A new debt free journey

lcc86

Extra £15 paid off my credit card this morning to help clear it.

Including Sunday I have had 5 NSD's already this week too :j

lcc86

My credit card deal has all come through and I've paid my loan off :eek::j

I've done some rough calculations (my maths isn't great) and once the transfer handling fee is taken into account, I should've saved myself somewhere in the £300 region, possibly more. I'll update my signature when I know exactly what the handling fee is, I think I know but I just need to confirm I once I get the log in details for my new card's account.

Feel quite pleased with that, I've knocked £300ish off my debt without having to do anything.

Tomorrow I'm horse riding at a new place, found a really good deal on Groupon. It's all paid for so the day has the potential to be a NSD, although I need to pick up a few groceries but may leave that until Sunday.

Tonight I have no plans apart from an early night, I have to make a work related phone call at 7pm, but I won't lie, I'm secretly hoping the person won't pick up hehe

lcc86

Had a fab ride yesterday, did the most trotting I've ever done and generally really enjoyed myself. Of course that now means I'm dreaming of owning a horse haha (NO CHANCE!). Hey, we can all dream!

Met up with a friend afterwards and had coffee and a cheap spot of lunch, I think I spent £7 altogether. I don't foresee myself spending any money now until payday with the exception of groceries as I'm away for Christmas and have nothing I need/want to buy. Payday is on Wednesday but I'm not going to touch the money until the following Wednesday if at all possible. That'll just make January seem like a normal four week month. I usually do that anyway at Christmas when I get paid early so it shouldn't be a problem.

I have a few groceries to buy today but that's it. Going to my sister's for dinner to exchange Christmas gifts. I'm also dog walking this morning to get a bit of exercise in. Tomorrow I have my consultation with the orthodontist after work so I'll see what they say about possibly having a retainer made up to straighten my teeth. I've also got a free two day pass for the gym next door to work, so I might go swimming after work on Tuesday, provided I get in early. We shall see.

I also managed 6 NSD's this week!! So pleased with that.

lcc86

I saw my payslip today and realised that I'm on the wrong tax code :mad::mad: Then i realised why, I've not received my P45 from my previous employer and have been so busy I forgot to chase it. So my pay for January is less than I'd thought and has kind of messed up my entire budget. I can only hope my previous employer has paid me the money they owe me as this will sort the issues, but I don't hold much hope as they've been so useless thus far!

I also forgot my lunch today, which to my knowledge has only happened once this year, so I'll 'treat' myself to lunch today somewhere cheap.

lcc86

Thought I'd go over my December targets as I probably won't get on here much over the next week or so once I go to my parents' on Wednesday.

1. Eat healthily - done quite well on this front. The last two days haven't been quite as good but I've carried on being vegetarian and I'm going to continue for the foreseeable future.

2. 3 NSD's per week - managed this, last week I managed 6 but have done well all throughout the month.

3. Set next financial target - I did this, the target is to save for remortgage fees. However, I've been on Lloyd's website and they have two suitable products for me, both of which involve no fees, so I may not need the savings after all.

4. Outline my next 3 month's budget - done.

I might make a whole new diary for 2016. I have a LOT of January targets, some big, some small, but I'm certainly going to be starting 2016 with a lot to do! When I read back through this diary recently there is a lot of negativity, particularly towards the beginning. I know I've become much more positive in recent months so I don't like being reminded of the bad times if that makes sense. On the other hand, it can be good to see where I've come from. I'll decide what to do over the next few days and link to a new diary if I do start one.

lcc86

Just another quick note to add I have had the £49 refunded for my fitbit this evening. Paid £50 off my credit card to bring my total balance down to £6,765 (without confirming what I've saved in interest from my balance transfer).

I'm in a bit of a sh*t mood today, I chased my old employer about messing up my tax code. As usual they were incredibly unhelpful telling me to sort it out myself so I got really annoyed in the end. Apparently they don't have me down as leaving which is why they didn't send my p45. One person's stupid error has meant I'm without now and may not have enough money to cover all my outgoings. So irritating. They're meant to pay me tomorrow but I'm sure something will interfere with that. I'll check my account just in case but won't hold my breath. If they've messed up I'm going to tell them to do a bank transfer, there's not a chance I'm leaving myself short yet again because of some incompetent person's f*ck up! Excuse the rant.... Just exceedingly frustrating dealing with the same people over and over.

lcc86

I got paid from both jobs today, my old employer didn't mess up this time! :j a real weight off my shoulders as I was worried I'd be short this month.

