Time to stop letting our hard earned money slip through our fingers!

BabyStepper

Hi there BabySteps234

Great name, btw!!

I just wanted to say congratulations on all your progress so far...you're doing brilliantly. I also have an ambitious plan, and it doesn't always work out the way I want it to. But as long as you are managing your finances better, paying everything with cash as you go and the debt is going down, then you're winning. Well done!

Good luck.

BabySteps234

haha! Back atcha Babystepper! Really appreciate the encouragement too. Making peace with ‘the plan’ is a good place to be for all of us owing money! Finding a happy balance between paying off debt and enjoying life can be tricky as we are all so desperate to roll the numbers back. There will always be some months when it doesn’t happen how we planned it along the way, but we still have to live and have some fun or it makes the debt mountain feel miserable and impossible, in which case we are more likely to give up. I’ve only recently got my head around that but feel better for it

BabySteps234

So, we are back from our summer holiday that we saved up for (first time ever it wasn’t added straight onto a credit card!). We spent money that I’d put into a separate account since January and managed to have a fantastic time within our budget... I can’t tell you how good that feels that we managed to do this and that I’m not now madly try to rejig our current accounts!

I’ve also been working on some new plans so will get around to an updated SOA but I’ve been really pleasantly surprised by how much I have paid off our debts so far this year: £6500 since End of January which I’m really pleased as means we should have cleared £10,000 by Christmas. My DH credit cards are all at the end of their 0% now so I’m trying to work out best way of shifting the 24,000 on them. I’m thinking a loan may be best (IF he can get the interest rate advertised) as it’s becoming a pain keep moving them every couple of years and then even the transfer costs add up. I then can decide if we go all out and get it gone in two years or be a bit kinder to ourselves and do it over 3..... I’m an all or nothing kinda girl so really I’m keen to get it done over two years and then we can start life afresh without owing anyone anything (except the mortgage). Also it gives me a clearer end date which is what I need else I have a tendency to drift and not pay things as quickly.

I also ‘confessed all’ to an accountant friend who felt that as mortgage rates are so low it’s not a bad idea to put some of my own personal debt onto the mortgage as the money I’ve spend credit card tarting seems to cost more In the end anyway! As I’ve previously mentioned the money I had on credit cards was all from doing up the house anyway and it certainly added the value back into the house so I feel that kind of justifies that for me and I’m happy with that option. My intention is to start making overpayments onto the mortgage as soon as we have cleared everything else and start hammering that down next.

I’ve also saved £800 into a Christmas account and £500 in our ‘contingency account’. Ordinarily at some point in September I start mentally stressing about how we will afford Christmas so it feels good having money tucked away... any that we don’t spend can go into savings or pay something else off!

Now, off to watch some rubbish Saturday night TV! Rock n roll!

savingholmes

BabySteps234 wrote: »

So, we are back from our summer holiday that we saved up for (first time ever it wasn’t added straight onto a credit card!). We spent money that I’d put into a separate account since January and managed to have a fantastic time within our budget...

Congratulations - that is genuinely awesome! Take time to truly feels this and celebrate.

BabySteps234 wrote: »

I I’ve been really pleasantly surprised by how much I have paid off our debts so far this year: £6500 since End of January which I’m really pleased as means we should have cleared £10,000 by Christmas.

That's great too. You've cashflowed a holiday and repaid debt while dealing with family and dog sickness and other issues.

BabySteps234 wrote: »

I then can decide if we go all out and get it gone in two years or be a bit kinder to ourselves and do it over 3..... I’m an all or nothing kinda girl so really I’m keen to get it done over two years and then we can start life afresh without owing anyone anything (except the mortgage). Also it gives me a clearer end date which is what I need else I have a tendency to drift and not pay things as quickly.

You need to find a happy medium. You have also mentioned that you want to reduce your hours. I would tinker with spreadsheets and map out the different options and then see which feels the best for your circumstances. There's nothing to stop you going for the faster plan but setting a few times a year when you take a break. You will still get more paid off than if you went for the slowest version.

BabySteps234 wrote: »

I also ‘confessed all’ to an accountant friend who felt that as mortgage rates are so low it’s not a bad idea to put some of my own personal debt onto the mortgage as the money I’ve spend credit card tarting seems to cost more In the end anyway! As I’ve previously mentioned the money I had on credit cards was all from doing up the house anyway and it certainly added the value back into the house so I feel that kind of justifies that for me and I’m happy with that option. My intention is to start making overpayments onto the mortgage as soon as we have cleared everything else and start hammering that down next.

