A new debt free journey

belleandthebudget

lcc86 wrote: »

It's times like this, when you realise that the burden of debt is stopping you from doing all the things you want to do, that this journey can seem really long, and possibly never-ending! just got to keep on plugging away knowing that each month is a step closer to being debt free, regardless of how long it takes. I know I'm a very impatient person which probably doesn't help at all in situations like this :rotfl: but I guess it can be a learning experience for me too!

It really is. I think about all the disposable income I would have if it wasn't going on credit card payments - it will be amazing when we get there!

I definitely second Lidl or Aldi for the main shop. I didn't think it would make much difference but when I see how much I get at Aldi compared with my normal Sainsburys run I'm aways amaaaaaazed.

That said I'm terrible at grocery planning or meal planning so that's my big focus for next month.

lcc86

Thanks Belle,

I think I just have a case of the mid month blues all bills are paid so the bank balances are low, and I think I just feel the pinch a little more. I'm not sure why as I do have my own weekly budget but I think I get frustrated with myself, particularly around my ongoing struggle with the food budget :rotfl:

lcc86

On the sponsorship front, it's looking less likely that I'll be able to get sponsored from work as the course I'm interested in isn't strictly related to my role, even though I use the skills informally. Hey ho, if you don't ask you don't get! I'll know for sure at the start of September. If not there is still the tax free loan option.

I've officially run out of grocery money now. It's not the end of the world as I can get OH to pay for the groceries, it just frustrates me that I still can't get it "right". I think I'm starting to accept that I'm never going to be great with money and budgeting. While I'm committed to clearing my debt I do make little errors here and there. It won't matter as much when I'm debt free, but when money is so tight it has an impact on everyday life. But hey, life is a work in progress

I was reading through some diaries today and noticed how many people have set their DFD based on a significant milestone, e.g. a big birthday. Well, I'm 30 next year and there's no chance of being debt free by then. But I realised that 2017 will be the 10 year anniversary of me getting into debt. I trawled back through my online bank statements just now and found my first ever loan repayment: 1st July 2007. So with that in mind, I want to be debt free on my 10 year debt anniversary!! :T 22 months and counting :money: I worked out I need to pay £362 a month to hit my target. As of September I'll be paying £315, so not quite enough. But once I know exactly what my pay is from my zero hours job, I should hopefully be able to up the payment (with luck).

On a slightly amusing/disturbing note, on looking through my old statements all I seemed to do was buy lunch, top up my phone and go to the pub! I also never realised that it took just a month after moving out from my parents for me to get overdrawn (on top of taking out a loan to help me set up home, which I then spent going to Australia!). I was earning just under £1000 a month then and spending like crazy. It's no surprise I got in the trouble I did with money, I just wish I'd realised sooner!!

So there it is, DFD 01/07/17 :beer:

lcc86

Feel shattered today, was working late last night and had a busy day today. Got to say I'm enjoying it, although I'm quite an introvert I do find working with people fascinating.

Not an awful lot to report at the moment. I spent £3 on snacks yesterday (which ended up turning into dinner), and had to buy a little sawdust today for £4.

I've had the details through for my course finally, it's definitely £500 so I can get the ball rolling and apply for the first of the two routes I want to try re funding. I feel really excited and positive about it, very much looking forward to getting started in October. I know my last study experience wasn't positive for a variety of reasons, but I'm enthusiastic about this course and about much more in life in general.

Speaking of enthusiasm etc, I have a review with my GP in 2 weeks for my depression. I'd like to reduce my medication, and feel like I'm in a much better place now, but I do still feel anxious and worry that a reduction in dosage might leave me feeling low again. Fingers crossed.

I'm having a few friends over this Saturday so have a few things to buy from the supermarket over the next couple of days. On a budget of course.

lcc86

Bought a few bits for the party today in wilko (so cheap and cheerful I love it :blushing:). I also treated myself to a new houseplant for £3, it's a decent size too. These purchases came from my £10 unallocated budget for the week.

Had a really interesting workshop today at work where buying resources was mentioned. So, knowing I could claim the cost back, I bought some stuff off Amazon for £20. Only problem is, I didn't have enough money in my current account so used the credit card, and then thought ooh I'll just buy the books I've been after for ages for my course :mad: and spent another £10 on the credit card. :wall: I've removed said credit card from my Amazon account, and ensured I added the £10 extra to my credit card standing order for next month. I still feel naughty because I should've just waited. I must do some reading on delayed gratification because my impatience gets me in trouble!!! At least it was only £10 I guess, but it's the principle.

I joined a survey website today and completed about £2 worth of surveys. It's about time I got on that wagon, I just don't want to do too many as I want to chill during my downtime so I'll stick with just the one website and see how it works for me.

Not much else to report. Payday is next Thursday so just getting by between now and then. Got all the rest of the details for my course through today, I'm such a swot so stuff like that is ridiculously exciting for me :dance: so I'm going to have a read of it now and do some filing before I chill for the evening.

I've decided next month to go back to doing a weekly shop to see if I can resolve these food budget issues I've been having the last couple of months. Will see how that goes.

Orange_Ena

lcc86 wrote: »

Bought a few bits for the party today in wilko (so cheap and cheerful I love it :blushing:). I also treated myself to a new houseplant for £3, it's a decent size too. These purchases came from my £10 unallocated budget for the week.

