So what's next?

Dragonpie

Thanks beanielou... I'm pretty proud of myself and even happier that now I know that I can do this!
Also quite proud that after my incident with the melting extension lead at weekend, I have successfully rewired a plug on the new extension lead (we have the extension lead threaded through a hole in the door frame so the plug has to be removed and then reattached)

enthusiasticsaver

You seem to have a plan in place for reducing the debt but I would also target the lack of emergency fund.

Dragonpie

The lack of emergency fund is definitely a concern - within the next 3 months, I will have £500 and it will be up to £1000 by March, I know I should save it quicker but I feel like I won't repay the credit cards if I start focusing on other things (based on previous experiences)

enthusiasticsaver

I think £500 is ok as a start and agree that reducing the cards needs to take priority. Having a few hundred in savings covers most emergencies so that is good.

Dragonpie

I'm still on budget for the month and am 10 days in but I have discovered that I spend more when I have cash, due to the close proximity of my office vending machine so am sticking to my card in future!
Both of my balance transfers have now been requested so I am just waiting for this month's payment to clear and then I get set up the direct debit so that it will be paid off by the end of the 0% period.

Dragonpie

This weekend feels like a bit of a fail! Spent £80 on holiday clothes that I probably don't need (although £21 will be refunded) and had a non-refundable Groupon for a beer tasting that I didn't go to due to the headache I have had for 4 days, thanks to my overconfidence when it came to stopping my anxiety medication which I am clearly not ready to do. Oh, and the boiler isn't working properly, I have cover but I am dreading calling for an engineer in case I need to get a new boiler! Thankfully we have an electric shower, the weather will hopefully allow us to avoid putting the heating on for a few months and we have a mini heater just in case! I'll call them tomorrow but will more than likely put off getting a new boiler for a few months, if it turns out to be necessary.

Dragonpie

After a bad day yesterday, I am feeling slightly more optimistic regarding finances (although still feeling fairly ropy health wise!). I have had a look at my spending tracker and don't seem too far over budget, I will use the cash back from my bank account to get me back on budget (probably be around £40 over my personal spending budget by the 11th, which is my end of the month) .

Dragonpie

I have a 5 year plan! I know that this seems an obvious statement from previous posts but it has just dawned on me that I have a 5 year plan for the first time, I have a reasonable budget which I can comfortably live on and, if everything goes to plan, will own my own home in 5 years (OK, it will be 5 years and 2 months but I can handle that!). This realisation has just given me a massive mental boost :-)

beanielou

That's good then

Dragonpie

Direct debit is set up to pay off the credit card in 23 months and the overpayment is set up for £350 each month on my mortgage. Those 2 things can just look after themselves so now I just need to focus on sticking to my budget each month! This month I will have gone about £40 over budget, which I can use cash back to cover, but that isn't going to be possible every month so I need to make sure I am focusing! I have got very lax about bringing lunch this week and have signed up to the challenge to bring my lunch for every day I am in work September so hopefully that will save me some money and I have realised that I spend around £80 on takeaway which is ridiculous so I definitely need to work on that