No More!

hamiltoes

Hi!

Hope you all had a very MSE Christmas. I had my LBM (one of many over the years) back in October and have since tried to change my spending habits during that time. I've been totally hooked on the diaries here over that time and thought with NY coming up it would be a good idea to start my own. I'm really hoping this will keep me on track for next year so I can absolutely slay my debt.

Firstly a little about me. Early 20s single mum of two loud and boisterous little girls. I had my oldest at 17 when I was just an apprentice making just £12K a year and split with her father not long after. Things were tight but we got by, I lived really frugally and with the help of subsided rent from family member we even managed to go abroad a couple of times a year and I had some savings behind me.

Where it really went downhill for me was when I started earning better money. I suppose I got into the mindset that because I earned decent money we were entitled to the finer things in life. I thought nothing of sticking things on CCs with a kind of "oh i'll pay that back next month" but it never came. I met D2s father, and he just basically used me as a bank and would constantly hinder my attempts to save or be frugal.

In early 2014 I bought a flat with the meagre savings I had and did it up myself (learned to do flooring, wallpaper etc) mostly through wages and putting bits and bobs on CC. During that year I had D2, left her dad after a horrible situation and ended up selling the flat to move closer to family.

Because of all this I had to go part time at work, and when a shared ownership property in the right location became available because of my PT wages I couldn't get a mortgage. So a lovely family member stepped in and paid the 25% in cash for me, which I am paying back on a monthly basis.

And that is basically my life story. PT wages whilst trying to raise a family on my own really pulled at me financially and I admit for a long time I was living well beyond my means. I would have mini LBM where I'd take out a loan to consolidate CCs and store cards, only to wrack up more CC debt! Can't believe how stupid I was. I've now found a better paying full time job which I love (although its tonnes more stress, a 90 mile per day commute and costing a fortune in childcare!).

So here is to the year where I finally grow up and be sensible with money! I want to take my girls to Florida in future, get a better car more suitable to a commute through country roads and over mountains, and ideally sell this flat so i can pay back family member and get a house with a nice garden. I am 25 next year and want to be well on my way by then, hopefully by the time I'm 30 I am achieving my goals and living the life I want to live.

I'll post scores on the doors and SOA next so I have somewhere to track everything.

hamiltoes

In the strange position that I have money coming in monthly, weekly and also 4 weekly. This is my new 2 current account system for 2017 so I have one for bills and monthly things and one for everything else, food, petrol, clothes etc.


Budget
IN £200 4 Weekly-
£50 to TSB (Current Account Buffer)
£50 to RBS (Daily Spend Account)
£50 to Xmas & Bdays
£50 to Emergency Account

IN £200 weekly
£100 to RBS (TC) (Daily Spends)
£30 to TSB (CB) (Current Account Buffer)
£50+odds to Emergency (CM)
£20 to Debt (TC)

Monthly
Wages £1800

Nursery: £560
Mortgage: £225
Rent: £140
Virgin: £25
Orange: £25
EE: £50
Fridge:£35
Loan: £125
Itunes: £10
Car Insurance: £90
School Club: £90
Car Tax: £20
Council Tax: £95
Debt: £300
=£1790

hamiltoes

And here is progress made from 1st of October to 1st of December. During this time my car failed its MOT horribly so had to add to my CC, but I'll be back on track soon and have made some progress. I have "net worth totals" which includes the money I have saved in the house in a relatives account, and also debt totals which as of 1st December stands at £12,875!!!! Have to remember that is down almost £1000 since I had my LBM and I have had a rather large emergency. I want to be saving towards yearly expenses such as MOT (I drive an old banger!!) and insurance (only passed test in June so this is ££££ a year!).

1ST OCTOBER 2016
TSB: £100
SAVINGS: £0
ISA: £350
HOUSE: £8475
TSBCC: -£1000
FRIDGE: -£515
TSBL: -£4100
CAR: -£1500
CC: -£6100
VERY: -£350
LINK: -£180

TOTAL NET WORTH -£4820

DEBT=£13,745


1ST NOVEMBER 2016

TSB: £123
SAVINGS: £200
ISA: £350
HOUSE: £8700
TSBCC: -£700
FRIDGE: -£475
TSBL: -£3900
CAR: -£1500
CC: -£6000
VERY: -£350
LINK: -£180

TOTAL NET WORTH -£3735

SAVED FROM OCT: £1085

DEBT=£13,105

1 MONTH DEBT FREE
=£1085 ADDED TO NET WORTH!!


1ST DECEMBER 2016

TSB: £150
SAVINGS: £450
ISA: £370
HOUSE: £8925
TSBCC: -£840
FRIDGE: -£435
TSBL: -£3810
CAR: -£1500
CC: -£5900
VERY: -£350

TOTAL NET WORTH -£2945

SAVED FROM NOV: £790

DEBT=£12,835

2 MONTH DEBT FREE
=£1875 ADDED TO NET WORTH!!

Bobarella

Hi Hamiltoes

Good luck with everything. I'm very impressed at your organisation, & as you say you used to be frugal so you've got the skills right enough. Always have huge respect for all single mums, your doing such an important job all on your Todd.

