This is Not a Rehearsal Anymore!

Rosylee

catriona79 wrote: »

Hello Rosy,

Well done on moving your debts to 0%! Bet that's brought the debt free date closer? This forum is amazing for gold nuggets like that.

I can see you're YNABing already, many of us do! I have to say that I am glad that I've got it for tracking my spending, but have yet to use it to actually inform a spending decision :eek: but I'll learn!

I'll be cheering you on from the first row!

Thanks Catriona, yes, it has indeed brought the debt free date closer. I am working toward 3.5 years. It would have been 3, but I am spending the next 3 to 5 months building my savings. This way when expenses hit I will not be incurring more debt but will have a small cushion of money. Granted not a huge sum, but enough to feel I don't have to go into the OD or make more debt.

Rosylee

Hello Diary


Its been exciting to see we have had some visitors! Really nice of you all to drop by.

I had been checking my old Halifax CC balance since the transfer to Fluid and Barclay Card and it's been zero for a while. But since I had not had a statement yet I was keen to enquire as to its whereabouts as I wanted to be sure that I did not owe anything before asking them to close the account. Well actually, the account has been closed for more than a year as I refused the interest hike. But suddenly, when I checked the account via telephone banking last night, I now have available credit of £14000! But also, I discovered that there was indeed a small balance of £92, presumably the residual interest. While I expected it, I had half hoped I wouldn't have any, so have had to adjust the budget to account for this payment. The statement should arrive next week, and then I will wait for one more statement to confirm zero balance and then I will close the account...again...in writing this time. I had cut up the card long ago so all I have is the account number. I shall save that final statement.

Spent £13.77 at Aldi today for eggs, cheese, salad, juice, breakfast items as we had run our. £3.77 more than my budget allowed so had to WAM it from my odds and ends fund.

So bank balance : £612

Final Bill Payments Pending : £245.10 (CC x2, mobile phone and YNAB software when trial ends)

RDF Balance : £522.15 (This includes part of the money in the bank balance once all bills are paid)

The RDF is not a massive sum most of it has been assigned to Christmas and an amount for my car service at the beginning of November, as I had not had anything saved up for these before this month.

In fact, I have never had any money left over before and was always using the full overdraft every month. I won't deny, a massive part that has contributed to making this possible is the payment the bank gave me for whatever mistake they made with the loan. It allowed me to pay off several other debts that were very high interest, even more than the credit card.

I still have a very long way to go. Once I start snowballing, my disposable income will be much less, hence the need for the savings cushion. But then hopefully, I will start to see a proper reduction in the debt who is infinitely more satisfying.

TTFN

Rosylee

So I have been a little quiet as not much to say.

Debt busting officially starts in January as I am keen to have a little pot of savings to prevent me from getting into any further debt first.

Using YNAB, I created a Christmas category. Given how close we are to Christmas, I haven't had the time to slowly build this up but have managed a small pot. This allowed me to buy my daughter's Nike trainers. I put them on the credit card as I wanted the S75 protection as buying online. I waited until the transaction showed in the CC account and immediately paid this off with my Christmas savings. It feels really good to take the CC balance down back to zero again and to pay for something with money I have saved. Now I did go through Quidco for cashback...but there has been a problem with this. I have emailed Quidco, as I really want my 22% cashback on my £120 sale!

I also bought my OH a gift from M & S. It was £18 but I got 54p cashback. I don't know how come I have never used these cashback sites before, thinking about it, its probably because all I could ever buy was on catalogue as I never had cash to part with! I will certainly be using it as often as I can if I have to make a purchase.

I finally got my Halifax CC statement today. I really hope that this is the last DD they will have to take and then it is done!Interestingly, the statement actually says the account is closed so I will be looking closely to see that they advise the CRA accordingly.

Speaking of CRA, I noticed my Noddle rating has dropped. I did sort of expect it having applied and received 2 new CC's. I am not too concerned because their information is inaccurate. Halifax and Littlewoods have not updated the balances so it looks like I owe £12000 to Halifax, £4000 to Littlewoods and £10000 to Fluid, when in fact I now only owe Halifax £95 and Littlewoods £208. It really is annoying that they are quick to notify the CRA when you are late with a payment but not so quick to provide information that benefits you. Halifax last updated them 31.08.2015!

