From debt to freedom...

Willowtree222

My worst job. I hate wrapping! 

Honeysucklelou2

Had a very restful Christmas, partly because older children were doing different things and partly because DH likes to cook and all  I had  to do was the prep!! We had 7 children at home and then joined in with DH’s family on Boxing Day which was great fun. 

On Sunday I got out for a walk with my brother in law, sister in law, DS3 and my DSDs and DSS and their cousins . It was a lovely walk…the sea was so calm and almost a sky blue on the cusp of turning to the lightest turquoise. We walked part of the coast path before taking a hilly inland path which gave us the most incredible views over the coastline. It’s part of the coast I have walked before but is not my usual spot so good to see the coastline from different perspectives.

Had a staffing issue at Job 2 so have ended up covering a couple of day shifts. Not so keen on these shifts as they are much quieter than my usual evening shifts. Working every evening this week so am trying to pace myself during the day. Back to Job 1 on Monday so need to get some prep done before then.

Yesterday I had all of my children around, not quite all at the same time but got all but 1 together and the remaining one popped along later. I’m thankful to have had chance to have seen them all on the same day. We had a games night and food…lots of laughter which was good.

Today I’ve met up with old friends for coffee so only spending has been the cost of a latte.  Payday is tomorrow so need to get some put away for DD for her uni rent.

Willowtree222

That sounds like a lovely few days for you, apart from the extra shifts. 

Glad you saw the family though, that must have been lovely. 
X

Spendless

Glad you enjoyed Christmas and got to see all the children even if it was all at different times. Your walk sounds lovely and as descriptive as ever,

Extra shifts at job 2 not ideal but the extra wages will come in handy for the student rent. You remind me so much of myself in this respect. We've been continuoulsy paying this since 2018 and it still took me 4.5 years and part way thru my own debt diary to realise I needed to treat it as an ongoing bill from current wages (prior to that we'd been pulling from savings which has left a large hole I now wish to pay back).

I don't know if this will help but this is what I do to know I can always meet my DD's rent. I have a spreadsheet with columns of each week and the amount of rent and how much needed to save each payday, as I manage to put the money away I colour in how many weeks I've got put aside and then also the date as  I pay the rent.  This way I can see at a glance how much is needed and how much the goal is. I only work p-time nowadays and I'm in a temporary contract, my wages each month only pay for 3 weeks worth of rent. I therefore take x amount from my DH's wages and the spreadsheet shows which weeks rent will come from which income source. Eg currently there is (or more accuratley will be once I get a payment I'm owed back into it) in my bank account enough to cover the next 2 weeks rent, which will take me to my next payday. In addition there is currently 8 weeks rent sat in my 'back up' account that has come from DH's wages. Yesterday DD's rent was due, because of money owed back into my account (it's been a tough last couple of weeks of December financially!) I hadn't enough to cover it , so I used a week's backup money and just  adjusted the spreadsheet to show where I had sourced that week's rent from and where the next lots need to come from. I am wondering if you do similar so you know how much you're putting aside from each job 2s payday and if you need to add anything from job 1. I also have this money sat in a savings account so the small amount of interest made can also go towards the costs. 

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Spendless and Willowtree222.

I hadn’t thought of using a spreadsheet I must confess. I have a couple of hundred that I allocate from my Job 1 money each month. This will be augmented in Feb and March by the council tax free months and by the reduction in my electricity direct debit. I need to set aside at least £500 a month. The tricky thing is that DD’s student loan is worked out on the basis of DH’s money and mine, even though we only got married 2 months before DD turned 18. It is so frustrating that my ex has not contributed to her during her childhood and teenage years and now there is no expectation on him to contribute whereas DH is factored in despite him not being part of her life for most of her childhood.  I know there has to be a system for student loans but the forms don’t allow the full picture to be seen.

Today has been quiet. I’ve tidied up the garden for a couple of hours. DS2 popped round to help me with a task and stayed to chat for a while. He is thinking about houses and homes and it’s interesting to see how he and his gf are preparing for the future.

I got some narcissi bulbs planted that  I had  been gifted for Christmas.  I realised with a shock that I didn’t have a calendar for 2026 and I am one of these people that has to have a calendar on the wall with everything on it, in order to function!! I found a beautiful British wildlife one and even better, it was half price 🥳.