Had a really interesting workshop today at work where buying resources was mentioned. So, knowing I could claim the cost back, I bought some stuff off Amazon for £20. Only problem is, I didn't have enough money in my current account so used the credit card, and then thought ooh I'll just buy the books I've been after for ages for my course :mad: and spent another £10 on the credit card. :wall: I've removed said credit card from my Amazon account, and ensured I added the £10 extra to my credit card standing order for next month. I still feel naughty because I should've just waited. I must do some reading on delayed gratification because my impatience gets me in trouble!!! At least it was only £10 I guess, but it's the principle.

I joined a survey website today and completed about £2 worth of surveys. It's about time I got on that wagon, I just don't want to do too many as I want to chill during my downtime so I'll stick with just the one website and see how it works for me.

Not much else to report. Payday is next Thursday so just getting by between now and then. Got all the rest of the details for my course through today, I'm such a swot so stuff like that is ridiculously exciting for me :dance: so I'm going to have a read of it now and do some filing before I chill for the evening.

I've decided next month to go back to doing a weekly shop to see if I can resolve these food budget issues I've been having the last couple of months. Will see how that goes.

Aww don't beat yourself up. You didn't go mad on something frivolous, it's something you need and it will be of use. Not long until your course, how exciting.

Good luck with the surveys. They are a bit of an effort but I only do them if I'm watching telly. Soon add up though

lcc86

You're right Orange Ena, plus it'll definitely be paid off when I get paid so it's not the end of the world. It's not like it used to be where I would add hundreds of pounds to my debt with no plan of how to pay it off!

Work is done for another week. I was driving home from a visit just now and realised how much I'm enjoying it, the autonomy to do things 'your way', challenging work but in a good way, a real variety of stuff, which I'm really enjoying. Even though prospects within the team are nil unless I train as a social worker (not gonna happen), I'm really feeling that this is the place I'm going to settle for a few years while I prepare myself for the future. Looking forward to a weekend of catching up with friends and then vegetating in front of the TV with a hangover on Sunday :rotfl:

I worked out I have enough money left in my pet budget to put £10 into my vet fund. The total now stands at £35, which isn't a fortune but it would cover the cost of an appointment and maybe medication if needed. I'll keep trying to add to it whenever I can.

I have earned £3 on PA, and am going to do another survey hopefully this evening. Going well, I'll cash out whenever I reach £20, no rush.

While I was doing my filing last night, I found a £3 co-op voucher which will come in handy. Forgot I even had it

Next week is going to be a busy one. I have a 3 hour shift Monday evening, a 6 hour shift Tuesday evening and an 8 hour shift on Saturday afternoon, all alongside my normal job. But it should all pay off with any luck. I get paid from my 'smallest' job on Monday and the other two next Thursday.

OH and I want to go to Ibiza for my 30th next year. I had a look at prices, can get a 4 day break for less than £250, really reasonable. The earlier we book the longer we have to save, something I've historically been quite bad at when it comes to holidays. So we'll look at that come payday.

Right, off to do some reading and surveys, what an exciting Friday evening

belleandthebudget

It's great to hear how positive you're feeling about work, I think that makes all the difference considering how long we spend at work every month!

Ibiza sounds amazing for that price. Soak up some sun! I really want to plan something for my 30th next year but I'm just not sure what/where. I guess I still have time to think!

lcc86

The weekend is over! I didn't have time to write in here at all so am just catching up now. Had my friends round on Saturday evening and drank far too much so spent most of Sunday feeling a touch under the weather. My body is trying to tell me not to drink so I think I need to knock it on the head for a while. Yesterday wasn't a pleasant experience.

So spend wise, the weekend eorked out quite well, only bought a couple of things which were needed from the supermarket. I must say I was really disappointed with the food I bought from Lidl, yeah it was cheap but it was also tasteless! :rotfl: I know some people swear by it but I don't think I'll be returning any time soon.

Today I've registered for my course so it's officially going ahead :T exciting times. I've also been paid for my 'little' zero hours job, slightly more than I expected, but have yet to see my payslip so must work it out when it comes through in the post.

I thought now would be a good time to review my August targets and set September's as I'm so close to payday and probably won't have a chance to come on here again before then. So for August I wanted to:

1. Do parkrun twice - achieved.
2. Stick to budget meticulously - achieved-ish, with the exception of messing up my food budget again and the slight issue of buying books when I should've waited for payday.
3. Try to clear Barclaycard - failed. I'm out by £30 but will clear this in September for sure .
4. Plan for a low budget Christmas - going well so far.
5. Make first loan overpayment - achieved, but I've had no correspondence so must give them a call to confirm.

So onto September's targets:

1. Sign up to another 10k (provided the first one doesn't kill me).
2. Clear Barclaycard completely.
3. Stick to food budget meticulously - going to go back to weekly shops and see if that makes any difference.
4. No alcohol - I really need to listen to my body here, I'm not a big drinker but think I can get away with the odd night out, but with my IBS I just don't think it's on any more!

belleandthebudget

Great goals for September! I'm still really enjoying not drinking. I think I'll keep it up in September too. I really do feel so much better for it.