Changing for good...a new start!

Baldybear

Good morning world

I have had lots of diaries over my time here on MSE, but they just seem to taper off and I never seem to get anywhere so this needs to stop hence the title, a new start to change for good. I have a good mindset and am used to doing MSE things, I just need to hone these. I have been in debt far too long, I owe far to much money and have some stupidly unrealistic targets but if I could reach them then wow what a feeling that will be

So am going back to basics with this diary, going to list my SOA, incomings and general lifestyle to help me understand where I am going wrong and right in life.

Baldybear

So my SOA (brief version)...

Salary £1513 plus a few pennies each month. Unfortunately no opportunity to get overtime.

Bills:-
£788 Mortgage
£114 council tax (single person discount)
£35 electricity
£18 gas (may be able to reduce this, just need to keep monitoring)
£33 water (cant get meter as would need to change pipework as shared supply so at present not worth the cost)
£53 tv, broadband, landline
£12 tv licence
£15 bank a/c charges (use for phone insurance, car breakdown, travel insurance etc)
£80 fuel
£33 mobile phone
£182 hossie livery
£90 hossie food/bedding
£100 groceries
£50 hossie trainer
£1603 (you can see a trend here )

Debts:-
£390 - Sofa repayment on 0% interest - pay £30.15/month
£5706 - Bcard CC - on 0% interest - pay approx £120/month
£415 - Sains CC - on 18.9% interest - pay approx £10/month
Total £6511
Repayments £160/month (min payments)

Total to pay out £1763/month

I keep £50 spare each month for misc spending so total up to £1810 a month.

I am aware I am about £300 a month short and at current my mum is subsidising me.

I am also aware that I have no savings and no money each month put aside for things like insurance etc.

Baldybear

My history - how I got here!

I bought my current house with my ex, payments were afforded ok, he was (and still is) terrible with money, always had to buy the latest gadget/tool. I admit I didnt help but, through a period of bad luck ended up in debt. My ex and I split last year, he was living in the house up until June this year, where he has now moved out and is getting married to a new OH in Oct (dont ask lol:rotfl:!!).

Since I have split with my ex I have also had a run of bad luck including vet bills, car problems and dental issues to name a few.

NoOneAround

Best of luck on your journey Baldy, determination to change for good is a great place to start:T
x

Baldybear

So my situation now....

I have cut all my bills as much as I can, single person council tax, dropped down fuel bills etc so am living as cheaply as I can.

I have a hossie, I would be extremely rich if I didnt have her, but she would be the last thing to go. She is 3, had her since she was 1 and she is a work in progress but generally a nice hossie

I have an OH, he lives in Kent, neither of us are prepared to move, to be honest I am not 100% sure he is the one I want to be with, I have been honest with him about this, we have taken a step backwards, he knows I need to focus on other things first, we enjoy each others company and get on great, so just really waiting to see what happens.

I have had some health issues which have blighted my life recently, all related I believe to my thyroid, I have finally seen a doctor last week who is taking me seriously so I need to get that sorted.

My work is pretty solid, work in construction, seemed to have ridden out the recession and is about as secure as I can get at the moment.

I live 15 min commute to work, my family all live in the same village as me as does my hossie, all within 5/10 mins of each other which is great

Baldybear

My plans for the future (the scary bit) :eek:

I want to keep my house, the location is ideal for family, hossie and work. I have put a lot of effort into it, have replaced all windows and doors, new rear garden fence, the garden front and back is getting there and finally presentable, have decorated one room (altho not finished) and is a good size (3 bed mid terrace) so I wont need to move for ages. There is still a lot of work to do in the house, all of the other rooms need stripping back to basics but this is a work in progress. I also have planning permission to build extension.

The problem is I cant really afford this at the moment :cool: My ex still has his name on the mortgage, I want to cut the financial tie so I need to save up to buy him out.

I cant save until I am debt free.

So my goals....

1. Pay of my Sains CC (I use this as general spending card as get nectar points, need to get to position to get to 0 and then just pay of in full each month as I use it).
2. Pay of my Bcard CC - this is interest free for another 2 years so plenty of time.
3. Pay of my Sofa - this is interest free and such a small payment its my last debt to pay.
4. Get some savings behind me - things like insurance, emergencies etc - In an ideal world my savings targets are £5k over 5 accounts all broken down to various things.
6. Buy ex out of the house...for this I need to get the mortgage down to £100k so I can take on myself. As of 23 July my mortgage was £150K. So already I have decreased this amount and continue to do so with payments each month. I also need to give ex approx £35K for his share of the house.
7. I have planning permission for extension on my house which would give me loads of extra space and a decent, rather than pathetic, sized kitchen so need £40k at least for this!

So with all of these targets I could be here for a while :rotfl:

Baldybear

How am I going to manage....

So I have a 3 bed house, I am looking at getting a lodger in, there is a possibility that my cousin may come in, just waiting to hear back. Obv my other bills will go back up like council tax so need to factor that into any rent payments.

In the meantime my parents are happy and luckily are able to help me out short term with shortfall of bills.

I already do MSE bits like surveys, quidco etc and ebay my life away. All of these things have been fairly profitable in the past so I just need to continue.

I am queen of procastination when it comes to ebay, its sooo boring, but it does bring me in the pennies so I need to crack on. Current OH has recently unearthed a load of items to ebay, they are currently residing in my dining room, I am helping him and taking a cut of the profits so a win for me

Baldybear

So to today....I have been paid, so new budget for the month set up.

I have lots of food in my freezer but zero fresh bits, I am going to go shopping at lunchtime, I have a list and £22 cash in my purse, leftover from last month so not breaking into new budget yet) and hope to come well under.

freckles1_2

NoOneAround wrote: »

Best of luck on your journey Baldy, determination to change for good is a great place to start:T
x

I misread OP's username so thought you were being rude when I read this! hahaha.


Just wanted to wish you best of luck too :

Baldybear

Ha Ha nope unfortunate username, my old pony, RIP, was called Baldrick (my avatar), Baldy for short hence the username Was funny when with my ex as he was follicly challenged so when out in the field yelling Baldy and OH with me used to get some funny looks :rotfl:

Freckles thanks for the good wishes

£16.23 spent on groceries so all topped up for next few weeks, hoping to come under my grocery budget this month.

NoOneAround

freckles1 wrote: »

I misread OP's username so thought you were being rude when I read this! hahaha.


Just wanted to wish you best of luck too :

OH Gosh major embarrassment :o That didn't even occur to me - when I get on here the fingers just type away and it all spills out .....I have just taken cues from others where people either use the first bit of the alias or initials to abbreviate....


Lesson learnt .....need to think about what I'm typing:D


Apologies Baldybear totally unintentional x