New start for 2015newstart!

2015newstart

Just a quick dart out of the lurking darkness to say ermmm....hello! I've been here for around 4years lurking, we did have another user name. Lost the email account it was linked too so started again fresh. Finally had our lightbulb moment today. Have been trying to pay off our debts, but it's been the usual two steps forward, one back.

I'm fed up having it hanging over us and although it's affordable and we pay without problem every month, it's stopping us from being able to move into a much needed bigger house and I feel like our life is limbo, just trudging from one pay day to the next.

A little about us...there's 4 of us and a scruffy little pooch. Hubby works full time and travels away from home a lot and I juggle my job with keeping our two munchkins on the straight and narrow. We have 2 cars, one paid for the other still has 14months left on it's 0% finance. We own our own home with no outstanding mortgage and have a teeny buy to let which currently has 99k isn outstanding. The rental income covers the mortgage and we want to keep for the kids' just in case they want to live in the same town as us.

Our debts are bits here and there and we do have a small rainy fund, which is no where near enough if one of us lost our job! My mission in 2015, is to start again and pay off as much as we can and try to save towards xmas 2015 and add to our rainy day fund. So that's us, the plan.....

2015newstart

Our lives, house and debt all needs a good sort out and de-clutter and I feel like today has been the starting point.

I've created an excel sheet with all our income and outgoings and debt details....need to have a look at cutting costs, but that's a job for another day. I'm pretty confident we can't save much as cut all bills as cheap and we can and without giving up things there's nothing to cut. Will still check though!

I've also set you a savings account for xmas 2015 using the 52 week method, but i'm doing it reverse this year while the motivation is sting. Jan going to be worse month, but will have £500 sat feeding the saving motivation after we've both been paid. Planning on clearing my credit card and hopefully will have enough to clear the teeny zopa loan. This will free up £80 a month to snowball towards something else. I do need to get the extant totals and post our debt details so we can keep a track.....that's the point of my ramblings!

I've also been looking at the year by day decluttering on-line and have printed off the full year, so looking forward to starting that!

Hubby and kids on board, budgets done and just menu planning to sort for food.

It's nearly a new year and it's a new us....feeling good!

2015newstart

Yay...pay day!

Have spent a couple of hours updating and perfecting my excel sheet, counting 50ps and moving money here there and everywhere!

It's only small steps, but they're steps in the right direction! I've done :

* Counted 50p jar £32 total
* Added £8 (4 x £2) to the sealed pot...no idea of value but will keep track now
* Sent £500 to our Xmas 2015 challenge savings account (double up as 2 salaries)
* Sent payment to clear my santander credit card..not a lot but first debt will be gone in couple of days when fund clear)
*Moved food & fuel budget (£450) for the month to our joint account and told hubby just to just this one!

Remainging to do :
* school shoes for eldest (grrrrr....expecting £40!)
* Return stack of stuff to next
* Meal Plan & then food shop....keeping budget in mind and using up as much freezer meat and bits as possible!

helpme_115

Sounds good so far, have you done a Statement of Affairs? (http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php)

Great eye opener and if you post here others can make suggestions.

Browntoa

funny , this also seems to be you ??

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/62779800#Comment_62779800

so not the first time you posted