Time to turn this around

Drawingaline

Oh no! But, new day etc. And you recognised it and plan to stop and address underlying causes. The old you wouldn't have stopped until it was way worse.

Payrise will help in the long run too.

FiscalPickle

I've managed to get a 32 month balance transfer deal for £10.5k, with a 1.4% fee which means I should be able to just fit all of the CC debt on to it. enthusiasticsaver, the cards have been cut and I'll close the accounts once the balance transfers go through and any residual interest paid. The revised budget now looks like this:-

Rent, household bills, food 1060
HSBC loan 238.56
New CC 600
Car 94.89
Car service & repairs 50
Contact lens scheme 26
Entertainment 50
Christmas & birthdays 100
Clothes/shoes 50
Hair 40
Holiday fund 60
Emergency fund 50
Gym 34.95 (I consider this an essential rather than a luxury - I go between 4-5 times a week, do lots of the classes including spin and it's essential for my shaping up and mental wellbeing).

With this coming to £2,454.40, this leaves about £120 per month 'spare' which I will either throw at the debt, or use to indulge my shopping habit in a more moderate way. With no CCs, I can't go overboard. Having looked into it, I don't think I have a compulsive spending addiction, I don't buy things I don't use and I don't binge-shop and return clothing. I have a stressful job and sometimes feel the need for a 'treat', I just need to find a way to treat myself within my means.

I'm due an extra £700 in my pay this month, which will be going towards the new card balance.

Cherryfudge

I think if you hadn't put in last year's work, you would be far and away in a more difficult situation now - so progress has been made, and having cut up the cards and reinstated the spreadsheet it sounds as though you're back on track.

I don't know if this would help but I noticed when I was running I didn't feel the need to reward myself as much. I see you go to the gym instead so perhaps you could defer buying treats till after the gym, when perhaps the 'need' will have lessened as you get a nice burst of exercise-related feel-good hormones.

FiscalPickle

Got the paperwork through the post this weekend for the new balance transfer CC, posted the agreement back on Monday so hopefully the new card will arrive soon. I'm holding out paying the current CCs in case it arrives in time to make the balance transfer before the due dates, but as the due dates are 17 and 18 March.

I'm getting a lot better at staying away from the overdraft, with all essentials and treats allocated I've got a nice balance of £150 left over, with 2.5 weeks until payday. (love how quickly March payday rolls around after a short February :beer:)

FiscalPickle

I had a message to call the bank about the CC application as they wanted to query something, all kinds of scenarios went through my mind. Turns out they just needed to query the signature as mine has become an illegible scrawl. So it's looking positive to receive the card in about a week, I've made the payments to my current CCs though as I didn't want to even risk going overdue. I am so looking forward to transferring the balances over and then really focussing on paying the HSBC card off.

Less than 5 weeks until the new Game of Thrones seasons starts, getting very excited for that! Mr P and I will watch 6 and 7 to catch up, we have a week off work together coming up soon so looking forward to some good telly, watching films, as well as doing house-y jobs. I really want to declutter the garage, might make a few £ by selling things we don't need/want. I've got my eye on a few things around the house, like a nearly new TV that never gets watched.

FiscalPickle

The balance transfers are done, I've shuffled a total of £10,394.48 inclusive of the fees. I've got 32 months to pay it off, but the goal is June 2020. The HSBC loan is due to finish in August 2020, by not paying it off earlier I'll get around £400 cashback on the interest. Feeling so much more focussed now.

FiscalPickle

I was paid just over a week ago, had a lovely week off work and didn't go mad with the spending. We did have a couple of lunches out, these were built into the budget. I've got nearly £1200 sitting in savings ready to pay off the HSBC 0% CC, with rising impatience for the statement to be issued so I can make the payment. I really want to see that total coming down.

On the weight loss front, I've been going to the gym and building muscle but the scales have remained stubbornly still. I'm going to really tighten up on my logging with MyFitnessPal. I trialled the MFP Premium membership for free, it's usually £7.99 per month. After trying it out, I don't think it's worth it so its back to the free version.

FiscalPickle

Checking in for a quick update as it's been a while since I added to my diary. All is going well in Paying Off Debt Land, just trundling away and I intend to update debt totals after payday on Friday.

I've managed to shift half a stone as I went back to Weight Watchers, which is the only thing that has ever worked for me in the long term. They had a deal on membership, £15.95 per month over 9 months, which is a saving of around £5 a month. My mindset is completely different now compared to the last time I followed WW. I like the new programme, as they are focussing on wellness as a whole rather than just weight loss.

All round, things are starting to feel like they've turned a corner. I have even more of an incentive to shift weight and debt now; Mr P and I have made the decision to try for a baby next year. I've been doing some rough calculations of how much maternity leave and childcare would cost and will come up with a savings plan. We're both very excited, fingers crossed that we manage to conceive as I'm starting to get on in years in terms of fertility...

Drawingaline

Brilliant news all round! Come and join us on the weight watchers support thread, it's in the health section of the forum.

Cherryfudge

Exciting times! It sounds as though you have this debt-repayment thing sorted so savings should come naturally.