A new debt free journey

lcc86

So to recap my March targets:

So, first the good news. I will be increasing my pension contributions as soon as I've finished paying for my course. There's no excuse not to, and I won't miss the money.

Now onto the bad news! I didn't play the ukulele once! I did re-string it but that's as far as I got.

I shopped at Morrisons, Tesco, and Sainsburys as all are closer than Aldi, but I spent more than normal and had to borrow money from my petrol budget as I ran out of money from the food budget!

I haven't even started my dissertation. Due to my health, I looked into deferring but it would cost me money at this stage to defer, and it's money I don't have so I really need to get my head down and crack on. I have 10 weeks to complete it so that's 700 words a week!! :eek:

I did also manage to pay an extra £90 off my debt this month, which is good, but needed to use my credit card for my emergency vet bill which has pretty much cancelled that out...

So, now onto April's targets:

1. Write half of my dissertation - this has to be the priority

2. Play the ukulele - hopefully this will go better than it did in March!

3. Start running again and exercise twice a week - I've actually started this already but need to keep it in the forefront of my mind as I allowed myself to feel too "tired" because of my depression to exercise.

4. Meditate every day - this is quite personal to me and something I've discovered recently. I've found it's helping my moods so really want to keep it up.

lcc86

Did an online shop for half of next month's food, it was the first time I've ever tried online shopping and I got £12 off as it's the first shop, so well worth it I think. Whether I keep up with it in future remains to be seen, hopefully it'll help me manage my food budget a little better.

My vet bill has meant I've had to add £170 this month to my credit card :eek: so now I have the unenviable task of trying to pay that off while also rebuilding my emergency fund... Luckily I have £30ish of expenses from work due, and should have £10 left from my petrol budget so once I get paid this will go towards reducing it, and I'll see what else I can do throughout the month. Hopefully there will be no more vet bills for a long time!!!

lcc86

Budget all sorted for April. Week off over easter so will save on fuel but paying for MOT and service. Feeling positive though, I've made some lifestyle changes and feel really positive about the future and my debt busting plans!

lcc86

Payday has been and gone :j I managed to still have about £20 in my bank account so paid that straight off my credit card. I've been using the Goodbudget app for a couple of months now and I must say it's been great for keeping track of all spending, I thoroughly recommend it. :money:

I have the next week off work and don't go back until 7th April. The last few days at work have been truly awful, there's no other way to say it. I had been feeling positive about things but there have been some arguments between colleagues and morale is really low now. Also my manager has decided to interpret the rules regarding mileage claims in a different way, which means that I can no longer claim any mileage. :mad: I will be challenging this the second I get back into the office, but it's exactly what you don't want to hear last thing on a Friday afternoon when morale is already at rock bottom!! I don't get much in the way of expenses (£25 a month ish) but it all helps. It's stuff like this that makes me just want to hand my notice in, so the next week will be fully focused on job searching. If it turns out that my manager is right (and I don't think he is but I'm biased obviously lol) then I'll just play the system and make sure I work from homemore regularly to save money on fuel that way.

On that note, I've been offered some casual employment in the evenings. Not yet sure exactly how many hours it will be as it's zero hours so I think it will be very much ad hoc, but it's a step in the right direction. :T

Really looking forward to the next week of, just relaxing, seeing friends and hopefully doing some nice things.

lcc86

Had an emergency trip to the vet today which wasn't budgeted for at £35. Have to go back on Tuesday, which again I haven't budgeted for. Struggling a bit with this as I haven't got any spare money to put towards rebuilding my recently destroyed emergency fund.

Applied for 5 jobs yesterday so hopefully something comes from one of them, I'm confident I'm making positive steps so fingers crossed something happens sooner or later. At least I should get some interview experience along the way! It's always my weakness.

Plans for this week:
Clean the house from top to bottom
Finish some minor diy jobs
Mot and service
Studying
Visit local recruitment agencies
Visit friends and family

lcc86

Another tough few days. Lost a much loved pet and feel pretty rubbish about it. I don't have any kids (yet) and have always been a huge animal lover so stuff like this always hits me hard. It's also meant another £100 on my credit card to pay the final vet bill.

As a result I'm probably more or less where I was at the start of the month, if not worse. I'll calculate everything in a few days once my direct debits go through.

I also splurged on my credit card, £35 on plants, trying to make myself feel better :mad: stupid I know and hasn't worked. I've spent most of the day chastising myself as well as cleaning and decluttering my house.

Tomorrow I just need to get back into it, I feel like I've wasted 2 days of my week off cleaning (although it needed doing) and generally moping. Back to the grindstone!!

[Deleted User]

Hi lcc86!
I'm sorry to hear you've lost a pet. It's never easy and you have my sympathies.


I can understand splurging when you're feeling down and, even though you think it hasn't helped, plants are something you can keep and watch grow and maybe they'll help you feel a bit happier in the long run - assuming you're better at keeping plants alive than I have been so far!


Cleaning and decluttering shouldn't feel like a waste of time. There's that whole 'tidy house, tidy mind' idea so think of it as one less thing to worry about now it's done.


I hope you're not feeling too despondent; you're doing brilliantly! You might have the odd slip up but you recognise it, deal with it and move on. It's a healthy attitude to dealing with your debt and I think you're doing a great job!x

lcc86

Thank you Deleted_User those are really kind words

lcc86

Sorted my criminal record check for my new 2nd job. It's zero hours but that suits me fine. The main job is more of an issue right now. Really tempted to hand in 2 month's notice when I go back on Tuesday. I know I can't do this in reality obviously but I just can't stop thinking about it. Sometimes I find I work best when I'm really pushed so I know I could find a temp job to tide me over, but it wouldn't be ideal. I'm just not sure how much longer I can hack this job I'm in, it's having a major impact on my health and wellbeing, and in my current frame of mind I don't think I'm doing the best by my clients either. Got some thinking to do.

Anyway, a friend came over just now for a chat which was really cool. Tomorrow I have my MOT, fingers crossed it'll come in under budget so I can get back into MSE ways! I've been a bit lax in the last few days so it might mean lots of boring posts over the next few weeks just to keep my mind on track. Sorry in advance for boring you all!

lcc86

Paid £10 off the credit card this morning, it's not much but it all adds up! :money:

Weather looks questionable so my plans for today are to sit and do as much studying as my brain can cope with

I have £175 set aside for my MOT and service, and have been told it should come in at less than that so fingers crossed I'll have some extra money to throw at the credit card by the end of the day.

After falling off the wagon a bit this week I really need to knuckle down this month. It's gonna be a long one but it's by no means impossible!