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The "time to be a grown up" diary!
betsycat
Posts: 107 Forumite
Hello!
Newbie here... Have been lurking on a few diaries for the last few days since having my LBM during the holidays. A friend pointed me in the direction of the forum and told me to jump in head first!
So, background info: I live in SW London in a rented one-bed with my OH and our two cats, am in my late twenties, have a well-paying job and nearly £14k of debt that has slowly built up over the past 6 years through a combination of living outside of my means while I was a student, moving to Brighton in my early twenties and having to furnish a house, visiting friends in Canada, recklessness and "woo! Free money!"ness.
My debt is mostly in the form of a 3.9% HSBC loan (£9,739), with an HSBC credit card (£3,958) which has £1,500 at 0% for another 28 months and £2,500odd at 0% til somewhere around now, and a regular rate of 18.9%. I can pay extra off my loan whenever I want without incurring charges (and also get 10% cashback on the interest paid) and the card is no longer used, except for work expenses when I know I'll be getting the money back.
My credit rating isn't too bad, last time I checked I was out of poor and into fair – I've moved cards about a few times and frequent applications pushed my score down a bit, plus I used to have lots of small debts and had trouble keeping track of them all so there were a few missed payments here and there. No defaults to date, though.
I've been worried about it for a while but since I'm earning quite well have always dismissed my worries with "well, it'll be paid off soon!". But my LBM came during the holidays when OH and I visited friends in Brighton, decided to stop talking about moving back there and make it a reality, and realised that in order to do that we probably need to be in a position to buy. And £14k of debt does not make a happy deposit-saving partner!
I've set up YNAB and have put together my budget; based on a snowball calculation I think I can reasonably pay off my debts in two years. If I can keep that up and save the same amount once I'm debt-free, I can save £25,000 in 3.5 years. But of course I may have my head in the clouds about how much I can actually pay off! :rotfl:
Here's my SOA with comments where necessary. I've not included my OH's salary, nor his share of the bills, as he doesn't earn as much as me and has a small amount of debt so we're keeping our finances separate for the time being:
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2 (only my finances included)
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... (we are very lucky to have access to a car at the moment – insurance, tax, repairs etc are paid by OH's mum)
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1920.16
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1920.16
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 525
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 50
Electricity............................. 15
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 13
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 6.06
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 25 (TV, phone + broadband together)
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 (for the both of us)
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 20
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0 (I have an annual travelcard, comes out of my salary)
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 7 (I only get it cut maybe twice a year, costs £38)
Entertainment........................... 200 (I include my £40 p/w budget in this)
Holiday................................. 0 (no holidays planned this year)
Emergency fund.......................... 0 (I have £200 put aside for emergencies in a savings account)
Credit expert membership................ 14.99 (could do with cancelling this)
Gym + yoga classes...................... 49 (plan to cancel gym membership, leaving £20 for yoga classes p/m)
Total monthly expenses.................. 1255.05
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
HSBC Loan......................9739.13...166.......3.9
HSBC credit card...............3957.97...85........18.9
Total unsecured debts..........13697.1...251.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,920.16
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,255.05
Available for debt repayments........... 665.11
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 251
Amount left after debt repayments....... 414.11
So that's that. I plan to pay £600 off my debt each month, starting with the credit card (and usual loan payment) + then clearing the loan early.
I've spent the last few days of the holiday assessing my cupboards/freezer and meal planning, making a list of direct debits I don't need, making an exercise plan that I can do outside/from home, de-cluttering the house + making piles of things to sell – long overdue as we've accumulated lots of junk in the last couple of years!
OH is on board and can afford £200 a month to pay off his debt (£1,200 so 6-7 months) and then he'll start to save, too.
We're also putting £10 a week aside each, so that by the end of the year we'll have £1040 to use for something useful. Using part for Christmas, paying off more debt, treating ourselves to a small break since we'll have been stingy all year...
Will have a delve through the OS thread for some ideas. Mostly in the next few months I want to use up my plentiful craft supplies to make some presents for people. Creating space and saving money on gifts!
Phew! An essay. I thought a diary on here would keep me on track, and so far it's 2/4 NSD for January! (and yesterday was only 49p on a pint of milk – don't usually have it in the house but wanted to make soda bread!)
Well done and thanks if you made it this far
I'm excited about starting this journey to DF! Happy Sunday everyone :beer:
Newbie here... Have been lurking on a few diaries for the last few days since having my LBM during the holidays. A friend pointed me in the direction of the forum and told me to jump in head first!
So, background info: I live in SW London in a rented one-bed with my OH and our two cats, am in my late twenties, have a well-paying job and nearly £14k of debt that has slowly built up over the past 6 years through a combination of living outside of my means while I was a student, moving to Brighton in my early twenties and having to furnish a house, visiting friends in Canada, recklessness and "woo! Free money!"ness.
My debt is mostly in the form of a 3.9% HSBC loan (£9,739), with an HSBC credit card (£3,958) which has £1,500 at 0% for another 28 months and £2,500odd at 0% til somewhere around now, and a regular rate of 18.9%. I can pay extra off my loan whenever I want without incurring charges (and also get 10% cashback on the interest paid) and the card is no longer used, except for work expenses when I know I'll be getting the money back.
