Time's they are a'changin'

quavering

Hey

I'm starting this diary for motivation. I moved (partly) to London around 6 months ago to start the most amazing, wonderful job, but it has left me in a little bit of a mess financially. Particularly as I wasn't in the best position before I went!

As another new year has turned, and I will be turning 30 in a few months time, I have decided that enough is definitely enough. I will be saving my spare pennies and paying off my debts . Not only that, but saving. Actually saving to buy a home down here to be proud of!

My debts aren't massive, not in comparison to a lot of people, but I know that it could get so much worse if I leave it, so I'm going to tackle it head on an stop burying my head.

I currently owe:
Barclaycard - £3428.44
Tesco bank - £1600 (approx, need to find out exactly how much!)
Family - £1000

Total - £6028.44

Ok. There, first step I wrote it down. The tesco one is a problem as I'm locked out of the online account. A phone call from work on Monday should resolve that, and I'll have a better idea.

My first goal is to get down to £5500. The tesco card is interest payable, so that will have the extra payments.

To do that should be manageable. In theory I should have around £200 per month spare after paying bills, and I'm going to try and earn £50 extra through ebay etc. so £250 extra to pay off bills. Not only that, but I'm going to earn £50 extra to put into savings for emergencies. Not impossible!

It's hard in London, but I'm certain I can do this!

quavering

I'm back home.

It seems really strange to say that, as London has only been my home for 6 months, and for much of that I've bounced from South to North more times than a tennis ball across a tennis court!

But I feel so at home here! Just that lovely buzzy vibe that something is always going on and there's always something happening.

It's my first day back at work for just a little over two weeks tomorrow. Looking forward to it despite feeling utterly stressed before Christmas. Time's have changed and things will have moved on over the holidays. And I too have got a fresh new head on!

On my arrival back home I did some MSE things too!

I've made an inventory of the food stores, there's enough to make a few meals this week, so all that's needed is a little top up shop to be able to add to some more meals and bulk them out for work lunches too. Otherwise we have a serious problem with going out to get expensive nosh!

For tomorrow, I've had a pasta dinner which will make a pasta lunch

I've also decided to do a reading challenge this year, but don't want to waste money on books. I've not been able to register with the local library because I've got literally no ID for this address (have pound meters, driving licence at partners address) but have managed to get some letters sent here recently so we'll have to take a punt tomorrow! I really want a lovely choice of books!

I'm thinking of shifting as much of my credit card debt to a 0% card. The Halifax one looks great, and if I had 34 months to shift the debt, it would be so much more manageable than it seems at the moment.

Despite having a relatively decent wage, I must admit I feel like I'm drowning in money woes sometimes...

Onwards and upwards!