22 months to work, dig, tidy and declutter my way to debt freedom

Moneywhizz

Oh and just remembered that you have a cardigan to eat very soon if you don't get on with things. X

in_need_of_direction

And my garden to tackle!

peaceandfreedom

blubella wrote: »

You are deffo not speaking to yourself! I have read your diary from start to end and love it...i will make more of a concerted effort to drop in and say 'I'm here!' I know that I feel exactly the same...I am talking to myself but it does help to write it down!!

Your diary has thus inspired me to trial YNAB, although I have to admit I have gone a bit haywire with it all and ended up deleting ALL of the entries as I couldn't work out where I had gone wrong? I am therefore giving it another go and starting again tomorrow...payday...yay!! Although I am going to have to purchase the darn app in 5 days time if I want to continue.

I have also nicked some of your ideas re: goals..so thanks

Keep up the good work, you've been inspirational.

x

Aw, thanks, Blubella, it's nice to know some people are reading and listening - and it's good to get these thoughts out of my head .

I think most people who use YNAB make several false starts. It's worth watching their tutorials online. And if you watch a 'live' one you can often win back the cost of buying YNAB so give that a go. The thing I grappled most with is the pre-YNAB debt category, I just couldn't get that to work properly at the start.

What is good though is the concept that moving money from my current account to 'cash' does not mean I've spent the money, it's just in a different place. Before, once I'd withdrawn money, I'd consider it as good as spent. Now, that withdrawn cash is primarily what I use for my 'luxury' spending. I love paying with cash for some reason .

The other thing that YNAB has finally made me disciplined about is not spending money in my head before it's turned up in my account. In the past, I would have 'predicted' earnings from things like ebay - and anyone who reads this diary will know I hate doing ebay and every month fool myself that this is the month I will sell stuff. In the past, I would bank on those earnings and of course they'd never arrive. I've stopped that now. If the money is not there yet, I don't budget with it.

There I go again - once I talk about YNAB, I start rambling on .

peaceandfreedom

Rosylee wrote: »

Hi, have enjoyed reading your diary and have subscribed. I love YNAB too...this is the first year I have paid for Christmas in cash. Of course it's a sparser Christmas than I have ever had....only started YNAB in September. But in that time I was able to save for my car service as well. It's funny though, I feel so skint even though there is money for lots of categories, eg clothing, school uniform, car service. But no more for luxury spending lol. Thank goodness it's payday tomorrow. Well done on your journey so far

Thanks Rosylee for popping in and good luck with your debt-free journey. If you are used to spending and not budgeting (as I certainly was for many years) then it will take a while to turn that ship around but it is soooo worth it. It's like sailing on smooth waters instead of being thrown around on choppy waves (not sure why I'm using a sea analogy - I hate boats :rotfl:).

Thing is, you are doing the right thing, putting aside money for the essential things - the luxury things are just that - luxuries that we like but don't need. My luxury budget really is tiny and will remain so until the debts are paid off. I rarely buy clothes. I have less than 100 quid's worth of discretionary spending every month but most of that ends up going on essential items or gifts etc. It ends up in other parts of the budget to ensure everything stays balanced. It doesn't bother me though, it's fun finding new ways of not spending money!

And your sparser Christmas will be so worth it - none of those horrible January bills coming in reminding you how you've overspent. Now I no longer have a credit card, this can never happen to me. I'm not sure I will ever trust myself with a credit card again - the first one was the start of my financial lunacy and cutting it up was the end of it.

peaceandfreedom

Moneywhizz wrote: »

I always read your diary too and enjoy following your progress. You are doing great with the budgeting. Isn't it such a relief to have all the money sitting in the pots when you need it. I learned my lesson many years ago and even though I now have plenty of money I still stick to my budget. As you say it's not about how much you have but how you use it.

For what it's worth I don't think ebay is the way forward for you. If there's not another way for you to sell your stuff, eg car boot or gumtree, you may be just as well giving it away. I think having a decluttered home helps you to have a decluttered mind and concentrate on the things that are important. That may just be a personal thing though.

Keep up the good work. You are doing great. X

Moneywhizz - thanks for your kind words. I wish I had learned my lesson as long ago as you did but I'm glad I've finally learnt it!

You are probably right about ebay and I think it's more important that the stuff is out of the house. I may find other ways of selling - e.g. local Facebook pages or even the work marketplace we have on our intranet.

The clutter is not just physical is it - it plays on your mind, every time you see it you are dragged down by it. And I've found that although sometimes I have a pang when I part with things (especially some of the kids' stuff) I find I never actually think of them again once they're gone. I will need to read my Marie Kondo book again and be strong .

peaceandfreedom

Moneywhizz wrote: »

Oh and just remembered that you have a cardigan to eat very soon if you don't get on with things. X

Hee hee, I am aware of that. I have a large variety of cardigans but none are going to be very edible. Best get on with the decluttering :rotfl:.

peaceandfreedom

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

And my garden to tackle!

Now, INOD, we both know that's not going to happen :D

tattycath

Hi there, just thought I'd pop by.
Haven't tried yang. I do move money into different accounts and pots for different things.
I love handing over cash too, instead of cards. If I withdraw cash and spend it I know the money will come out of my account that day, not in dribs and drabs from various different shops. Then I can keep better track of stuff.
It's a chill day today, especially as the weather is so horrible.

peaceandfreedom

tattycath wrote: »

Hi there, just thought I'd pop by.
Haven't tried yang. I do move money into different accounts and pots for different things.
I love handing over cash too, instead of cards. If I withdraw cash and spend it I know the money will come out of my account that day, not in dribs and drabs from various different shops. Then I can keep better track of stuff.
It's a chill day today, especially as the weather is so horrible.

Yang - that's another way of putting it (darned autocorrect, eh? ).

I am in complete agreement on the cash thing. It is also makes spending much more 'real' - parting with those lovely notes makes you think a bit harder about it.

My money is in lots of virtual pots in YNAB and I keep tabs on it all to make sure that it all adds up and that the money stashed away in the savings account does actually add up to all those budget categories. I love it .

in_need_of_direction

Meanie. My OH finally listed three or four things on ebay. I deliberately don't have an account. If he can do it, anyone can. Our things are on for 10 days. Go on, see who can get most back.