My credit rating isn't too bad, last time I checked I was out of poor and into fair – I've moved cards about a few times and frequent applications pushed my score down a bit, plus I used to have lots of small debts and had trouble keeping track of them all so there were a few missed payments here and there. No defaults to date, though.
I've been worried about it for a while but since I'm earning quite well have always dismissed my worries with "well, it'll be paid off soon!". But my LBM came during the holidays when OH and I visited friends in Brighton, decided to stop talking about moving back there and make it a reality, and realised that in order to do that we probably need to be in a position to buy. And £14k of debt does not make a happy deposit-saving partner!
I've set up YNAB and have put together my budget; based on a snowball calculation I think I can reasonably pay off my debts in two years. If I can keep that up and save the same amount once I'm debt-free, I can save £25,000 in 3.5 years. But of course I may have my head in the clouds about how much I can actually pay off! :rotfl:
Here's my SOA with comments where necessary. I've not included my OH's salary, nor his share of the bills, as he doesn't earn as much as me and has a small amount of debt so we're keeping our finances separate for the time being:
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2 (only my finances included)
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... (we are very lucky to have access to a car at the moment – insurance, tax, repairs etc are paid by OH's mum)
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1920.16
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1920.16
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 525
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 50
Electricity............................. 15
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 13
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 6.06
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 25 (TV, phone + broadband together)
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 (for the both of us)
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 20
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0 (I have an annual travelcard, comes out of my salary)
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 7 (I only get it cut maybe twice a year, costs £38)
Entertainment........................... 200 (I include my £40 p/w budget in this)
Holiday................................. 0 (no holidays planned this year)
Emergency fund.......................... 0 (I have £200 put aside for emergencies in a savings account)
Credit expert membership................ 14.99 (could do with cancelling this)
Gym + yoga classes...................... 49 (plan to cancel gym membership, leaving £20 for yoga classes p/m)
Total monthly expenses.................. 1255.05
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
HSBC Loan......................9739.13...166.......3.9
HSBC credit card...............3957.97...85........18.9
Total unsecured debts..........13697.1...251.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,920.16
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,255.05
Available for debt repayments........... 665.11
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 251
Amount left after debt repayments....... 414.11
So that's that. I plan to pay £600 off my debt each month, starting with the credit card (and usual loan payment) + then clearing the loan early.
I've spent the last few days of the holiday assessing my cupboards/freezer and meal planning, making a list of direct debits I don't need, making an exercise plan that I can do outside/from home, de-cluttering the house + making piles of things to sell – long overdue as we've accumulated lots of junk in the last couple of years!
OH is on board and can afford £200 a month to pay off his debt (£1,200 so 6-7 months) and then he'll start to save, too.
We're also putting £10 a week aside each, so that by the end of the year we'll have £1040 to use for something useful. Using part for Christmas, paying off more debt, treating ourselves to a small break since we'll have been stingy all year...
Will have a delve through the OS thread for some ideas. Mostly in the next few months I want to use up my plentiful craft supplies to make some presents for people. Creating space and saving money on gifts!
Phew! An essay. I thought a diary on here would keep me on track, and so far it's 2/4 NSD for January! (and yesterday was only 49p on a pint of milk – don't usually have it in the house but wanted to make soda bread!)
Well done and thanks if you made it this far
I'm excited about starting this journey to DF! Happy Sunday everyone :beer: 0
Comments
-
Hello! You sound completely in control and organised, great stuff!
Good luck with your plans £250 shopping, diesel and any other spends
December 16- January 15 £345.06/250.00 -£95.06
£2 saving a day for christmas 2017 £0/£730
Total debt paid off before 26 December 2017 £3142.31/14,053.85 = £10911.54 left to go0 -
Hello there
Well done in making a positive start to your New Year on the financial front.
I would definitely cancel the £14.99 a month to the credit reference agency, just check your reports a couple of times a year (£2 each time) with each of them; Equifax, Callcredit (use Noddle it's free!) and Experian. It will save you quite a bit of dosh and will give you all of the information held by all of the agencies. You can then add that £14.99 to your savings pot for something nice.
Good luck! :T0 -
Hi Cwtchie, thank you very much! I've always had bad habits of spending first and worrying later so I'm hoping my new found focus will stop me from doing that
My worst habit is forgetting to take breakfast/lunch to work and buying it which very quickly adds up, so the meal planning is a must!
Hellooo solentsusie! Ooh brilliant – thanks for the advice... I didn't realise you could check them as a one off anymore, will definitely call and cancel tomorrow. Thanks again!0 -
Hi Cwtchie, thank you very much! I've always had bad habits of spending first and worrying later so I'm hoping my new found focus will stop me from doing that
My worst habit is forgetting to take breakfast/lunch to work and buying it which very quickly adds up, so the meal planning is a must!
Hellooo solentsusie! Ooh brilliant – thanks for the advice... I didn't realise you could check them as a one off anymore, will definitely call and cancel tomorrow. Thanks again!
