Crunchy pays it down....£20k...the final chapter

crunch_time

Just a quick update - managed to get on and see husbands credit card balance - its £1538 so much lower than I thought!

Total debt now - £17,239 and credit card debt now £2969.

Very pleased with that!

Crunchy xx

crunch_time

Afternoon diary

What a horrible afternoon weather wise!! I'm holed up in the office working whilst husband looks after the kids. I've got lots of work done and I'm now having a break!

Bought my mince and eggs from the butchers so YNAB all updated.

I have managed to book DS in for swimming lessons this term. We missed out last term and he will really enjoy it. Its £93 so I'm going to have to find the money from somewhere. It was totally unexpected so hasn't been budgeted for this month. I am hoping they will let me pay in instalments.

I'm trying to get organised for the following week with a to do list so I don't get sidetracked and stay on the straight and narrow.

Better get on with it then!

Crunchy x

crunch_time

Morning everyone!

I'm supposed to be at work today but went to bed feeling awful and woke up feeling even worse. I think its a cold that's all in my head but my body aches too and my tummy is upset too.

Mother in law has taken the kids off to theirs for the day so I can get some rest which I am very grateful for.

So I am n the sofa watching Bridesmaids and having some me time.

YNAB all updated this morning. We changed our life insurance/income protection provider but over Christmas forgot to cancel the other 2 so ill need to ring up today and cancel and ask for a refund as the direct debits hd gone out this morning.

I paid for the swimming lessons out of the petrol budget this month which I had hopefully over budgeted for so I'm hoping for the best.

So this will be a NSD today as I'm not planning on going out of the house!

Hope everyone has a lovely day!

Crunchy x

barnsleylass83

Aww, sorry to hear you are not well, get better soon xxx

crunch_time

Morning diary.

Still off today poorly. Can't seem to stop sneezing or sweating!! I always feel so guilty when I'm off. They will have to get a supply in and it costs the school money. But I'm only human and can't control when I am ill.

I've already had about 6 days off this academic year and only work 2 days a week!! Not a great start to the new year.

It wasn't a no spend day yesterday after all. Husband ended up getting fish chips for dinner as I was too tired to cook.

A couple of things have happened over the last few days money related. We have decided to go away for Christmas next year with husbands parents. We will be uk based in a cottage and have found a place in the Lake District. Everyone is very excited! Our share of the deposit will be about £250 which will need to be paid when I get paid in 2 weeks time. We then have the rest of the year to pay for our share of the rest -£500 or less depending on who else comes.

We also need to think about a new car for me so am currently looking at options. We know the car we want. My one is ok at the moment but I might need to save some cash for a new one. Obviously this will have an impact on the debt payments but not sure how much yet.

Any debt we are considering will not be part of the debt total on here as it will be planned debt. We decided we will need a new car this year a year ago so have organised our finances around potentially paying one off over the next few years.

I like the idea of saving cash towards a car. I've never been in the position to do this before!

Will know more about plans and targets over the next few days/weeks.

In the mean time - Sticking to the budget is still the number one priority!

Off to update ynab now with any bill payments which may have gone out today.

Crunch x

crunch_time

Morning diary!

Still ill but feel a bit more human today. Just cant seem to stop sneezing! As a result I have had to postpone the start of my first fitness training week to next week. I feel it is better to start a fresh then try and do it whilst I am ill, I know ill just make it worse.

So a couple of things to report on the money front....

Husband had an interview for a new job (he is bored in his present new one) a few days ago and he has been offered it and accepted it!! It is more money and a good bonus structure but less holiday by 5 days and he will have to work in London a few days a week which means commuting by train.

I'm very pleased for him as he is ambitious and this is a good step for him. In his current job he is home a lot of the time and works away 1-2 days a week maximum and some weeks not at all. This isn't going to be different in any way, but I cant help feeling a little sad. I thought I could get a little more independence back this year and could start doing things in the evening with friends and going to exercise classes again.

I used to be very independent before DS came along nearly 4 years ago. I was fitter and more sociable and felt I had more life in me and worried less about stuff. I don't see my friends as much as I used to. They are all busy in their lives as well but its hard to commit to things in the evenings when I don't know what husband is doing week by week and need someone to look after the kids. I feel in the past I needed to see friends to feel like me and even now I save things up to talk to them about when I next see them. Like I am planning conversations with them. I have felt that husbands job has taken away a piece of me.

I guess yesterday I had a stark realisation that this really is my life now. I want husband to be happy, the money means we can do a lot of things we previously only dreamed of. I have to accept that I have to build my life around what we have now and not wish for things to go back to any resemblance of what they were before kids/job/house move.

