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

crunch_time

Morning everyone!

Just had my eyes tested - all fine 20/20 vision whatever that means woohoo! £30 for the privilege though but all budgeted for.

I actually did better than I thought with bay of e as postage worked out cheaper so £12.58 which is now the start of the emergency fund. The £60 that was in there got reallocated to the eye test and husbands chiro this month.

I have updated YNAB for a budget for June. I thought we were very skint and would struggle but actually we have enough to get by so long as we are sensible. After a year of on and off usage I have decided that YNAB is worth it as it definitely keeps us on track. I need to find ways of updating it so its easier on me - the mobile way didn't work. Receipts on the fridge might do it. Receipts in a purse doesn't.

We are going away for the weekend at the end of June and I didn't realise that that trip would come out of the June budget. I have allocated £100 spending money for it including cattery which is plenty. Cant wait - it will be nice to get away.

Husbands expenses finally got paid. I was horrified to realise that there is £840 still unaccounted for. He has got about 2 weeks more to do. I know £100 is ours for new car insurance but we will see what figures he comes up with.

I cant remember if I have already said this but he is starting his new job next month and is owed 4.5 days holiday from his current job. I've asked that he gets paid for them - hopefully £400 ish which can go towards his credit card or the emergency fund.

Anyway better get on with the never ending cleaning

Crunchy xx

crunch_time

Hello diary,

Husband has taken kids out this afternoon so I can 'work.' 'Work' today is properly working through in my mind some of things I have been thinking about with regards to money these last few weeks. I'm feeling very reflective and like at a crossroads with my direction. So continues the fluidity of my thoughts and you lucky people get to read it!

I'm very good at paying the 'no matter whats' first and then living on whatever is left. YNAB and budgeting is very good at helping me with this but I have too many 'XXXX it' moments or 'ill deal with that next month.' I also have the feeling that if I pay down this last loan, the world will be my oyster. So having this loan is really holding me back. Will it really? I'm not magically going to have lots of money to go travelling with or buy lots of new clothes or be able to make lots of choices. The reality is that that £275 will be swallowed up in a mortgage overpayment and I will feel so much better that that money is going towards the future rather than paying off the past.

Why am I so ashamed about my past? I haven't made any bad mistakes. Sure I could have waited a bit longer for things and saved up for things but I have everything I ever wanted and more because of the decisions I have made so I musn't feel bad about them.

When I think about us still paying off that loan in 3 years time I feel sad but I equally feel overwhelmed by the size of it. Chucking an extra £140 a month at it seems just as overwhelming. If I start smaller and gradually build it up I will feel like I am gradually chipping away at it and I know it will become addictive.

So I tried a little experiment.....

I looked at the exact balance online £12,897.74 and thought of a comfortable amount to take off that wasn't huge but would make a nice round number - £12,870. Then I paid off £27.74..........

........and it felt so good. (It was an instant payment too - even on a Sunday)

Just that little token amount has 'broken the seal' so to speak. I now know how to do it and how good it felt so I know I can do it again and again. Its not something to do in the future, it can happen now and I feel in control of the situation and no longer helpless. The floodgates have opened.

Perhaps each month I can think to myself how much extra I would like to pay off the loan and factor it into my budget. Then it is not as scary.

I think this is where YNAB is so great and my spreadsheet is restrictive. Its really only a guide to our money and YNAB is the real plan.

Anyway, signature updated. Not much but every little helps!

work beckons......(sigh)

Crunchy xx

crunch_time

I have now done the essential work and my mind is now back to budgeting.

I have decided that an emergency fund is something of a long term thing for us. I am going to start saving £100 a month from when I get paid and continue with this if it is financially possible. This can eventually be the 3-6 months of your income fund when it reaches £6k for us. My calculations say that will be 5 years times. I'm not going to list it on my signature anymore. Like our long term savings it will be listed on my spreadsheet.

I'm going along the lines of paying myself first and this is part of it. Now we have a full savings plan I feel focussed that all other money can go towards the debt.

Crunch xx

crunch_time

Morning everyone!

Working week done for me. Bright and sunny here today. My weather app says rain from Friday onwards so I'm trying to wash as much as possible. Two loads currently pinned on the line. My ecoballs are doing the job perfectly but I will need to refill them soon. Anybody got any different ideas for laundry? I've saved myself a small fortune by not using detergent for about a year now. I've heard of soap nuts - are they any good?

Currently waiting to speak to the phones of voder regarding my data usage - they reckon they can save me money or so they said in a voicemail they left me. I say bring it on! We currently pay £56 a month for 2 phones so I'm hoping to bring that down - A LOT!!

I have finally spoken to HR with regards to the last pay packet and it will be August so I have 3 more pay days to go.

I can't seem to make YNAB add up - it says I am over budgeted by £14 ish but I make out there is more money in our accounts than what is due to come out. Not going to worry. That's a better situation than the opposite. Will just get on with life and see what happens.

Husband and I have started to pursue a puppy - hooray! A moment we have been waiting for for over 10 years! We have contacted a few breeders to get an idea of costs and timings and then will hopefully go and look at some soon.

Today I need to do a meal plan for the week, cleaning and tidying as standard and post some letters.

Happy Hump day everyone!

