Adventure wanted, but first we must rid ourselves of debt

AdventureWanted

Thanks charlies_tribe and Abba.x

AdventureWanted

August debt roundup.

Joint debt at 31/08/20
Parents loan (CC4 & DH car) - £16,090
Parents loan - £6,289.19

Combined debt now sits at £22,379.19 (31/7/20 - £16,270.00).

EF - £426.47

So the debt levels have increased 😫.  Luckily the debt is now all owed to my parents on a 0% interest basis and they are not in a rush for the money to be repaid. That being said I cannot wait to start paying the money back and finally becoming debt free. 

The last 6 months have been incredibly stressful and I cannot wait to get my finances sorted so that if we are ever without work again for months on end we are protected. Building a decent EF (ideally 3 months expenses) is the long term goal. 

So the plan for the next few months is to build the EF back up. We are going to be putting only £100 a month to start off with in a savings account to pay back my parents, with the leftover money I'd usually pay to CCs going to the EF. The plan is to transfer the money to them when we get to £1,000. I know it may seem a strange plan, but this way it's also acting as a bit of an EF just in case the country takes a turn again.  DH is back working and is trying to get extra days work when available.  The business took a massive hit during lockdown when there was no work, so I am trying not to take too much money out of the business for the first few months back at work so we can build the reserves back up. Any extra money will go to the EF. 

We are currently trying to reschedule our December holiday to next year. I am absolutely gutted about it, as was really looking forward to going, but I don't think the build up to it would have been enjoyable as I would be worrying about Covid peaks and restrictions.  The plus point is that we don't have to pay the holiday balance this year, so that is one less stress. 

I have finally got round to speaking to sky about our bill. I have just given my 30 days notice to get rid of our tv package. This should save us about £60 a month. Not loads in the grand scheme of things, but will help boost the EF a bit. 

I have been spending more time reading diaries on the forum again, which has helped me feel more motivated again.  I quite enjoy my middle of the night catch up whilst doing the night feed. 

Hope everyone is doing ok. 

AdventureWanted

Morning,
Have checked the bank accounts and updated ynab.  I've transferred £100 into the savings pot for my parents loan. In ynab I'm deducting it from the amount owed so that I don't spend it on anything else. 

We are hoping to move house in the future, so now that our money is a bit more back to normal and the majority of the home Ed groups haven't restarted 😢 I've increased our mortgage figure in ynab to what a new mortgage amount would be. The additional money (budgeted less actual mortgage payment) will go in to a moving house pot. I figure I may as well get used to increased mortgage and council tax payments prior to it all happening and hopefully when we do move it won't be such a surprise! Today the mortgage has come out, so I've transferred £336.38 to the new home pot. 

Rounded down my bank account today and sent £8.42 to the EF.  Feels good to get back to my old money saving ways.  Fingers crossed there won't be another national lockdown 🤞🏻

AdventureWanted

Morning,

Have sent £2.06 to the EF today and sent 88p yesterday. Tiny amounts, but it all adds up. EF now up to £437.83. Slow progress, but it's increasing which is the main thing.  First goal is getting this up to £1,000. Then will aim for £2,500 and ultimately want £10k saved, but it'll be years before I manage this I imagine.

Today DH is doing an extra day at work. He's managed to do a few extra days recently which is really good. Since lockdown DHs pay rates have reduced, so extra days are handy to try and get income to pre lockdown levels.  Really hoping work continues being busy. I really took it all for granted before lockdown. I think the whole experience has made me a lot more keen to keep a good EF. Don't fancy having to deal with the stress of no work again and although we had an EF which helped boost our income for a couple of months, it wasn't large enough to support us for the 4 and a bit months without work or the new oven we had to buy when ours died. 

Today we have to pop over to my mums to drop something in to her. Luckily my dad is out for the day otherwise I wouldn't be able to visit. The new rule of 6 law is a real pain 😢. With DH we're a 6 so can't meet anyone and even when he's at work we're a 5 so can only meet one person for a socially distanced garden chat 😔.

charlies_tribe

Glad to see you're finally feeling back on track, you were still doing great before though.

