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

motivated

Hi TOPM
You have made progress already. Doesn't it make you realise how the money just dwindles without realising. A little spend here and there soon mounts up doesn't it. I am an expert at it

So many people on here swear by budgets and sticking to them. That has to be my main goal to get me through I think.

Good luck with your journey and try not to think of the whole amount remember the debt wasn't accumulated overnight and so won't go away overnight. That's what I keep telling myself anyway
M

Treadingonplaymobil

motivated wrote: »

Hi TOPM
You have made progress already. Doesn't it make you realise how the money just dwindles without realising. A little spend here and there soon mounts up doesn't it. I am an expert at it

So many people on here swear by budgets and sticking to them. That has to be my main goal to get me through I think.

Good luck with your journey and try not to think of the whole amount remember the debt wasn't accumulated overnight and so won't go away overnight. That's what I keep telling myself anyway
M

SO TRUE. I think I had successfully convinced myself that I wasn't wasting/trickling money as we were on a budget and weren't getting daily takeaway coffees, but actually there was/is still plenty of fat to cut and extra debt payments that can be made.

Treadingonplaymobil

Nothing wildly exciting to report as I close off today. An easy NSD as didn't actually leave the house, but relative took out two of the three children, so they had a great time. Win win!

An update on today's lists...

To do today:
1. Pay in cheque received as a refund for a cancelled magazine subscription (tiny amount, only about a tenner, so it's been sat in my purse waiting to be paid in for a fortnight). Done. Thirteen of your English pounds, and twenty whole pennies paid in. Will divide between debt payment and next month's income when it clears. That's practically the whole debt paid off, right? :rotfl:
2. NSD, ignoring some posting for business (budgeted for in business account - which incidentally has no overdraft or debt, in case anyone sees this and wonders! - and not related to personal budget). Done!
3. Update YNAB (budgeting app, for anyone not familiar) and make sure everything is on track. Done! DH is waiting for a big (for us - £70) work expenses claim, so I have an annoying negative column until that gets paid in, hopefully this week, but other than that all on track.
4. Do 2 hours work today while relatives take the children out - the work that earns me my guaranteed £250 a month can be done anywhere, so will attempt to get ahead on that so I can spend some time working on other things later in the week. Done! Hoping to get further ahead tomorrow to clear the way for some additional work over the weekend, to make slightly more money.

To do this week:
1. Redo our budget to ensure that even if I only earn my minimum of £250 per month, that the shortfall is gone, whether it has to come from clothes, food, entertainment or whatever. It's lovely to try to earn extra to cover it every month, but I need to get us to a position where if I don't that we're not getting further into debt. I have done this already, yay me! I will post it in the form of an updated (and wildly depressing, but accurate) SOA when I get home at the end of the week.
2. We are away visiting family from Monday until Thursday, so no worries about food shopping until then (DH at home, but can make do with what's in the house, there is loads), but I'm going to challenge myself to make Thursday's top up shop to get us through until the following Tuesday (normal food shopping day) come in at under £30.
3. List child 3's old cot on eBay
4. Menu plan for next week and use MySupermarket to keep the cost down to <£60 for the week
5. DH - water meter reading to make sure our direct debit is accurate
6. DH - gas and electricity readings, to make sure direct debit is accurate. Done, and we are all of £3 in debit. That's fine, as it's the end of the coldest part of the year so our usage will drop, but I was hoping we'd be in credit. However, we were at zero in September, so we managed the coldest part of the year on the £104 combined DD, so hopefully in another month or two we'll see usage drop slightly and we can reduce DD a little and still accrue some credit ready for next winter. Not the big win I was hoping for but better than a huge bill. Will still try to make our usage more efficient though - a plan to make next week when the children are back at school.

I am aware that in a few days is when the novelty of this whole thing will start to wear off (probably about the time I am in the supermarket and Child 3 is whinging for a treat...) so I am going to keep my daily lists going for a while to try to cement new habits in place.

Smileyme

This was me 6 years ago! Almost exactly the same level of debt without too much to show for it. Overspending constantly on credit cards and wanting the best for my kids....Then lightbulb moment!!

We have worked really hard to reduce our debts and are currently at £29k... Still not ideal, but a huge reduction. We have decided to play the long game as we have teenagers and to be honest it worries my oldest so much if he thinks we are 'poor'.