Crunchy xx

crunch_time

Afternoon all!

Managed to get our joint mobile bill down from £56 a month to £36 and our phone/broadband/tv package from £70 to £55 - result!!

£35 saving a month!

Then took the cat to the vet this afternoon. As he is not eating very well. Will need his teeth cleaned. Starting price £110 rising to £250 if they have to do complicated extractions. He is insured but I don't think that will be covered as its routine.

Thank goodness I get paid a week today so it can be paid on cc and then swiftly covers by what was going to be the emergency fund anyway.

Nice weekend of doing nothing planned. Lovely and cheap. Maybe swimming on Sat pm. I have sold something in the tree of gum for £40 and the buyer is coming to collect on Sunday. Money is going to go towards the landscaping of the garden.

I've arranged meetings with supply agencies lined up. Just one more to go. I need to update my cv this week. I have decided to stay at home until at least half term in the autumn depending on what comes up.

I'm thinking about doing Avon or something. My friend told me she makes £90 every 3 weeks. Will investigate in my area.i reckon I'd be good at it.

We think we have found a breeder for a puppy!! Next litter planned for Christmas to Feb 2017 which gives us plenty of time to get organised and save. Dd will be 2 by then which will make things a little easier. She is such a handful at the moment.

It's nearly my 2 year anniversary of having a diary on this forum. My my how things have changed!!

Hope all is good with everyone xx

crunch_time

Afternoon diary!!

2 years ago yesterday, husband and I came back from a walk on Fathers Day and I started a diary. We were £23,555 in debt gradually having whittled it down from £28k a few years earlier. The aim was to get rid of about £3-4k of credit cards and overdrafts before baby number 2 arrived and we could focus on overpaying our mortgage so we could move.

So two years later baby number 2 is now 20 months old, we have moved, paid off all original credit card and overdraft debts and reduced our overall debt by £10k, paid off some more debt incurred due to moving, bought an office for circa £4k plus numerous pieces of furniture and been on two fantastic UK holidays. Needless to say I'm so proud of us!!

We have learned so much along the way about ourselves and our relationship with money.

Today marks the day of a new chapter in our debt busting diary.

Apart from the minimum loan payment every month we have decided to save everything else for a year and see where we get to. No targets, no complicated pots listed on spreadsheets, just saving.....and only buying what we need to.

I will still update but probably not as often. I need to 'do' rather than 'plan to do' for a while and see where that takes me.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me so far. I wish I could hug you all in person!

Onwards towards no credit cards or overdrafts and getting that loan down.

Lots of hugs
Crunchy xx

crunch_time

Good evening all,

Its been a while since I have posted but pay day today so there are a few things to update on.

Husbands loan is now down to £12,595 and the credit card is now £300 so a total of £12,895. No 'teen' in the number anymore! Hurrah!

We had a bit of a spendy weekend with our mini holiday. Lots of eating out - not by choice but due to rain destroying bbq plans and no other means of cooking. So that has eaten up a lot of the extra money from husbands pay this month which would have got the credit card down.So we have agreed to have a frugal July and try not to spend anymore of the £40 left in our spending budget.

Husband is away for the rest of the week so I am going to have an eat up week and fill up the freezer, hopefully saving some money there.

Otherwise everything ticking along as normal.

Hope all is well!

Crunchy xx

crunch_time

Morning diary!

So husband starts his new job this week and has just emailed me with his last expenses from the old job - it will be enough to clear the last £300 of the credit card! Woohoo!!! They should be paid in about 2 weeks so looking forward to that day.

Although.....the check engine light is on for the 3rd time this year so that will need to be booked in. We now have £500 in the 'car maintenance fund' which I hope will cover it and leave some left over.

I have found another job to apply for. Just a maternity cover starting at the end of Sept but perfect for me! Fingers crossed.

I'm flying through my to do list whilst DD is napping. Lots of phone calls and emails done. I must start thinking of ideas to keep the kids entertained this summer that are cheap/no cost. I'm determined not to go broke like I did last summer.

Right - I had better start tidying up the place.

Crunch xx

Linz4383

your doin brill with paying down the load/cards. just an idea for you with the kids i saw someone on facebook do. its a summer fun jar and shes just wrote different things down on paper to pick out, things like painting, picnic, homemade pizza, potato printing, bbq decorate a cardboard box, go to the park, make cakes, obviously you can make it as cheap or as expensive as you want and do things age appropriate just an idea to keep costs down x

crunch_time

Linz - thank for stopping by and commenting on my diary! What a great idea! I think ill copy that!

Just checked the bank balances and it appears I have underestimated how much I paid off of husbands credit card on Tuesday. A quick review of the figures reveals it actually stands at £239 rather than £300. My total debt therefore is now down to £12,834 rather than £12,895.

Every little helps!!

Car is in the garage as we speak. Fingers crossed it wont be expensive.

We are having a quiet weekend after last weekend. Just some errands to run and then family are looking after the kids whilst we paint the living room. I also need to do lots of stuff in the evenings to get things done. I exhausted myself yesterday as all I managed to do in the evening was one report then I crashed out watching rubbish TV.

I shall just have a clear up of the kitchen and then I will relax for the rest of the day so I have plenty of energy for getting stuff done tonight.

Famous last words..

Crunch x