Young And Dumb
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Mx_Emmin
Posts: 351 Forumite
Hi 
So I feel a bit silly posting on here. I've seen a lot of people on here with higher debts and lower income, but mine was really stressing me out and it's taken a lot of hard work to build healthier financial habits.
So: some background. I am 26 years old, and relatively newly single. I'd been tracking my bank accounts for a while but not really doing anything about it, mistaking that for budget. The earliest my records go back is May 2017. At that time my overdraft was £1633. I don't know what my credit cards were then.
In October 2018 my marriage blew up (don't worry – I'm happy about it now, though it was upsetting then). We ended it, but neither of us had literally any savings for a new rental deposit.
I managed to intently save for a few months, finding money I didn't know I had, and scraped up a rental deposit in a few months. In fact, by February 2019 I had £1000 of savings! That's now at £700 but I've moved house twice since then, once into family and once into a private house share.
Basically I'm learning how to budget for the first time. I started trying to get my finances in order in October 2018, but as I was leaving my marriage and moved city and then moved house again my bills kept climbing. In February 2019 my various debts peaked at £2335.
I still have a lot of bad habits to unlearn. I was in a bad place mentally for a long time and I got into the habit of spending and putting the payments off for later. I found Martin's Piggybanking technique very helpful.
Today (12th August) my debts are:
Santander Credit Card 1: £379.01
Santander Credit Card 2: £983.47
Overdraft: £150 (my greatest achievement!)
Argos Card: £134.94
Total: £1647.39
All my credit cards are in interest free periods. The Argos card is on a Standing order to pay off before the interest free period runs out. That was a mattress purchase, as I left my old mattress (and bed) behind with my ex. I plan to do a balance transfer in January and combine the balances of the two Santander cards. The only debt there that is costing me money is my overdraft as I get charged £1 a day every day I use it.
Today my savings are:
Emergency Savings: £700
H2B ISA: £374.81
Xmas Savings: £80
Total: £1154.81
The Emergency Savings are a mental balm – the months when me and my ex had to live together because we couldn't afford to move out were horrifying. I just want to have enough money to hand to be able to pay a rental deposit if I need to. In the long run I want to have £2000, maybe £3000 in Emergency savings (I read three months savings was a good goal) and I want to save up to buy a house... BUT paying off my debts is my priority. The Xmas savings I only put aside £10 a month, but it goes a long way come December. The H2B ISA I only put £5 a month in so I don't feel like I've given up on that goal.
(Edit)
One thing that might not come across from those numbers – because I only recently started tracking my debts in detail – is that the nature of my debt has changed as well. When my debts were at their peak, most of it was in my overdraft, which as I've said charges daily. Santander student/graduate accounts allow up to a £2000 overdraft, free at first, but I didn't pay any of it off before it started charging. Now, the majority of my debt is on my credit cards, which are still in their interest free period. Also the nature of my slip ups has changed. At my worst, I was overspending on alcohol. A lot. I was in a bad place mentally. Better now! My most recent slip up was £80 on some Dr Martens. Now, should I have bought £80 shoes with my credit card? No. I should have saved up the money first and bought them outright. BUT. I wear them regularly and I feel strong and happy and they will last me years. That certainly wasn't true of the alcohol, and I spent more than £80 a month on that.
(End of Edit)
I have multiple spreadsheets set up to try help me track my budget. As I said, the piggybanking thing helps most, so I have a weekly spends account. My weekly spends amount is probably higher than it could be but I can only make so many changes at one time.
As I said, as of today my overdraft is £150, and that's thing I'm most proud of. I was planning on reducing it by £50 a month, but last month I managed to reduce it by £150! And now this month, a week before payday, I haven't gone into it at all! There's still another payment to go out so it'll be a photo finish as it whether I go into it. I might get out of my overdraft five months ahead of schedule.
The other thing I'm doing is sliiiiiiightly embarrassing. I've basically set up similar to a sticker reward chart for myself. It's not literal stickers – I give myself points on a spreadsheet for good things I do. I call it FXP because I'm a huge nerd and every time I earn 1000 points I “level up” and give myself a small treat (under £5). I've been doing it since 15th June and I've levelled up once. I have weekly factors and bonus points for the entire month. It's possible to lose points as well as gain them. I feel silly about it sometimes - but if it works, right?