I’m working this evening but hope to be finished in time to be with DH at midnight.

Happy New Year everyone.

lucielle

I to need a paper calendar and diary. If it doesn’t get written down it doesn’t happen!
L

Spendless

I need a paper calendar too and haven't got one. Hopefully I'll find one half price.

I have frustations with the way the student loan system works too. DH's benefits in kind count as income too, but he already pays tax on these and that lowers the net income into our household - the money we use to support our student offspring and if for example he receives £100 xmas bonus (accepting he's lucky to get one, I've never received one all my working life) then he pays £40 in tax  on it so we receive £60 that we can actually spend, for student finance he's seen as receiving £100.

Seperately for you it's an asolute disgrace that your ex has never paid maintainance for any of the kids as they grew up, you would have been in a better financial situation if he had. 

Are you paying all the rent btw? We do but that is because we found that way worked best for us and leave student with their loan to live off. Others do alternative ways including all of students loan going towards rent (with a parental top up if its not enough to cover whole amount)  and then becaue that then leaves student with £0 to live off, either student  finds a part time job to cover weekly living costs or parent sends a monthly amount as a contribution (sometimes in addition to them also working). It may be a case of working out what is best way round for you. My DD had a paid role as an ambassador of her college last year, but outside that she has found it difficult to find something due to the contact hours she does (which makes me give a wry laugh that the arts are looked down on , as she has had the more difficult course than her brother who sutdied a STEM subject). Some of her coursemates have had to make the choice between attending a class that's running on a Saturday and putting in a Sat shift at a shopping centre cos they need the money.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Spendless…it’s interesting to know how others tackle the student finances. At the moment DD gets the minimum loan but is in London which means it doesn’t go far. We have to use the loan money to pay as much of the rent as possible but even then it only does half of her rent so I’m paying the other half and trying to help her as much as possible. To be fair DD has worked hard throughout her A level years and has used her saved wages to pay towards the deposit. She has worked a few shifts over Christmas to maximise the money she has to live off. Some of her food is included within her rent so she just has to finance some of her meals. The halls are not geared up for cooking though. There is a small fridge and a microwave  for 60 students to share! She has also learned that it is cheaper for her to buy her toiletries while at home than buy them in London because the same product is more expensive there.

Yesterday was a NSD. Direct debits went out on Friday so another £300 paid off the debt figure.  Yesterday was more of a normal day gearing up for the new working week and baking brownies, rock cakes and flapjacks to fill up the tins! The alarm was a bit of a shock this morning! 

Cherryfudge

Your family days over Christmas sound absolutely lovely, and the walk makes me think I'd like to be out enjoying the sunshine though it's below zero here! We are too far from the sea to enjoy that but there are rolling fields of winter wheat looking very green under a clear blue sky...

You have prompted me to do something with the backlog of cookery today. I have three things in mind to make and have just been too tired to set aside the time for the one that takes longest. However, this is a new day and it would be great to try out the recipe (and get the kitchen cleared of all the bits I set out a couple of days ago!)

I hope the return to Job 1 goes smoothly and well.

Spendless

I can totally understand the difference between home and London costs, because my DD also studies there. First thing I'd say is she definately getting the correct amount of maintainance loan for studying in London?. Without looking it up it's around £4kish  min maintainance loan for outside of London and £6kish for inside London. I believe the rule of theumb for 'London' is inside the M25. Just the rent at £12k seems expensive. DD's is £2k less for a shared  house for 4 incl all bills (need to pay for electricity if they go over certain amt). That might be because mine is in South London and yours is in Central/ a more expensive area though and due to some meals being provided. Has she sorted where she's living next year? It might be next year she can get a better deal but will need to factor in commuting costs.  I've read before that she has gone on the train but it might be worth doing a one off trip by car at some point purely so you can stock her up with items. Thankfully mine learnt with a job at a tourist attraction at a more expensive city that she commuted to about price differences and realised if she needed to buy a bottle of water than she was bettter getting it in her home town before getting on the train rather than when she got off. I ended up taking a load of toiletries out to her when we visited her on her recent term abroad as she discovered same thing where she was living that they were a lot more expensive. Other than that I'd say to make sure she's signed up to all the supermarket loyalty cards. My DD discovered you couldn't beat a  meal deal for making food stretch if you had limited options for taking packed lunches and really missed them whilst she was away