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My journey to happy and debt free
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Tomorrow I’m working nightshift so I’ll need to spend £5 on travel. Got food in to take with me so no extra spends for that.
Hoping to have another no spend day on Saturday this week.
Just checked and I’m still unfortunately not eligible for 0% balance transfer cards so just need to keep chipping away at my highest interest card, I’m giving myself until June to get rid of that one.
Another not amazing wage for me but I’ve got my budget sorted for the month so I just need to make sure I stick to it.
Paying most of my credit cards today( one not due till 20th April so put that money aside). Total to those this month is £1050 gulp! But that’s overpaying one a large amount and the others by £5-£30.
Other expenses this month:- hair cut and colour £40 not had it done since December.
Taking my son away overnight during school holidays, really need this as he has had a lot to cope with with me being unwell in the recent past both physically and mentally. Paid for some of this with PayPal Credit as interest free for 4 months.
And my sister is having a night out for her birthday but I paid for that last month.
I’m sticking to taking out £250 this month so I’ve got £50 a week to spend and then putting the last £50 away so I’ll get a ‘free’ month.
It worked well for me last month and I found I had anywhere between £2-£15 left each week depending on what I did. So I was able to have some guilt free treats.
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Have been struggling a bit mentally, constantly thinking about money and figures going round in my head. Which I don’t think is healthy. It’s the opposite to how I was previously when my head was firmly in the sand. I just need to find the balance somewhere.
Had a huge anxiety attack the other week and felt like I was really struggling and not getting anywhere. But had a good talk with my husband and saw how far I had actually came. So back to feeling better and stronger again.
Had a proper wage with extra shift pay 2 months in a row so I’m ahead of schedule with the card payments.
My Cashplus card (with horrendous interest) will be paid off next month!!!!
I’ve been managing to stick within my weekly budget as well and have been able to have the odd wee treat so I don’t feel like I’m missing out.
Sounds as though everything is going in the right direction, and fab news about your Cashplus card. :j :j :j
That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery
Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present.
happiness isn't achieved by getting extra things,
but by getting rid of the things that make you unhappy
It’s payday this Thursday and we can check what our wage is going to be online. It’s another good pay thanks to doing extra hours and lots of unsocial hours.
This means that my Cashplus and my Barclaycard will be paid off and closed!!!
The Barclaycard isn’t my highest interest but I feel that paying this off in full will be best for me mentally to get rid of. Then I can really concentrate on the bigger amounts.
My Cashplus and Barclaycard credit cards have now been paid off!!!!!
I can’t believe I’ve been able to pay them off already. I’ve still got a long way to go though.
My balances for my other cards are sitting at this
Santander £4601
MBNA £3623
Marbles. £2876
Tesco. £2172
PayPal. £2419
The marbles card is next on my hit list due to the fact it’s the highest interest. Plan to have that paid off before Christmas this year.
I’m cancelling my cards as I pay them off so I’m not tempted by them and I don’t fall back into old habits.
Are you still taking out your monthly cash and spending your weekly money? What do you do with any money you don't spend?
I've been doing similar for a while now - I get paid 4 weekly from a second job and take out £100 of this so I have £20 a week to spend (this doesn't include my transport or anything, it's just for my own spends) and a £20 buffer for any week that's expensive - though I like your idea of putting this away for a "free month".
Anything I have left over each week I put into a sealed pot and if I don't spend my "extra" £20 before the next payday that goes in too.
Last year I managed to save nearly £500 which paid for Christmas, just by putting these bits away. Some weeks it was pennies, but other weeks I managed to put away my whole £20.
I found when I didn't put the leftover money away each week, it just got frittered away and spent on nothing, but putting it away it soon added up!
I’m concentrating on paying debt first rather than saving an emergency fund.
It’s trying to get the right balance between paying to much to my debts vs just the minimum.