I also noted that an Evans account is still showing as open when in fact it is closed and has been since August. I told Evans last month that it was still showing as open and they said they would update the CRA but clearly they haven't. I have raised a dispute with Noddle. I imagine it will take weeks for a response. In the meantime I may drop Evans an email asking them to pretty please send an update on my account.

I am not looking to make more debt and don't plan to make any applications for the next 2.5 years, but it would be nice to clean up the files, and see some progress. Yes, yes, I know the numbers don't mean anything except in my case, I think it is an indication of an improvement of my credit conduct.

A major benefit of me improving my debt is that I can finally start being open with OH about my finances and then work together as a team on common goals, like moving to a better house one day. Oh he knows there is debt, just not the extent of it and yes, I know people advocate for openness and honesty but I disagree. Once I have made a significant dent in the debt, I may be more open but I just cannot face it right now. I have a plan, I just have to stick to it and by golly I will!

Gosh, I thought I had nothing to say?

See you anon!

catriona79

Well done on YNAB.

Gosh, you're buying Xmas presents already? Wow! That's organised! Your daughter is definitely going to have nice trainers this year. How old is she?

Re openness about debt, I know it's tough to say it, but I'm with those who say you need to discuss, for the sake of trust. I did tell my partner very early on, and it wasn't pleasant. I think it may get more difficult as you get deeper in and I guess it depends on whether you think they could understand or not. I think I'd definitely want to know that about my partner, if it was a substantial amount and we were thinking of moving in together or having any joint accounts. But I am organised with my money and have been on very low income in the past, and just hate the thought of having to go through it again, so I think I feel stronger about it than people who are more relaxed.
Just my two pennies' worth.

Rosylee

Thanks for popping by Catriona...interestingly I spent most of the evening skimming through your diary last night so chuffed to have a little comment from you. You have done so well yourself.

Yes, I wish I could tell my OH. I have been the main earner for all of our married lives, with him struggling to get work that pays any decent amount, then spending a lot to retrain. To the extent that he does not and never has contributed to the household bills. I have always paid for each and every bill, including food, daughter's activities etc. For the longest time I was resentful of this, lately I have felt really grateful to some extent that I never relied on his financial support because it has meant that when he has been out of work, there was absolutely zero impact on the bills and therefore on ME. He is a hard worker and he is desperately trying to find a job, I should know... I look over the application forms!

Of course, he is excellent with money, and he does have savings from a medical redundancy 18 months ago which we both agreed we need to save for a "storming" - never mind rainy - day. But he always paid for the extras like our 1 weeks holiday with what money he did earn (always in the UK to save costs) or if my daughter has extra requirements like a big school trip or most recently her £2500 braces. The NHS waiting list is 2 years!! So we got interest free finance for 2 years which he pays.

My debt has accumulated as I said out of immaturity and stupidity but I am on a more even keel now thanks to the HSBC owning up to its mistakes and YNAB. Telling him would not help believe me. It would provide an additional measure of stress for me, not relieve it. But I thank you for your advice; it is sound, just not to be applied right now.

Well on to the update!

Daughter 13 is well aware that Christmas will be scaled down this year. I feel bad but she understands, even though it is disappointing because mum always bought loads (on credit of course). But we have had a frank discussion about debt, not the amount, just that it is there. She gets a good dose of YNAB too

Really pleased Littlewoods have credited my £25 jumper we bought with reward money. So, my rewards totalled £114.26 and OH and I decided to use it to get a new microwave as our current one is 12 years old and rusted quite badly. We also find it does not heat food as well anymore. So we bought one for £105, using the last of the reward money for 3 cheap T shirts for him at £10. So I only paid an extra 74p. So all in all a good use of the money and best of all no debt incurred!

