£50k to zero - made it across the finish line

Drawingaline

Hope you had a good easter weekend.

One-step-at-a-time

Checking in, though not much to report! We're just plodding along at the moment, paying off all our set amounts. Sitting in the 25ks now with the 24ks in sight, and creeping closer to 50% paid.

It's been a fairly social few weeks, we've managed to see lots of friends but stay within budget, which I'm very pleased about. Work is also fun at the moment, a few interesting projects and the one that's been my baby for the last three months is due to launch in a few weeks, so there's plenty to do.

Decluttering is continuing slowly - I'm turning my fabric stash into items I can sell, and I've also been on a massive mending spree. The mending pile now only has a few awkward things left in it, and between us we have 11 items of clothing back in circulation!

That's about all for now, hope everyone is doing ok.

[Deleted User]

That sounds great, I wish I had sewing skills!

One-step-at-a-time

Hi Moguline (and congrats on your happy news!)

My sewing skills are very basic - i can thread the machine and make it go in a straight line, and that's about it! More than sufficient for fixing ripped seams and taking things in a bit, though

I need to keep a strict eye on the budget at the moment. We've had a short notice visit from an overseas friend who's with us for four days, and it's too easy to let the food and drink side of things creep when you have company! Hopefully tomorrow I will have a clear-ish day and be able to finish and list my crafty stuff and jump back on the ebay horse while it's a cheap final listings time (I've relisted a few previously unsold items so far this morning), and stick a couple of bits of furniture on FB marketplace.

My money-raising mojo has hit a bit of a brick wall recently and I need to unstick it, success this year depends on it! So far we've been doing well and are a little ahead of the target of paying off £1k per month (scheduled repayments are £830 with the rest coming from additional income, surveys and sales), but this is traditionally our most expensive time of year. June in particular has some extra travelling and a couple of overnight stays that aren't yet fully accounted for, and this could eat into the extra repayments if we're not careful. I haven't yet launched the new side-hustle website, and the next small job I have booked is not until July.

The plus side is that I'm too fearful of unravelling all our progress to let anything too spendy happen, so a way will be found to make everything add up! What's heartening is that even if we don't pay a penny over the scheduled payments for the rest of the year, we will still end December under £19k, and frankly the day we get under £20k will be cause for celebration!

Having spilled all that out of my brain I feel quite positive - time to roll my sleeves up and get on with the day. Have a great weekend everyone!

[Deleted User]

Thank you so much.
Those are great goals and I'm sure you'll reach them. Under £20k will be a great milestone, that's the next one for me as well!

One-step-at-a-time

Yesterday was a bit of a write-off - our guest left yesterday afternoon, and while it was a nice visit, I am really not equipped to spend as much time as I've had to spend being social over the four days, I was absolutely drained and have needed time to recharge my batteries!

Progress today: another £9 (so far) in PA surveys, and the discovery that we have enough reward points on one of our airline schemes to completely cover the cost of some hotel rooms that we will need to book later this year, avoiding expenses of up to £200.

I've not done much else except a little bit more sewing, which I hope to get finished and get the resulting couple of items up for sale tonight (potential revenue £20-ish).

One-step-at-a-time

Another week, very little change!
£7 made on ebay, and Prolific will be over £18 once the two most recent surveys are approved. I'll get it over £20 before cashing out. I suspect I'll need to dip into these earnings to balance the budget this month, though, as we've spent more than expected on groceries in the last couple of weeks.

Due to helping some friends out in early June, one of our overnight stays has been cancelled, so that's £55 I don't need to find for a hotel. It's still not a cheap month, but it's not as bad as it could have been!

Dottles1

Keep at it One Step you have done amazingly well so far and still chipping away. You're so much closer to your DFD.

One-step-at-a-time

Thanks Dottles - and hi everyone! I hope you’ve all been having a good week, I’ve been neglecting my diary stalking for a while
I was feeling really sorry for myself last week after missing out on a side-hustle opportunity I didn’t know existed until it was too late. I wallowed for a few days, then gave myself a good talking to, put out a couple of social media calls, and now have one confirmed job (which will lead to an ongoing small trickle of work if it goes well), a really good lead that I’ve sent in a quote for (which again has the potential for repeat work if they like me), another potential booking for later in the year, and a bunch of willing volunteers for a personal project to refresh my portfolio. I think the disappointment of the missed opportunity may just have been the wake-up call I needed.
Prolific has now exceeded £20 payable so I’ve met my May target, but I’m going to hold out until after the weekend to cash out in case any more come up.

One-step-at-a-time

Morning all!

Right, we have a challenge ahead. DH and I have decided that we want to take a proper week-long holiday at the end of January next year. The aim is to at least double our monthly savings between now and then so that we have a few hundred put by for some winter sun, while keeping our debt repayments up to speed. I like goals, and I have been feeling the need for an 'us' goal instead of purely having debt repayment goals. I think this will really help both of us to avoid burnout. So: I pledge that we will be under 20k by the end of December with at least £600 in purely holiday savings. Let's do this!