Debt Goals

takingcontrolatlast

Hi,

I haven't posted in a very long time - I'm getting older and it feels like an eternity that i've been in debt and i really don't want to carry it on towards my retirement. My dreams for retirement do not include debt.

Today is the 1st April and I have been the fool. I don't want to use this diary as a negative platform. i feel a new surge of inspiration as this time I have positive GOALS. I want to get out of debt because I want to plan my retirement and actually have some enjoyment from life, with my family and not just exist pay day to pay day.

OK... so I'm breaking things down for me to manage and move forward with my goals.

GOAL 1: Get Current with Bills

The first goal to tackle is my car insurance which today will bounce. Stupid decision as I rely on transport for work.

Solution

Liaise with the company to see if I can pay double next month. My budget next month will take a big hit as this is a double expense.

I need to cut back on the food budget or try and bring in some additional income. I do have money gifted to me for Mothers Day which I can utilise towards the payment.

Good to be back x

takingcontrolatlast

Many thanks for the like SuffolkSue

Debt Goad 1

So I have received the formal email to say DD has bounced and a charge of £15 to be incurred. I have telephoned the company and arranged a double payment plus the £15 charge which makes a grand total of £171.40 to be deducted from next month's budget.

I have 4 weeks to try and raise as much towards this figure.

Goal 2 - Vet Bill to be paid Friday

Unfortunately my gorgeous cat has been diagnosed with thyroid issues and is on daily medication of 2 tablets (one is also a blood pressure tablet). No I'm not insured. The fees vary month to month depending on whether the vet wishes to see her. The fees range from around £70 - £120.

This fee raises issues within the home as to who is going to pay for it. She was diagnosed at Xmas and there was just no money to pay it from the budget and my DH has had to pay 2 vet bills and my DD has paid a bill. It is so obviously my turn to pay and i dont have the funds.

Solution

I need to raise the vet bill by Friday. There is just no way I can do this. I have applied for a cc which I hope comes in time so that I can pay this bill. This is not ideal but the card has a low credit limit and I aim to pay it off and then close the account. If it does not arrive by Friday - I will have to ask DH again.

We need to include the vet bill in going forward into the household budget.

#Frugal living!

takingcontrolatlast

Yay it's Friday so 2 days off :j

Today also means the vet bill needs to be paid... the cc did arrive but I missed the vets tonight after work so will settle the prescription charges in the morning and collect the medicine tomorrow. I'm annoyed with myself that I have taken a cc out to pay a bill and yes it is stupid but it is the solution I have chosen in the short term as the cat does need the medicine and I just dont have the funds to pay it. I have discussed the situation going forward with DH and we agree vet bills should be in the household budget as an expense rather than one of us trying to "find" the money to pay the bill.

So now its a case of how we incorporate a new expense into the budget. We are just going to have to try and cut our cloth accordingly by being more frugal and by trying to bring more money in. DH has overtime tomorrow so that helps.

The water bill has doubled so we are in the process of looking at how we can save money on that - I may try telling DDs to only have showers rather than baths and in DD2's case bath followed by immediate shower! or ask them to have smaller baths rather than a full tub...at least :eek:

I am trying to be more aware of savings with regard to the food shop and reducing the waste. It is quite challenging and rewarding to make meals out of leftovers or scraps and in fact had a few compliments from the family ... left over salad, fishcakes from freezer and the bits left in the pasta bags did actually make a nice tea with abit of help from mayo and soft cheese :rotfl: I have even made home made chicken soup with a stock from the carcus and scraps of veg. The remainder of the sunday chicken meat was also utilised and everyone really enjoyed the soup.. just bought a baguette to go with it and got dinner and supper out of it over 2 days. Found ideas on Yo* T**be - Any savings made from shopping ideally I want to put to being current on the bills in the first instance as I have fallen behind on a few. The household bills are all current - its just my insurance I want to catch up on initially which incidentally i have £13.20 saved towards it ( left over money from Mother's Day - and I bought a much needed face cream in the JL sale).

Car Insurance £93.20//£80 - (previously quoted a double payment which is wrong as £78.20 will come out of next month's wages.

Tonight I'm chilling... DH cooked tea of frozen chips, egg and beans and 2 slices of buttered bread Not the healthiest but it went down a treat and reminded me of childhood :rotfl:

Tomorrow's plan is visit to the vets, meal prep for the week and food shopping followed by cleaning the house.

I'm excited to see what I can save from tomorrows shopping to put towards the car insurance catch up payment.

x

takingcontrolatlast

Lovely sunny day which makes me feel a lot happier with life.

So I paid the prescription for the medication at the vets and was then informed the vet wishes to see my cat at the end of April for a double appointment to take bloods and review. Long story short... they messed me around with appointments - ringing me 3 times to change days as vet on leave - the vet works part time and the receptionist got mixed up when she works etc.... so the appointment is now the end of May (unless they ring me to change again) which I'm grateful for as longer to possibly cut back on a few things as it will be an expensive vet bill if the vet wishes to see her and take bloods :eek: She's doing fine but I understand she should be reviewed.

I then went shopping and managed to shave £20 off the shopping bill. I done this by meal planning and trying to stick to the list. I didn't stick to it as I did an unexpected trip to Aldi (it was so busy) and got a few extras but done well there tbh. I managed to buy 2 bunny rabbit eggs (copy of L*ndor) ones and will put these away for the little ones in the family... still need to get more but I'm not going mad and splashing out on chocolate eggs.

I then went to T*sc* and looked for the bargains - I managed to buy some reduced items for the freezer (chicken pie, garlic bread, pizza) just handy to have in - not healthy options for me - but okay for the rest of the family as they're not diabetic or have high cholesterol

My freezer is looking good - i'm doing an inventory every week to see what's in there and trying to meal plan around it. Tonight its enchillardas (cant spell), tomorrow cottage pie and hopefully there is left overs for Monday (if not freezer option)- tuesday will be chicken sausage pasta and hopefully enough left for wednesday; thursday chilli and rice and friday will be whats in the freezer or fridge.