I think to do this I have to give myself a break. We have done so well to get where we are. Yes we still have debt but ive got to staop beating myself up over it. Life is happening now, not when its paid off. I have so many goals but will always find excuses not to achieve them e.g exercise - but too tired after kids have gone to bed and husband is away so I cant go to the gym; start horseriding again because I love it and my back is better now but we are still in debt so I don't deserve it etc etc.

Ive got to stop being scared and just do what I want to do withinthe realms of my world as it is right now. I wont be happier when x,y and z are completed.

I think that is why I spent so much on my credit card last year - it was 'ill just buy this then I can do this/look better/feel better/ and it will make me happier.'

So i need to start finding a new identity for myself that isn't shrouded in guilt or the past and is about the present.

Phew that felt good to get that off my chest - sorry for the long post but i feel sooo much better now.

Off to design my new life!

Crunchy xx

abba1772

Congrats to hubby on his new job xx

OrangeFairy

Hi Crunchy,

What a thoughtful post - I can really understand where you are coming from.

I am trying so hard to make sure we live in the now as well as plan for the future - otherwise the kids will be grown up and gone and I would have wasted years!

Good luck Crunchy

OF x

crunch_time

Morning diary!

Had a lovely day at centre parks yesterday!! Very relaxing and a lot of fun for both families! My friend took me on a big water slide which was scary but a lot of fun. It made me remember what it is like to just be me. Not mummy or Mrs xxxxx at school, or even the person my old school friends know just me. Husband and I went on it together too whilst our friends looked after the kids and it was nice to have fun with him too.

It made me think how much I need some more fun in my life!

Lots to update on - husband isn't taking new job, and we have bought a new car, we have also booked a holiday but I'll have to update later as need to get ready now for ds swimming lesson.

Lots of love
Crunchy

Orange fairy - thanks for your comment! You are so right. That's a lot of my thinking lately hence the deep and meaningful waffle!! Xx

crunch_time

Right - I am back from the swimming lesson. DS is now curled up on the sofa and DD in bed. Lots to update on....

Car

So I have been researching cars and how to finance one for a year now. Estate vs SUV, new vs old, sorting out finances to afford etc etc. I decided that I needed to get all my own debt paid off so I could ask my bank for a loan to buy a second hand one. Over the last few months husband and I decided on what car we wanted and since I had paid off my overdraft and got my credit card down I rang the bank to ask for a loan.......and I was declined. Something to do with being overexposed??? My credit limit for credit card with them is £5500 although I am no where near even half of that and they increased it and I guess because I don't earn over £1000 a month which is one of their criteria - although they don't tell you the criteria. They said they would consider a lower loan but that would mean funding the rest of the card through other means i.e. credit card or overdraft and we just don't have or want to do that and husband already has a big loan. SO after writing down and comparing a lot of options we decided to buy a new car on pcp. We used my car as a deposit (£500) plus another £1000 off my credit card (in your face 'bank') and we have a monthly payment for 3 years which is about the same asa loan over 5 years for a 2-3 year old car of the same make. We can afford the monthly payments even if we were to go down to just my husbands salary so that is a big bonus. And I also no longer have to worry about affording a new car and can get on with my life!!!

Holiday

We worked out our holiday at Christmas will cost us £700 for the cottage for our share and we have to pay it off before November. Deposit is paid by family member so just need to pay balance but will wait a bit before we pay that and concentrate on other things.

Now that the car is sorted I have decided what else I would like to concentrate on financially this year. I want to live more and enjoy myself without worrying bout being in debt therefore paying back debt is not the only thing in my life this year.

After all our bills/expenses etc we have £600 a month left until August and then it will be £400 a month until the end of the year so £5800 for the year. And these are the pots we have decided on - our dream list)

Christmas Holiday - £700
Car deposit £1000
My credit card £1500
Dog £1000 (would love to rescue but cant due to children so good quality puppy. We know what we want and have been dreaming about it for 10 years)
Savings £1500 - pay back mine that I used to pay down debt.
ynab buffer - £500
Furniture and stuff for house and garden - £1000
Summer holiday - £1000

All that money wont cover everything on the list but its a start for prioritising.

My first priorities are paying off the car deposit and creating a ynab buffer. So when I next get paid I'm going to chuck £500 at the credit card and then £100 into the buffer for starters.

Ynab is going really well this month considering it was a tight month. Right no point sitting around and thinking - got to start doing some stuff. Lots of housework to do today and organising. Its been neglected due to illness last week and business this week.

Sorry for long post! Thank you for reading
Crunchy xx