Let's Be Adventurers!

belleandthebudget

Hello! I had a thread here for a little bit last autumn, but I fell off the wagon. I'm excited to be back!

In total, I owe £6756.78 over two 0% credit cards. I would love to get rid of that debt-cloud hanging over me and really be able to start living the life I want to, especially as I turn 30 next June.

Being here helped so much last year and now I'm in it for the long haul. I can't wait to get started, here's to the next adventure! :j

GTR_King

Id say get the cheapest credit card paid of 1st or the one with the lowest interest.

good luck how long you plan to pay it off

belleandthebudget

Thanks! The plan is to get rid of both before the 0% rates end, which gives me about 18 months. I'd love to get rid of them early but we'll have to see how moneysaving I can be!

belleandthebudget

So, after a week off work, staying with my parents, I'm back in the city. While I was home we took a trip to A1di. I'd never been before and I was shocked how cheap everything was, to be honest. Everything I tried tasted great too.

Today, I plotted out the route to my local (one 30 minute bus and a 5 minute walk) and made the trek. It was great! A shop that usually would have cost me ~£60 in Sains was only £27. Well worth the bus ride!

I've made chilli for my work lunches, to have with rice, and later on I'm going to knock out some rice krispy treats. I've got cheese and crackers and some petit filous so work snacks will be covered too.

Sorted out the YNAB budget today too so that's all up to date and I can keep track of spends on my phone. I was getting confused with what I'd plugged in and what I hadn't yet, but I've got a system now of where to put receipts so all should be good.

I'm doing a little rejigging of the debt to make the most of 0% deals. That should all be sorted by the end of the week.

I'm feeling pretty positive, really. I recently started a new job that included a nice payrise and I hope this is the little boost I need to pay off my debt. The problem is, there's always something to see or do or eat in the city and it can easily get pricey. I've been trying to pre-plan activities with friends though - a cinema ticket, exercise class, or a day to a museum is much cheaper than dinner out or drinks.

Funny how peer pressure is still a financial problem no matter how old you get. I won't let it get to me though!

Right, off to do my SOA from YNAB. I know I'm not exactly frugal but the trick for me will be to stick to the budget... for more than a couple of weeks!

belleandthebudget

Incoming: £1825.00
For: one single girl (no OH, kids or pets) living with two flatmates

Groceries: £200
Oyster Card: £10
Spending Money: £50
Eating Out: £50
Rent/Bills (Gas, Electric, Council Tax, Water, Internet, TV): £697
Bill Buffer: £20
Mobile: £16.50
Contents Insurance: £8.39
Gym: £79.95
Ballet Classes: £50
Dropbox/Dreamhost/Amazon Music: £15
Clothing: £30
Contacts: £28
Medical: £5
Birthdays: £10
Christmas: £50
Emergency Fund: £50
Holiday Fund: £50
Credit Card Payment: £400

Incoming: £1825.00
Outgoing: £1819.84
Remaining: £5.16

Oyster Card - I have a travelcard for work which is deducted from my pay before it gets to me. Also gives me free buses, yay! But top-ups for whenever I visit Zone 1.

Bill Buffer - My flatmates and I all put a set amount against the bills, included in the amount we pay for rent, usually this covers everything but I budget a little aside just in case.

Gym/Ballet - I know some of you will think these are extravagant but I'd put these costs under the medical budget if it came to it. I have a couple of genetic health issues which are vastly helped by exercise. I've also grown to love it!

Dropbox/Dreamhost/Amazon Music - My Dropbox account stores all my computer documents and photos, Dreamhost is internet hosting for my blog, Amazon Music lets me store all my music in the cloud so I can access it on the go.

Contacts - I've downgraded to 20 pairs a month to encourage me to wear my glasses. I also got toric lenses for the first time and it's helped my eyesight so much! Downgrading balanced out the cost.

Medical - This is low because I have excellent private medical and dental paid for by my work, I only have the tax deducted for it. I get all my eyecare free from Specsavers because I have a contact lens plan with them. I have a regular prescription but only have to pick this up once or twice a year.

Christmas - Won't always be this high but I haven't saved enough for it yet this year!

Emergency Fund - When I'm debt-free all that money will go to this and then to savings.

Holiday Fund - I haven't left the UK since I was about 12. Really. I think I finally deserve a little break, if I can save for it while still hitting my debt-busting goals.

belleandthebudget

The chilli and rice krispy treats were a big success! Much cheaper than buying lunch and treats too. It wasn't a NSD though as I didn't leave myself enough time for breakfast and had to buy some toast at work. Hopefully, I'll do better tomorrow!

