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

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 48: day 3

Gosh, I feel like such a weight has been taken off my mind this morning. Suddenly this debt repayment lark feels somewhat manageable, if still very long term.

I know that strictly speaking the sensible thing to do is to clear the partnership with its higher interest rate, but I know that if I don't clear the Tesco loan then it will just be left to run at lower monthly payments for another six years because we will never organise ourselves to overpay (too easy to leave it, and you can't overpay online, which makes it even less likely to happen). And the mental win of clearing one debt (on paper) will really help our mindset too.

Must get on, have a client this morning and am very unprepared!

To do today
1. Another laundry load or two, again.
2. Finish tidying for client.
3. Tidy away properly once client has been, instead of leaving bits out for days.
4. Post office.
5. Clear the little work jobs on my to do list.

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.

Treadingonplaymobil

We are having a hilariously difficult time accessing our Tesco loan in order to pay it back. DH is on the case and hoping to get it sorted tonight.

To do today
1. Another laundry load or two, again. Done.
2. Finish tidying for client. Done.
3. Tidy away properly once client has been, instead of leaving bits out for days. Done!
4. Post office. Done.
5. Clear the little work jobs on my to do list. Work jobs done, I have my 'housewife' day tomorrow to get the house ones done.

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! Done, spent £30 and hoping that will get us through until next week.
4. Move all the money round to pay off Tesco loan, assuming it comes in as planned.
5. Finish updating 2018 business plan. Done, although it's a little vague until I have had a couple of months on my new work routine.

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). Done.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 48: Day 4

Humph, annoying news this morning. DH had a long conversation with Tesco last night and the loan repayment is about £650 more than I thought it was. I suspect it’s my maths that is out, but we have held off paying it until this evening so I can comb bank statements, redo the maths and double check everything. Such a shame, as we’ll have to either not overpay the card or not get a month ahead on savings, but I suppose they were just extra bonuses anyway.

In fractionally less depressing financial news, I redid my business account YNAB based on my new salary targets and it turns out that I have all of February’s expenses + salary ready to go, and £85 of March’s already (I need £185 for monthly costs plus £200 salary now each month). I am finally able to see a world in which I might be able to get a few months ahead with my business account again! I think it was May when I was last ahead.

Today is my ‘housewife’ day, so I’ve got lots of domestic chores ahead, along with checking my loan maths.

To do today
1. More laundry.
2. Clear the ironing.
3. Tidy our room.
4. Make another quiche for packed lunches.
5. Order another insulated food container - warm packed lunches have been a big hit with DC1, going to try DC2 and 3 on them (DC2 only has packed lunch once a week, so can share with DC3).
6. Order a new shower curtain. The glamour.
7. Write a list of big dates/events for the year (birthdays/Christmas/holidays) and make a note of anything that needs to be organised, bought in advance, money allocation etc.
8. Make chilli for dinner.
9. Make some kind of dessert with the fruit in the freezer.

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! Done, spent £30 and hoping that will get us through until next week.
4. Move all the money round to pay off Tesco loan, assuming it comes in as planned.
5. Finish updating 2018 business plan. Done, although it's a little vague until I have had a couple of months on my new work routine.

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). Done.

JoJoC

How frustrating on the loan front TOP - hope you manage to get to the bottom of the discrepancy as that extra money going out would really play on your mind if you don't find out. Still, at least you have the £650 to 'spare'!

Great news on getting ahead on your business expenses and salary - keep it up! I always think it's easier when you have some momentum behind you and you already have a month in the bag!

Treadingonplaymobil

Yesterday's lists...

To do today
1. More laundry. Done.
2. Clear the ironing. Not done. Guess what I'm going to do right now...
3. Tidy our room. Sort of done, not enough.
4. Make another quiche for packed lunches. Not done.
5. Order another insulated food container - warm packed lunches have been a big hit with DC1, going to try DC2 and 3 on them (DC2 only has packed lunch once a week, so can share with DC3). Done.
6. Order a new shower curtain. The glamour. Done.
7. Write a list of big dates/events for the year (birthdays/Christmas/holidays) and make a note of anything that needs to be organised, bought in advance, money allocation etc. Not done.
8. Make chilli for dinner. Done.
9. Make some kind of dessert with the fruit in the freezer. Not done, but DH whipped up a chocolate mousse thing.

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! Done, spent £30 and hoping that will get us through until next week.
4. Move all the money round to pay off Tesco loan, assuming it comes in as planned. Done!
5. Finish updating 2018 business plan. Done, although it's a little vague until I have had a couple of months on my new work routine.