Keep going, you can do it!

Bob

hamiltoes

Hi Bob and thank you for your kind words!

I know I can do this it just feels like a massive uphill battle at times, but the diaries here are certainly helping me keep focused and I've had a pretty good system in place so I'm hoping it continues.

This time last year I was the sort of person who would be too scared to check my bank balance, and now I find myself logging in several times a day to make sure things are ticking along nicely. I've not been in my overdraft for a while and it's such a nice feeling. I have an app so I can see my projected bank balance on any day throught 2017, and i'll be fully buffered this time next year which I'm looking forward to.

Some xmas spends went on CC as unfortunately LBM came to pate this year, but things can only improve from here on :-)

doingitanyway

Sounds positive and very doable. Well done

swimminginaseaofdebt

Good luck with your journey! As a fellow single mum with debt I will pop in regularly and see how you're doing

12_month_challenge

hamiltoes wrote: »

This time last year I was the sort of person who would be too scared to check my bank balance, and now I find myself logging in several times a day to make sure things are ticking along nicely.

Hi Hamiltoes

I have found you too

Can definitely relate to your quote above. I too constantly check my account on my phone I have to know that I am still in the green, although I closed my overdraft quite a while back now. It helps to keep me in control of our money.
I also have been down the consolidation route with all good intentions at the start but here I am a lot worse off than when I started.

Have subscribed and will be cheering you along on your progress. You sound really positive. Stick with it and WE WILL get to that finish line however long it takes.
X

hamiltoes

Thank you all for your kind words it really does help!

Yesterday was a very busy day. Cleared out a cupboard and started on the tonne of Xmas packaging which resulted in two full car loads to the skip. Pulled out everything in the kitchen and washed it all down, and the living room followed with just the sofa left today. Scared of what I will find down there! That can wait til the girls are in bed, they'll end up trying to keep whatever junk is hiding there.

I got £50 Christmas money so instead of the usual makeup and clothes, I went to Sainsbos last night and bought a slow cooker in the sale for £23. Would have felt very guilty putting this towards debt, but I see it as pretty MSE as my plan is to cook a big stew on a Sunday which will also do 2 days work lunches. I then plan to do a big pasta bake on the tuesday night and this will be lunch sorted for work the rest of the week. So remaining xmas money was spent on tupperware and a thermos.

Work canteen is pretty cheap but they do tic, it's so easy to wrack up £20 worth of teas coffees and lunches and I always get a fright when the bill comes. No more of that in 2017!!

Slow cooker on now with ham hough lentil soup for tea. House is clean and kids are happily playing on screens (bad mum!). Not planning any more spends til the weekend other than milk. Off for a nice relaxing soak in the bath, absolutely loving being off work!

hamiltoes

Good Morning MSE :-D

Absolutely shattered today and in bed with coffee. Being off work has well and truly thrown all routine out of the window and my 2 year old refused to sleep last night. They are usually up at 6am on work days so in bed by 7.30, but that has just seemed to creep later and later whilst I've been off. Decided to naps today!

Checked my noddle report as it updates today. The figures are so far behind on this it annoys me, but its sitting at £11,425 down from £11,816. Does not include the car which is a personal debt to a family member.

MSE wise I'm really waiting on tomorrow so I can shuffle money around the various pots I have. Current account is where it should be for this time of the month. Last year I had that account down to an exact science and each day of the month had an app which told me what my balance had to be in order to meet all bills yet to be paid that month. This year I am sticking with my app however I am trying to work in a buffer of £30p/w, which will be there in case of car or home emergencies.

I'm then adding to a general savings pot at £20p/w, not sure what this will be for yet, perhaps a holiday/ new car/ treat fund. My spendy account gets £100pw. I car share so one week pay virtually no petrol and the next I have to fill my car twice, an eye watering £70!! Which means everything else that week is extremely tight. Next year there is talk of another person joining so that will be brilliant for money saving.

No planned spends today as I don't really intend to go out, however run out of washing powder so that will be an essential. Have around £40in spending account and £35in purse until the £100 top up next wednesday. Will just have to make it last!

rawr_

Hi hamiltoes - I'm enjoying reading your thread and will be subscribing so I can keep up! Good luck, I'm sure you can do it!