Its a shame about the groups. We were hoping to get DS to more now i wasn't at work on the mornings they run but no idea when they will all start again. His swimming is back but its 1-1  and ive seen climbing back on at meadow Hall (all have to be booked as individuals not as a group) but nothing else yet.

We're the same with the numbers,  we are currently a 6 too. Dd had to collect her hamster this morning and i shouldn't have actually let her but DH was in bed and DS never leaves his room so she just collected him and left (hes her baby and she wouldn't wait any longer). DH sisters have both gone away together this weekend with their children but we aren't even allowed to see them. Makes it so hard (although I completely understand why).

Have a lovely day (we have sunshine).

AdventureWanted

Rounded down the bank account today and sent £5.82 to the EF. It's gradually getting towards the £500 mark. Will be good when it's back to the pre lockdown levels. At the moment I am quite anxious about the possibility of either another lockdown or work slowing down too much so we don't have much income again.  Really cannot wait for the day we are financially secure. It's a long way to go until that point, but every month I guess I'm a little bit closer. 

Yesterday was DC2s birthday. We went for a day out at a local zoo. Was our first proper day out since March. Was a really good day, although was definitely different from the last time we visited. The DC couldn't get used to having to stay close to us. They usually have quite a bit of freedom on days out during the week, as it's usually really quiet in term time. (Just to note they don't usually explore places on their own, but are allowed to wander a bit further ahead of us).  On the way home we needed a couple of bits from the shop, so I actually went in a shop for the first time since before lockdown! I'm really pleased I did it, as I was quite anxious about going. The worst bit was following the one way system and lots of others not doing it!  

AdventureWanted

Morning,

I'm struggling a bit today. The house is so messy and I am really struggling to find time to sort it all out.  During the day I can just about manage to put some washing on and put it on the line or tumble drier if it's miserable, but never seem to have the time to put it away.  Whilst pregnant I managed to get the house looking amazing and it really helped me feel happier. Now it is slowly getting messier and I am losing a fighting battle! I just don't seem to have time to do anything. DC4 has outgrown the newborn & up to 1 month clothes, so I need to sell these soon, although not sure where to list them. Think I am extra tired today, which is most probably contributing to the defeatist attitude! 

In money news I've paid the 19p off the debt to round it down and sent £4 to the EF.  EF is now at £450. Going to try and look at my budget today to see how much I would need in the EF to support us for 3 months if work stopped again.  I think it will take a long time to get to this level of savings though.

AdventureWanted

DH has been paid for some additional work, so have managed to send £250 to the EF.  EF is now at £707.  Listening to the news it seems like a national lockdown may still happen 😩.  If it does then depending on when it happens (if it does) I'm not sure I'll have enough time to resave enough money to support us.  All additional money will be going to the EF for the time being. Need to have another look at my budget for October, as September's payday will be the first time we get paid our Pre lockdown amount, but at first glance I'm not sure how I used to manage paying off so much of the CCs. I'm not sure I'll be able to put more than £350 in to the EF.  Really hoping I can up this to a minimum of £500. 

AdventureWanted

Morning,
Have checked the bank accounts and updated ynab. Rounded down our joint account and sent £8.51 to the EF.  Starting to feel a bit bad that I'm not ploughing lots of money into repaying the debt, but know that I need to build up the EF first. Just feel awkward owing so much to my parents. I think I actually preferred having the money on 0% CCs!

Going to try extra hard today to be productive! Really need to blitz the house. Although will leave the dining room until later, as the DC are doing science experiments today making oobleck (cornflower slime/gloop) - looking forward to this, as I think it's really fun to play with.  

Weather is utterly miserable, so I'm going to have to use the tumble drier for the first time in months. Luckily we don't have to go out today, so can stay in and watch the rain. I must admit it's been lovely listening to the sound of the rain during the night when I've been doing the night feed. 

Hope everyone has a good day 😊

jwil

I get what you mean, I much preferred my debt being with companies rather than families.  There's always more (self-inflicted) pressure with family debts, as I felt I needed to clear them quickly, even if the family weren't bothered!

You are doing great, the EF is building.