Why is spending money so easy......

Snwps

Snwps said:

Today should be NSD #7/15 all going well. 

Scrap that, we need milk lol

Snwps

So Ive had no NSDs since my last post. Its been £ here and ££ there. Never mind try again next month.

Debt at today is £16,543.85. Lowest figure yet. 

Looking forward to getting DS2s #2 pay on 5th and making overpayment of around £720 depending on how much he gets paid. Then will be in £15k's. 

Weather looks to be rubbish this weekend so will be a quiet one at home. Don't think I need to go far and DH is working away.

Snwps

Just checked my gas & electric usage on the Bright app to see the damage of the new price increases from yesterday. It's not pretty. Im coming off a fixed rate deal so having to catch up on the Oct 21 & Apr 22 price rises. 

30/09/2022 - 12.56kwh used in electricity = £1.82 (@14.595p/kwh)
01/10/2022 - 12.55kwh used in electricity = £4.26 (@33.972p/kwh)

And this isnt including the standing charge. The unit rates on the Bright app dont match what my rates are so I use the kwh amounts used and calculate myself in a spreadsheet. 

Ive had a pretty chilled weekend but had a headache all day yesterday and today I'm full of a cold. So feeling a little sorry for myself. DH is home now and is off the next few days so he can take care of me (I bet he'll be thrilled )

The news about the mortgage interest rates rising is so scary. I'm so glad I switched deals early and managed to get a 0.99% 5 year fix back in December 21. I admit I did pay a bit in early repayment charges to my previous provider to end early but its turned out for the best. I need to get shot of this debt and repay as much as I can off the mortgage in the next 4 and a bit years. 

Snwps

More payments made last few days, inc DH job #2 - total debt now stands at £15,681.29. Total paid £21,811.96 (58.18%). 

My electricity account with BG has just undergone its annual review. Been waiting weeks to hear about it and get my final bill. I still cant see the bill yet but it looks as though they've issued a refund of £203.06. It'd purposely been overpaying the last few months to get a buffer for winter. This is talked about a lot on the Energy boards on here. I had a feeling that if there was any surplus after the review they'd refund. I still have about £66 credit, but this coincides with the EBSS from government so not sure if this will just sit as a credit or if this will also been refunded. They also reduced my DD but I've put it back up to £250, even if just for November DD so that I can get the full 4% cashback from Santander. I'll then drop back down a little.

Gas account is being reviewed by 25th October. I'm in credit on that bill too so will see what happens. I think next year I'll just set the DD as they suggest so that theres no credit by winter to avoid this happening again.

DH is talking about getting a new job. In a completely different field to what he's doing now. He currently works nights regular and has done since the boys were small. It helped me working days and him working nights to cope with childcare and to not need to rely on family as much. The boys are older now so he's looking for a job working days. The day rate pay and shift hours of where he's working now don't make it beneficial for him to swap. The shifts are shorter and pay per hour is less so he'd end up having to work more day shifts to cover the shortfall. So he wants a change. I'm all for it but there is a worry in my mind that shifting jobs now during the cost of living crisis/recession is risky. I know he can always go back to where he is now if it didn't work out. It's just that we're finally getting some where with clearing the debt now and should be done in next 12 months if things stay as they are. We could turn everything upside down if he goes through with this. Will see how things pan out.

enthusiasticsaver

Good that you managed to sort out a new boiler without adding to debt.  Good that you are in credit on your energy bills too.  I update our direct debit monthly with BG so we are paying exactly what we are using as we have a smart meter. No credit but no debit either. 

Like you I wonder if your DH changing jobs at this time is a good idea but no doubt he will think through the implications given the worry around job security, cost of living and possible mortgage rate increases.  Getting rid of that debt will give you some budget leeway.  

Snwps

Time to face the music!!!  New year round up - Debt at 31/12/2022 - £16,171.47. Not great end to the year, I will admit that even though we saved a decent amount for Christmas we still went over budget. But Its done now, so dusted myself off, updated YNAB again and off we go in 2023!

I have a pay rise from this month so any extra to be put towards debt. I, like many others, have had to readjust the SOA/budget for this year due to rising costs but we're still treading water and able to overpay the debt, for now. 

2023 has quite a bit of change in store for me I think, with work. DH still hasn't sorted his "career change" so just plodding along for now. It was nice to have some time off over Christmas and New Year. I really enjoyed spending time with the family. We didn't do much or go far but was nice to just switch off and just do what I want to do for a while without normal life routine. My boys are older now and as great as that is, Christmas wasn't the same this year, pressies and Santa and excitement wise. Made me feel a little sad. 

I plan on trying to get out and about more this year, get a bit more active. Im a lazy sod to be honest and Im quite happy to stay in at home with nice food and company. I want to do more, see more, make memories. So we're going to start local, keep it cheap then move further afield and go from there. 

I want a new hobby, any suggestions. Was thinking of photography and it could tie in with the whole getting out and about and exploring. I plan on doing some self learning through You Tube or doing a brief beginners course on Wowcher or something to learn the basics. I dont have a good camera but the one on my phone ain't too bad so will start with that and see how it goes. 

DH gets paid tomorrow, not sure yet how much so will come back then to update once its paid to debt. 

Snwps

Debt at end of January 2023 - £14,270.77 currently over 5 creditors. I'm hopeful by end of February this will be down to 3 creditors, but the balances on those 3 cards are quite high so will be a while before another drops off. 

Sarahwithlove

Well done on clearing more creditors, are you paying interest on any of them? 

Snwps

No interest, all on 0%, next one by end of August and other 2 early 2024. 

Im glad the numbers are coming down. I could have cleared the debts much quicker, its been almost 4 years, come May, and I thought Id have sorted this by now but thats life. It could be worse I could have carried on as we were and been in more of a mess. Now, minimum payments are hardly anything, mortgage payments are half what they were so have more residual cash left over each month. I planned on cutting the budget to the bone and paying everything to the debt but with the budget being for a family it just wasn't sustainable. So its all about balance. We're still eating out and enjoying life and doing things etc while seeing the numbers go down.

Snwps

Some good news tonight, not going into too much detail on here but we have come into a little bit of money. Its been pending for a few weeks but it's finally hit my bank today. It's enough to officially say we're now debt neutral. The plan is over the next few days start moving the money about and making payments to clear the last few cards down. I'll then come back and confirm we're debt free when those debts are officially zero balance. I cant quite believe it. 

I've already set up a new budget and set up plans and pots and savings accounts to adjust to move from debt payoff mindset to saving mindset. It'll take some getting used to but it's such a relief.