I'm hoping to get out of my overdraft next month, and then really start cracking down on the credit cards. Theoretically... on paper... I could pay them off by Christmas but it would involve some pretty painful cuts and I don't know if I have the self control for that. Also, my laptop is dying. I'm stretching it out as long as I can but I think sometime in the next 12 months I'll have to buy a new laptop and I'm a bit of a gamer so that'll be expensive.
I'm always worried my depression will flare up again and make managing my money impossible, make me fall into the same traps as before, so as long I'm making progress I want to avoid the super painful cuts that will make me miserable. Even if it means the progress is a little slower than I'd like. I've still got to live, right?
Mostly these days I feel more in control of my finances and that's really helping. My overdraft is the priority as it costs me immediately. I have three budgets: one for now, one for my plan for after I get out of my overdraft, and one for my plan after I get a balance transfer card.
I just want to be able to live comfortably, without worry. I want to be able to save up for a holiday: right now that's not even on the cards. I want to save up for a house! I saw some people on the forum talking about YNAB and I like the idea of “aging” my money.
This might be a very short Debt Free Diary compared to some. It's more about me learning how to spend money and manage my finances like an adult.
Sticker charts and all. :j
So I feel a bit silly posting on here. I've seen a lot of people on here with higher debts and lower income, but mine was really stressing me out and it's taken a lot of hard work to build healthier financial habits.
So: some background. I am 26 years old, and relatively newly single. I'd been tracking my bank accounts for a while but not really doing anything about it, mistaking that for budget. The earliest my records go back is May 2017. At that time my overdraft was £1633. I don't know what my credit cards were then.
In October 2018 my marriage blew up (don't worry – I'm happy about it now, though it was upsetting then). We ended it, but neither of us had literally any savings for a new rental deposit.
I managed to intently save for a few months, finding money I didn't know I had, and scraped up a rental deposit in a few months. In fact, by February 2019 I had £1000 of savings! That's now at £700 but I've moved house twice since then, once into family and once into a private house share.
Basically I'm learning how to budget for the first time. I started trying to get my finances in order in October 2018, but as I was leaving my marriage and moved city and then moved house again my bills kept climbing. In February 2019 my various debts peaked at £2335.
I still have a lot of bad habits to unlearn. I was in a bad place mentally for a long time and I got into the habit of spending and putting the payments off for later. I found Martin's Piggybanking technique very helpful.
Today (12th August) my debts are:
Santander Credit Card 1: £379.01
Santander Credit Card 2: £983.47
Overdraft: £150 (my greatest achievement!)
Argos Card: £134.94
Total: £1647.39
All my credit cards are in interest free periods. The Argos card is on a Standing order to pay off before the interest free period runs out. That was a mattress purchase, as I left my old mattress (and bed) behind with my ex. I plan to do a balance transfer in January and combine the balances of the two Santander cards. The only debt there that is costing me money is my overdraft as I get charged £1 a day every day I use it.
Today my savings are:
Emergency Savings: £700
H2B ISA: £374.81
Xmas Savings: £80
Total: £1154.81
The Emergency Savings are a mental balm – the months when me and my ex had to live together because we couldn't afford to move out were horrifying. I just want to have enough money to hand to be able to pay a rental deposit if I need to. In the long run I want to have £2000, maybe £3000 in Emergency savings (I read three months savings was a good goal) and I want to save up to buy a house... BUT paying off my debts is my priority. The Xmas savings I only put aside £10 a month, but it goes a long way come December. The H2B ISA I only put £5 a month in so I don't feel like I've given up on that goal.
(Edit)
One thing that might not come across from those numbers – because I only recently started tracking my debts in detail – is that the nature of my debt has changed as well. When my debts were at their peak, most of it was in my overdraft, which as I've said charges daily. Santander student/graduate accounts allow up to a £2000 overdraft, free at first, but I didn't pay any of it off before it started charging. Now, the majority of my debt is on my credit cards, which are still in their interest free period. Also the nature of my slip ups has changed. At my worst, I was overspending on alcohol. A lot. I was in a bad place mentally. Better now! My most recent slip up was £80 on some Dr Martens. Now, should I have bought £80 shoes with my credit card? No. I should have saved up the money first and bought them outright. BUT. I wear them regularly and I feel strong and happy and they will last me years. That certainly wasn't true of the alcohol, and I spent more than £80 a month on that.