I'm going to make a freezer breakfast option which includes muffins, eggs, cheese, peppers, spinach and freeze. Alternatively I can keep in fridge and then just microwave but I hate using works microwave so I'm sure I could eat cold as the filling will have already been cooked.

So the savings from today's shopping has gone to the car insurance which now stands at:

£93.20/£60

Crikey I keep doing this wrong - the shortfall is £93.20 and I now have £33.20 towards it leaving a balance of £60 to find.

I haven't managed any cleaning today - DD1 did put on washing though. So I'm going to watch the Grand National (I have the favourtie in the sweep) and then start the dinner. Cleaning will be for tomorrow

x

takingcontrolatlast

Gutted - just typed a long post and its lost

takingcontrolatlast

So I'll keep it short ...

I did win the office sweep on the national - not sure how much - this will go to my car insurance deficit but feel sad as a poor horse died in the race

I'm sleep poor (every night disturbed) but today i'm cleaning, batch cooking and I've picked up my knitting again.

Lots going on - which I did post and lost :mad:

I dont have time now to retype it unfortunately but i do have a plan (on paper) so feel more in control even though finances look bleak.

Thanks for the Likes xx

x

beanielou

Always good to feel in more control

takingcontrolatlast

Couldn't agree more Beanielou

I can get overwhelmed with all the debt sometimes and think there is no end in sight so my approach atm is to keep writing - something to focus on and do my best to achieve one goal at a time. I'm so determined not to go into retirement in debt. The sooner I can get out of debt, the sooner I will be able to retire :j

I have lots going on - changed job twice, moved house and a few health issues and scares all on top of the pressures of debt and all within a year - the majority in the last 6 months. I know what I want now... i want to eventually work part time and enjoy life - do more fun things !! I realise I had totally lost what I want out of life over the last 10 years due to all the stresses. The most important thing to me is my family and I need to improve my health so i can be there for them and hopefully future grandchildren :j

So I cleaned up today with help from DH, batched cooked a version of egg McM*uffins for breakfasts or lunch. I have a free lunch tomorrow so DH and DD2 are taking one each for their lunch. The rest i'm freezing. Ideally I wanted wholemeal muffins but couldnt find any

I grated breadcrumbs from old bread and put in freezer - I haven't a clue what I'm going to do with them :rotfl:

There is left over cottage pie for tomorrow's tea which I will bulk up with veg.

I shouldnt really need to spend any money this week - maybe petrol if it runs out but that should be all (budgeted for).

I'm really into meal planning and trying to be frugal - wish I'd done it years ago!

x

takingcontrolatlast

My total winnings from the sweep is £20 which has gone straight in the envelope for my deficit on car insurance. I now have £53.20 towards the payment.

I won't be making freezer breakfasts again - would rather have toast:rotfl: still nothing ventured nothing gained! They weren't worth the effort though. A simple omelette would be just as nice.

Money wise this week I have opted out of works pension as its expensive - i have made enquiries about paying into my private pension which is cheaper so just waiting on the paperwork.

I'm just keeping on going over the budgets and lack of savings for birthdays etc. i think I'm dreading May as there are so many birthdays in the family. In fact in April there are 2 and Easter!

I have a habit of overthinking everything and then I get overwhelmed with it all and lose focus. So as I planned, i'm just focusing on the car insurance deficit - rightly or wrongly but its what I have decided.

I bought a £1 raffle ticket today in work - you feel obligated as everyone joins in but inside i wanted a NSD :rotfl: Some lovely prizes though!! Fingers crossed x

x

takingcontrolatlast

Its been a tough week - quite stressful in work but I think it is always difficult when starting a new job - when I'm stressed I eat and lose control of spends. Whilst I haven't gone mad spending I think I have only managed 1 NSD. I have only little spends on.... yes food! Crisps here, chocolate there!! I bought a pair of jeans for a fiver in the Te*co sale - I do need clothes and they were only a fiver, however, they are a little big (I can pretend I've lost weight) I have also had a free lunch today and my DD2 took me for dinner on Monday so that's been nice and not cost me anything.

Financially this week I have another £3 to put towards the car insurance - that's £56.20 now saved towards the £93.20 deficit. I'm really chuffed that I still have it in the envelope! I think having one goal is working for me.

I think it is going to be a tough week next week financially. I am meeting a friend on Sunday to go to a book signing and will probably go for a bite to eat. I never usually "do lunch" and whilst I feel guilty about spending the money I don't have - I can't say no as I haven't seen her in a few months and she is treating me to the book. I'm dipping in to what is left of my overdraft that I had cleared about 6 months ago but dipping in one last time as it will be maxed out at £250 (it will be one of my goals to clear this overdraft and close it but one thing at a time). I also have a niece's birthday next week.

I have a couple more Easter Eggs to buy which will come out of the food shopping... speaking of which ... this week i wasted chicken sausages as I defrosted them and they sat in the fridge for over 2 days as we didnt cook after work I then got frightened to cook them ! It's really annoyed me that I wasted them. Although i had meal planned - we have all been too tired to cook and had "snacky teas" as we are all on different shifts. It means my freezer still looks quite full and tomorrow morning I will do an inventory and meal plan around items that are already in there. I hope I can manage to try and save some money but I'm not hopeful this week due to the Easter Eggs and some expensive items I'll need like soap powder and conditioner.. we'll see how I get on.

Oh... I didn't win the raffle :rotfl:

enthusiasticsaver

If you have opted out of the works pension doesn't that mean you are missing out on your employers contributions?