in Paris, I found a gorgeous bracelet (50euros) but I wasn't keen to spend the money, so he told me to buy it and he would pay for it for my xmas. He also told me to buy a hoody that I liked and he would give me money for that too. But he hasn't given me money for either of them. I love him to bits but I wish he had remembered about it. I am not the sort of person to bring it up in conversation though so I guess I have just bought my xmas pressies to myself.
:undecided

The saving thing is because I want us to be more equal. I have paid for the holidays (he has never contributed apart from for the odd meal whilst away) and have paid for all the presents (including his side), and he has never offered money for any of it. I have paid for all of Kos next year and he hasn't offered a penny towards it. Despite the fact that I am moaning about my credit card all the time. Jeez, this sounds like such a moany rant but I am just trying to explain that the savings thing is my way of making things a bit fairer... now our xmas presents will be bought from the £1 a day fund (well, £2 a day cause OH will be paying in as well).
and any holidays will be from the weekly challenge. (again he is paying half of it too). It will be a lot fairer. After all, he is not in school any more, he has a job that is paying the same as mine so we should be more equal.

I hope I do not sound like a complete witch. What I am trying to say is that he hasn't really had his LBM, I am kinda pushing him into a corner in the hope that he will realise just how much I have been spending on him/us.
This is probably going to backfire royally but fingers crossed. Got to be positive.


It sounds as if your OH is making progress though... I think that any step, even a baby one, is brilliant. (as long as it is in the right direction of course). By the end of 2014, he may even have cottoned on to how good the saving pots you have are!! (like I said, always looking at it positively).

stewby

Wow... sorry. That was a mammoth post. I had no idea it would be that long. Sorry.


Still good to get it off my chest.
:embarasse

Siouxsie32

Hey stewby, I recognised your name from Kat's challenges and just read your diary - yes all of it I like it. I feel like I got to know you a bit better over the last 24 hours (had to do it in two sittings, but I like your 'say it as you see it' style of writing).

I understand now why your dad controls your bank account and gives you an allowance. It works for you and it's got to be better in the short term than spending all your money by the middle of each month. At least this way you know all your payments are covered and you just have to balance the books on your food and what I call miscellaneous spends.

I'm glad you had your moany rant about your OH's attitude to money (I love that phrase. It so didn't come across that way at all!!). At the beginning of the diary he wasn't working and you were kind enough to support him. Now he has a job, yet he still appears to expect to be supported. I get that he has a large loan, and I get that he needs to make a £500ish payment each month, but I don't get why he has to save the rest of his wages. Is this to cover future monthly payments in case he loses his current job? Hopefully he'll have his dream job soon so he'll have no excuses In an ideal world your set up is lovely, and I applaud you for supporting him, but your finances aren't exactly 'ideal world' at the minute. I guess I don't really understand why he's not offering to contribute more.

I hope you don't take my observation the wrong way - it comes from my heart as a fellow November/DDDer. I love our little supportive group from Kat's challenges and feel we all look out for each other. I'm just looking out for you, that's all.

Now, the hoodie and bracelet, make sure you wrap them in the shiniest paper so they look amazing under the tree

stewby

Hi Siouxsie.

I don't take offence at all and thank you for reading. I hope you didn't find it too "first worldy" (I always feel like my money problems are nothing compared to others who are struggling to heat the house or feed their family, I feel like quite a bad person when my reason for debt is due to a lack of self control).
:embarasse

My issue is that OH's big loan is not independent, it is attached to something so that causes potential issues.
OH's money goes on the loan, flying stuff (he has to fly every so often or he loses some sort of certificate or something, he has regular medicals too). I am also encouraging him to use it to visit his family every month (they come from hertfordshire) and he has moved up here for me (which is quite sweet and I feel quite bad about complaining now).


Prior to getting this job, he was out of work for a few months and he used up about £2000 of savings to pay the loan so I am very aware of this situation happening again (this is just a temporary job with an agency). I know that I cannot pay this loan as well as my other debts and not paying it is just not an option. Hence the saving like mad. I did ask him to pay £100 originally but then increased it so I could pay off more to my credit card. This is only the short-term plan to get him to save a nice contingency fund.


Once he gets his flying job then we plan on halving the living expenses. I am hoping it will happen early next year and have included it in my eight goals so I can tick one off early on. (i do like my positivity and getting a nice sense of achievement. it gives me such a buzz).


I am really excited about the bracelet as it is absolutely beautiful and exactly the sort of thing I like so it will be opened very quickly and put on as soon as I can (before taking it back off for work).


I must admit, I also love NSK's group and I am thrilled that she is going to keep setting the challenges even though she has reached her debt-free goal. I find the group lovely. No-one is like opinionated if you know what I mean and even when NSK is giving you into trouble, you never feel that her or anyone is judging you. It's a nice warm thread (much nicer than some of the others I have read, they can be quite... erm... heated I think the word would be).
:eek:

Do you have a diary at all?? and can you link me to it or tell me the name of it?? I am still struggling to find my way around this place.


Thanks again for posting. I really appreciate people giving me feedback and advice. I am still trying to figure out finances and how they work and stuff so getting information from more knowledgable and experienced people is always very welcome.
Hugs.

Siouxsie32

Ah yes, the glamorous life of a pilot - my guess is it's anything but! Sounds expensive and full of setbacks...although once he gets his dream job it'll all be worth it! Thanks for explaining - in that case I'll go back to my original point was to applaud you for supporting him

Funny you should mention my diary - I'm on the final straight of a long DFW journey - for various reasons it was £50+ about 4 years ago and my outgoings were around £800 more than my income each month - and I am hoping to have it cleared in 2014 so I was going to start a diary of my final 12 months...I'll let you know when I get it up and running.

I've subscribed to your diary and look forward to catching up with your antics. It'll be fun

stewby

To be honest, I struggle to understand his job and how it works... I am just hoping for cheap flights.


Oooooooh, please let me know when you do start your new diary. I can't believe how well you have done in four years!! To be able to clear £50,000+ in four years is incredible!!
:eek:

I am looking forward to taking notes from your diary so I may be as successful with my debts as you have been with yours. I find so much inspiration from other people's diaries and stories, not to mention lots of good advice.


Thanks again for your posts. I am very grateful to all the people who read, lurk and comment. It makes me feel not so crazy.


Hugs.