All money has been transferred to another account until 31st December to avoid any accidental spends. I also definitely don't have any credit card details on any websites so won't be able to make any drunken 'oops' purchases over Christmas like I did last year

I worked out that I've paid 26% off my debt now (probably more but again, still don't know what I've saved in interest by getting the new credit card as the details haven't come through the post). Still, even if I hadn't done that, I've still exceeded my goal by 1%

lcc86

Work is done and over with until next Tuesday :beer: I treated myself to a miniature bottle of wine to celebrate my first month in my new job. I also had to buy some toiletries after work but they were purchased out of leftover money from this month (what little there is!).

I've enrolled on my stage 1 horse care course to progress to my road safety course eventually. That'll start in January so something to look forward to.

I had my consultation about my teeth last night and the guy basically said for what I wanted done I would need to spend in the region of £2,000. I decided I won't go ahead with it, not only because of the money but also because I'd need a permanent retainer afterwards and a hell of a lot of discipline throughout. I know what I'm like and that was a red flag for me, I know I'm terrible about being disciplined so I'd be angry with myself if I spent that money and didn't do what I needed to.

Just watching Luther now in bed with some candles on I've dyed my hair so am chilling out now. Tomorrow I have to drop my guinea pigs at boarding, do various chores at home and drive to my parents' house in the evening. Then Christmas really begins I suppose!

lcc86

Okay, so I've registered my credit card and can see the balance now. I've paid back the slight overestimate I made when requesting the money for my bank account. Altogether I now owe £6,459 which means I've paid 29% off my overall debt, 4% more than I'd aimed for! Very pleased with that. And come the start of Jan, it'll go down further. Now there's a happy Christmas thought.

Bought my final Christmas bits today, just a few chores to do and then off to visit my parents.

:rudolf::xmastree::rudolf:

lcc86

Christmas has been lovely, I've been enjoying time with the family including OH. We're heading home later on today but I woke up early so am just chilling with a cup of tea. Might go for a walk if no one else shows any signs of life, I feel like I've been very lazy the last few days!! :eek:

I have spent a little money that wasn't budgeted for. I bought some much needed leggings (all of mine have holes in or bleach stains on them) for £10 (2 pairs), a t shirt and some new pyjamas. It came to less than £40. I definitely won't be feeling guilty about that. I recall this time last year I went a little crazy using my credit card over Christmas and spent £100 I think, funny how much more restrained I can be now I've removed all credit card details from my online accounts!!

Moved some money around and updated my remortgage fund this morning with some more pennies. Have also transferred £360 into savings for course fees. I have two courses to pay for now, my professional course and my stage 1 horse care course. I registered for this because if I'm serious about riding and developing I need to do things properly and eventually become safe on the roads etc, and these are the steps I need to take for that. Both can be paid over two months, and I know I have the money to pay for both, which is a nice feeling. I remember worrying about finding money for course fees not so long ago and thinking I may have to borrow money again to fund my professional course, so I'm chuffed that it's not had to happen that way.

One more thing to add, I saw my sister yesterday and she was talking about selling her flat and moving to a house so that she and her partner can start a family. At this stage, I don't think I actually want children, but I did feel more than a little jealous at the thought of her 'upgrading' her house before I do. I had to sit back and tell myself off internally because we're both at different stages in our lives so naturally we want different things, so why am I jealous?? I don't have any need to move, I can continue paying down my debts while I have a very small mortgage and enjoy life. Having kids and a bigger mortgage is a lifetime commitment so I'm really not sure why I felt the way I did, I was a little angry with myself because I'm still envying what others have even though deep down I don't want that same lifestyle....

I've been thinking about what I'd like to achieve in 2016, both personally and debt wise. I'll finalise ny thoughts and get them down on paper soon. I think I know what my debt busting target is realistically going to be but we shall see.

Right, think I might go for a walk and clear away some cobwebs before anyone else's surfaces for the day