Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up! It's debt-busting time!

Cool_Runnings

Thanks Tinkerbell and basketcase, all good here, though I have rather neglected this diary of late!

Christmas has come and gone, had a lovely couple of days visiting family. My gift buying all went smoothly, though I perhaps spent £50 or so over what I should have done - I just kept finding nice things I knew people would like! I managed to avoid buying anything for myself in the process though, so that was one benefit.

I have hit the online sales this morning though, but was quite restrained. I've got six CDs and six DVDs on the way for less than £35 which is great. I do have an online film subscription, but I do still like to get physical products too. These were all items I've had on my wishlist for a while, so thought I'd get them as they were so cheap.

I now have a few days to myself before heading back to work on the 3rd. Lots of tidying and sorting to do at home, and I need to start planning for next year too. I've still not got stuck in to the other parts of this site yet, so that's one thing, and there are a few challenges I want to take on for 2017.

Seems an opportune time to sum up my current financial position. I've paid the monthly £160 minimum to my card this month, and once my wages have come through on the 30th I'll be able to clear my spending credit card, so that means Christmas will have been fully paid for!

So, at the end of 2016 my debt stands at £6,680.00. This is currently at 0% interest, though that will change soon:

£933.60 due by 01/12/17
£1,646.40 due by 01/01/18
£4,100.00 due by 05/07/18

That's £2,580 to pay by the end of next year to avoid interest. Paying the usual £160 per month will leave me £660 short. I really don't want to get hit with any interest so the options are to increase the payments, pay a single larger amount later in the year, or transfer everything across to a new 0% deal. I can see a transfer on the horizon though, as even if I pay everything due this year, I'll have six months in 2018 to sort out £4,100, which isn't really on the cards. I think I'll see how things go for the first three months of next year as I do want to build up a bit of a safety net in my current account and start looking at savings account options.

Anyway, must go before I really start rambling! Have a great day everyone!

Cool_Runnings

I've started setting myself a few goals and challenges for the coming year, so I thought I may as well stick them up on here. These are all being recorded in my bullet journal of course! I don't want these to seem like New Year's resolutions, but I guess they really are!

12 positive money months - I've not yet set a target for clearing an amount of my debt in a year, so I'm going with this one for my money goal. It is simply to spend less money each month than I earn, something I've not always done in the past! I'll just add up the total across all my accounts, including debts, at the end of each month to see if it's more than the previous month. This will allow me to pay more to the debt if I so desire, since this wouldn't actually change the monthly total. There aren't any planned major purchases for the year, so I'm hopeful of making this one.

Read 26 books - my reading habits are usually a bit sporadic, I might read consistently for three weeks, then not pick up a book for the next three. A book every two weeks certainly won't seem a great deal to some of the more avid readers on here, but that's reflective of the other challenges I'm taking on and the free time I have available. A quick skim over my bookcases reveals around 65 books I've never read! :eek: Hopefully I'll make a good dent in to these, though there are quite a few I want to re-read too.

Watch 52 films - I have a fairly numerous DVD collection and an online subscription, though I really only have time for watching films at weekends, so I've gone with one a week for this.

Listen to 200 different albums - I'm certainly a music lover with a fairly extensive collection, though I probably listen to a core set of around 50 favourite albums. Occasionally I'll get bitten by the 'haven't heard it for ages' bug and stick an older album on, remember how good it is, and wonder why it's taken me so long to listen to it again. I'm going to aim for 200 different albums throughout the year. My daily commute is around 50 minutes each way, a good time to listen to some tunes!

A puzzle a day - got to keep my brain sharp! I'll try to do at least one puzzle a day (wordsearch, crossword, Sudoku etc), so bought myself a puzzle book this morning.

Lose weight - not sure what sort of target to set here, but it's a number that certainly needs to come down! I need to be more active generally, go out for walks, bike rides and the like more frequently. I've tried a little bit of jogging previously, but without any regularity, so I'll give that a go. In terms of food, my main problems are portion sizes and snacking, so they'll need to be cut back. Obviously this means I need to finish up all of my leftover Christmas snacks tomorrow! :rotfl:

A few other things I need to change too, but can't really be quantified like the above, so I won't be tracking these - visit friends more often, spend less time on my computer, make my house more homely etc.

I might think of a few more yet. The key of course is to start them and keep going. Wish me luck! :j

Cool_Runnings

Back to work tomorrow!

I'm currently feeling in a very good mood, hopefully it will last through tomorrow! I've had a good couple of declutter sessions this weekend, which really does help to lighten my mood. Not a penny spent this year so far either, and I've even managed to cut back on the snacking too, which is difficult as I've been at home for the last two days - a box of liquorice allsorts has remained unopened! :eek:

basketcase

Not been around for a while myself. Slipped and managed to fracture my shoulder, so I've been a bit hampered.

Glad you had a good Christmas. Ours was quiet but not bad. Didn't get any Christmas cards written or sent. Accidentally (in more ways than 1! ) MSE, because I won't have to buy any next year! :rotfl:

Some good new year goals there. Haven't thought of mine yet. Will be following with interest...

Cool_Runnings

Ouch, hope the shoulder is feeling a bit better now BC!

Not much for me to report with regards to finances, but that's a good thing! The only spending so far as been on bills, food and petrol.

Making progress with my challenges too:
Books: 1/26
Films: 2/52
Albums: 29/200
Puzzle a day: 7/7
Declutter: 178/2017

I've added decluttering 2017 items to my targets for the year. The place is looking better already.

basketcase

I'm getting there slowly, while the house falls down around me! :rotfl:

You seem to be doing well with your goals. What films have you seen?

basketcase

Hi Cool

How's it going?

Cool_Runnings

Thanks basketcase, pretty steady here really, not a great deal to report! :rotfl:

There's a film topic here, come join in!
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3718359

I've paid my usual monthly £160.00 to the debt today, so the remaining amount is now £6,520.00. On course for a good January financially, and overall really.

Tinkerbelle2000

Hi CR

How is everything going? Hope you are ok.

Tink xx