The best advice I can give you is to cut up those credit cards!! It smarts to start with, but it stops you making impulse purchases and forces you to plan as much as possible. Open up a Christmas saving account and pay in even a small amount, you would not believe how much this has made our family Christmases less stressful! Also we make the kids choose one activity at a time.

Good luck getting your head round your new budget, hopefully you will find something that works for all of you!!

Bobarella

Wow I stopped in to catch up and there was so much to read! You've done incredibly well in just 2 days! So impressed! I hope you will enjoy your half term break

armchairexpert

I think a strict couple of months and then a slight easing off is perfect: you'll have that little bit extra to look forward to just as things get tedious. Well done you!

Treadingonplaymobil

armchairexpert wrote: »

I think a strict couple of months and then a slight easing off is perfect: you'll have that little bit extra to look forward to just as things get tedious. Well done you!

Thank you! We're going to feel like millionaires in April after the tightness of March. :rotfl:

Bobarella wrote: »

Wow I stopped in to catch up and there was so much to read! You've done incredibly well in just 2 days! So impressed! I hope you will enjoy your half term break

Trying to make the most of the initial enthusiasm to get some good habits in place!

Treadingonplaymobil

Day 4

I feel like a kid in the back seat of a long car journey; "Are we nearly there yet?" I think it's usually about 3-5 days in that the excitement of taking control wears off for me (DH and I have made grand announcements about paying off debt before, and only ended up increasing it) and I lose interest slightly. I am hoping that this diary and a bit of cheerleading from the sidelines will help keep me/us on course this time.

The lists...

To do today:
1. 2 hours work on 'guaranteed income' (contracted) work, to free up time on the weekend for hopefully bringing a little extra in.
2. NSD - going to be a little harder today as we are going to a nice local town for a walk, but absolutely no requirement to spend. Need to remember to take snacks and water for children in case we are out longer than expected.
3. Write shopping list for when we get home tomorrow and do MySupermarket to make sure it comes in under budget. Need to check with DH what he has eaten but I know there is plenty of food in the house.
4. Remind DH to put expenses claim in, if he hasn't already done it.

To do this week:
1. Redo our budget to ensure that even if I only earn my minimum of £250 per month, that the shortfall is gone, whether it has to come from clothes, food, entertainment or whatever. It's lovely to try to earn extra to cover it every month, but I need to get us to a position where if I don't that we're not getting further into debt. I have done this already, yay me! Posted on Day 2.
2. We are away visiting family from Monday until Thursday, so no worries about food shopping until then (DH at home, but can make do with what's in the house, there is loads), but I'm going to challenge myself to make Thursday's top up shop to get us through until the following Tuesday (normal food shopping day) come in at under £30.
3. List child 3's old cot on eBay
4. Menu plan for next week and use MySupermarket to keep the cost down to <£60 for the week.
5. DH - water meter reading to make sure our direct debit is accurate.
6. DH - gas and electricity readings, to make sure direct debit is accurate. Done, and we are all of £3 in debit. That's fine, as it's the end of the coldest part of the year so our usage will drop, but I was hoping we'd be in credit. However, we were at zero in September, so we managed the coldest part of the year on the £104 combined DD, so hopefully in another month or two we'll see usage drop slightly and we can reduce DD a little and still accrue some credit ready for next winter. Not the big win I was hoping for but better than a huge bill. Will still try to make our usage more efficient though - a plan to make next week when the children are back at school.

Off to motivate myself by catching up with some other people's diaries now.

[Deleted User]

Morning,

Looks like a great list for today.

Enjoy your trip out.

Pmo2
X

Treadingonplaymobil

ARGH. Just went to update YNAB and saw that DH had spent £11.40 in the supermarket. Apparently he fancied a stir fry so bought veg/noodles/prawns (were they gold plated?!). I can't get too cross with him as he's only doing exactly what we've always done - declared we need to knuckle down on the debt then carried on exactly as before. I don't think he realised that I really meant it about us being at crisis point. So frustrating though - means my £30 top up shop is now down to £18.60 to keep us on track with the budget. All I can think is that he spent over a third of our food budget for five people/four days on one person/two days. And breeeeeathe.