Debt free by 40 -- 19 Months and counting

StressedSteph

Jamdown1 wrote: »

Hi Steph,

I think the easiest thing to do, particularly if you are doing an annual review of all your expenses on YNAB is to just add up all you paid out for each category for the past year. Then divide each category total by 52 which will give the weekly figure for each.

I think beginning September is the best time to do a review of the year from 1st September 2014 to 31st August 2015. That is, just before the run up to Christmas and holiday plus back to school expenses fresh in the mind .

You can also do this for your joint income too. As I type, I think you should really do this as both your incomes go up and down with the seasons. So adding up every self-employed penny from you and hubby that has come in for the last year and converting to weekly will give a better like for like comparison of what comes in on average weekly and what goes out on average weekly and what you must put aside as a minimum to cover bills.

I am rabbiting on a bit again, but I suppose it's like converting everything to the same currency.

JD

Hi JD

Wow its scary working that out.

Basic this is my calculation

Weekly Basic Bills £395.33 (all rounded up a little)
HMRC £30
Business Advertising £23.11
Food £70
Fuel £60
Emergency pot £10
Clothing £10
FUN £20
Birthdays / Christmas £20
Pets £5
Debt payments (minimum) £83.00

TOTAL £726.44 PW

INCOME £734.92 PW

£8.44 left over for anything life throws at us :eek::rotfl:

Bloody hell that's scary.......

Admittedly when the debts are gone I will have £91.44 pw left over, but these calculations do not include extra school costs, kids hobbies, misc presents for friends, any entertainment on top of the £20 FUN money we allow ourselves pw.

That is so depressing - Going to have to look VERY closely at our expenses and see if I can lower them somewhere :(:(

StressedSteph

Afternoon Diary

Had a busy day pottering so far. I picked a load of Jalepeno chilli's from the tunnel and have attempted to make a Candied Jalepeno Jam that a friend makes which is totally delicious with cheese & Crackers. She has often given me the odd jar but it is always eaten too quickly and then I am left hoping and hoping she will give me another , so it will be really great to be able to make my own, especially from my own home grown chilli's.

3lb of chilli's make 3 jars :eek:. Abit disappointed that there wasn't more quantity but I have lots more young chilli's on the plants so hopefully I will be able to make another batch.

Spicy Pork Belly is in the oven, going to serve it will new potatoes and veggies.

Washing is done, Dd is baking some biscuits, hubby is feeling better and is making a sink cupboard for the new toilet room.

So all in all a pretty busy homely day.

Got to make sure I get all the childrens uniforms sorted out early next week as don't want a last minute panic.
Hoping to get Ds's school shoes and trainers bought on Tuesday.

The children need tracksuits for winter outdoors PE but I am not rushing yet as don't think they will need them until late September/October.

Really already starting to dread dealing with the mothers at school again. There is one particular mum who likes to stir up trouble. I tried just keeping to myself last school year and kind of avoiding her circle of friends, trouble is that seemed to play straight into her hands and she then had free rein to turn them all against me. I then seemed to have women who gave me filthy looks even though I didn't even know them .

Quite a few have left now as their children have moved on to high school. I am tempted to try it a different way this school year and actively try to stand with them at school pick up and just make small talk, this then I am hoping will kind of take the wind out of the horrible womans sails as it might be harder to make people hate me if I am being chatty and nice towards them. What do you think??.

Maybe I shouldn't worry but it is a super small school of about 68 children, and I found last year that those women's children then started being mean to my Dd so it seems that if I fail to keep them onside it then has a negative effect on my daughters school life, which I really can't bear.

Eugh I really hate it all, I wish wish wish I had the guts to pull my children out of that school into a bigger one. Unless this issue is the same in every school?

Oh well, I mustn't let it ruin our last week or so of peace. xx

StressedSteph

Morning Diary.

Pouring with rain here in Dorset, think I might get the uniforms labelled up and hung ready for school.

Hubby has got his Xray this afternoon at 240pm then Dd has a riding lesson at 430pm.

Tonights dinner is supposed to be Kung Pao Chicken , I saved the recipe to my FB profile so will have to dig that out asap to find out if I need to marinade anything.

Trying to do some more imaginative cooking this week as lately I have been stuck on a rut.

My upper back is really bad today, it seems to radiate into my neck, I must maybe go to the Dr's when the children go back to school as I have had it for most of the summer holidays and it just doesn't seem to be going away.

Not much else to report really, slightly concerned that I have just realised that Ds's birthday is in two weeks time and I so far have no money for it. I do have my squirrelled away £200 but would like to not have to spend that really.

Hmmm got to get my thinking cap on xxx

Moneywhizz

I don't think you would find the same problems at the school gate in a bigger school, but obviously there are lots of things to consider before moving children from one school to another. If you don't think that it would harm them educationally and they would be happier at another school you should give it some serious consideration.

