A new debt free journey

lcc86

Just decided to clear my credit card rather than wait for the standing order to go through. That brings my total debt down to £6,387 with 30% paid :j:j that'll be my final bit of debt busting for 2015, really really pleased with what I've achieved this year

lcc86

No news on the money front to share. Had a HUGE shopping delivery last night so need to do some cooking, although haven't planned it well and the freezer is chock full already! :eek: Still, I should only have to buy a few top up bits throughout January.

A stone hit my windscreen on the way home from my parents' the other day. It's left me with a pretty big crack on my windscreen in the corner. It's not repairable so it's a replacement job. I do have cover but will have to pay the excess I had hoped to overpay my debt and get it under £6,000 this month, but these things happen. At least I have the cover!

Right, onto January's targets:

1. Kondo all belongings again - I just want to keep myself in check and make sure I don't start collecting things unnecessarily. I did the bedroom yesterday and had two carrier bags worth of stuff for the charity shop so definitely worth doing.

2. Clear MBNA card and close account - I've cleared the card, just need to write a letter and send it to get the account closed.

3. Stick to budget meticulously! - my plans to overpay debt should help there. I've treated myself and can pay for things I need throughout Jan so fingers crossed. I've also changed my budget, no more £10 unallocated money each week, I'm trusting myself to just spend what I want/need to as and when.

4. First draft of second essay - pretty self-explanatory.

5. Attend a meditation class - there's one on my way home from work which I'd like to try.

6. Meditate once a week - have fallen off the wagon here so need to start setting that time aside again.

7. Run 2.5k once a week - my friend wants me to run a half marathon in September, but even if I don't end up doing it, I want to get back into running and pushing myself.

Lots of targets to go for this coming month, let's see what we can do!

lcc86

I almost forgot I have set myself 3 main targets for 2016, which are as follows:

1. Pass my horse road safety exam, which leads me nicely onto...

2. Get a horse share, which leads me even more nicely onto...

3. Pay £3,000 off my debt. It doesn't sound like much but if I want to pursue a dream of sharing a horse, or even just riding every week, I need to get my debt right down. I hope to clear it by more than £3,000 but I want to be realistic.

mumblingtaff

Great goals lcc!

lcc86

Finally, time to update where my savings stand at the end of the year:

Ground rent/service charge - £460. I add £95 to this each month (going to round this up to £100 from January). Ground rent is £125 every 6 months and service charge is whatever my proportion of any work done is. Hopefully not too high! Will find out in Jan.

Horse holiday - £400. All saved for now, very pleased with that.

Ibiza holiday - £8.85. Not much but a start. Will be able to add £100 in January.

Remortgage fund - £18.90. Again not much but will be added to in earnest in Jan. I may not end up needing these savings so if I don't, I'll put the money towards my car insurance, which isn't due until September 2016.

Course fees - £360. I need £660 in total over the next two months, but it's all doable and budgeted for so no concerns there.

I know I have no emergency fund but if any emergencies arise I can dip into the service charge fund and repay it. Either way, my savings are looking MUCH better than this time last year, when I had nothing. Always room for improvement, but I'm pleased with that.

crazy_cat_lady

Well done LCC - you're making great progress. Any money in those savings accounts is better than none...

lcc86

I just wanted to add a couple of further 2016 targets:

4. Become more organised - sometimes I'm really good at planning but at other times I get myself in such a faff and waste time without actually achieving anything! I don't need to spend as much time faffing about so just need to be a little smarter!

5. Complete my professional qualification - this should be achieved by September. I've done a fair bit and have planned some study days throughout January to get done the rest of what I can do at this time. The rest of the work will come in time when I'm more settled in my role.

6. Enjoy life more!!! - I've spent a lot of this year kind of watching life pass me by. This has changed more in the latter half of the year and I need to continue in this vein. I've really enjoyed making time for hobbies and friends and just enjoying myself.

I hope everyone has a nice NYE and a prosperous 2016. I've cracked open the bucks fizz and plan to have a bubble bath with as many bubbles as I can find, slap on some fake tan, paint my nails and chill.

lcc86

Hope everybody has had a good new year and that we're all fresh for another year of debt busting!! :money:

I had a candlelit bubble bath last night with bucks fizz and spent the night chilling out watching DVDs in bed.... Then spent most of today watching DVDs in bed too! But it was so nice to just do nothing and RELAX! I did do a couple of chores like a load of washing, cleaning out my guinea pigs and my frogs (a new addition!).

I booked a 4x4 driving experience last night. I got a discount and shopped around so am happy with the price I paid (£37 for an hour and a half). This is the year I'm gonna enjoy life ON A BUDGET!! Today I also shopped around and found a bunch of free gym passes for gyms which are en route to work, so I'm going to make the most of them. I wonder how many gyms I can use for free? Perhaps this should be my version of wombling :rotfl:

Tomorrow I've got a full day of studying planned, which surprisingly I'm looking forward to!

lcc86

Up bright and early today, swept my pennies into my remortgage account so that it now stands at £20.31. It's nothing really but I will start saving in earnest in February so I'm not concerned. Every little helps, and with any luck I won't even need the money when the time comes and can put it towards my car insurance and rebuilding a vet fund!

I also emailed Virgin and asked them to reduce my credit limit from £8,000 to £7,000. I only asked them for £7,000 to begin with and the balance is £6,387 anyway. I plan on reducing it each time I get it under the next thousand, so better get cracking and get it down under £6,000 asap!

Yesterday was almost a NSD but I remembered it's mine and OH's anniversary next Friday so I bought a card online. Today should be a NSD though.

Got some chores to do, forgot I have a parcel to collect so need to brave the wind and rain, then just do a little cleaning before settling down to study.

crazy_cat_lady

Great targets LCC - Happy New Year to you! Enjoy a frugal 2016 (I certainly hope to)