The "getting my life sorted" Diary

Sharon87

I'm starting a new diary. This is not just a debt free diary but it's also a diary for everything else in my life and my aims.

My aims are currently:
Pay off my debt
Find a boyfriend (long term, the one, kind of relationship)
Get onto the next rung of the ladder in my industry (TV and pay should be around £400-£450 a week on next rung)
Finally go on a long holiday (which I admit isn't helping the debt free wannabe, but it's long overdue, last holiday longer than a week when my parents paid for it over 10 years ago!)

So my debt spreadsheet says I currently have £6554 in debt, but that was just after I was paid, so it's technically a bit more! The plus side - most of it is on 0%.

I have done a spending diary for this month, which I've stuck to rigidly and will post the results at the beginning of October.

My current status:
6.5k in debt
Single
Unemployed (temporarily, only been unemployed 1 week, hoping for my next contract soon)
£850 savings for holiday

I will be hopefully keeping this up to date. All my 4 aims have equal priority for me, I don't mind if I'm in debt a few months longer if it means I get a boyfriend or hold out for that next step on the ladder (or even my holiday). Which I know for some people may be hard to understand, but I am managing my debts well, no defaults and want to live life whilst young! I do pay a good chunk of debt off each month when I'm employed. I will post a detailed outlook of my debts soon.

Sharon87

So here are my debts as they stand right at this moment:

£925.41 - HSBC Overdraft - 19.9%
£1138.77 - Halifax Credit Card - 0% except £287.37 which is on 15.9%
£972.65 - Natwest Credit Card - 0% until 1st November then 17.9%
£757.13 - Tesco Credit Card - 0% for another 11 months, then 16.9% (I think)
£3312.80 - Barclaycard Credit card - 0% for 27.5 months!
£280 - Mum - 0%

So in total it's £7,386.76

Savings:
£859.48 - ISA HSBC (needs to be moved to a better rate)
£40.59 - Natwest Savings - emergency savings. I want to build up savings of at least my rent money for any lean months I'm out of work.

My priority debts are my overdraft, which I'm trying desperately to get out of. I use HSBC for my income and DDs and SOs and transfer my spending money to my Natwest current account, so I don't go to the limit of HSBC OD every month. I'm planning on using a credit card for every day spends and the DD is now set up to pay it off in full every month, so it saves on my interest. I will be controlled with it! I'll still be doing my spending diary.

Debts that I've paid off recently are:
£600 - Natwest OD - paid off a few months back
£400 off my Natwest CC in a couple of months.
£200 on Halifax CC that was accruing interest. - this month.

So I've already made a dent in my debt.

Raggydoll85

Well done on your debt payments already! keep it up x

Sharon87

Thanks Raggy Doll. I've had a no spend day today and stayed in looking for work, getting my documents sorted for tomorrow as I'm about to claim housing benefit which I hate as it takes so long to sort out and by the time I do I usually have a job! lol I've also printed my job search activities for job centre.

I've just remembered as well I need to go to the opticians. I can tell my eyes are worse than last time. I was planning on getting prescription sunglasses for driving (when I do it) and other times. I might get the buy one get one free and re-lens one of my old pairs of glasses as well. So I've got 2 pairs of normal glasses and one pair of sunnies. Gonna cost a couple hundred in total to get them though I bet!

I've decided to do some ebaying, so prepping some items for that. My Hunters wellies that don't fit will be the first thing. Then some other clothes and a few bits and bobs I don't need like a Jelly Belly Machine thing and a TARDIS USB Hub lol.

Sharon87

So far today I have signed on at job centre and had appointment for housing benefit and got it sorted, should help if I'm unemployed any longer!

Right now I feel lethargic and can't be bothered doing anything else lol.

beanielou

Shiny new diary.
Keep posting!

Sharon87

Thanks I will!

So news on the work front is slow but I do have potentially 3 days of work as a runner so that will be good for my finances.

I was going to wait till next month to stock up on body shop toiletries but I used discount codes that expire soon plus cashback - cheaper than the 50% off code Martin gave us!

Today I've been invited for drinks with friends and potential future work colleagues so I'm going but probably just having a diet coke. Tomorrow however I'm going out to a club night that has been planned for a couple months. Half don't want to go half want to. I'll keep spending as little as possible. Including staying at my friends house instead of getting taxi back.

I think I may have slightly overspent this month based on my spending diary! Depending how much I spend in next few days...

Sharon87

So some good news today. I've been accepted as a mystery diner! So that means if I get assignments I can get free meals at restaurants!

More good news my sister in laws visa has been approved, so she's coming back to the UK! YAY!

We also have had fibre optic broadband installed today and are paying a lot less money (at the minute) than we were with Sky! It's a house account, so doesn't affect my personal finances as much, but it means we'll have more money to spend on housey things or help pay for the heating over winter!

Sharon87

So today I decided to take advantage of the free eye test voucher at Specsavers. I came out £224 lighter!! lol. But it does include 1 pair of prescription sunglasses which I need for when I drive, 1 pair of new glasses and re-lensing my old frames. My prescription was lower this time, which means my eyes are getting better! Yay! I put them on a credit card that is getting paid off in full next month.

I've also got through my payslip for my pay on the 1st and I'll be getting £1241, as it's my last 2 weeks wages, plus holiday pay for the past 4 months! I didn't expect that much.

Hiddenidenity

Look forward to following

Silent lurker *subscribes*

Sharon87

So the end of the month nearly upon me.

I went out last night - as has been planned for months. Spent less than I thought I would! So less than £20 on a night out. I tend to spend around £30, sometimes more. The drinks were cheaper than usual, as I'm used to London prices (this was Watford) and I had a good time. I got buses back this morning instead of buses and tube as it was cheaper.

I spent the whole of today doing nothing!! Just hanging out with housemates, which is quite rare as they're usually either away or busy. I haven't done much towards my aims yet. I did browse eHarmony for my matches, but the ones I've sent messages to haven't got back to me Still it was a low spend day for me (a drink and snack on the bus home)

I am looking forward to pay day (1st). And my JSA should go in on Monday too. I've decided any job seekers allowance/housing benefit I receive in October will be going into a savings account until I need it to stop me spending it! I will update my spending diary on the 1st, however it's way in the red because of my opticians... this is the sort of thing I need to have money saved for really.

Next weeks aims - get ready items to sell on eBay - clean them, take photos, write descriptions, calculate postage and then next free listings day I will upload them.
Be more active in job searching
Tidy room
Input spending diary from app to spreadsheet and onto here.