Round 2 - No more excuses!

SerafinaJayne

Hi everyone! Welcome to my Debt Free Diary :wave:

A bit of history:

I first joined the forum a couple of years ago when I had my light bulb moment. I had made some terrible decisions when it came to money and was really struggling with my debt. I had some great advice last time and used this to set myself a budget to live by. I also used the snowball calculator to set myself a timeframe for paying off all my debt and found some extra money that I could use to pay this off. Unfortunately, I've been making excuses ever since...

There's always something that seems to distract me from paying off my debts. In the last couple of years I've moved house, changed jobs, I've met someone...all amazing things, but I'm still in debt.

Well, in the last few days, I've decided enough is enough. I can't make any more excuses. In fact all my usual excuses will no longer work shortly. My boyfriend and I will be moving in together, I'm settled in my new job...I'm ready for this!

The Debt...

When I posted a couple of years ago (July 2012) my total debt was £XXXX. Even typing that figure now makes me wonder how I let it get so bad...

My current debt sits at a total of £XXXX so I have made a dent in it! If my maths is correct I've paid off 36%.

My debt is split as follows:

Loan:
Originally £XXXX in December 2011
Now £XXXX

Credit Card 1: £XXXX
Credit Card 2: £XXXX (0% Balance transfer for 29 months)

Total: £XXXX

I was sorting through paperwork today so I found all the documents and made a note of the APR and amounts and entered all of this into the Snowball Calculator. Looking at the options for interest first and balance first, I've decided to pay of the smallest debt first so I can get rid of one credit card and then focus on the 0% card and the loan. The snowball calculator has said I can pay of my debt by May 2016 with the amount I currently pay off each.

I'm aiming for December 2015!

And how will I achieve this?...

Budget: The new job I got towards the end of last year meant I took quite a large paycut so I've already made drastic improvements to my spending. But it's not quite enough. I have a budget set out for each month but I never stick to it...those last few meals are always put on the credit card or a special purchase is. So I'm going to go back to the drawing board. For the next couple of months I'm going to write down everything I spend...and I mean everything! That way I can see where my money is really going, look at what cuts need to be made and make a realistic budget.

New house and Spending: Moving in with my boyfriend means we have a fresh start with a house so I can make sure we get the best deals on all of our utilities and also I'll be able to be a bit more in control of my food money (I'm sure most of my money goes on food!). With a kitchen that's [STRIKE]all[/STRIKE] mostly mine I can go back to batch cooking and freezing meals for lunches like I did a couple of years ago, at the moment the canteen at work is too tempting.

Being more thrifty: I've taken inspiration from a few of the challenge boards as well and started taking some positive steps. I was worrying about how to buy a new pair of work shoes this month and a dress for a wedding. I got together with a friend of mine who has the same size feet, we each had a selection of shoes to go to charity shops and we ended up swapping some, I now have a suitable pair of work shoes as part of a trade! The dress I'll be wearing to the wedding came from a charity shop at a tiny fraction of the cost of a new dress. Small steps but they are in the right direction!

Making some extra pennies: I have an abundance of craft supplies and usually make presents for people and things for myself, so I'm going to have a go at making some items to sell. Any extra pennies will bring that debt free day closer!



So...sorry for the long introduction. I've had all this on my mind over the last few days and I wanted to get it out. Hopefully by posting in this diary it will keep my on track. If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading. If you have any advice or tips, please share them and I'll keep you updated on my progress

SerafinaJayne :wave:

SerafinaJayne

So today has been good, it really did feel like a weight off my shoulders when I posted my first diary entry yesterday. I'm feeling very positive that I can reach my goal of being debt free by December 2015, it won't be easy, but it's possible.

I sat down on my lunch break today and went through everything I have spent since payday. I'm going to put these into a spreadsheet and start categorising each spend (food, restaurant / takeaway, clothes etc..) so I can determine where my spare money is going each month.

So far, I'm surprised at just how many "treats" I've allowed myself this month already. They aren't really treats if it's a regular thing. I really do need to work on some self control when it comes to spending. It's so easy to say "what's £20 in the grand scheme of things" or "you don't spend money on x, y and z like other people, so what does it matter if you spend this".

I've been trying to think of some new mantras:

Do I really need this?
Can I afford this?
What else could I use this money for?
If I do need it, can I get it cheaper elsewhere or use a cashback site?

