£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Suffolk_lass

Definitely a halo for that decision! :A Have you considered a house swap or sit? you know, bit of cat feeding and garden watering in return for free accommodation, somewhere different? It might offer a good alternative to camping (although I know you love your camping!)

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 47: Day 7

No lists today, in an effort to have downtime. Relatives are staying and I am enjoying half an hour’s peace while they and my lot are in town - I have DH’s birthday cake in the oven and can’t leave till it’s cooked, so will meet them shortly.

The holiday thing is weird - it actually feels like the first time we’ve said a genuine no because of money. Not ‘oh, we’ll make it work’ or ‘we’ll add it to the budget somehow’ but ‘this falls outside our budget and priorities, so it’s a no’. It’s oddly satisfying to feel able to do that. It definitely came as a shock to the relative who offered the house and my mum - I think even though they know we are theoretically financially tight, they have never actually seen it influence a decision we have made. Hopefully this will pave the way for it being more obvious what we can and can’t afford, even though we aren’t going to open up about the whole debt thing.

Have a good weekend, MSEers!

enthusiasticsaver

Prioritising your extension over a holiday sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

enthusiasticsaver

Or are you prioritising the debt repayment? Whatever the reason, not spending out thousands on a holiday when you need more space and disposable income is a good thing. You can still go on holiday either after the debt is reduced or the extension built or a cheaper one in the meantime.

DawnW

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

Week 47: Day 7

The holiday thing is weird - it actually feels like the first time we’ve said a genuine no because of money. Not ‘oh, we’ll make it work’ or ‘we’ll add it to the budget somehow’ but ‘this falls outside our budget and priorities, so it’s a no’. It’s oddly satisfying to feel able to do that. It definitely came as a shock to the relative who offered the house and my mum - I think even though they know we are theoretically financially tight, they have never actually seen it influence a decision we have made. Hopefully this will pave the way for it being more obvious what we can and can’t afford, even though we aren’t going to open up about the whole debt thing.

It is absolutely fine to say that you can't afford something, you don't have the budget or you are prioritising something else (such as your extension), without going into detail about your finances. To be honest, most people, unless they are either rich or in denial, will be faced with this, due to inflation, flat wages and rising prices. Far more people will be in a similar position to you in this respect (whether or not they have debt) than not.

Gemsy81

Can I just say how inspiring I have found this thread!

I am new over here as have a mountain of debt and some serious financial planning to do.....we have had our head in the sand for way too long! I had already easily shaved £300 per month off our expenses but this has shown me there is so much more we can and need to do!

Wishing you all the best and I will continue to look in ��

Sea_Shell

Well done and keep at it. Your lightbulb is burning brighter everyday!!!

I know in the past I advocated telling family...well I've changed my mind, don't!! Obviously I don't know your family, but from experience I know that once family know your financial situation, they can treat you differently. Whether it's because you don't have money or because you do.

So keep it under your hat for now, and keep plugging away!!

Treadingonplaymobil

week 48: day 1

Not exactly a ‘good morning’ post as it’s 2 in the afternoon, but never mind. Relaxing after house guests left this morning, going to play another board game in a moment. The last of the Christmas holidays for DH, so it feels a bit last day of the holidays for all of us, even though the DC went back last week.

The relatives we had over are in (I would guess) a not entirely dissimilar situation to ours a year ago - I’d be amazed if their debt is as enormous, but they are definitely in a regular cycle of spending more than their income each month. It came up in conversation and I was trying to explain the various things we’ve done to get on top of it (YNAB being the main success) and I really recognised the responses as ones I would have given 18 months or so ago - ‘we work so hard, it’s so depressing not to be able to grab a coffee’, ‘we just don’t have the energy to shop at two supermarkets’ etc etc. I can’t fault them for it, as it’s exactly how we were. They don’t know our exact debt or anything, but I tried to give them a bit of an insight into our finances to show them how much difference it’s made to budget properly.

Fingers crossed, the remortgage will complete tomorrow and we’ll be able to move forward with our new SOA. I will be starting my first week of limiting my working hours to an average of 18 per week (this is planned out and averaged over the year, so some weeks it’s more, others - like summer hols - it’s virtually none) and having a (preschool length) day a week for managing the house. One of my first tasks will be to plan out gifts for Christmas and birthdays to ensure we stay within budget and any handmade things get done well in advance.

To do today (not that there’s much of today left!(
1. Ironing - so much to do!
2. Clear the house as much as possible before the week starts.
3. Play more board games .
4. Make a quiche for packed lunches.

To do this week
1. Raise prices for smaller business.
2. Sort and tidy our room.
3. Menu plan carefully and do as minimal a good shop as possible - we seem to have very full cupboards and freezer!
4. Move all the money round to pay off Tesco loan, assuming it comes in as planned.
5. Finish updating 2018 business plan.

To do in January
1. Review 2017 spending and try to improve 2018 plans by being more prepared - plan big spends like holidays and Christmas now and be realistic about the cost. Done with DH before doing SOA.
2. Redo SOA once the remortgage is through. Done.
3. Make a 2018 business plan that is less frenetic than originally (I think I had too high expectations of myself, leading to much stress in Nov/Dec). Made a good start on this.

Honeysucklelou2

Something you wrote A few posts back (sorry can't figure out the quote button) really made a lot of sense about recognising that running a home takes time. It's something that often frustrates me but when you break down the amount of tasks that have to be done it's no wonder it takes time!!

I think you have made a wise decision to plan for a £200 a month income from your business. Hopefully this will be less pressure on you and if you happen to have a good month and extra can be used, all well and good but you're not under pressure to make a higher amount.

Happy New Year!:)

Karonher

Hope you enjoy your extra time if you are cutting back hours. I have just read today's posts and wondered if I was reading it incorrectly. One post mentions 18 hours a week = 72 a month, then another says earning £200 a month. That is just £2.77 an hour. Is there something I have missed.