Nearly debt free diary

jemreading

Hi Scott, thanks for popping by. The spreadsheet is open, the budget is being looked at as we speak and the credit card and debit card have been removed from my purse.

Hiddenidenity

I think if you do remove it you'll be more conscious of what you're spending, because you won't just be able to put it on there and think I'll pay it back at X point then something crops up etc. If OH earns more is there still a fair split in the bills etc? not just 50/50 of the bill?

I think finding the balance of nice things and debt busting is the hardest thing to find.

Going in all guns blazing and having no nice things isn't a long term solution but neither is adding to the debt either. Once you find the balance it will seem easier to keep at it x

Even if that means switching to just over the minimum payments on the debt. At least it won't be increasing x

jemreading

Hi debtfreeduo - I think our posts crossed over on here.

Yes, I give myself a social budget. October to December gets very social for us round here and seeing as this is my first diary I'm beginning to realise that now! I'm used to be quite good at going out and not buying things but it seems at the moment I've lost that.

The budget is being looked at right now for the remaining of the year to factor everything in that I have going on.

jemreading

Hidden, you'll be pleased to know that the card has been removed from the purse. Me and my OH split the bills 50/50, I don't feel comfortable having him pay more. He pays more towards the food bill over the month as he buys a lot of extras that I don't have like: tea, coffee, fish, lactofree milk, smoothie ingredients, soup ingredients.

I am just looking through my credit card repayments and I pay average £300 a month to the card but am probably putting half of that back on! x

DebtFreeDuo

Its all about learning how to balance everything and I think we all have blips along the way, I think whats important is us realising our weaknesses and getting on top of them which it sounds like that is something you are now doing. Keep at it, adjust the budget to make it more realistic so you are prepared for everything.

Scott_Weiland_2

Maybe look at ways of boosting your income Jem it can help. A lot of guys on the forum do market research surveys to bring extra cash in.

jemreading

I think I'm going to break it down and set some goals for myself. I am a very goal driven person so I hope this helps - I will think of some and report back.

Whilst I have debt do you think I should be trying to put some money into a savings pot? I don't currently have one!!! Even if it's only £20 a month? Or should my focus be on clearing the debt?

Hiddenidenity

I think if you can set some aside for an emergency fund and leave it there for actual emergencies it's the best idea to start an emergency fund. Even if only with a small amount to start off with x

DebtFreeDuo

Its always good to have an emergency fund, if you don't have one at all then it would be a good idea to put something aside as it should help stop further spending on credit but ultimately I think as long as the budget is realistic and you stick with it then you will be fine. I've not read your whole diary but have you done an SOA? It may be worth doing another one if you haven't done one recently and it will help you see what money you need to budget monthly? I always find doing an SOA reminds me of things that I forgot to budget for.

jemreading

I will factor in an emergency fund into my next payday, spreadsheet is still up and running and allocated money is being moved round

I have not done a SOA, could anyone point me in that direction? I've looked on the boards but can't find where to start one! x