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). Done.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 48: Day 5

Good morning! Tesco loan is PAID. Annoyingly the number was right (we were charged three months' interest for paying it, which accounted for the difference in figures), so there was £500 less spare leftover than I expected. I have chosen to boost our savings pots rather than overpay the Partnership card debt, as the constant robbing Peter to pay Paul situation in our savings was such a problem last year and resulted in extra debt accruing in the end. I know it doesn't make perfect financial sense as the Partnership interest is high, but I'm hoping that as my business account begins to look more healthy that I might be able to make some overpayments to it in the next month or so.

The best bit is that we are almost at mid-January and our entire budget is still looking perfectly healthy - no food or fuel has been overspent, the entertainment kitty is still healthy. Maybe, 12 months into this process, I am finally getting to grips with it a bit. <awaits £500 car bill or similar catastrophe>.

My housekeeping day yesterday wasn't quite as efficient as I'd hoped, but I did give myself a lot to do. I'm going to try to do the ironing now that didn't get done, among other things. Determined not to let housekeeping things interfere with my working time once the DCs are at school/preschool though, so anything that isn't done by 9am isn't getting done before this evening.

To do today
1. Clear the ironing.
2. Finish contract work for the week.
3. Get ahead on next week's contract work.
4. Bake the sourdough that's been proving in the fridge overnight.
5. Take DC1 to first session at new (cheaper) swimming club.
6. Make a start on social media again - have been totally inactive on it for a month and it's showing in my business figures!
7. Spend a little time on smaller business, raising prices etc.
8. Create something for dinner out of leftovers/freezer food.

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! Done, spent £30 and hoping that will get us through until next week.
4. Move all the money round to pay off Tesco loan, assuming it comes in as planned. Done!
5. Finish updating 2018 business plan. Done, although it's a little vague until I have had a couple of months on my new work routine.

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). Done.

Treadingonplaymobil

Debt round up

I know that we have simply shifted our consumer debt onto our mortgage, so I am going to keep a note of the mortgage in all future debt round ups, so I don't lose track of the fact that we still have a debt which will affect our freedom and ability to extend and pay off our mortgage if we don't stay focused.

Unsecured debt:
£2,899.25 Partnership card
£12,636.84 Barclaycard
£20,000 parental loan
£35,536.09 total

Secured debt:
£193,995 Mortgage

Soberingly, our DFD has only moved forwards by a few months with the Tesco loan removed, because our debt repayments have reduced so much, and that loan is essentially added to our mortgage. It's a good reminder that actually if we don't overpay somewhere, all we have done is extend our true DFD (ie our MFD) by several years. Doing the snowball calculator and working this out has really concentrated my mind to ensure we make some overpayments - we still have this extension to think about, and adding more debt without any overpaying going on will pretty well guarantee we are in debt at least until we retire, which is insane. Good reality check.

Despite this, I am not going to increase my monthly income goals, as I also need to look after my mental health, but I am going to try to keep my head screwed on straight and keep working towards making some overpayments, even if they aren't very big.

Bigskies

I’ve just come back to the board after burying my head in the sand for six months owing to all sorts of rubbish. So pleased things are going well, well done for getting the remortgage, and sticking with this. Our debt is now waaay higher than yours, but you’ve inspired me to stick with it xx

JWPopps

Just popping by to say hello, and also a huge congratulations. You've worked so hard over the last year and it does seem to be beginning to pay off - even though I bet some days it doesn't feel like that to you!!

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 48: Day 6

Not feeling wildly on top of things this morning - DH is away with work this week, and everything but essentials always goes to pot when he's not here. Just keeping the DCs alive, fed and at school/clubs on time is enough for me on those days!

Not a lot to achieve today, it's my day with DC3 and I have a couple of house errands to run.

DC1 really enjoyed the new (cheaper) swimming club yesterday, so that's definitely a goer for him.

To do today
1. Attempt to do some laundry/ironing.
2. Do a social media post or two.
3. Plan weekend work
4. Go freezer diving for dinner - I think there are a couple of chicken breasts left over from a festive meal that didn't happen, so I am contemplating some kind of chicken goujon and chips/peas type meal - the DCs will think it's a huge treat after a week or more of veg soups, veg chilli and dal and rice.
5. Pick up click and collect order of mattress protector.
6. Attempt to keep the house in some kind of sensible order so it's not a total bombsite when DH gets home late tonight.

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! Done, spent £30 and hoping that will get us through until next week.
4. Move all the money round to pay off Tesco loan, assuming it comes in as planned. Done!
5. Finish updating 2018 business plan. Done, although it's a little vague until I have had a couple of months on my new work routine.

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). Done.