Reducing Debt - being accountable and taking responsibility

DrSpendLittle

No sure I'm a capsule wardrobe queen :rotfl:

I don't have a precise formula and I don't operate on a strict numbers basis. I have a wish list of items that I feel will compliment my existing pieces or will enable me to create more outfits / styling options from my existing pieces. Then, selecting what to buy is firstly about whether it sparks joy (do I feel good wearing it and will I reach for it from my wardrobe) and secondly whether it will work with my existing pieces in my wardrobe, for which having an overall colour palette is really important.

So as an example, the two most recent purchases I made were a sweatshirt and a long sleeve Bretton stripe top. I decided I wanted these two pieces in my wardrobe as I felt they would enable me to get more wear out of my chinos and light wash denim, which in turn would help me get more wear out of my Toms and Birkenstocks, thus creating more options for casual summer outfits. I chose them in colours that complimented my existing palette (neutrals with pastels, mainly pinks and blues, and some accent greys and greens) so I knew they would make numerous outfits.

I do sometimes like to add a pop of colour. I have one red and one purple top, but they tend not to go with my standard capsule wardrobe and I can only really wear them with blue jeans and a white t-shirt, so they're limited in effectiveness.

I think its a case of structuring your capsule with a colour palette and your general style (I'm a jeans and tops person) so that you will reach for each item, enjoy wearing it and be able to style it numerous ways. It might be you pick two or three items that you really enjoy wearing and build a capsule around them.

DrSpendLittle

Forgot to add, the above formula inevitably results in having few better quality items as it makes you more mindful of spending money on clothes. In the past, I'd easily spend £60 on two or three items because they were in the sale and therefore a Bargain Not To Be Missed without any thought as to how they'd fit into my existing wardrobe. Now, I'm happy spending £60 on a sweatshirt which I know I will get so much more use out of.

wishingthemortgaheaway

Thanks dsl. I'm not very good at fashion type stuff, so formulas work well for me. I keep saying I'll do the HoC style day, but I just never get around to it.

I've gone for 2 capsules home and work - Work I'm basing on the 54321 approach and home on a bigger selection - I don't work out of the house massively often but when I do it can be for a week at a time, so the 54321 is perfect for that.

Thanks for your help.

Wish.

DrSpendLittle

Sounds good, Wish!

A little housework, a little food shop and a little bit of couch surfing just about sums up my day so far.

Went to the town over the hill this morning to get some supplies, some cards and to have a general mooch. Had a hankering for a glazed donut, which I've had for about two weeks now, so I popped into Gr33gs and indulged myself. No unplanned spends.

Not sure on plans tomorrow. We might go for a walk. Can't believe it's the 11th already. We'll all soon be counting down to payday!

Need to call a few movers to get quotes. I've found two local-ish companies who are members of the British Association of Removers. Hope they can pop by this coming week.

Weather has been odd today - cloudy, cold, hail, rain and now its sunny but a bit windy. It doesn't know what to do!

DrSpendLittle

This is my 600th post! :T:T

Cant think of anything else to say :rotfl:

PositiveBalance

DrSpendLittle wrote: »

This is my 600th post! :T:T

Cant think of anything else to say :rotfl:

That's enough. :rotfl:


You've become debt free in under 600 posts. Well done! :T

DrSpendLittle

It's payday :T:T

Savings are now just shy of £3K :T:T

Need to keep an eye on spends as I've been a bit spendy these past two week - all mindful and needed but still...

House move beginning to progress after a quiet period which resulted in a change of conveyancer (but not solicitors firm, thankfully). Been filling in forms this week and answering buyers queries, so we're cooking with gas!.

Hoping for June completion but who knows... I think it'll be the end of June now rather than the middle of June as i don't think our searches are back (delay in them being sent for due to previous inept conveyancer :mad:). If we end up moving in July, then it won't be the end of the world as I'd have an extra salary payment to save and I'd be up to £4K by then.

