£15,000 to 0

Silver_Queen

ChasingSunshine wrote: »

Just wondering if you are worried about dipping into the money you have ear marked for the credit card could you pay it off now so that the money is gone and you won't have to think about it. Know that might not work with direct debit amounts etc but might be worth thinking about as if you pay the amount due then direct debit just gets cancelled (I think). The other option is transfer the money to another account and transfer it back it again after Christmas? Sorry you have probably thought of all this already but that's what I end up doing when I get paid early at Christmas and want to make sure there is money there in the new year.

Hiya, I have the money in a separate easy access 5% account at the moment so I'll keep it in there, it's separate from my current account so I forget about it and it earns me interest :j

lonelyrat

2. Bank of Mum and Dad: ticking along nicely. £8,500 outstanding.

That's such a big reduction, it's great! You're doing so well

Good idea with the train ticket. As long as the credit works for you and is interest free then it makes sense. I would not want to be paying an extra £350 a year myself!

I was also considering a new diary as mine is such a roller coaster, but I think I will keep going with it until I am debt free. Then I can have a "keeping on track" diary instead

I lurk lonelyrat's diary

You big lurker :rotfl:

Silver_Queen

lonelyrat wrote: »

You big lurker :rotfl:

I can't deny it :rotfl:

Silver_Queen

Having a good think about life at the moment and have decided it ain't so bad. Got some new years' resolutions going on...

1. Total debt under £5k by the end of the year
2. Lose 3kg in January
3. Lose another 3kg in February and so on...
4. Save £1,000 by April for short-term things such as large purchases and holidays!
5. Save enough to be able to pay train ticket in full in November.

I think that's a fairly doable list...here we go :j

enthusiasticsaver

Too late for next year now but have you thought about doing a regular savers starting October to pay for train ticket?

Silver_Queen

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Too late for next year now but have you thought about doing a regular savers starting October to pay for train ticket?

I actually hadn't, thank you! I do have a regular saver but I didn't have the sense to start it until March :rotfl:

Silver_Queen

Two more ideas...

6. Eating out of store cupboards for January - we're full to bursting after entertaining friends every single weekend this month! Lots of leftover salmon, stuffing, pork etc.
7. Start on writing a book. I used to absolutely love writing and spent most of my teenage years holed up in my bedroom, writing (yes, I was an absolute delight to be around!) but I lost my creativity. I want to get it back!


I had a really good chat with OH last night and we've decided that he will reduce his payments to me to £100 per month but he is not allowed to skip a month for any reason. It's easier on my own budget that way and can also let him start saving properly too. He's technically in a better financial position than me because he has no debts except student loan repayments, but he does earn quite a bit less than me.

Silver_Queen

Been thinking a lot lately about self-improvement and self-motivated change rather than just waiting for things to happen. In the spirit of that, OH and I have made a decision to finally move in together! But it won't be until the end of 2019 :rotfl:

This means I will need to factor in moving costs (deposits are around £1,000 and first month's rent is around £700) and the cost of my train ticket will go up by around £80 per month.

Financially, it's a stupid idea but I have decided it's worth it for the sake of my mental health and his. It'll also be cheaper in terms of costs of visiting each other and my food expenses. I will get a pay rise in early 2019 so I will be able to afford it, I just won't be able to save as much but OH and I want to buy a house together in 2021 and have to try living together as a couple first anyway.

Excited for 2019!

[Deleted User]

V exciting and super sensible! Good luck in 2019

Silver_Queen

I've been seriously toying with starting a new diary but have decided to stick to this one for now. I thought I'd do a quick start of year roundup.

Debt Totals: January 2019

• 0% card: £1,802.83 (paid off £165 so far)

• Parental Debt: £8,250 (£7,250 paid off so far)

Total: £10,052.83

I do also have outstanding balances on my Amex and my Halifax card, but both are paid off in full on a monthly basis.

Other Notable

• £625 in my LISA
• £250 in a regular saver
• £350 in my train ticket fund so far
• £500 in my holiday fund
• OH owes me £1,400

2019 Goals

• Self-Care: Yoga once per week
• Self-Improvement: I am learning calligraphy and will write once per month at least. There's no limitations on how much or how little I need to write, just need to get a pen to paper and get something creative down.
• Financial: I want my total debt to be under £5k by the end of 2019. To help me along my way, I'm doing my own version of Uber Frugal Month a la Frugalwoods. I will not be buying ANY groceries for the entire month of January and have to eat out of stores, even if it means weird combinations. I am also planning to do something similar to Project Pan for my cosmetics so that I'm encouraged to actually use them up rather than buying more, and will be keeping my empties for 2019 so that I can see what products I actually like and use.

Exciting times ahead!

• European holiday in February
• Qualification in March
• USA holiday in April
• Moving in with OH by end of 2019

Lots to look forward to and can't wait to crack on!