Positive Balance: Focused on Budgeting

PositiveBalance

Soo....I got a bit sloppy with the second CC (the one I opened in case I needed to transfer more over onto it) at the end of November when I had over-committed myself to finishing off my emergency fund (I'm not going to lie - I also bought my main Christmas presents on Black Friday as the deals were genuinely amazing, but I did pay it back it all back as soon as I got paid at the end of the month before any interest was applied.)

I spent a little on it this month as well, partially due to paying so much off it last month and putting so much into sinking funds/pots, so I decided that the rot stops here, paid the balance of just over £80.00 off and CLOSED THE ACCOUNT!

Now I'm sure this is where chain-listening to Dave Ramsey's podcast gets you but now I'm essentially credit card free as I cut up the other one that I'm paying down as it looks suspiciously like my debit card and I actually made a contactless transaction on it by mistake thinking it was my credit card which would have meant I paid a fairly high rate of interest on it until I've paid off the whole remaining balance (which would not have been for ages and would have killed me!) had I not realised my mistake pretty much instantly and asked the retailer to reverse the transaction, then made it on my DC.


I can't make that mistake again. Phew!


It's a bit scary to be totally CC free in case of emergency, but that's what my tiny emergency fund is for, right?!:eek: :A

P.S. I'm due to get paid on New Year's Eve but can't access my payslip online as I'm not in work from what it was printed to about then so I can't be 100% how much I will get paid, but I'm really hoping that I can get the other CC down to £2500 before the start of the New Year, which would be a good milestone to hit. :T I think I'm also likely to get paid a lot next month, so if it's really good (and this is getting ahead of myself and DREAMING BIG for the next year), I might be able to just under £2000?


I think I might be thinking a bit too big there, but I can but hope! :T

PositiveBalance

I'm back...armed with a payslip!

So, due to some unexpected circumstances I have managed to get hold of this month's payslip earlier than expected.

I've decided to add two new things to my monthly budget: the first is pet illness insurance. It's £24.51pcm, which is pretty hefty, but if anything starts to malfunction on my moggy I don't have the money to pay for anything serious. I meant to get it earlier and didn't which means that if anything goes wrong with her heart they won't cover it as the vet said she has an irregular heartbeat or similar and that I could send her for an elective ECG if I wanted which would cost £400(!)

REALLY wish I had got it sooner, so word to the wise to anyone who not get it yet...get it. Now.

Also, in time with everyone else, I need to do something about getting fit, losing pounds worth of mince pies etc. As in *REALLY* need to do something about it. I'm very seriously considering joining a gym that's less than a 10mins walk from my house. If I do, it's not cheap (£40.00pcm!) and there are cheaper ones about a 2 miles from my house but I absolutely know that I would never use them as they are too far away from me and the one I am considering joining is likely to be much more helpful in terms of helping me to learn how to use the equipment properly (it's quite weights-focused). But argh between that and martial arts and yoga, it's £107 for a 5 week month if I do them all! :eek: :eek: :eek:

So here's the new budget for this month. I've left the gas and electricity at £75, which might not be necessary for much longer due to meter reading submission problems, and public transport at £80 which is, unfortunately, more realistic. *Searches for bike lock.*

With this budget, I have £208.71 left over this month, which is £51.29 less that I wanted to pay off the CC to have it at £2499 before the new year. Admittedly, that's not counting the £27.59 CC min payment due out at the beginning of January but oooooh I want to see it down before the end of the year!

This leaves me with 2 options:

1. Admit defeat and pay off the £208.71 and let the £27.59 come off in due course. It's not bad, is it? It's just not quite where I wanted to be.
2. Do not replace (all) the £87.93 to my pots which were raided so I could pay off and close the MBNA CC. (I could perhaps add an extra £10 to my pots total for the next 9 months?*
3. Try to find the money elsewhere in the budget (no haircut for me this month already and coffee budget for work squeezed down to nothing so probably not the best idea as over-squeezing the budget is what lead to the CC meltdown at the end of November as my pots were depleted from trying to get the EF started.

You know what? I think I'm going to pay if down and add an extra £20 to my pots for the next 5 months so my budget lines will change as follows:

[STRIKE]MBNA CC: £87.93[/STRIKE] (now removed)
Annual pots: [STRIKE]£195.66[/STRIKE] £215.66 (for the next 4-and-a-bit months)


INCOME £1505.55
Mortgage: £267.07
Council Tax: £88.00
Water: £29.28
Gas & Electricity: £75.00
Food: £188.56
Milk: £11.44
Internet & landline: £28.71
Mobile: £8.00
Public transport: £85.00
S/tander min payment: £27.59
Union subs: £9.09
Martial art: £32.00
Yoga: £35.00
Gym: £40.00
Fun: £50.00
Cat insurance: £24.51
Cat flea treatment: £4.00
Work Lottery: £10.00
Guardian: £5.00
Work coffee/milk kitty: £0.00
Pots@ £215.66
TOTAL: £1228.91
Difference: £276.64



This will leave me £276.64 to pay off the CC which should bring the balance down to £2302.36 before the New Year comes in and £2274.77 after the minimum payment (which shouldn't get taken once I make that payment but I should still fling it at it while I'm on a roll...)

