Reeling from the Reality Check

Historybuff

Had a look at the debt totals and satisfied that they are going down...slowly but in the right direction. I have decided to have a mind shift and think to myself that my pay is £526 less a month than it really is. If I do that I wonder if I can put the debt out of my mind and lay it to one side while it gets paid down. Will this put me in a better frame of mind? Will I be happier and more positive? I'm going to give it a go.
So, from today I am only going to focus on the money I have available after the debt payment is taken out. I'm going to have a good think about this. It may even be worth me opening another basic account to keep the debt payments and real life money separate. I need to accept that I have had a pay reduction of £526 per month, park it and take care of the money I can live on.
No savings for buffer amount yet. Every month what little surplus there is gets eaten up by something or other.
I'm going to try this different mind set and see if it makes a difference to how I feel about my finances. If anyone has any advice, or already done something like this, please let me know how it went.
Positives for today...the sun's out...I've got an early start...feeling positive.

gallygirl

I think that would work HB. In the meantime - update your signature, that will give you a boost when you see what progress you've made :T add to it, don't delete Feb, so you can see the movement.

in_need_of_direction

That seems like a plan. I know it's difficult not to get fed up esp when the surplus tends to get eaten up but compare this to a year ago. It wouldn't have been a surplus being eaten up but a credit limit. The debt I'm clearing is my mortgage. It's debt clearance rather than mfw as I remortgaged to consolidate so many times. Not sure how your mortgage was made up but you might want to list the % of total debts paid as you're making inroads to your mortgage too. Stay strong, you're doing so well.

Historybuff

Thanks guys. Feeling positive. I'll let you know how the changed mindset goes.

Seasidegal58

I find totally isolating the monthly amount I have earmarked for my credit card payments (which includes the minimums and extra cash) really works. I don't factor it in when working out my spends for the month. And anything extra that you might end up throwing at the debt is a bonus!

hohum

Historybuff wrote: »

Thanks guys. Feeling positive. I'll let you know how the changed mindset goes.

You're a canny lass! All about the mindset. Hope it works for you.

Now if I can just find a way to tweak my 'OMG all the bills are paid, weeeeeee spending money' trend this month. I haven't gone over what I've set as our spending money budget. But I'm burning through it rather quickly....Well, worst comes to worst I will be doing nothing last two weeks of this month! This is what I'm trying to avoid so hoping to put the brakes on. Never found NSD very motivating, but might try do NSpendingMoneyD!

gallygirl

hohum wrote: »

You're a canny lass! All about the mindset. Hope it works for you.

Now if I can just find a way to tweak my 'OMG all the bills are paid, weeeeeee spending money' trend this month. I haven't gone over what I've set as our spending money budget. But I'm burning through it rather quickly....Well, worst comes to worst I will be doing nothing last two weeks of this month! This is what I'm trying to avoid so hoping to put the brakes on. Never found NSD very motivating, but might try do NSpendingMoneyD!

Keep the money for all bills plus your spending money in your account and transfer the rest out at the start of the month, not the end. Once you've moved it out you'll forget about it (well, not really, but less likely to be tempted if you can't see it ). If you need it for an emergency fund then keep it in a separate account but if not pay if off a debt/mortgage at the start of the month then it's gone.

It's a concept called 'Pay Yourself First' :T

Historybuff

Cheers all. Galleygirl, I'm going to try that tactic next month. Thirteen days to go till payday. Funds depressingly low. No wine left. Day from hell at work. Think I need to meditate for a while to get my positivity up.

Seasidegal58

Sorry to hear you are feeling so low HB - try not to let it get you down. Do you have anything for the car boot sale that can go this weekend?

Historybuff

I can probably rustle up a table full of rubbish for the carboot on Sun, seaside. One more day till the weekend...yay! I've decided to go to next week's party and not this one. Definitely can't afford both.
I do wish the weather would cheer up...the rain is starting to get to me now. It's supposed to be summer for heaven's sake!
Today's positives...nine working days till payday and the holidays...weekend tomorrow...a whole evening to myself later on. Here's to another no spend day. I have £17.70 in my purse, so I'm going to see how long I can make that last because I have the grand total of £85.51 in the bank to last another 13 days! £8 per day...it's gone up since earlier in the week! Anyhow...I am seriously going to see how long I can go without spending anything now.