This Duo's debt free journey

DebtFreeDuo

My PA balance has all cleared, have requested the cashout for the last £35, the other £23 is tucked away in my savings account ready to go over as an overpayment. Haven't had much on PA since, hoping it picks up again soon as I was doing well with it.

Have partly planned half term week with DS, its looking like a very reasonable week cost wise. Planning lots of walks and outdoor things provided the weather stays dry.

Grocery budget is not going well, I only have £39.65 left in there for the rest of this month. I'm sorted until Friday but that still leaves 2 weeks to get through. This was always going to be the most difficult part for me, groceries is one thing I struggle with. I think I'm going to have to do some meal planning, I can stretch a pack of mince out to 4 meals for me and DS so if I'm careful I can still get this within the budget. I'm thankful its such a short month!

A couple of my listings have bids on them, I'm going to carry it all over for a March overpayment so it won't help with the £13.46 I need to make it up to £500 but will be good for next month. Have sold a bundle of toys so also have this money to go over to DS' account.

March is looking to be around £360 total off the debt, I don't think I will stand any chance of getting this up to £400 but I can try!

I have £200 that I have been keeping to one side, this is money that was gifted to me over Christmas. I've been keeping it to one side because I'm unsure what to do with it, I've been debating getting my hair done. The last time I had it done properly was last April and it cost a little over £100. It was a lot of money but I had it done in a way where I wouldn't need to get it done again for a long time. Its lasted me until now so I think it was a good call but I feel like it needs refreshing now. I don't want to throw every penny at the debt as I've learned this won't be successful for me personally but I guess its the guilt of spending the money on myself.

Willowtree222

Hi, things always have a way of working out, So I am sure you will sort out the grocery budget and at least be able to put money somewhere from it.

If the £200 was gifted to you, then you deserve to use it for a treat. if it makes you feel guilty, maybe spend £100 on the hair, and £100 on something that you think needs to be dealt with? That way you are tackling two things x

DebtFreeDuo

Thank you Nicnak, I think I am going to go down this route, either that or spend half on me and then save the other half until there is something I need for myself so I'm not feeling guilty for having to spend money on myself.

I'm not happy, I typed out a huge post and then lost it. I was feeling motivated today, now not so much.

Short version

To do today:
Home insurance
Breakdown cover
Parcels - Done
Grocery list
Holiday list
Balance finances - Done

2019 goals so far:

25/160 NSD - Feb hasn't been quite as successful in this area As I have been so disorganised
7/52 weeks saving - £123 saved in 7 weeks. This is amazing and I am feeling proud of this because the whole amount has come from money that was in my budget from my SOA that would have been frittered away otherwise.
18/365 Items cleared - technically I have cleared more than this as I have been listings bundles but then as they sell I have only marked them off as one item. My house is beginning to feel less cluttered although there is still a way to go.

I feel like I have a million things to do at the moment, small is with his dad for a few days so I can make a real dent in my to do list. I know I have more things I need to do so that list will grow.

Balanced out the finances this morning, I haven't touched the grocery budget but this will likely disappear this week. the entertainment pot is also starting to look empty as there is only £50 left in there and it is now half term. On a positive note I currently have around £40 to go to March overpayment. I still haven't found the £13.35 for Feb yet, I could take this from the things I have sold but I'm trying to find it elsewhere first, I'm trying to keep the money from sales in my Paypal account until the fees have all been paid and then I will get a clearer picture of what I have made there.

I did write a load more but I can't remember so this will have to do! Now off to clear that list.

DebtFreeDuo

Logged in to TCB when I was looking at home insurance and found that £75 had become payable. Have requested it to be sent to my account which takes 3 days, this means £561.65 total cleared from the debt this month!

Also logged in to see how my energy switch had gone, recommended monthly payment down from £58 to £48 so have changed the direct debit amount to take effect from March, the £100 credit from the referral is also showing.

To do today:
Home insurance - Almost done, need to cancel renewal tomorrow then set up new policy
Breakdown cover - Need to phone tomorrow
Parcels - Done
Grocery list - Done
Holiday list - Started but will be ongoing until we go
Balance finances - Done

So my list for tomorrow/Tuesday along with a full day at uni:

Parcels to post office
Home Insurance
Breakdown
Grocery shopping

I want to get all of these things done out the way before DS comes home and we can spend lots of quality time together.

