It's all fun and games until ...........

brizzledfw

We sound very similar. Fantastic job (not quite finance but certainly commercial) and it's crazy how much we owed. But..we did it. You're right to focus on the discretionary spending. Even taking in lunches and not having takeaways or eating out makes a huge difference. There is a reason for saying look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. It's true.

Can I also say you'd be surprised at how many people in a huge amount of debt are also high earners. You are certainly not alone

Start small. How about trying a week of meal planning and no take outs. I in fact find I love knowing what we are having, the joy of having leftovers so no need to cook again when we come home in the dark and cold and shattered. Have no desire to either go out or get a takeaway. Try it. Very happy to help with recipes. A second hand slow cooker may also help? Lovely to come home to a cooked meal

scotdebs

Brizzle I actually managed to stick to my meal planner this week which I am really cuffed about and all of tomorrow's dinner is already in the fridge freezer etc- tonight we are having dominos - but fear not MSE folk they got our last order completly wrong so manager has given us voucher for same order free of charge - let me tell you I'll need it today - currently in the process of clearing out 1 of the 3 cupboards I stuff my clothes into - the amount of stuff I have found still with tags on and worse still in the bloody bag from the shop !!!!!!
I feel an epic eBay session planned for next weekend!!!
GM4less you are right it's good to have a goal and mine after this is to build up savings ( I do have small emergency pot as not having one led to stuff going on the plastic) and I also do a Christmas savings club - also to start making some over payments to the mortgage we have 16 year left on it- I would really like to have it paid off in 10 year or less - but for now time for focus on the dastardly cc debts

brizzledfw

Well done and yes Bay of E is a great way of recouping some money and clearing the house of stuff that's not needed or being used. Sell it and move on I say

stressed.mum

scotdebs wrote: »

So it occurred to me that just sitting about waiting for each payday is going to make this debt busting journey (& diary) just a tad uneventful.......
I know that our biggest over spends are
- grocery shopping
- takeaways
- meals out
These 3 things are constantly the reason I don't make the maximum overpayment that we can each month so it's time to take them in hand. And so yesterday I wrote out a meal planner :eek: I then went the supermarket with.........a list :eek:
This is bit of a first for me, I always used to find the thought of meal planning and knowing on Monday what I'll be eating on a Thursday a bit soul destroying. But I'm fed up spending a small mortgage on food and being mega disorganised and throwing together dinners.....
So all I need to do know is go and find said planner so I know what I'm meant to be making tonight .......

Hi Scotdebs, just found your diary, haven't read all of it yet.
This post jumped out at me.
I meal plan, but I put my meals on post-it's on the wall planner (yes I am that sad, but we are a large busy family and I am OCD about knowing who has to be where and when!)
That way I can switch meals very easily, if I don't fancy it, or it turns out to be a busier night than expected - that way it, to me, it doesn't seem so much of a chore. I also plan from stores first, so if I have meat in the freezer that gets used next week. We also have a 'left overs' night most weeks as anything left from a meal is frozen in 'ready meals'
I often find I get reduced items when I do my weeks shop, so these are either added to meal plan for the week, meaning I meals to carry forward, or frozen and planned in the next week.

Don't know if any of that helps
Xxx

stressed.mum

Finished reading!
Well done on getting the majority of your debt at 0%, that should make a huge difference.
You know what you need to do, it's just sticking to it! Make sure you plan in some treats along the way and things to look forward to, it will make it much easier to stick to the plan.
Xxx

System

Have subscribed!! :j

You've got this lovely You have lots on 0% already, you're meal planning, and you're identifying why you couldn't keep up the motivation last time!!

I work in finance too... I should know better!! :rotfl::rotfl:

Cheering you on!! xxx

brizzledfw

Stressed mum..am with you on the meal planning it has to be visible and not your secret! It all goes in the paper diary (got one for £1) which never leaves the kitchen and it also....CRITICALLY.. for my house says who is preparing it, eg. dd1 and what time it needs to be served up:p

scotdebs

So week 2 of the meal planning done and although I was tempted to go off plan tonight I didn't and am now really pleased as the chilli was lush
Am 2/3 through decluttering my main wardrobe ( yes there are more) have about a dozen potential eBay items and 6 bags for charity:eek:
Work have confirmed bonuses - so that will be in the next pay at end of feb :j OH gets paid this week so will be good to update the list of shame

Need to get on the eBay bandwagon I've done it before and when "in the zone" I can rattle items up for listing no bother - just need to get my head in the right space - I'm going to split half of anything I make between debt mountain and the rest to build up a treat pot so when we feel the need for a splurge or treat it's not impacting the regular monthly overpayments

Would be great to get the debt under £30k by the end of the year - there I have set myself a target lets do this :T

brizzledfw

scotdebs wrote: »

So week 2 of the meal planning done and although I was tempted to go off plan tonight I didn't and am now really pleased as the chilli was lush Well done you
Am 2/3 through decluttering my main wardrobe ( yes there are more) have about a dozen potential eBay items and 6 bags for charity:eek: Go for it
Work have confirmed bonuses - so that will be in the next pay at end of feb :j OH gets paid this week so will be good to update the list of shame Excellent - bonuses are good

Need to get on the eBay bandwagon I've done it before and when "in the zone" I can rattle items up for listing no bother - just need to get my head in the right space - I'm going to split half of anything I make between debt mountain and the rest to build up a treat pot so when we feel the need for a splurge or treat it's not impacting the regular monthly overpayments

Would be great to get the debt under £30k by the end of the year - there I have set myself a target lets do this :T

You will! :T:D

scotdebs

Evening diary - just popped in to report that I have just given myself a £1.1k payrise....... Do I have immoral photos of my boss in a brown envelope in my desk???? ..... Nope I have changed energy supplier saving myself £55 pounds a month!!!!!! As a 40% taxpayer I would need a payrise of over a grand to get the same amount in my pocket each month..... Sadly a check on house insurance showed we are pretty much getting the best deal- think there is potentially £100 a year to save on the car insurance but need hubby to confirm his points details before I get a more accurate quote ( tut tut)