So checked the MBNA (Fluid) account again today and finally, my first statement was ready. The DD is in place with the first payment going out on 08.11.2015. I do have the money ready for the first payment but as the payment was not due until after the next pay day, I have just decided move the money I had budgeted for this month and divided it amongst all my categories. I asked the YNAB question...what does this money have to do before I get paid again, and as the money no longer needed to be used to make the minimum payment, I decided to build those RDF categories up. I am quite fair about it too. I took the amount and divided it up by however many categories I needed to and share it out equally

So I still don't trust myself and so I will be moving those savings to other accounts at the end of the month, ones that I cannot easily access the money as the Buffer is being saved in the credit union (and its a pain to get the money out) and the RDF is in the Paragon Bank, again, not a quick process to transfer at all.

It is nice to know that I have a safety net and I think that is the beauty of YNAB. I just need a little more time to build that RDF.

I am trying to sell some things on ebay. I have 3 items but so far no bids, just a few watchers. I am hoping they will bid over the weekend as the auction ends on Sunday.

Well glad its Friday tomorrow but will be busy, as always but looking forward to the weekend just do nothing.

Thanks for reading

Rosylee

Hello Diary


I feel compelled to write something, even though I have very little to say. Feeling a bit bleh!

I listed 3 items on ebay; 2 items of furniture and really disappointed that they each only reached £2.20. The ink cartridge sold for almost double the price of the two pieces of furniture combined! I was hoping for £5 at least for each piece. Oh well, its surplus furniture so I cannot complain, it's better than nothing. It will go into the budget towards the emergency fund which is at zero! Just had the furniture collected in the middle of this message so £4.40 into the budget!

Also, really need to get a grip on the grocery budget. I have spent so much and have done far too much WAM'ing. Our problem isn't take aways or wasting food, its eating far too much...we cook and eat far too much in the first place. No wonder I am struggling to lose weight! But hubby does all the cooking (did I mention he is skinny as a rake!) and I just can't resist his excellent food. Oh help!

Today I made a loaf of bread! Ok, so it was a bread mix from Aldi, but it was only 69p and all I had to add was water. Given my poor kitchen skills, I felt quite proud of myself. Now I know I can get a 27p loaf of bread at Tesco, so it may not be money saving to some, the fact is, we generally buy bread at a £1.00 a loaf so, it is money saving for me. And I got a kick out of it.

Busy week ahead but have a couple of days off next week. Can't wait for payday on Friday, if only to play around with the budget. Sad I know!

I doubt anyone is reading this drivel but in case I am wrong, have a good week!

GoingToDoIt

Hi Rosy,
It's all money you didn't have....and clutter that you didn't need!

Rosylee

So its the day before payday and I have moved all my RDF savings out of the current account into their respective accounts. Its a bit of a pain and I know YNAB advocates not having too many savings accounts but I really don't want to see the money in my current account. I haven't quite mastered spending according to category, still need some self discipline not to WAM unnecessarily. So all that is left in my current account is what I assigned as income for next month, so when my salary hits tomorrow, I can start the budget afresh. I won't be spending any money today so that's good. I have updated the final RDF tally, and also my Barclays CC Balance. First payment after getting the 0% deal. Come January, I will start the snowball in earnest. My challenge for this month is to be more frugal with grocery spending. The budget is £300. Wish me luck!

Rosylee

Start of the brand new month. I am pleased to say that I have paid Argos and now don't owe them a penny. Littlewoods is also on their way out. Come January I will be snowballing in earnest, just trying to build a modest rainy day fund. I am pleased to say I have around £300 towards my car service due a week tomorrow. If all goes well, I will pay the quoted price of £239 and not a penny more. Its the first time I have been able to pay cash for my service. I have bought all the groceries for the month...I shop monthly as I find I spend more if I shop weekly. I have around £45 left for the month. I really need to make sure I don't buy any non-essentials. I have all the food we need; there should be no need for anything beyond bread, milk and fresh salad fixings.

Have a good week all

catriona79

Rosylee wrote: »

Thanks for popping by Catriona...interestingly I spent most of the evening skimming through your diary last night so chuffed to have a little comment from you. You have done so well yourself.

