Small Steps Out Of Massive Debt!

GeorgianaCavendish

teamkathy said:

Hi @GeorgianaCavendish! I’m new to the forum and just embarking on my debt-busting journey and road to financial stability.

I’ve been reading your diary over the last month, and just wanted to say a massive well done!! You’ve done an amazing job and have given me a lot of inspiration, so thank you A lot of what you have said regarding emotional spending has resonated. I always feel too, that I’m just going to spend the money anyway, so I might as well get it out of the way. I can’t trust myself with savings. But as I am discovering on my own journey, it’s about dealing with the underlying issues and not beating myself-up when I fall back to old habits. Small steps and making a realistic budget; I guess it’s all about progress and not perfection

I just wanted to say a massive thank you for sharing your journey and being so open and honest. I want to wish you all the best - you deserve that house! x 

Thank you so much @teamkathy - I really appreciate you reading and taking the time to comment. Im glad that my diary has been useful, it has been a real journey in my attitudes and beliefs about money - the small steps all add up! 

Good luck on your journey too - you will get there! 

GeorgianaCavendish

Talking to a colleague today about eventual return to office and how rubbish the flexi season ticket is price-wise. They suggested that if we're not stuck on set days each week then buying a weekly travel card starting on Thursday would be good, means we'd get 5 days in office spread over 2 weeks so only 2 weekly tickets needed a month! 

Just as a price comparison - my monthly season ticket would be around £500, flexi season ticket £400 (only 8 days travel) whereas a weekly ticket is £130. Definitely much cheaper to get 2 weekly tickets (10 work days travel for £260 compared to £400 for 8 days, and the added bonus of having a ticket that covers at least 1 weekend a month)

I'm optimistic that boss would be flexible about me working on a 2 week pattern, rather than having the same set days every week and it would be a big saving for me! 

Still no news about when we will definitely be back in the office part-time though - I am not going back until it is compulsory! 

GeorgianaCavendish

September 2021 Goals & Debt Totals


Debt £999.00

Virgin - £999.00
0% until March 2022
(4 more payments to go!)

Deposit Savings

Total Deposit Savings: 61.74% (re-jigged target a bit - more below) 

NSDs
14/15


Big news this month - the debt is down to triple digits! 
I paid an extra £1 off this month just to get it below £1000. This is the first time I've had such little debt in virtually my entire adult life - I think I got my first overdraft and credit card about 6 weeks after my 18th birthday and it was downhill from there. 
I've got 4 payments left this year which will clear the balance on this card - goodbye to the last chunk of money that I borrowed from my future self.

News about the deposit savings - after all the discussions earlier this month, we sat down and did our spreadsheets again. We're now "only" aiming at 10% deposit so the % to goal has jumped up a bit. 

Other stuff - I've had a pretty good clear out. I haven't listed anything on ebay yet but this is a project for the autumn. I used to do really well with selling things on ebay but it has got a lot harder now (at least for the sort of things I have to sell) so I think I will probably try bundling a few things together in one listing. Also identified a few things to be repaired or otherwise given a new lease of life so that's another project for the rest of this year. 

Heading into autumn feeling optimistic  

WinterWarrior

Oh well done on that triple figures, it looks so much nicer for that extra pound 😃

enthusiasticsaver

Well done on getting that debt below £1k and hope you find a property soon.

Verbatim

Great news! Looking forward to property !!!!!! soon!

Verbatim

Sorry unintentional multiple exclamation marks.

GeorgianaCavendish

WinterWarrior said:

Oh well done on that triple figures, it looks so much nicer for that extra pound 😃

Thank you! It really does - I couldn’t stand waiting another month to get under 4 figures! 

GeorgianaCavendish

enthusiasticsaver said:

Well done on getting that debt below £1k and hope you find a property soon.

Verbatim said:

Great news! Looking forward to property !!!!!! soon!

Thank you both - I can’t wait to start looking either! 

GeorgianaCavendish

Had another £25 win on Premium Bonds today 😎 
Effectively I’ve been able to make an extra month's contribution to the Emergency Fund this year thanks to the Premium Bond wins, so thank you again to everyone who encouraged me to move my EF here!