I did some maths and realised that if I can save an extra £1000 on top of my current goals, then I'll be debt-free for my 30th birthday. That's such a huge incentive! Going to turn to eb@y, saving sites, and some NSDs, etc. to try and hit that goal. It's quite exciting to have another goal instead of just waiting for each pay day to knock a chunk off the cards.

I have another goal to keep me going, not 100% related to debt-busting, but along the same lines! I want to lose half-a-stone every month, for a total of 3 stone by the end of the year. That would put me back to a healthy weight for the new year. (And six months after that to lose the final stone to my ideal weight in time for my 30th!)

I would be so proud to start my thirties debt-free and healthy! Must remember this every time I fancy a Doms pizza or a binge at Primarni.

belleandthebudget

Still haven't had a NSD, and don't expect to tomorrow as I've got ballet class to go to after work, but I'm opening up the survey sites to try and give it a good go. I really need to work out which are the best ones for paying out - so often I just get screened out of every survey one after another. So frustrating! Also the last two days have been very small spends, so that's progress.

I need to return two dresses to AS0S as they just don't fit well. That will be some pennies towards the extra payments. Also need to rifle around for some bits and pieces to eb@y. I know I have some costume jewellery and barely worn clothes that might make a little.

I've been good and stayed away from Amaz0n recently. It's not been too hard as I've received a lot of free ebooks for review. The last couple were really good too. Just need to get around to writing the actual reviews!

Two days of work after a week off and my brain is already melting! All I want to do tonight is eat some fish fingers and curl up in bed. Fresh sheets day though, that's always a bonus! :rotfl:

moneyonmymindsam

Welcome Belle ...Similar debt to me so subscribed to your Diary! We can do it !!!


Sam

belleandthebudget

Thanks Sam! Nothing more motivating than a dancing banana or too!

belleandthebudget

I'm a fire warden at work and in return they give me £5 a week to spend in our cafe. Had a lovely spaghetti for lunch today and no pennies spent. The only money spent today was pre-planned: £10 on ballet and £10 top up to my Starbucks card. Very pleased at how well YNAB is keeping me on track. The phone app is just brilliant.

Also thrilled to report 1.5 pounds lost and it's not even the end of the week. Planning what to eat helps with both the debt-busting and the weight-busting.

Just cashed the last of my credit card points in for a £10 Am@zon voucher. They're stopping the scheme sadly but at least it's one to put in the pot for Christmas!

Also received a refund from Living Social for a voucher I no longer wanted to use, but in credit, so will have to remember to pick up something else.

Sending my AS0S returns back on Friday when I can get to the post office. I could send them through work's post room since they're free returns but I wouldn't get proof of posting so will suck it up and stand in the PO queue.

A friend owes me almost £10 for drinks and I texted her about it and sent bank details but she hasn't even replied, let alone given me my money back. A little disappointed to be honest, I've bought this friend lots of drinks in the past but just can't justify picking up the cost anymore and we even agreed at the time I would pay and she'd pay me back as we were seeing a show and didn't have time for two transactions.

I will see her at some point so no doubt I will get back eventually, but I won't be so keen about offering in future. Just want to pop that amount in my extra payment pot!

Plan for the weekend is to get a couple of little bits and bobs up on eb@y to get into the swing of it.

Will be able to make updates to the credit card balances next week but I'm doing some free balance transfer jigging to make sure I have 0% interest for at least the next 18 months, just in case I don't make my June 2016 debt free goal.

belleandthebudget

Man, it's felt like a long week, I can't tell you!

Between going back to work after my week off, insomnia, and leaving dos... I'm done! Luckily, not much on the cards this weekend so I can get myself organised instead. The weather is gorgeous too so I might pop over to Kew Gardens for a bit.

I did pretty well on work lunches last week. Took in the first two, had my free one on Wednesday and then bought the last two but from our work cafe and without lots of extras, so much cheaper than usual. Goal for next week is three brought in, one free, and one paid for.

The best part of being organised with food is that alongside saving money, it's helping with the weight loss goal. Weigh day is officially tomorrow... but as of this morning I've lost 3 pounds this week. I'm thrilled! :j

Have been getting a lot of compliments at work and trying to dress better. It all adds up to the same thing really - confidence and happiness.

I'm actually feeling pretty down today, but trying not too. I won't bore you with the details, believe me they're trivial. It's funny how you can have so many good things happening and still feel down about others.

Ok, time to brush myself off and go enjoy the sunshine.
Also had a great session at the physio. :T We focused on shoulders and neck and I ended up with three more exercises to add to the routine. Next session, in a couple of weeks, will be knee week. Eek!