I can completely see the logic of this and have taken this route at an earlier point back when OH was a student 2001-2004 - we added £24K to our already 100% mortgage as luckily house prices were rising... I so regret that now. There have been loads of studies done that consolidation rarely works as most people don't pay it off in practice - they just extend the term of their home and put their house at risk. Most people then recreate their original debt ad some (we're guilty of this so found it to be true in our experience). You need to change your money habits for good. Studies show slow but steady wins the race. If the worst ever happened and your debt is on a CC you can potentially get it written off without your house being at risk. If you are just talking about the £12K ish to your parents - I think that's potentially a different question. Again we got a £10K loan to pay back a £6K deposit when I was pregnant with my first child despite being on full maternity pay... The danger is that you think 'I'll just' and add other things into it... Only you can decide though.

BabySteps234 wrote: »

I’ve also saved £800 into a Christmas account and £500 in our ‘contingency account’. Ordinarily at some point in September I start mentally stressing about how we will afford Christmas so it feels good having money tucked away... any that we don’t spend can go into savings or pay something else off! !

Again congrats that's brilliant.

HTH

BabySteps234

savingholmes wrote: »

Congratulations - that is genuinely awesome! Take time to truly feels this and celebrate.
That's great too. You've cashflowed a holiday and repaid debt while dealing with family and dog sickness and other issues.
You need to find a happy medium. You have also mentioned that you want to reduce your hours. I would tinker with spreadsheets and map out the different options and then see which feels the best for your circumstances. There's nothing to stop you going for the faster plan but setting a few times a year when you take a break. You will still get more paid off than if you went for the slowest version.
I can completely see the logic of this and have taken this route at an earlier point back when OH was a student 2001-2004 - we added £24K to our already 100% mortgage as luckily house prices were rising... I so regret that now. There have been loads of studies done that consolidation rarely works as most people don't pay it off in practice - they just extend the term of their home and put their house at risk. Most people then recreate their original debt ad some (we're guilty of this so found it to be true in our experience). You need to change your money habits for good. Studies show slow but steady wins the race. If the worst ever happened and your debt is on a CC you can potentially get it written off without your house being at risk. If you are just talking about the £12K ish to your parents - I think that's potentially a different question. Again we got a £10K loan to pay back a £6K deposit when I was pregnant with my first child despite being on full maternity pay... The danger is that you think 'I'll just' and add other things into it... Only you can decide though

HTH

Thank you - it genuinely does feel good! I’d usually be madly swapping holiday debts around about now historically so it’s been lovely knowing we’ve paid for it. We definitely really needed that break - the emotional strain our money worries have had on us has been tough. My DH has been really struggling so the holiday was a real boost.

I would LOVE to reduce my hours and spend more 1:1 time with my little but the reality is that it probably won’t happen. My job is very much a full-time post which financially is beneficial to us - just adds to more family pressures as I run around exhausted once I’m home in the evenings. I have seen a few loans that do ‘breaks’ so you can request two consecutive months off - maybe that’s an idea. I really feel I want it dealt with as quickly as possible so we can really start to reep the rewards of working so much and not just handing money out for things we don’t even remember buying from up to 20 years ago!

yeah I have read that too about people not truly breaking the debt cycle when adding onto a mortgage. It hasn’t been a light decision and one I’ve debated for a good year. I’m quite obsessed with wanting to repay the mortgage and have never added anything onto it before (except a small extension) and never will again. I had always intended to add the cost of doing the house up (knocking down walls / re-jigging layout / decorating) onto the mortgage but somehow I kept paying for bits here and there on credit cards until those bits were impossible to move or sort in a cost effective way... well, until now. My mortgage repayments are relatively low and there is decent equity in the house so I hope it should be a safe decision. My repayment is £450 a month and I’d have to pay that and some, wherever I lived so to me it’s a good option. Before I started working out how on earth we could ever repay this much money I did research lots of options and having debts written off isn’t one for us. Our big dream is to pay off all credit cards and then save for a property to rent out either here or abroad. We hope this will pay for itself and become our nest egg in case pensions aren’t enough. If we had debts written off through court or were made bankrupt this would be a massive problem. So, we have to just keep ploughing on!!

Thanks for cheering me on and for the advice.

