Adventure wanted, but first we must rid ourselves of debt

jwil

That is an amazing result, well done :T :T

abba1772

Congratulations on smashing your 2018 target xx

charlies_tribe

Well done on smashing that target! You have done amazingly this year.

AdventureWanted

Thanks Jwil, Abba and Charlies tribe.

I've been thinking a lot about what I would like to achieve next year and I think that I am going to try and pay off £15,000 again towards the debt. I'm really not sure how doable it is at this precise moment, but I'll see how things go and can always readjust the targets during the year. I figure I may as well aim big and if I don't succeed at least I've given it a really good go.

I would also like to increase the EF to nearer £5k, as with DH being self employed it'd give us more security. At the moment the EF is at £2,235, so I need another £2,765 by the end of next year. Most months I have been putting between £100-200 in this account, so hopefully I can continue to do this and it'll build up nicely.

With regards to the debt repayments DH and I have a difference in opinions. I am currently paying off the CCs each month with the aim to getting rid of them ASAP, regardless of how long a 0% deal they have. DH has suggested we put the additional payments into a savings account and then pay it off nearer the time the 0%s run out, so for CC4 this is Oct 2020. I'm not sure whether I want to do this, as I worry that there would be temptation to borrow it for a holiday/something else! I will continue with my method until CC3 has gone and then might consider his approach! Do many other people use savings accounts instead of paying straight to the Cc?

One thing I have finally managed to set up is a monthly savers account for the DC. DH is paying an extra £30 into our joint account from January onwards, so that we can put £10 in each of their accounts. It's not much money, but I feel happier that I am starting to save some money for their future. Hopefully once the debt has gone or is significantly lower we can increase this amount. I still need to set up a Junior isa for DC1 so that I can transfer his CTF, so will hopefully manage to do this early January.

I'm quite excited about what next year will bring and hopefully we can continue to bring the debt down, whilst still enjoying life.

abba1772

I personally wouldn't trust myself to not dip into the money if it was in the savings account xx

jwil

I couldn't trust myself either not to dip in the money.

Great plans for the New Year though!

AdventureWanted

_party_ Happy new year! _party_

Last night we had a quiet evening in. In fact I didn't even make it to midnight - was asleep by 11!

My ynab budgets have reset today, so I've been able to make a payment to the cc today. Rounded down the bank account sending £3 to CC3 and 38p to debt savings. Will transfer whole pounds from the debt savings to CC3 at the end of the month.

This month I'm going to try really hard to reduce our grocery bill. Over the last few months it has slowly been creeping up, along with my weight :eek: and I really need to take control of it now.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to debt busting this year and am going to try harder to be kinder to myself. I'm planning on doing this by making time for things I enjoy, like reading, as well as eating healthier and exercising more.

Hope whoever is reading this has a fantastic 2019 .

charliedavis

Happy New Year to you too!

Yes I agree with the others I would not trust myself to not pay off the credit card so wouldn't save it.

I also have monthly savers for my kids, my eldest - I paid £15 per month in from about the ages of 4 to 18 and he had a lump sum of £2500 ish that he used to pay for his car insurance. My middle son (age 17) had been hit badly by the poor performance of his savings plan with Forester Life - would NOT recommend them. I've been saving £15 per month since birth plus he got £500 from the government and the amount in there is actually LOWER than I've paid in which is shocking. My daughter aged 9, I was able to move hers to a Child ISA and I manage that myself with Hargreaves Lansdown. She has the same amount as her brother 8 years older than her, I made an extra £800 within 14 months by just choosing my own funds and going for lower fees. Really watch out for higher fees - no one tells you to look out for them! Hope that helps. HL produce a really good investment guide, all i ever did was pick their recommended funds.

AdventureWanted

Thanks charliedavis. It's nice to see that they had enough money to pay for the insurance when they needed it. This is what I'd like to have for my DC.

Yesterday I sent £8 to CC3 and 59p to debt savings. Today it's £10 to CC3. It's definitely sad seeing the figures for this years debt figures so low, but I'm looking forward to seeing the repayment amount growing.

Yesterday I moved my savings from about 8 different savings accounts (they were old ing direct ones) to a new post office savings account. I hadn't realised that the interest rate on the other savings accounts were so rubbish (0.25%), so I'm glad I've moved it to a better rate. It seems strange having it all in one account, but as I have the savings split on ynab it doesn't actually matter.

Today the groups that DC1&2 go to restart, so it's definitely back to normality. It's been nice not having to go places this last week or so, and in a way I'm sad it's over. It's certainly gone quickly.

AdventureWanted

Morning :wave:,

I'd planned on writing in my diary last night, but had the start of a migraine coming on, so had to avoid technology!

Yesterday I paid £9 cashback received to CC3 and today I've rounded down the bank account sending £4 to CC3.

Had a fun day yesterday, although was frustrating at first as we turned up for tennis lessons a week before they started (doh!). Luckily a friend had also done the same, so we hired a court (free with our tennis membership) and had a lovely time playing tennis/kids playing games before we had to pop into the warm cafe to warm up - it really was bitterly cold yesterday. Need to be a lot more organised next week, as I hadn't put any of the gloves/hats in the car .

Our dishwasher has started leaking . DH is going to try and replace the seal (it's leaking out of the top, spraying on the underside of the worktop and dripping down the door onto the floor. Not sure whether the worktop has been damaged or whether the vinyl flooring will be ok once it's dried out. The dishwasher is about 8 years old, so have no idea whether it can be fixed or if we'll have to get a new one. DH had a quick look at dishwashers and luckily you can get one for a couple of hundred if we had to get one, although DH was talking about getting one which you can switch on via WiFi/Alexa :eek: (why??). Will have to wait and see if he can buy a replacement seal and fix it when he's next off on Monday.