My credit files are all now fully up to date with my zero credit balances . Been waiting for that for two months! Now I feel properly debt free :money:. I still find myself logging onto my Barcl4ycard to see the £0 balance. How very self indulgent of me

Not much else to report on really. Busy at work. Just want the house move to happen now. It's dragging and I've emotionally left our current house. It's never really felt like a home and I've been waiting for a few years to move. However, its been the right decision to wait until now as our salaries have increased and we are able to push ourselves into the next price bracket and buy something that will be our forever home. Still, I'm so ready to leave this place.

Enjoyed catching up on everyones diaries this afternoon. Taken it off work. Catching up on housework etc. Not much plans for the weekend - some errands to run but a quiet one decluttering and doing house move admin.

DrSpendLittle

Feeling generally positive about finances. Allowing myself £50 per month to spend on anything I want . Last month I got some new underwear and a pair of much needed jeans. For this month, I've just ordered two t-shirts from my favourite retailer. I got emailed a free next day delivery code to entice me to purchase - I'd put the t-shirts in my basket on Saturday as I wanted 24 hours to think about it. Whoop! Whoop! :T

I've been regularly updating my meter readings for elec and gas as we're in credit with our current provider and, as we're moving (hopefully!) soon, I don't want a massive credit balance. It's currently at £65, so I've just lowered our direct debt to £40 in the hope we will have less than £40 to be refunded when we finally do move. We're averaging about £57 per month for both gas and elec.

Other than that, I think its definitely going to be July before we complete / move which isn't ideal as we want to move asap, but, it does mean I can add extra ££s into my savings.:T I reckon I'll have around £4.6K saved by then which is great - it'll give us some extra ££s to spend on new stuff for the house (lawnmower, garden shed, bbq etc) and not dip into the Savings That Shall Not Be Touched! :rotfl: DF is doing well too, he has saved about £4K since March, so we should be able to fully cash flow fees and expenses from our salaries and just dip into savings to cover the cost of Stamp Duty. Oh my goodness, that particular bill will be painful :(:(

Anyway, back to work. Just caught up on all the diaries - so nice to see all those first of the month debt pay downs :T:T

wishingthemortgaheaway

All looking incredibly good DSL the £50 a month is an excellent idea. Stamp duty is a bit of a nightmare isn't it? Soooooo expensive. Estate agent fees are the next biggest expense I think. I've seen some round here where you have to pay a 1or2% 'buyer's premium' urgh. All soooo expensive. Still. Your savings are looking fabulous.
Just keep going.
Wish.

DrSpendLittle

Buyers premium?!?! That is madness!

Having to mentally think of stamp duty being paid from the rise in our current home's value / equity rather than from savings.

Had a good first week of minimal spending for this month. Need to do a big food shop as we're running out of store-cupboard essentials and last night resorted to a dreaded takeaway I've also been lax in taking lunches to work. Need to fix that.

My phone is on the blink too - well, the battery is dying faster than normal but it still works and is useable if I have it on low power mode when out and about. It's 3.5 years old so I've done well with it. I'm going to try and limp it on through the summer and revisit it in Autumn. DF is having the same issue. It's going to be an expensive Autumn I think! I'm on a super cheap SIM only deal and DF will switch to one when his goes kaput. We're just going to buy ourselves new handsets outright. We're both in the App1e ecosystem so we'll need to save for them. I've been doing some research just now and it probably makes sense for us to spend a little extra and get the 7 rather than the 6 if we're going to have them for the next 3 / 4 years. I get a consultancy payment from work around September / October each year so I'm going to use that towards the cost. There shouldn't be much more to save.

Quiet weekend planned - we need to get rid of some furniture before we move so I want to plan for that. We also need to look for quotes for removal companies and buildings insurance. I suspect we'll only have 1 week between exchange and completion so I need to get these sorts of things lined up before we exchange so there is less to do in that week. Hoping it happens soon. It's dragging a bit now. The closer it becomes, the more stressful it becomes as the stakes get higher and higher with all the emotional energy invested. And money. And it could all go pop in an instant. Ugh. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

DSL