That's not too shabby!

I should definitely be getting paid more next month so, baring natural disaster, I should be able to get into the £1000s! :j

However, one thing has become abundantly clear; while I have got better at the idea of writing down a budget and figuring out what I need to save each month for my annual bills, I need to get better at STICKING to it!

I'm not really going to have a choice; I have destroyed my spend-now-pay-at-the-end-of-the-month CC and also the one on which I am paying the debt as I simply can't spend on that due to my purchases accruing a massive amount of interest.

This is going to be interesting!

Wish me luck, everybody! *Crosses fingers*

*I only just thought of this while I was writing down possible solutions to the problem. Part of me really likes this and part of me thinks I need to get out of the habit of raiding pots as this is what caused the mess in the first place.

*Has lie down as realises that she will have to do a fridge/freezer/cupboard inventory*

Puddleglum

Good Luck and Happy New Year - it's on its way!

PositiveBalance

Puddleglum wrote: »

Good Luck and Happy New Year - it's on its way!

I hope so, Puddleglum, and may it come to you, too! :beer:
Puddleglum, do you have a diary? I have tried looking for it, but can't see it.

Thanks for your continued support - it means a lot. :A

WannabeFree

Can't believe I didn't realise you had a diary!

Just caught up and I think you've done an amazing job! Especially with so many unexpected expenses!

Now I will subscribe

x

PositiveBalance

WannabeFree wrote: »

Can't believe I didn't realise you had a diary!

Just caught up and I think you've done an amazing job! Especially with so many unexpected expenses!

Now I will subscribe

x

Much like the house, Wannabe, it's not as up-to-date as I would like it to be! :rotfl:

So, in other news...I got the CC down to £2482.36 in time for the New Year which is great, but means that my budget for the month is tight(ish) but doable(ish).

I was given £115 money at Christmas which I have yet to use for anything. I need some new but basic things so I'm highly likely to take the money from there to buy them.

I *think* I might have finally solved the power company issue meaning that my account has gone down from £160ish in debt to about £95 in credit. Phew! (I get 3% on anything overpaid with them, which is basically better than the bank!)

I also did a stocktake and clean of my freezer, fridge and cupboards meaning that I how have a clear idea of what I food I have in and need to use up.

After such a spurt of productivity, I have been an insufferably lazy mare today and done literally nothing. I think I had better go do some cooking as I am starving (and finished off my best jar of jam earlier in the day, grr!)


Also, it's hopefully looking like I will get paid a bumper amount at the end of the month, which will hopefully put me under the £2K mark. *Crosses fingers*


Hope you are all well. xxx


P.S.Apologies - I have no idea what is going on with the fonts!

Puddleglum

Hi Ya Positive Balance! I don't have a diary but I really do need to start one. I left teaching in September to start up my own business. So far I have made no money but racked up a load of debt. It will not go above 14.5K and once I get near that limit I will have to admit defeat and go back to teaching so the debt will be paid back.

Once the money starts to come in I'm planning on starting the diary charting the path to success :beer:

PositiveBalance

Puddleglum wrote: »

Hi Ya Positive Balance! I don't have a diary but I really do need to start one. I left teaching in September to start up my own business. So far I have made no money but racked up a load of debt. It will not go above 14.5K and once I get near that limit I will have to admit defeat and go back to teaching so the debt will be paid back.

Once the money starts to come in I'm planning on starting the diary charting the path to success :beer:

I'm intrigued! Best of luck with the business and I hope to see the diary soon! :T


New year...new success in the business for you, I hope! :A

PositiveBalance

So, in a burst of activity after shamefully wasting the day I made a delicious batch of food with ingredients I defrosted while cleaning out the freezer yesterday (and it smell REALLY yummy!) and cleaned up the kitchen a bit more, including a big tidy to be frozen tomorrow once it cools down, and then I tidied up of the Plastic Container Cupboard of Doom.


The kitchen looks better but will look even better when it's not too late to hoover and mop it!

PositiveBalance

Yummy food eaten for dinner and 5 portions of it frozen for future consumption.


I spent £15 of my Christmas money today on a small deep-fat fryer for making chips. I don't eat them often but they are nice, and my guest really likes them when they are here. I don't have a pan big enough to make them in safely, otherwise, but I think the little basket might not be quite robust enough so I may end up returning it after a think...


£6.45 spent on food - some necessary, some rubbish for work so I don't have to buy it from the expensive vending machines there.