BabySteps234

After enjoying some really lovely family time with kids off school and our first fully saved for and paid off holiday (and spending money) and some lovely picnicy days with friends, I have found it incredibly hard returning to work today. The Mummy guilt really got me! Had to leave my toddler screaming at the door “don’t go Mummy” as I drove off for my standard 10 hour day out to work (5 days a week). Actually did have a bit of a cry on route... DH is always really nice and says don’t go - we’ll find a way to make things work. I can’t (as much as I really really want to) cut my hours as I want us to get straight financially as quickly as possible, trouble is, by the time that happens she will have started school so my window to spend quality time together will be gone. I then got in, DH collected kids, I got dinner out, then snuggled with little one for an hour to read books and watch something on TV then I fell asleep mid-book, woke up and she was still wide awake and tucking me up so she could sneak back downstairs! Tried again and this time we both fell asleep in my bed, so only just evacuated her to her own bed! Counting down the days till the weekend already - a nice long one too
Been trying to make lists of all the birthday I have coming up. My little one has hers next month so I have a party to plan. Been exploring lots of options.... i wanted a festival feel outdoorsy eco party .... they don’t exist! Thought there must be a business idea in there somewhere but currently too tired to even contemplate one! Expect I’ll end up booking a play centre of some kind for sheer ease.
I’ve also not started on my school uniform shops... that’s never cheap! As well as uniform I always send them back with new pencil cases brimming with exciting new stationary (well I am always a little excited by shiny new stationary, but maybe that’s just me!?). DD2 always likes to avoid the pencil case though, choosing instead to put black biros into the front pocket of her white shirts so they leave nice inky stains and need replacing most terms. Apparently pencil cases are not cool! Trying to reason with her that ink stained shirts aren’t either, but hey, what do I know! I have to try and pick my battles in the world of teenagers and currently I choose ‘bum hugger’ skirt to battle with her about over pencil case / shirt issues! That definitely isn’t uniform and isn’t really much of anything! As well as the obvious ‘Mum’ objections I also don’t want to spend money on things she may get told she can’t wear either. Will try and get her to come shopping with me over the weekend so that’s at least sorted.
Right..... time to set that dreaded alarm clock again.

savingholmes

I adore stationery too - never grown out of it lol. Good luck with the skirt - I lost that battle with mine.

BabySteps234

savingholmes wrote: »

I adore stationery too - never grown out of it lol. Good luck with the skirt - I lost that battle with mine.

I’m forever buying bits.... and yet I can never find a pen In this house!

BabySteps234

So, somehow I haven’t budgeted well this month at all; £300 into overdraft already and 9 days till pay day! :eek: Not good! I had to fill up the oil tank (heating) which was £500 but will now last over a year and I am going to start budgeting for that properly as that bill is always a killer! Still, lucky I got in with the order when I did, as it’s now kicking off again in the Middle East and those prices are about to go through the roof! I definitely want to explore some greener heating too.... air source pump is what I’d really like but I need to clear debts first.
I also had to kit the children out with their back to school things another small fortune - £25 on one school jumper! Logo ones so no choice unfortunately - the quality is terrible. All of the reviews say they are crap too but they need them and they have to be bought from one particular shop, which to me is totally wrong. I then had another £200 on DS bus pass for the term so back to school has pretty much wiped me out! I then had £450 on new utility sink and units / work top as old one started leaking and ruined unit so pulled whole utility out! I’ve used the rest of our ‘contingency fund’ we’d saved, so spent £400 from that taking it back to a big fat zero again! I then have the plumber coming at the end of the month to fit (once we’ve been paid).
All this was on top of a month my salary was halved (unpaid leave for my kids hols) - starting off into the overdraft won’t be helpful for next month now either.
I have few bits and bobs that really need to be listed.... I’ll have to do that and get a few quid that way to patch us through the rest of the month. It really is two steps forward and two steps back! Still, all bills have been paid so we have a roof and cars filled up to get to work till pay day so could be worse.
Good things:

• £800 in Christmas savings
• Credit card bills all paid on time
• Think I’m on my last £40 sofa payment this month - 4 years on we OWN a sofa! Woohoo!
• Still have a months worth of (bulk buy) eco toilet rolls left so no need to buy
• Still have two months worth of (bulk buy) eco cleaning products (I use Splosh) so non to buy yet
• Completed another qualification this month... strings to my bow.... working towards more £££

Going to write some positive goals out this weekend as DH looks to be struggling again.