£15,000 to 0

lonelyrat

Hmm I think lowering your steps to 8,000 is maybe a better idea than walking through an area where you may feel uncomfortable. Yesterday I took OH on a walk I usually do when going to the shops and it goes through some fields then comes out in a sort of scrap yard area. I hadn't ever thought of it as creepy but OH said that a few years ago a body was found there :eek: there's some gruesome details but I won't go into it here! Probably will not be walking that way anymore...

Don't beat yourself up MSE/ dietwise. Blips happen and it isn't the end of the world especially when you're doing so well.I can imagine it seems like you won't be able to make a dent into it but you definitely will. I think your plan of saving and then paying off ad hoc lumps would be good. Then you can set yourself mini savings goals and shift your focus to that rather than the overall total. Will feel more tangible/ achievable and before you know it the total amount will have reduced significantly and you won't even have noticed.

I know it's easier said than done though and if you're feeling disheartened it can be hard to see the light but you should feel really, really, really proud of what you've achieved so far. I definitely am reading everything you've managed. My head spins when you mention another bank switch! I wish I had the motivation / organisation to follow in your footsteps!

You are doing so well and you're in a good position going forward. It may feel kind of meh and pointless but you'll get there before you know it.

Not sure about YNAB... I did the free trial but also found it confusing. Other people love it but I just couldn't get to grips with it

Silver_Queen

I have decided to start investing from payday through a LISA to help me get my money mojo back. I will be doing a low risk/low return portfolio through a management company which takes a 0.75% fee. Even if my investment doesn't do hugely well I will still get the 25% govt bonus

Looks like my rent will most likely increase to £500 starting at the end of this month. It should be fine finances wise but still a little annoying.

Getting ill yet again. Just a minor cold but feel rubbish! I don't really understand why I have been so consistently unwell over the last year!

Limping on to the end of the month. Last month I got paid over a week early so this month has been a very long month indeed. I have enough money in my various accounts but I have to admit I have been spending a bit frivolously this month. Nothing major, but a few lunches here, a few coffees there, a couple of dinners out and of course my crazy weekend which resulted in an almighty 3 day hangover. 6 more days to go...

Silver_Queen

Building on my earlier post, I have managed to scrape an initial £100 together by selling various bits that were hanging around, and I have now opened a stocks & shares LISA and made my very first investments :j

I'm so excited! I've set it at low-medium risk. The 25% govt bonus will really help as a buffer for any losses and I've only put a small amount in so if the worst happens and I lose it all, it won't be the end of the world.

:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j

enthusiasticsaver

Good start. I wish I had got into investing earlier than I did. I only started in my mid 50s. Secret to investing is don't panic when markets go down as they inevitably do in an investment cycle. Buy low and sell high is the mantra. Also watch out for charges and constant buying and selling will erode any profit. Keep a diversified portfolio and don't invest higher than your appetite for risk. There are loads of articles in monevator which you may find interesting to read as a novice.

WhatIsAMan

Hi, I am 24 and ever since I have started work since 18 I have always saved 650 a month until now, Hope to own a house and super car at 30. Then do own business and investments afterwards. My dad nailed into me good saving seeds as a kid. Sorta glad now.

Deleted half post by accident; -=--

Goodluck on the path with erasing debt, We're all on our own path to success. Whatever that may be

lonelyrat

Sounds like a good idea! I opened a cash LISA last year and it has a whopping £1.25 in it (25p bonus yay) but I've never had enough cash to start properly saving. I would maybe like to look at transferring to a stocks and shares LISA when I have a bit more wiggleroom debt/ spare cash wise.

Silver_Queen

Was paid early yesterday but I didn't check my bank balance for once, and spent the entire day moaning and believing I only had £10 to last until tomorrow and was scraping the barrel to pay for dentist tomorrow. Silly me!

(The reason why I say scraping the barrel is because I booked the appointment for the morning of my normal payday forgetting that I would usually get paid in the afternoon...duh. But I only remembered this after I threw my remaining money in no-access savings accounts to stop me spending it all!)

I've decided to buy some premium bonds with the money I would otherwise have saved for my train ticket in November. It makes me a bit itchy seeing the money I've already saved in my bank account and I'm worried that I will lose any semblance of self control and spend it all before buying my train ticket. If I chuck it in premium bonds I won't be tempted and I can just get the money back out 2 weeks before I buy my train ticket. The money I've saved so far sits in a 5% saver which I will be eligible to remove just before my train ticket expires. I would technically be better off with it all in my 5% saver for interest but it's 1 yr minimum so it's too late for me to put it in there now. I only got this saver because of a bank switch I did and the fact that the account would charge me a fee if I didn't have another product with the bank, but it's actually come in quite handy.

I was paid approx. £1,600 this month and this is my plan:

£500 rent
£21 phone bill
£250 debt repayment
£200 help to buy
£25 regular saver
£200 premium bonds

= Approx £400 remaining for food and anything else I've forgotten!

First I need to do some money shuffling because my various accounts need feeding to hit the deposit minimums! This whole having numerous accounts for the rewards malarkey is a hassle!

Silver_Queen

lonelyrat wrote: »

Sounds like a good idea! I opened a cash LISA last year and it has a whopping £1.25 in it (25p bonus yay) but I've never had enough cash to start properly saving. I would maybe like to look at transferring to a stocks and shares LISA when I have a bit more wiggleroom debt/ spare cash wise.

You'll be there so soon! I'm so excited for you. Think of all the saving you can do with all that lovely spare money once you're done. :beer:

Silver_Queen

Money now sufficiently shuffled so I should receive a switch reward in late August, which will be nice! I was going to do another switch at the start of next month but I've just checked and the T&Cs have updated so I won't be eligible anymore. I'm almost relieved - it's kind of head-spinning trying to keep up with it all. I have a spreadsheet but it's still a bit confusing.

A big theme of my diary has been, and will continue to be, "lifestyle drift". A year and a half ago I was earning minimum wage and now I take home more than £500 per month more. I'm obviously not complaining, I'm thrilled, but it has been hard trying to keep my standard of living manageable and not have my increased earnings just eaten up.

It doesn't help that I have had a very hard time at work lately. I have gotten to the point of stress where I just feel a bit helpless all of the time and I end up letting things slide, such as surveys, cashback, doing things the long way to save money. It's come to a head in the last week, things have been awful at work and I've had 5 hours sleep per night maximum because I've been so worried and stressed all of the time. My mental health has had a bit of a kick in the teeth so I need to find a way to balance mental health, work stress and money saving.

I will be spending the next few months trying to figure out how to deal with lifestyle drift and try to make sure I don't mindlessly spend money because I "deserve" it, to make up for work stress. It's bad for my mental health, bad for my wallet and bad for my waistline which then goes around in a vicious circle.

Phew, this post was a bit of a downer. Hopefully things will be a bit more cheerful around here again soon.

Silver_Queen

Dentist appointment this morning has left me feeling a little

What was meant to be a check up with a scale and polish has turned into a hygienist and a replacement of an old filling that apparently is making matters worse for me rather than better, so the bill is £190 rather than £21 :eek:

Luckily I have enough to cover it but... what a pain!