Does anyone have any mantras they find particularly helpful? How do you stop yourself spending?

On the plus side, I have just signed up for a NUS (student discount) card which is one of the benefits of my job so when I am spending I can at least try to get in to the habit of asking "Do you offer student discount?". I've also revisited old TopCashback accounts to make sure I remember my login details so I can start using them as a regular step in buying things.

All in all a positive, eye-opening day

SerafinaJayne

I can count on one hand the number of people I'm close to who know about my debt. I know this diary is a pretty public statement about my debt but there is something much easier about posting here, amongst other people who are going through the same thing, than telling people you're close to.

The first person I ever confided in had opened up to me about their debt so it felt safe to do so. It felt like such a huge weight had been lifted, telling someone that I had this debt hanging over me, and then knowing that I wasn't alone. A few other select friends now know, but that's because again, they are counting pennies or have debt themselves. I did tell my boyfriend up front when we got together that I had debt, I didn't want to start off with keeping it a secret.

I know I shouldn't feel ashamed but a huge part of me does. I was raised by parents who don't have debt (except for things like a mortgage). They use credit cards for the benefits but pay off in full every month. They lived within their means but we never went without as children.

I got myself into this mess as part of a downward spiral and as a result of not understanding money and the consequences of living out of my means. The things I would tell myself if I could go back in time. But, as they say, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I'm not sure why I'm writing this mopey diary entry (mopey...maybe not a word but it describes this post!), I know I need to look at the positives - I'm paying off my debt, making changes and I'll never let myself get in this position again.

I do wish I had put in some more effort when I was younger learning about the dangers and pitfalls of loans and credit cards...

charmedlassie

Love the mantra! Definitely something I need to think before buying anything!
It seems many if is debt free wannabes were trying to buy a life we wanted rather than enjoy the life we had! We work hard! We deserve it! But sadly life doesn't work that way
Anyway, I look forward to reading your journey!

Fae

Hi SerafinaJayne,

Like you I had a light bulb moment, started work on the debt and then got distracted, it's so easy to do, but it sounds like you are having a great new start.
I'll be keeping you company on your journey

Fae

SerafinaJayne

Thanks for joining charmedlassie and Fae :wave:

That's a really good way of putting it, trying to buy the life you want rather than enjoying the life you have. I know that I can still enjoy life whilst paying off a debt and budgeting, I just need to be a little bit stricter with myself

And as you said Fae, it's so easy to get distracted but I'm feeling determined this time

lumpyspaceprincess

Hi SerafinaJayne

I'm with you, it's weird slightly being so open here, and not IRL - but at least we have an outlet. We can do it!

Wow Charmed Lassie - that's so spot on, I'd never put that together before. I'm sure our journeys to being Debt Free will teach us a lot about our lives, and help us enjoy what we have.

SerafinaJayne

Hi lumpyspaceprincess - this is the great thing about these diaries, it's an outlet, a space for us to rant and share when we need to I think it's going to be really helpful for me. We can do it!

So an update for the last few days. In some respects I've done really well but in others not so well. I have been using my new mantras when it comes to spending. For example, I was going to get my eyebrows threaded over the weekend which costs about £12. I always justify paying to have them done because I don't wear make-up or go to the hairdressers so it is my one beauty treat I partake in. But when I stopped and really thought about it, I realised that I can do my eyebrows myself, I don't get the perfect finish of a professional but it does the job. So do I really need to pay that much each month / 6 weeks? I might look at cutting down to every 4 months and keep them myself in between instead. That's a potential saving that could be used to pay off debts.

I find I really struggle with controlling spending when it comes to spending money on other people or enjoying things with other people. For example, day trips and meals out. I'm quite good at trying hard to keep costs down wherever possible, but at the same time I want to enjoy things. Yesterday I went to the beach and before I went I bought a kite, so that we could enjoy the time there (it was a windy day!) and it would be fun. Did I really need the kite? No. But I wanted to have that as a part of our day.

I suppose it's times like these when I need to be a bit stricter with myself and decide what is more important, the purchase, or paying off my debt.

On a positive note I've been keeping up with my spending diary which is really eye opening. I can see that the budget I've tried to set myself previously has been way off and I need to really adjust it to make it work. I'm going to keep tracking my spends for another month and a half and go from there.

So, still feeling positive, but struggling a bit with being stricter with my spending.