Yes you can definitely check your credit files as a one off, it is a statutory report that you are entitled to! Unfortunately it is not well publicised on their sites as they want you to sign up for these accounts that cost you a fortune and are pretty useless as your 'credit score' with these companies means nothing - every time you apply for credit it is decided by the company you apply to on its own merit - nothing to do with these so called 'credit scores' these companies make up. All you need is the raw data that they have that is being reported on you by your creditors and the electoral roll etc.
Also, make sure you have at least minimum payment direct debits set up with all of your creditors. That way you will never miss a payment, even if you have only paid the minimum amount you will never fall into arrears. That way your credit file will stay in good shape.
Meal planning will definitely save you a small fortune, how much does it cost to make a sandwich compared to buying a prepacked one? I also get really annoyed with myself when I forget to make my lunch for work, but you soon get used to making it a habit.
Good luck with the money saving I am sure you will do brilliantly! :beer:0 -
solentsusie wrote: »Yes you can definitely check your credit files as a one off, it is a statutory report that you are entitled to! Unfortunately it is not well publicised on their sites as they want you to sign up for these accounts that cost you a fortune and are pretty useless as your 'credit score' with these companies means nothing - every time you apply for credit it is decided by the company you apply to on its own merit - nothing to do with these so called 'credit scores' these companies make up. All you need is the raw data that they have that is being reported on you by your creditors and the electoral roll etc.
Also, make sure you have at least minimum payment direct debits set up with all of your creditors. That way you will never miss a payment, even if you have only paid the minimum amount you will never fall into arrears. That way your credit file will stay in good shape.
Meal planning will definitely save you a small fortune, how much does it cost to make a sandwich compared to buying a prepacked one? I also get really annoyed with myself when I forget to make my lunch for work, but you soon get used to making it a habit.
Good luck with the money saving I am sure you will do brilliantly! :beer:
Fantastic, thanks so much! They also make it difficult to cancel – I had an account before, you have to call them and they tell you there's incorrect stuff and once it's corrected you should give it a couple of days... so I just need to stay firm this time!
It's so, so much cheaper isn't it? Especially if you're batch cooking. My friend made 8 meals today for less than £1 each, that's 1-2 days of grabbing lunch on the go!
I think my grocery budget can go down – I get veg + meat delivered once a week and then do one online shop a month to stock up on essentials + cat litter + food. Could probably do it on £150 if I was very careful! But won't attempt too much in one go, I can reduce it by £10 a month...0 -
Happy Monday everyone! Hope everyone who went back to work this morning wasn't too bleary...
Aiming for at least 5/7 NSDs this week. No plans other than dinner with a friend tomorrow at one of our houses so confident I can do it!
And one little treat is that just after Christmas (before my LBM!) I'd decided to start collecting a dinner set as I googled some plates I inherited from my grandad and saw that they were from the 1940s. Better stop putting them in the dishwasher! I ordered a couple of the teacups from eBay for a bargain price that day so they should be here at work somewhere of course I won't be completing the rest of the set for some time...
Luckily at work they provide free cereal/fruit so I don't need to spend money on breakfast! I've been a bit worried about saving money when back at work as I'm in the Blue Fin Building, surrounded by amazing food and lots of little shops and I usually end up spending loads without really realising it. We've got a subsidised cafe in the building too, a huge portion of hot food for £4. They even put the menu in the lifts to entice you. But am focused and will not succumb!0 -
Hi betsycat!
You sound so focused, well done! I'm going to subscribe to your diary as I think we're in a similar time of life and I'm going to be trying to do a lot of the same things that you are. I've just started my diary and will have to do a SOA too. My debt is mostly silly student debt too - i.e not living in my means when I was a student. Something like 'keeping up with the Jones' was too easy at Uni!
Anyway, keep up the good work!Debt Free by Christmas '15 £0/£4452.280 -
Thanks Beckie! I'll go and subscribe to your diary too – we can keep each other company! So easy to fall in the debt trap as a student, isn't it? All feels like free money when you're young!0
-
Successful NSD today so that's 3/5 for January! My friend has cancelled dinner tomorrow so hopefully that's another one tomorrow. Still feeling very focused and dedicated. It was easier than I thought not to spend money at work since I've decided to just... Not
I debated going through my old bank statements to see where I was wasting my money but really, I think I'll just get angry that I ever allowed myself to spend so much in supermarkets. So I'll see how this month goes and re-evaluate if necessary instead!
Looking forward to getting some things on eBay this weekend... Need to finish off the Christmas holiday decluttering.
I made a spreadsheet today of all of the birthdays this year, plus Christmas, so that I can plan gift budgets and start making the things that need to be made - lots of sewing and cross stitching to do!0 -
Ah, rats... no NSD for me today. Sponsored somebody at work £5 before I really thought about it! I work at JustGiving so there's always somebody raising money... really need to limit the amount I donate this year. It usually averages out to about £20 a month.
I think I'll give myself a limit of one £5 donation per month. I've fundraised myself recently so don't feel comfortable ignoring everyone else's efforts!0
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