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Reducing Debt - being accountable and taking responsibility

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  • You can say you will be debt free next month now ;) Easy to remember the date if it is Brexit day. Being debt free at least will be something to celebrate. Without getting too political I certainly will not be celebrating Brexit. :(
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.

    The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£162.90
    Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£7000
  • You can say you will be debt free next month now ;) Easy to remember the date if it is Brexit day. Being debt free at least will be something to celebrate. Without getting too political I certainly will not be celebrating Brexit. :(

    We're on the same wavelength ;)

    At least there will be something to celebrate!

    Debt free next month, eeeek! :D
  • Had a busy day cleaning and doing laundry. DF has cooked a lovely meal for dinner then we have plans for the rest of the night. Shouldn’t involve spends.

    0cado order arrived today but with broken eggs! Six were salvaged. 0cado are usually really good and refund you the entire cost of the item so that’ll be a £3.50 refund and six free eggs! Plus they sent me one too many packs of Roti. Winning!

    My lunch box also arrived and received a good assessment of its quality and durability by DF :) He declared that it was worthy of keeping :) He’s way more old school and practical than I am when it comes to buying things. I’m more emotional and swayed by how things look. We balance each other out nicely.

    Have a day off work tomorrow but have a few errands to run so there will be some minor spends on fuel.

    Thinking of investing in a slow cooker to make stews and tagine style dishes - would be useful for lunches and evening meals after a long day at the office. Do you have one and do you use it as much as you thought you would? I’ve my eye on a Morphy Richards one that you can use on a gas hob to seal meat. It’s about £30 in Arg0s. We’d only use it if one of us was working at home but that usually happens at least 3, if not 4 times a week.

    DSL
  • I've just realised that March's payday is Friday 29th...

    I never thought my debt free date would be when we Brexit :eek:

    #divorcefromdebtday


    I like this. A lot. :rotfl:

    Indeed. Excellent planning I shall wait with anticipation for the day, whilst the rest of the world wait on tenterhooks for what exiting the EU will actually look like, you will be popping the champagne cork and dancing on the tables.


    Everyone will be thinking 'what a vulgar Brexiter!' Little do they know...:D


    It's payday today which means...

    I'm in the £1K's :T

    Eeek!

    I've chucked £1,000 onto the CC and the new balance is £1,992.64.

    85.68% of my debt free journey is complete.


    Woo hoo! :T

    I shall miss it. The urgency, the small steady achievements, the focus and determination. Even the compromises. I've learned such valuable lessons about the true value of money and 'things' through my journey. I never was a materialistic person. It wasn't the big ticket items that got me into debt. I was the frittering and the large amount of smaller purchases. I guess I just didn't have a clue about money.

    I will need to put my financial energy into savings. Or paying down the mortgage - thinking of you and your achievements Wish!

    I've adjusted my savings totals as we may have some decoration costs this month depending on whether we can get the dude to commit.

    I've about £150 in work expenses to claim back. In fact, thinking about it, is probably closer to £200. Some take aaaaages to process, others are within weeks. I need to get my act together and put in the various claims! It'll go straight into savings when it arrives.


    This is the most important thing I have learned along my debt-free journey, too. While I have always known that 'slow and steady wins the race', I've never really learned how to do it. I have now, though.



    It has taken time, but perhaps like the best lessons in life, it has sunk in now and I'm not sure I could go back to the old way of living.



    P.S. Did you ever set up that separate account for your expenses?
    Debt: £11,640.02 paid in full! DFD: 30/06/20
    Starter Emergency Fund (#187): £1000/£1000
    3 month Emergency Fund (#45): £3300/£3300
  • I have just ditched my slow cooker, one of the reasons being I couldn't seal the meat in the same pot, so had to use a different pot and transfer therefore, more washing up. I've also sussed the timer function on the oven now (only had it a year!) and the oven has a slow cooker function, so the actually sc was surplus to requirements.
    Outstanding mortgage: £23,181 (December 19)
    MFW 2020 Challenge Member #10 0/£2318
  • enthusiasticsaver
    enthusiasticsaver Posts: 16,054 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I have just ditched my slow cooker, one of the reasons being I couldn't seal the meat in the same pot, so had to use a different pot and transfer therefore, more washing up. I've also sussed the timer function on the oven now (only had it a year!) and the oven has a slow cooker function, so the actually sc was surplus to requirements.

    I wondered about this as my oven also has a slow cooker function and I like to seal the meat first which means a frying pan to wash up or stick in the dishwasher. I am fairly sure though that an oven will use up loads more electricity than a slow cooker. Might be something to bear in mind ?
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.

    The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£162.90
    Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£7000
  • enthusiasticsaver
    enthusiasticsaver Posts: 16,054 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Have a day off work tomorrow but have a few errands to run so there will be some minor spends on fuel.

    Thinking of investing in a slow cooker to make stews and tagine style dishes - would be useful for lunches and evening meals after a long day at the office. Do you have one and do you use it as much as you thought you would? I’ve my eye on a Morphy Richards one that you can use on a gas hob to seal meat. It’s about £30 in Arg0s. We’d only use it if one of us was working at home but that usually happens at least 3, if not 4 times a week.

    DSL

    I think using a slow cooker is a great idea. Even though we don't work anymore I still use mine for days when we are busy all day or I don't fancy cooking much. Great way to tenderise cheap cuts of meat. If you can get one which seals meat on a hob that is even better as that avoids having to wash up a frying pan or take up space in dishwasher. We often leave ours on while we go out so I don't think you need to stay in to watch it. It uses very little power which is the advantage to using that over the oven.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.

    The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£162.90
    Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£7000
  • Thanks everyone! I think it'll be a good purchase for us. Just the idea that it will be cooking slowly whilst I can work in the home study and we'll have a nice meal (I'm managing expectations re: flavour vs. 'proper' cooking we've traditionally done) with a lot less effort will be rewarding enough.

    Will discuss with DF and perhaps pick one up at the weekend. I have enough ££s in the household budget to cover :)
  • P.S. Did you ever set up that separate account for your expenses?

    No, I use just one account - I'm pretty strict on spending to my YNAB budget and not my bank balance. I reconcile my account with YNAB every day.

    DF and I have talked about a joint expenses account but because we are undecided about moving, we've drifted on getting it sorted. I don't want an unnecessary marker on my credit file in case we randomly decide to move. Feel a bit in limbo but we're both working well with our finances as they are - in fact, DF keeps talking about wanting to 'save like I do' :rotfl: We due to have a chat about our plans and make some sort of commitment either way soon, so if we stay put for another year, we'll open a joint account.
  • A successful NSD today. A couple of plans fell through so I didn't have to go into town after all which meant I avoided spends on fuel, parking and the inevitable coffee. Will have to rearrange for a different time.

    I've decided not to keep the jeans I ordered - they're too high waisted and I'd only be keeping them because they were in the sale. That's the old mindset, so they're going back! My personal spends budget is now looking healthier :) I'll have to get some jeans at some point but there's no immediate rush I suppose.

    In the office for most of the week so spends on fuel expected. I've my breakfasts / lunches planned to take in (I get in early so eat brekkie there). Evening dinner plans are sort of thought through until Friday.

    Only 23 days until payday - I love February!

    DSL
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