Money wise, you seem to be holding your own, and the debt continues to fall even if not as quickly as you would like. It won't be long till this is all in the past and you will then have choices about how to spend your money.

Enjoy the last of your holidays. X

StressedSteph

Moneywhizz wrote: »

I don't think you would find the same problems at the school gate in a bigger school, but obviously there are lots of things to consider before moving children from one school to another. If you don't think that it would harm them educationally and they would be happier at another school you should give it some serious consideration.

Money wise, you seem to be holding your own, and the debt continues to fall even if not as quickly as you would like. It won't be long till this is all in the past and you will then have choices about how to spend your money.

Enjoy the last of your holidays. X

Thanks Moneywhizz

Unfortunately Ds is going into year 6 this year so probably not the best timing for a school change

Oh well, maybe this year it will be better

StressedSteph

Afternoon all,

Abit of good news today, I had a little chat with Ds and asked him to try on his old school shoes. They are in pretty good condition, so he tried them on and even though he said they felt abit tight, he agreed that he could get abit more wear out of them. Also he tried on my sports trainers which I have barely ever worn and they fit him lovely (we are the same size as each other now :eek:).

So that has saved us about 60-£70 :T:T

Hoping maybe he could eek them out until the October half term and then hopefully I can stretch to a new pair abit easier.

Awful day here, this last week of the school holidays seems to be a total wash out. Can't really afford to do anything like cinema or theme park so most of our options are ruined with it raining.:mad:

Thankfully Ds has been invited to a friends today and Dd is easy to entertain if we bake a cake etc.

Off to make a coffee

StressedSteph

Hi Diary,

Just checking in, its been a busy day.

Had to go and buy a new pair of wellies today as the heel had ripped off my old ones. Its so lovely to have a new pair, even though we can't really afford it, its a nice treat.

Also had to get a present for a friend as she had a baby last week and I still hadn't managed to get over to see her. I totally overspent spending £28 :eek:. I had forgotten how expensive baby things were. I managed to resist going into the new H&M that has come to our big town. So I at least didn't get anything unplanned for us.

FIL had given Dd his big stash of small change, with the instruction that she had to share it between the four grand-children. She spent about 4 hours yesterday counting it all into bags and we banked it today while we were in town. She earnt herself £8.50 and we allowed her an extra £3 for all the work she did counting it all.

Not much else to report, money is still tight and I do feel abit sick having gotten abit carried away with the baby present. I HATE going into town as I just can't seem to stay sensible, and unfortunately it doesn't take much spending to feel like I have lost control.

I spent most of yesterday trialling out an accounting and invoicing online software called Freshbook for hubby. I REALLY love it and I think it will help me in many ways, keeping control of hubbys business finances, forecasting how much tax he owes and sending a more professional invoice. Think it will cost us £12 per month though, so will monitor how it goes.

Ok had better go now. Hope you have all had a good week. xx

StressedSteph

Oooh I forgot to say. I have invested £10 in some super chunky wool with the plans to hand knit an Infinity Scarf. They look so lovely on Pinterest and I would love one for myself and I thought maybe I would put a photo of it onto my Etsy & FB shop to see if there was any interest in it. I can but hope

abba1772

I've never heard of an infinity scarf.....off to goggle it now xx

StressedSteph

Afternoon

Not a whole lot to report recently. Weather has been rubbish so children have just been doing sleepovers with friends on and off all last week.

Ds is off for another sleepover tonight. After this I think it will be all done for the holidays. They are back to school on Wednesday so it will be early to bed Tuesday night.

Financially it is incredibly tight and I feel pulls from all directions for the little amount of money we have.

Hubby is back to work Tuesday and will hopefully bring in four days worth of wages over the weekend to start getting us back on track. Not a whole lot of work around atm but we will soldier on.

I have been feeling increasingly frustrated with what I should/can do about my working situation.

I tormented myself about possibly trying to get on a University course but came to the conclusion that we cannot afford for us to wait four years for me to bring in some money, and I especially doubt my capabilities of coping with degree level studies.

My youngest child (Dd) will be starting high school in three years, so I need to figure out some form of re-training so that I can take it into a proper part-time job once the children can cope with me occasionally not being at home for them.

I am going to do some more research into the Foot Health Practitioner role. Think I will call my Drs surgery to ask their advice as to whether they would ever employ an FHP for routine foot health, I also may try some local residential homes to get their opinion. If everyone say they employ a Chiropodist in preference then I will be worried that there just isn't the work out there.

I feel in the midst of a mid life crisis. I am completely incapable of getting my !!!! together. I have never been so indecisive and I feel I have lost all faith in my abilities in the workplace. It is so ridiculously difficult for me to consider a working life because of my children still being young and literally NO support network, but I feel the pressing need to bring in some noticeable money and in the very least to get myself trained in something for when they children are a better age to cope with being left alone occasionally during holidays or after school etc. I just have no clue what!!.

I will find my way eventually