Willowtree222

That's an amazing amount of debt cleared. You must feel really happy about that?

How are you doing with your jobs?
I am trying to have a chilled week, but have done some jobs and bits and pieces. I am still trying to get Barclays to send me the right PPI letter so I can claim tax back. Not going so well. x

DebtFreeDuo

Nicnak wrote: »

That's an amazing amount of debt cleared. You must feel really happy about that?

How are you doing with your jobs?
I am trying to have a chilled week, but have done some jobs and bits and pieces. I am still trying to get Barclays to send me the right PPI letter so I can claim tax back. Not going so well. x

I'm not sure how I'm feeling at the moment, it feels never ending I suppose.

My jobs haven't been completed yet but they will be this week, I've had a lot on and been trying to just enjoy half term.

Will Barclays not give you the figures over the phone? It's only the figures you need to claim the tax back. I had my letters in around 10 days, I would keep on at them.

Hope you're doing ok, I will be back with a proper update soon!

DebtFreeDuo

Lots to update so this may be a long one!

Had a lovely half term with my small one but have been suffering a little with my mood, I don't feel like I'm the best mum I can be at the moment but I'm trying to work on this (more about this in a later section). We had lots of adventures together and spent some real quality time together which was lovely. My spends did go a little out of control but I am almost on top of this.

Balanced out my finances today, I have made my overpayment which means I have cleared £500 off the debt (including regular payments), I did have an extra £60 from the cashback that I could have overpaid but I have assigned this to my half term overspends. I'm not going to be down on myself over this because I have still cleared a huge amount this month. I have a further £150 to find which may reduce the amount I manage to clear from my debt next month but I am going to try my best. I already have around £200 coming in for a march overpayment from interest and sales and I still have the £200 from Christmas.

I have made an appointment to get my hair done, this will be a big expense for me but it is covered from the Christmas money. I found out they offer a student discount of 25% if your appointment is Mon-Wed so I have made sure it fits in these days. I also have £44 in the hair pot which I can put towards it as small likely won't need a haircut in March. What is left from the Christmas money will go towards the overspend.

I had a counselling appointment this week which was a little eyeopening for me, it has definitely made me look at how I deal with certain things and has given me a way to move past some triggers that I have that make me extremely anxious. I talked a lot about how my mood has been low which has affected my patience, I have an idea of what I need to do to change this so will work on doing this over the next few weeks. Hopefully this will improve my mental wellbeing and will remove those triggers, or at least help me deal with them a little more effectively.

Also recently had my results for the modules completed last semester and I have passed them all which is such a relief, I was sure I hadn't done quite enough in the one module. I finally feel like I can do this, only 2 modules to go and I will finally move forward with my degree. I think resitting these modules has really helped though, I think it was the best thing for me at the time as it has really given me the time to concentrate on the areas that I needed to work on so I have no regrets with it.

Day off tomorrow and I have a lot to get done,previous list more or less completed so that's something. I need to make a plan for March, February has not been good for NSDs so I have given myself a target of 19 NSDs in March to get myself back on track towards the yearly goal. This will be difficult with the upcoming holiday but I need to change something, I need to plan better. I will be happy with 15 if this means I can start planning meals more effectively as this is my biggest downfall. Either way, March will be a month of being focused.

Willowtree222

Congratulations on passing your modules. What a huge achievement and a weight off your mind.

Also, well done on looking at your debt and clearing so much. Look at how far you have come and how well you are doing.

We all have days where we feel like awful parents. I have weeks/months where I do, but we are doing the best we can do in the climate we are in with the best intentions in the world. That's all we can do. x

DebtFreeDuo

Thank you Nicnak, I do need to remember my achievements. I have come a long way and my mindset is changing towards a lot of things.

I guess if we didn't question our parenting then that would likely be worse as it would feel like we didn't care. I do try my best, I just need to get a better control over my emotions and keep them at bay a little better.

ladymay

:beer: Well done on passing all your modules DFD! And clearing £500 off your debt. As Fatboy Slim would say - "You've come a long way, baby"