Spend less now, work less later...

EscapingTheAlarm

Hello!
I’m starting this diary with two loans to clear (as well as a mammoth mortgage- but I’ll worry about that later!). I’m not a massive spender but I’m not hugely careful either and I could clear my debts much quicker than I will at the moment if I put my mind to it and stopped deciding that my money would be better spent on another meal out...
I live with my wonderful husband and would love to start a family next year. However, I’m very aware that when I have children, I will want to be at home as much as possible which at the moment would be very difficult as we rely on my full time wages to help service our pretty big outgoings.
So the plan is to spend less, pay off our debts, and ultimately get to work less when we have a family.
Wish me luck!

EscapingTheAlarm

So this weekend I have finally managed to convince DH that it’s time to get rid of these loans rather than plodding along with the minimum payments as we have in the past...
I think that if we’re careful, we can pay off about £500 a month on top of our normal payments without stretching ourselves to the point of giving in. We owe around £14,000 in total so I’d love to be able to wave goodbye to both of the loans in under two years. Once we’ve done that then we can focus on our mortgage!
I cooked a roast at home to avoid the temptation of eating out today. Small steps but better than blowing £40 at a pub!
I need to do some work before tomorrow but am avoiding my laptop as at this time of year I get a huge temptation to look for and buy anything with sequins on...

doingitanyway

A great goal. Wishing you well with it

EscapingTheAlarm

Thank you! It’s very exciting to think that I could actually not have loans to pay as I don’t think I’ve ever not owed something since I went to uni!
I’m suprisingly nervous about the prospect of posting an SOA though as I’m very good at convincing myself that I don’t overspend until I think about telling anyone how much I spend on food each week!!
I’m sure I’ll find the nerve to do it soon... in the meantime I’m going to keep a really careful eye on what DH and I spend so that I can try and scrape together a few extra pennies to throw at these debts.

MissShoes

Good luck on your journey. I'm seeking something similar- a more frugal lifestyle and an escape from my 9-5. One day!

Shoes x

EscapingTheAlarm

Thank you Shoes! I’ve just had a read of your first few posts on your latest diary and so much of what you’ve said rings very true with me!
I love little projects but tend to forget about the bigger ones (probably because they’re harder to achieve) and seem to focus on earning more rather than spending less! My husband was really poorly last year though and I think that it’s been a bit of a wake up call that there’s more to life than work and that we should probably do a bit more to free ourselves up!
When (and how?!) do you plan on being debt free?

MeenaM

welcome and good luck! It will def help to keep a budget and for that you need to log everything you spend it's working for me

elsien

Have you done an SOA?
Even if you don't want to put it up here it can be a useful tool for yourself to work out where the money is going. Especially if it shows up a discrepancy between what you should have left and what you actually have left - a good way to focus on what's really happening rather than the wishful thinking version.

MissShoes

EscapingTheAlarm wrote: »

Thank you Shoes! I’ve just had a read of your first few posts on your latest diary and so much of what you’ve said rings very true with me!
I love little projects but tend to forget about the bigger ones (probably because they’re harder to achieve) and seem to focus on earning more rather than spending less! My husband was really poorly last year though and I think that it’s been a bit of a wake up call that there’s more to life than work and that we should probably do a bit more to free ourselves up!
When (and how?!) do you plan on being debt free?

I've been debt free for a couple of years now....but with wanting to leave my job and do something that makes me happy, I'm facing a huge salary drop which is risky.

Sorry to hear of your husband's illness. I think you're right- so much more to life than work. So now I want to have a bit more freedom and space and time with my husband and family rather than working 50+ hours a week in something that makes me increasingly unhappy.

xx

EscapingTheAlarm

Thank you everyone! MeenaM and elsien you were both right about keeping a budget and doing an SOA. I have just done mine and I have either made lots of mistakes or I have definitely been doing a lot of wishful thinking!!
Shoes, I should have read to the end before assuming you were still paying off debts... Congratulations on being debt free- I'm very envious! 50+ hours a week though!! That's a lot of hours to being putting in if it's making you unhappy. Good luck trying to find a bit more balance and please let me know how you did it once you have!

EscapingTheAlarm

So here's my SOA. What have I been spending it on?!


Number of adults in household 2
Number of children in household 0
Number of cars owned 2

Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details
Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 2000
Partners monthly income 2400
Benefits 0
Other income 0
Total monthly income 4400

Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 892.7
Secured/HP loan payments 145
Rent 0
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 161
Electricity 34
Gas 34
Oil 0
Water Rates 48
Telephone (land line) 0
Mobile phone 34.32
TV Licence 12.37
Satellite/Cable TV 56.6
Internet services 0
Groceries etc. 400
Clothing 50
Petrol/diesel 350
Road tax 5
Car Insurance 50
Car maintenance (including MOT) 10
Car Parking 0
Other travel 0
Childcare/nursery 0
Other child related expenses 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 0
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 38.92
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 22.32 (This covers buildings insurance as well)
Life Assurance 16.67
Other Insurance 15.99
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 0
Haircuts 0 (This, along with most of the other stuff, should come out of the entertainment fund)
Entertainment 400
Holiday 0
Emergency Fund 0
Total monthly expenses 2776.89

Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 263000 (892.7) 1.74
Hire Purchase (HP) Debt 7000 (145) 5
Secured & HP Debt totals 270000 - -
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Loan 7000 161 9
DH Car 14000 245 0
Unsecured Debt totals 21000 406 -
Asset Description Value (£)
Cash 1000
House Value (Gross) 350000
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 7000
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets 358000
Summary

Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 4,400
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 2,776.89
Available for debt repayments 1,623.11
UNsecured debt repayments 406
Amount left after debt repayments 1,217.11 (I must have made a mistake somewhere...)

Any ideas would be very much appreciated!
Just to clarify, I have included my DHs car on the SOA but I have no hope of persuading him to pay it off and settle for one we can actually afford so I'm burying my head in the sand for now and focusing on the ones that I can get rid of!