Spender to Saver - I want to be Debt Free before I'm 30!

[Deleted User]

I know what you mean, my Aqua card has been sat at over £1k for such a long time, I'll be happy when another one of my payments ends and I can put more towards it to actually bring the balance down by a chunk each month.

It's definitely a game-changer when you have a month with no CC spending and learn to just use your actual money :rotfl:

Yes it's been a good week mostly, looks like yours is going well too

adg89

So today wasn't an NSD in the end.
Had to dip into the grocery budget a day early because OH is off work sick with an upset stomach and tooth pain... I suspect infection but he loathes the dentist so I have bought him some Corsodyl (£5.85) and I bought him some tomato soup & bread to cheer him up (£3.10).


Kicked myself up the bum on my way back to work when I saw that Corsodyl is 50p cheaper in our local co-op.


I've also spent £1 for our dress-down at work (we do this for a different charity every Friday), £1.40 on a bottle of coke zero & some cookies for the team (£1).


That should be all I spend today so a grand total of £3.40 from my own account, and £8.95 from the grocery budget.


Another shift at the restaurant tonight and aiming for £40 in tips for the pot for my Mum & Dad.


Onto the weekend!

adg89

Well, it's been an interesting few days....


- £13.05 spent in McDonald's for our dinner on Friday - purely because we couldn't be bothered to cook.
- £36.00 for an unexpected Sunday roast (lush but could have done it at home)


Both of the above out of the entertainment budget in our joint account. Both have been sub-categorised as an impulse spend.


- £13 for my haircut (I get it done every 6-8 weeks) - personal budget (mine) - planned spend (Sunday).
- £36.69 Aldi (Groceries budget)
- £20 to pay all we owed to OH's mum (just wanted to wipe that out so it was paid).
- £22.70 for train fare so OH can see his sister for her birthday (they live about 60 miles away and he doesn't drive yet, and I'm working that evening).
- £48.76 - Dog food & beef jerky so the pupper is happy until Payday.


I also have a friend's phone contract coming out of one of my accounts, and unfortunatley, he is now in financial trouble due to an unexpected council tax deduction (mistake by the council as they have double-charged him this month) so I am out of pocket in my savings by £70 until this comes back.


Even with all that, we are still at a bit more paid off to everyone so overall, I'm happy.


This week, I have no spending planned but OH needs to get a birthday card & present for his sister and we will be putting less into his credit cards this week to allow for the meal he is going for on Saturday.


I can definitely make improvements on last week. I'm just pleased that we are 17 days away from my payday, and I have not spent on my overdraft or credit card. I know it doesn't sound like it, but it's a big improvement for me.

adg89

Since starting this diary, I feel like my mind has actually changed and that I no longer look at payday as an opportunity to spend, rather the question now has become "how much can I pay off this time?".


Did anyone have this secondary LBM?


I'm feeling chuffed that I've now been out of my overdraft for 12 days (which will save me £6 in overdraft charges next month) as well as reducing my CC by almost £200.


But I WANT TO DO MORE, AND I WANT TO DO IT QUICKLY!


I've got the repayment bug now and I really feel like we can pay off our debts before March, although Christmas is proving to be the only setback at the moment as OH really doesn't have any spare cash to put behind him (I've suggested lowering his repayments to CCs as he can afford to).


Last month I put £65 away for Xmas and plan to do the same this month so I minimise the impact. With £130 behind me, I'm planning on spending no more than £20 per person this year for 7 people (currently means I will be £10 short so I may put £75 by from November's paycheck).


I feel so much more prepared for Christmas and birthdays now.


I just wish I had had this LBM a year ago when I was in a much better position!

adg89

The last couple of days have been.... interesting.


OH had a moneysaving idea which, in theory sounded good but is going to be supertough to execute.
He's basically done a deal with his mobile provider to end his contract early and go onto a sim-only contract next month - he'll be paying £15 a month which is fab and really helps us out from next month.


However..... and this is the bit where we had a bit of a barney last night

It requires a payment of £198.84 on 15th November (next week). This puts us in a tighter position than we were already in for this month but it is doable (just about!).


I spent last night going over all the spreadsheets and looking at the incomes this week to see how we could work it out with all other outgoings for the week.


We've basically agreed that OH can borrow £80 from my restaurant wages this week to be paid back over the following 4 weeks so neither of us is out of pocket for long. It also means we cannot make a payment to OH's Aqua this week but as we have overpaid by about £250 this month there, I don't mind that.


It's a huge squeeze on the belt but it'll be good for us in the long run. I wish I was able to do the same with mine, but my device buyout would be £360 at the moment :-( Hopefully in April, I can look at doing something similar to what OH has done.


In other news, still haven't touched the OD, friend has repaid his phone bill (straight back into EF) and we are still within all budgets.


Currently waiting for my train fare to be repaid to get EF back up a bit more!


I hope everyone else has been having a good week :-)

[Deleted User]

Great news on being able to save more each month, mine is similar to yours with the buyout cost so I can't afford to do it at the moment but it would save me at least £35/£40 each month!

It's good than you can do it too without using any credit, and as you've already overpaid to the Aqua card at least you don't need to worry about a payment towards that

It's good too that OH has come up with a money saving idea, it'll be nice to be better off each month

adg89

I'm definitely looking forward to next month now, SSDD23!

OH's outgoings outside of our house budgets each month are going to be reduced from £90 to £30 (before minimum payments to credit cards) so it will mean we are £60 better off (to be put toward his debt!).


It will mean that he can look to be paid off with his credit cards by end of the year, hopefully, if not early January! :money:

adg89

Another £100 (and 60p) paid off my credit card today, taking it below £5,700! It will go back over when the statement arrives, but it means that in total, I have paid £1050 to my debts this month (overdraft & credit card).


OH's Aqua will stay at £800 now for the next statement due to the changes with his mobile provider. Capital One is due to come down another £50 this weekend, so he has paid off £463.85 this month. We also have paid off £200 owed to family - all before my next cut off date on the spreadsheets (22nd November).


Total debt repaid since 22nd October: £1,720.79 Blown away by how much we have been frittering away the last few months, especially with how hard we have both been working!

adg89

A bit of a manic weekend. I did almost 20 hours at the restaurant so I was knackered as it was a 7 day week of work!


Money-wise, a few things happened:


- I had to use some EF to pay off OH's tab at work which he ran up recently :-( - £30
- OH went to his sister's birthday and almost kept within budget, but paid for his meal with his Capital One credit card - luckily, his direct debit of £50 went out. £30 spent, £50 paid off, so £20 paid off overall.
- My overdraft charge went out - £12 this month so £3.50 less than last month, and I'm still staying out of it. I think the next statement charge will be £12, but at this rate, the one after will have no more overdraft chaRges. I feel like I've had a behaviour change here and it feels so good!
- I had an LSD on Saturday, spending £4.30 in Tesco on chocolate and pop as I was feeling a bit miserable. Much better than the £20 I normally spend but still need to try and avoid!

£1740.79 paid off since 22/10/18

adg89

Also, forgot to add that I cashed out £5.80 from Qmee at the weekend.
I'm also at 10 NSDs this month so far