A new debt free journey

Dansmam

Oh, and start pension early and keep paying in, but look at other ways of earning too - then you'll have options as you get within reach of seeing pension money back. Oh to have had my wisdom in my 20s

lcc86

Payday has been and gone, just waiting for various payments to go out. I'll be able to pay an additional £90 off my debt this month, really want to push it up to £100 if I can somewhere along the line

Been a week of positives I have to say:
- Job situation is hopefully sorted, but will post more if and when everything is confirmed
- Met up with two friends and proved to myself I can have a life while on this journey! :rotfl:
- Found contents cover for half the price of my current provider, and my policy ends this month so I can switch straight away
- My OH is due to move in soon and said I could put his 'rent' towards my debt. I said I felt guilty doing that as it was my own irresponsible spending that caused my debt in the first place, but he's really laid back about it
- I resisted the temptation to buy something I really wanted online when I realised my credit card details were on a favourite website of mine, and I removed the details to get rid of the temptation!! :T tiny victory in my mind but had to exercise real willpower
- I'll be upping my pension payments back to what they were as of September - there's no excuse not to!
- I have an expenses payment of £37 due to me which I'll put towards my holiday spending money

I'll update new totals once direct debits have gone through. Looking forward to getting my debt down even more if I can this month, must get a new hobby

lcc86

Direct debits have gone through and I've worked out my new totals are as follows:

Loan - 8335
Credit card - 360
Very - 120

New total £8815 - not amazing progress but progress nonetheless! If at all possible I'd like to push it under the £8800 mark. Compared to some people's targets this isn't much but most of my pennies are accounted for so it's a little tricky and a good little challenge for me hehe.

Forgot my lunch this morning which is bizarre considering I've brought my own lunch every day since forever so unfortunately had to buy some food in, wasting £4, but at least it was just a one off :rotfl:

I've taken a knock today at work and am struggling a bit so I think this week will be a tricky one, but I have to try and motivate myself. Plus I have volunteering training this weekend which should be interestingso if I keep that in mind hopefully the week won't be too long!

lcc86

Paid £22 extra off the debt today to bring my total to under £8800 :beer:

Not sure yet how much more I can pay off thid month - just noticed a problem on a pet so off to the vet tomorrow. Hopefully worrying about nothing with any luck.

lcc86

As the title would suggest, I'm about to be hit with another vet bill that will wipe out my emergency fund :mad: and unfortunately with no guarantee that the little monster will come out the other side, but the way I see it, it's worth a try as long as she's not suffering. I don't have an estimate but am hoping I can cover it without resorting to credit cards...

This has made me reevaluate a couple of things. I definitely won't be going to Glastonbury as I won't be able to save what I need in time and need to rebuild that emergency fund back up.

So that's the negative side of the week... But on a more positive note, I've sorted out my contents insurance and bought my new policy at less than half the price of the old :j and, as per the above, I've got the debt down to under £8800 (hopefully it stays that way and the animal gods shine down on me!).

I've also started a really interesting volunteering opportunity today and I'm feeling really positive about it. Really needed something positive as it's been a very tough week. Off to the doctors on Monday to discuss it further as I feel I'm struggling to cope at times and certainly haven't slept properly for months. No news on the job front so the hard work continues to find something that allows me a better work/life balance as this is definitely missing right now. Sometimes it's not always about the money

lcc86

Been a tough couple of days. The vet bill has immediately wiped out my emergency fund and more, which is going to go up with checkups etc. I'm not too concerned as the money I was going to save for Glastonbury will go to repaying this so I know I can manage it. But obviously it's not ideal when you're trying to cut costs wherever you can! I've used my credit card and will pay whatever I've got off it as a priority until it's paid.

I've also been diagnosed with stress and depression, which is a bit of a bummer and something I actually feel guilty about given the struggles others have to contend with. It's just made me think about work however. Some things in life aren't worth your health. I do my best for my clients but something in my life has to change.

Already thinking about next month's budget and meal plan :rotfl: I really must be into this whole MSE thing now as I look forward to budgeting haha

lcc86

So, I have paid 2/3 of my vet bill off my credit card by wiping out my emergency fund. I think the bill will go up due to follow-up appointments, but I'm keeping track and will pay off asap.

So my new 'mini targets' within my debt paying mission are as follows:

- Pay remainder of vet bill asap using expenses from work, spare money from budget etc. Currently owe £80, estimate another £100 on top
- Rebuild emergency fund fund, currently stands at £0, need to get it back to £300

lcc86

Another tricky week comes to an end! I've actually been off sick from work for 3 days, which has ironically saved me money in fuel, but obviously not for the right reasons!

I've had to add £25 to the credit card to cover some medication, luckily I have some expenses due from work which will cover this shortly.

Not much else to report this week. Been stressing a little over money as my plan to shop at a cheaper supermarket hasn't really worked! I've stuck to my list but have somehow spent more, so need to amend for next month to see if I can improve. Next month is a five week month between pay days with 2 birthdays to sort out so really need to put my MSE skills to good use!!

lcc86

Feels like it's been a long few days. Work is mega busy and stressful. I have a couple more interviews coming up, one of which I'm really keen on, so hopefully one will pay off. It's all moving in the right direction, I know something will click eventually.

The debt busting hasn't gone well this month as the vet bill has completely wiped out my emergency fund and spending money for the month. But I did pay £90 extra off my debt before the vet bill so it's still progress. Unfortunately I'm now in a pickle as to how to save my spending money for my short Berlin break in May... But I'm sure if I put my mind to it I can find the money somewhere! Sadly nothing has come up on the second job front, which is probably just as well given my health situation. Although I could do with the extra cash, it might not be best for my wellbeing and I have to have balance as that's been lacking recently.

I get paid next Thursday, and April is a 5 week month between paydays so it will be tighter than normal but I've worked out my budget and all is covered. It's also MOT time which hopefully won't throw up any surprises!

lcc86

Just changed my signature so that it reflects less of the past and more of where I am now and where I'm going.

Nothing to report money wise today. Payday on Thursday. This month I messed up my food budget. I'm still not sure exactly what happened as it was the first month I ever did a meal plan for the whole month. I also tried to shop at cheaper supermarkets yet feel more worried about my food budget than my previous method of going once a week. Some adaptations needed I suppose.

I'll analyse my monthly targets for March in next post, it doesn't make for pretty reading.