We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

So what's next?

Options
191012141518

Comments

  • Dragonpie
    Dragonpie Posts: 126 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts
    edited 29 December 2018 at 4:36PM
    Hope any readers have had a wonderful Christmas!
    Today I am making plans for my finances for the new year, I have got a lot better over the past 6 months and have significantly reduced my spending on clothes and shoes (my main vices). I want to be better prepared for Christmas next year and work on my non existent emergency fund, the plan is:
    1) I am going to save £20 per month for gifts, including birthdays.
    2) I am going to limit myself to £25 per week for grocery shopping - this means getting back into the habit of food planning (and more importantly, sticking to the plan!) and leftovers for lunch.
    3) at least 2 NSDs per week... I know that doesn't sound a lot but I rarely have any NSDs.
    I think that'll be enough to begin with but I tend to respond better if I have seemingly set myself a target which is too hard rather than too easy.
    17/06/18 - loan £11,527.23, CC1 £3,682.79, CC2 £2,356.69, CC3 £2,128.70 - total £19,695.41
    01/03/2021 - CC1 £1126.13 CC2 £1850 total £2976.13
    Emergency fund - £977.43
  • I am a massive cliche at New Year! As well as working on my budget, I have decided to start working out more and doing the 5:2 diet... I figure that I can link this with my money based resolutions, if I meal plan and prep, the fasting days should be relatively easy and I can't buy any snacks on those days so it should also be easier to have NSD on my fasting days.
    I know I am probably massively, underestimating how easy this will all be but updating my signature on here has helped me see that I can do whatever I set my mind to!
    17/06/18 - loan £11,527.23, CC1 £3,682.79, CC2 £2,356.69, CC3 £2,128.70 - total £19,695.41
    01/03/2021 - CC1 £1126.13 CC2 £1850 total £2976.13
    Emergency fund - £977.43
  • Dragonpie
    Dragonpie Posts: 126 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts
    I've been quiet since new year thanks to be rushed off my feet but I am still plodding on. The wages saga is continuing and I am still overpaying into my pension and haven't had any money back yet, which is making things very tight! NSDs aren't happening as much as I would like but have increased and my spending has definitely been a lot better so far this month.
    17/06/18 - loan £11,527.23, CC1 £3,682.79, CC2 £2,356.69, CC3 £2,128.70 - total £19,695.41
    01/03/2021 - CC1 £1126.13 CC2 £1850 total £2976.13
    Emergency fund - £977.43
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 95,225 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Mortgage-free Glee!
    Plodding on is always good :j :j

    Boo to the worted soon.ages saga continuing~~It really is not good enough.
    Hope it is s
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.

    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.
  • I seem to be updating once a month at the moment, mainly, because not a lot is happening! The debts are decreasing at a steady rate and the plan is still to be loan and cc free by the end of 2020 (it sounds sooner if I phrase it that way lol) and I hope for the mortgage to be gone in January 2024. My spending went a little berserk last month so I am working on reigning this back in and I have a holiday this month so that means that any plans for saving will take a hit. My savings are still my downfall but I have a bit of a pay rise starting in April so that should make it a bit easier.
    17/06/18 - loan £11,527.23, CC1 £3,682.79, CC2 £2,356.69, CC3 £2,128.70 - total £19,695.41
    01/03/2021 - CC1 £1126.13 CC2 £1850 total £2976.13
    Emergency fund - £977.43
  • Dragonpie
    Dragonpie Posts: 126 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts
    I definitely need to work on my spending! I am getting back into old habits, buying lunch and online shopping are both becoming significant spends again. I am on holiday this week and have a few days booked in Gibraltar which will probably be expensive but I am going to try and not spend too much whilst away, outdoor activities with a packed lunch will be the main entertainment but I still want some balance and don't want to be worrying about spending when I should be relaxing. I've updated my signature today and the numbers are going down - I just need to remember that I can do this.
    17/06/18 - loan £11,527.23, CC1 £3,682.79, CC2 £2,356.69, CC3 £2,128.70 - total £19,695.41
    01/03/2021 - CC1 £1126.13 CC2 £1850 total £2976.13
    Emergency fund - £977.43
  • Dragonpie
    Dragonpie Posts: 126 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts
    Well Gibraltar wasn't too expensive thankfully, had a fantastic break with lots of fresh air - just what I needed. I've already had to revise this month's budget because I didn't factor for the extra costs of multiple birthdays, d'oh! The good thing about most of my families birthdays being within a 2 week period, is that I have several months before I need to buy anymore gifts.
    17/06/18 - loan £11,527.23, CC1 £3,682.79, CC2 £2,356.69, CC3 £2,128.70 - total £19,695.41
    01/03/2021 - CC1 £1126.13 CC2 £1850 total £2976.13
    Emergency fund - £977.43
  • Dragonpie
    Dragonpie Posts: 126 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts
    I'm definitely starting to lose motivation! I've made all the changes that I can and now I feel like I'm in a rut. The debt is going down but patience is definitely not a strength of mine!
    I have a busy couple of months coming up (night out, day festival, concert, stand up show and then a holiday along with 2 cinema visits) so I'm need to find my focus in order to have any chance of sticking to budget.
    17/06/18 - loan £11,527.23, CC1 £3,682.79, CC2 £2,356.69, CC3 £2,128.70 - total £19,695.41
    01/03/2021 - CC1 £1126.13 CC2 £1850 total £2976.13
    Emergency fund - £977.43
  • It is really hard when you've squeeeeezed all you can, and it doesn't seem to be doing things as fast as you'd like!

    I try to have a shake up every now and again with little challenges, based on stuff I read on various parts of the forum (Old Style Money Saving is a good place to start, or Reddit has lots of helpful sub-reddits too). Some of the ideas a bit too frugal and restrictive to be enjoyable (in my opinion!) but if you're feeling a bit hard done by, it can be quite fun to try something low-risk.

    Either that, or I make myself a coffee, put it in a travel mug, and wander around the posh part of town, pretending I'm local :o Don't go in the shops, whatever you do (unless they are charity shops - they are good for a nosy!), but even a change of scenery can help get out of that rut feeling.

    You'll do this :)
  • Dragonpie
    Dragonpie Posts: 126 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Posts
    I make terrible financial decisions on a night out! £5 for a small can of cider is annoying but I ordered takeaway, paid for it, fell asleep before it arrived and didn't wake up when it got here (not for the 1st time). Ah well, I had a fun night out and will try to learn from my mistakes. The 'personal' budget is not going well at the moment and 3 weeks until the end of my month so I need to be a bit more frugal, I'm at a concert on Thursday but can hopefully manage on about £20 to help get back on track.
    17/06/18 - loan £11,527.23, CC1 £3,682.79, CC2 £2,356.69, CC3 £2,128.70 - total £19,695.41
    01/03/2021 - CC1 £1126.13 CC2 £1850 total £2976.13
    Emergency fund - £977.43
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.7K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.7K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.8K Life & Family
  • 256.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.