So what's next?

Dragonpie

I've not been on here for a few weeks, I'm sorry to hear about your cat Beanielou.

My financial focus is going to shift onto my emergency fund going forward, as long as I stick to my plan for my debts they will look after themselves but the emergency fund is going to mean tightening my belt, even if it is only temporarily. I'm going to add my emergency fund onto my signature so that it is updated monthly, along with my outstanding balances, as I need to change my thinking and realise that the emergency fund is just as important to being stable and debt free in future.

Dragonpie

I am struggling! I know the end is in sight but I miss the freedom of spending on payday. It's ridiculous but I feel perpetually skint, a new month starts and I have to do my budget again for my spending that month. I have 21 months until the debt is gone (besides the mortgage) but an expensive month coming up is making things very difficult.

Dragonpie

My usual payday update - last month was even more expensive than I anticipated but I've had a great month! Lots of time spent with friends whilst doing things that I love (mainly listening to music, drinking and eating). The debt is still going down although, I have given myself a little of breathing space. I know that I need things to look forward to and be excited about so my money is being spent on less material things and more things that will create joy and happy memories.
I'm hoping that the upcoming month can be a little cheaper, I currently have a trip to the zoo, a meal, a night out and a holiday planned (although holiday spending is a seperate budget). Thanks to the terrible weather, my summer clothes have barely been worn so I don't need to buy anything for the holiday and am currently convincing myself that I don't need any new clothes to wear for any of the events planned - I have a terrible habit of wearing 'going out' clothes once because people have already seen me wear them!

Dragonpie

I've just updated my signature and have realised how much I have spent on CC2 this month (approx £463!)! There is a method to the madness but it is definitely something that I need to keep my eye on as I could easily slip back into old habits. As the budget is so tight to pay back the loan, CC1 and make overpayments to my mortgage, I am allowing myself £100 to spend on CC2 each month and will be paying £100 to the card each month so the balance should remain the same but give me another £60 a month to play with, it is still interest free for some time yet so this should only set my repayment date back by a couple of months. This month has obviously exceeded the £100 though due to flights for my birthday next year and the previously mentioned zoo trip as well as £200 for Sky Sports for the next 10 months (although this is something that I would be paying for anyway and this approach saved me £140)

Dragonpie

I've been quiet on here for a couple of months and feel like I have lost my way a little bit on my repayments. I've been overspending on a 0% interest CC and have probably put my end date back by about 4 months. I have predominantly spent on holidays, work has been a bit stressful of late so the 2 things are probably linked and at least I will have something to show for the spending.
On a positive note, I have started an emergency fund - I've realised that I am unable to save in a bank account linked to my everyday spending account so I have started saving in cash in a sealed tin in the hope that I might be a bit more effective. I'll be updating my signature shortly and am not looking forward to this but at least I am taking accountability instead of burying my head in the sand as I would have done in the past.

Dragonpie

Again, it's been a while since I've updated but the New Year seems to be focusing me on my finances again!
I've updated my signature and have realised that my debt has reduced by over £6k in the past 18 months (not including mortgage overpayments) which I am fairly happy with but New year is always the time to set myself overly enthusiastic challenges and this year is no different. I intend to cut back on material purchases - I fritter away far too much on clothes and shoes that I do not need so I plan on not making any unnecessary purchases for as long as possible. I am still going to spend on holidays and events because I have realised that I would rather make memories doing things I love, with people I love, than having a house full of cr*p!

beanielou

Like you I am going to really cut down on what I buy.
Here’s to 2020

Dragonpie

All the best for the New Year, Beanie - we can do this!

Dragonpie

I love the positivity I get at the New Year! Today has been a productive day in the kitchen and a mini stocktake of what I have in my freezer and cupboards. I am currently slow cooking a whole chicken with veggies and leftover chicken will be used to make soup for this weeks lunches. I stocked up on reduced chicken and turkey mince yesterday so I shouldn't need to buy any proteins for a couple of weeks, I need to empty and defrost my freezer but as soon as I see something reduced I end up buying it and the freezer fills back up lol.

Dragonpie

The enthusiasm continues!
I've set up an emergency savings account in a seperate bank to the rest of my banking - If it's too easy for me to access, it doesn't stay saved for long! I've also rejigged my payments as I realised that I can pay the same monthly amount and have all debt (excluding my mortgage) paid off in 12 months if I stop the mortgage overpayment. This will be a veerrryyy slightly more expensive way of paying things back (a few hundred pounds) but it seems worth it for the mental boost that the prospect of being debt free is giving me.