Yes, I wish I could tell my OH. I have been the main earner for all of our married lives, with him struggling to get work that pays any decent amount, then spending a lot to retrain. To the extent that he does not and never has contributed to the household bills. I have always paid for each and every bill, including food, daughter's activities etc. For the longest time I was resentful of this, lately I have felt really grateful to some extent that I never relied on his financial support because it has meant that when he has been out of work, there was absolutely zero impact on the bills and therefore on ME. He is a hard worker and he is desperately trying to find a job, I should know... I look over the application forms!

Of course, he is excellent with money, and he does have savings from a medical redundancy 18 months ago which we both agreed we need to save for a "storming" - never mind rainy - day. But he always paid for the extras like our 1 weeks holiday with what money he did earn (always in the UK to save costs) or if my daughter has extra requirements like a big school trip or most recently her £2500 braces. The NHS waiting list is 2 years!! So we got interest free finance for 2 years which he pays.

My debt has accumulated as I said out of immaturity and stupidity but I am on a more even keel now thanks to the HSBC owning up to its mistakes and YNAB. Telling him would not help believe me. It would provide an additional measure of stress for me, not relieve it. But I thank you for your advice; it is sound, just not to be applied right now.

Well on to the update!

Daughter 13 is well aware that Christmas will be scaled down this year. I feel bad but she understands, even though it is disappointing because mum always bought loads (on credit of course). But we have had a frank discussion about debt, not the amount, just that it is there. She gets a good dose of YNAB too

Really pleased Littlewoods have credited my £25 jumper we bought with reward money. So, my rewards totalled £114.26 and OH and I decided to use it to get a new microwave as our current one is 12 years old and rusted quite badly. We also find it does not heat food as well anymore. So we bought one for £105, using the last of the reward money for 3 cheap T shirts for him at £10. So I only paid an extra 74p. So all in all a good use of the money and best of all no debt incurred!

So checked the MBNA (Fluid) account again today and finally, my first statement was ready. The DD is in place with the first payment going out on 08.11.2015. I do have the money ready for the first payment but as the payment was not due until after the next pay day, I have just decided move the money I had budgeted for this month and divided it amongst all my categories. I asked the YNAB question...what does this money have to do before I get paid again, and as the money no longer needed to be used to make the minimum payment, I decided to build those RDF categories up. I am quite fair about it too. I took the amount and divided it up by however many categories I needed to and share it out equally

So I still don't trust myself and so I will be moving those savings to other accounts at the end of the month, ones that I cannot easily access the money as the Buffer is being saved in the credit union (and its a pain to get the money out) and the RDF is in the Paragon Bank, again, not a quick process to transfer at all.

It is nice to know that I have a safety net and I think that is the beauty of YNAB. I just need a little more time to build that RDF.

I am trying to sell some things on ebay. I have 3 items but so far no bids, just a few watchers. I am hoping they will bid over the weekend as the auction ends on Sunday.

Well glad its Friday tomorrow but will be busy, as always but looking forward to the weekend just do nothing.

Thanks for reading

Hello Rosylee,

how was your weekend?

A new month has started and so a new beginning. We can make it the best month yet!

It seems that you have got a workable solution between you and you other half, and I can see why you'd have felt lonely with all the responsibility before.
I hope you don't mind me saying, but it seems that your other half has been sheltered (by you, and I have no doubt, with best intentions) from the bulk of the financial burden. I wanted to ask, and I hope you don't think it's impertinent, whether you think you may shelter him too much, and in fact continue to shelter him from what is your family's responsibility right now? In not treating him as your equal and anadult with a responsibility for a child and a home, you may devoid him of the chance to act like a responsible father.

I wonder what his reaction would be, were he to see that your joint living expenses have created this big amount of debt and whether he would see his role in clearing it.
Is the debt from paying the bills and family holidays or more your discretionary spending over the years?

Just my two pennies worth and forgive me if it's too personal.

Hope you have a good November x