Learning to live within my means

astrocytic_kitten

I’ve been laid low by illness for the past week and still haven’t listed things for sale :wall:

Have, however, arranged for a refund of travel season ticket and changed my phone to a Sim free deal. Have also diarised when home insurance etc ends next year so I can switch if needed, boiler insurance in particular always comes at a really busy time and I often let it auto renew - it’s the one bill I haven’t aggressively shopped around on previously.

Have more clarity on what my new salary will be and it’s less than I’d hoped, it’s going to be tight. Hopefully reduced hours and new treatment will work wonders on my health and I’ll be able to start spending more energy on being frugal than I can now.

I’ve been on very tight budgets before, and grew up very poor...part of me is kicking myself that if it wasn’t for the debt things wouldn’t be so tight, and part of me feels that going back to paying things off on a small budget is proper penance for being so daft to run up the debt in the first place. I think sticking in it for the long haul over the next 3 years is going to be really difficult, I can see myself getting a few months in and having a case of the sod its. With any luck my health will improve quickly enough that I can increase my hours and my salary though. And here should keep me accountable.

astrocytic_kitten

I’m hopeful I can pay the remainder off the credit card when I’m next paid, after that I plan to let the loan run but focus on not running up any debt and saving little bits as and when I can. With money being so tight, having enough to cope with a washing machine breaking or even just to have a little splurge once or twice a year seems more important than paying the debt down as fast as possible.

astrocytic_kitten

It’s been ages since I last posted! Not much to update, I’m still dealing with a massive chronic illness flare up, have been off work but going back next week on a part time phased return basis. Fingers crossed it works out. And for silver linings, I’ve had about a week in a row of NSDs.

When I got paid at the end of last month I threw everything at the credit card, so my debt is now 14,687 and I only have the loan left. I’m waiting for the monthly loan interest to be applied, but I should end up around around 14,387 for December. Which is well under the 15k level I was hoping to end the year on

Throwing all the money at the credit card wasn’t the wisest option, I’m still waiting to hear what my December pay will be and there’s a good chance I’ll need to use some money from emergency savings to make ends meet in January. It would have been more sensible to keep the money aside and see if I needed it, but it’s done now. I’d love to end the year under 14k but it doesn’t look likely, I’ve run out of sick pay and I’m initially going back on a VERY part time basis.

No Christmas prep in my house. Need to get a move on!

astrocytic_kitten

Thought it was time for a little review of the past year. I had my LBM moment in December 2018 - the first one that’s actually stuck in recent years - when my debt was £23,167. It is now £14,377.

In 2019 I have:

• Paid £8790 off my debt
• Got the balance below 15k (personal milestone)
• Not increased debt at all - this feels more significant than the amount I’ve paid off, it’s been so long since that’s happened
• I’ve made the odd purchase on my credit card for convenience or s75 protection, but have always paid it off in full within the same month
• Completed home repairs of around 1500, paid for from cash flow and eBay sales
• For the first time in my long life of 0% balance transfers I’ve actually paid off a credit card balance transfer within the 0% period
• Tracked every single penny paid using YNAB, which really has been transformative (this is only since February so not quite a year!)

2019 has been tough - deaths in the family, my health went from bad to worse, lots of unexpected expenses for things like travel to hospital and funerals.

astrocytic_kitten

2020 is going to be hard financially, I‘ll be on massively reduced hours for quite some time. The years where I blindly ran up debt were also characterised by pushing myself far too hard at work, working daft hours, and working through a ridiculous list of illnesses where I should have stayed in bed. I wasn’t looking after myself or my finances, and my health is also in major deficit.

As things stand, I don’t plan to make any overpayments for a while - I can jusssssssst meet the loan payment on my reduced income, and any extra money I can find on top of that I’m going to salt away into savings in case things get worse. If I do this I should still get down to the 10k bracket by the end of 2020. I’d love to get to the 9k bracket, and 4 figures, but I think it’s better to focus on a savings buffer first.

I’ve joined the 2020 frugal living challenge to help me manage my reduced income as well as possible.

The year for me is all going to be about slowing down, being mindful, and accepting where I am (also accepting that it’s ok my career has come to a screeching halt).

I need to learn to properly care for myself, and I also need to learn how to relax my mind as well as my body. Suspect the last one might be the hardest, I really hate meditating...

in_need_of_direction

Good to see all your progress set out in your end of year review. You’ve done really well.

StartingAgainAt29

Hi astrocytic, thought I'd come over and have a peek at your diary. I'm so sorry you're dealing with a chronic illness too, but you're very strong and determined to have kept going the way you have. It will be touch financially but hopefully reduced hours will improve your health tenfold. You've done so well at dealing with your debt too. I feel so much better after meditation usually, hope you can get into it. I use the calm app and really like it.

astrocytic_kitten

Thanks StartingAgain, those are very kind words - I certainly don’t feel particularly strong or determined!

I also have the Calm app and really like it, though I use it for sleep stories, progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises... so everything other than meditation :rotfl: I’ve always been a bit sporadic at using it but I’ve started doing the breathing exercises 3x per day now and I’m trying to add a morning meditation in too, though I’ve missed that a few times.

astrocytic_kitten

Finding myself indulging in magical thinking a lot lately - “if I happened to win 4K somehow, what would I do...”. I’d like to nip it in the bud, I remember spending maybe a year or so pre-LBM daydreaming about winning 20k to pay off the debt instead of knuckling down and paying it off, and I don’t want to slip into that again.

In other news...a very frugal Christmas is sorted apart from one tiny little present. Really not feeling festive at all this year, despite having the fairy lights and classic fm Christmas playing lots. That’s the way it goes some years, I guess. One cat is very ill too, I have a big weight of anxiety and worry in my chest about that.

Couldn’t put off an online food shop any longer so got one delivered yesterday. Started off very frugal then the night before it was due put £5 of chocolate and a Christmas radio times into the basket :wall: For the past 3 years in a row I’ve said I’m not going to buy one because it’s so expensive and I barely watch telly but it somehow always finds its way into my basket.

Other than that, this is my lowest spend December in probably a decade or more. More to do with being too ill to do much rather than anything else, but it’s a pretty good silver lining :rotfl:

Siebrie

I have read your diary from the beginning, and find it very inspiring! You describe really well how you reduce debt, hiccups and all.


I was wondering, at the beginning you said you had to renew your passport? Have you done that yet, and have you handed in the expenses, including the photos and stamp? If it wasn't for work, you wouldn't need the passport. Are there any other expenses, no matter how small, you can ask to be reimbursed for?


For conquering the paper mountain: try 5 pieces of paper every day, and stop after those 5. Really pick them up, read them, discard/take action/file. And then do something else.