(End of Edit)
I have multiple spreadsheets set up to try help me track my budget. As I said, the piggybanking thing helps most, so I have a weekly spends account. My weekly spends amount is probably higher than it could be but I can only make so many changes at one time.
As I said, as of today my overdraft is £150, and that's thing I'm most proud of. I was planning on reducing it by £50 a month, but last month I managed to reduce it by £150! And now this month, a week before payday, I haven't gone into it at all! There's still another payment to go out so it'll be a photo finish as it whether I go into it. I might get out of my overdraft five months ahead of schedule.
The other thing I'm doing is sliiiiiiightly embarrassing. I've basically set up similar to a sticker reward chart for myself. It's not literal stickers – I give myself points on a spreadsheet for good things I do. I call it FXP because I'm a huge nerd and every time I earn 1000 points I “level up” and give myself a small treat (under £5). I've been doing it since 15th June and I've levelled up once. I have weekly factors and bonus points for the entire month. It's possible to lose points as well as gain them. I feel silly about it sometimes - but if it works, right?
I'm hoping to get out of my overdraft next month, and then really start cracking down on the credit cards. Theoretically... on paper... I could pay them off by Christmas but it would involve some pretty painful cuts and I don't know if I have the self control for that. Also, my laptop is dying. I'm stretching it out as long as I can but I think sometime in the next 12 months I'll have to buy a new laptop and I'm a bit of a gamer so that'll be expensive.
I'm always worried my depression will flare up again and make managing my money impossible, make me fall into the same traps as before, so as long I'm making progress I want to avoid the super painful cuts that will make me miserable. Even if it means the progress is a little slower than I'd like. I've still got to live, right?
Mostly these days I feel more in control of my finances and that's really helping. My overdraft is the priority as it costs me immediately. I have three budgets: one for now, one for my plan for after I get out of my overdraft, and one for my plan after I get a balance transfer card.
I just want to be able to live comfortably, without worry. I want to be able to save up for a holiday: right now that's not even on the cards. I want to save up for a house! I saw some people on the forum talking about YNAB and I like the idea of “aging” my money.
This might be a very short Debt Free Diary compared to some. It's more about me learning how to spend money and manage my finances like an adult.
Sticker charts and all. :j
Follow my Budgeting Journey at Life After Debt!
Debt Free Roll Of Honour - 17/07/2020
Debt Free Roll Of Honour - 17/07/2020
4
Comments
-
Hiya,
I'm 26, saving for a house and came out of a relationship that cost me financially, so we're in good company
I absolutely love the idea of a sticker chart for treat! I always feel like I don't deserve a treat so something that shows you the hard work you've put into having it would be really helpful!!
It really is helpful having a diary. You're on the right track - keep going Single woman doing it on my own... First house bought June 2021!
Mortgage end date: 2041. Goal: Anything less!
Mortgage currently paid off: 4%0 -
Hello and welcome :hello:
You are on the right track now and definitely in the right place to find help to become and stay debt-free.
It was a paradigm shift in thinking and behaviour towards finance and managing my budgets along with the help, advice and support of the amazing folks on here that has helped me to make significant progress towards becoming debt-free.
It has been quite an adventure...
If you need any info, advice or help with anything then just post up and someone will be along to help out.
Feel free to visit other folks diaries here and read and comment and join in the community. We are BIG on mutual support here and learn from each other and help each other out as best we can.
Good luck on your journey and remember you're not on your own, you got a whole community here now.BUGGRITMILLENIUMHANDANDSHRIMP I TOLD EM! - Foul Ole Ron
It is important that we know where we come from, because if you do not know where you come from, then you do not know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you are going. If you don't know where you're going, you're probably going wrong.
R.I.P. T.P.0 -
Hi again! Thanks for all your kind replies so far. I don't want to spam this with posts so I’m typing it up on a word document for a few days and posting when I have enough to say. Still, I think for the first few weeks I might have a lot to say.
So after I posted my first post on Monday I came across the concept of “No Spend Days”... or more accurately, the concept of tracking them and actively aiming for them. Unfortunately on Monday I bought some items from Amazon – two plant pots which I need, my spider plants are escaping their current ones, and a book I suppose I don't need but do want – so Monday was not a NSD.
Tuesday I had to go food shopping. Luckily there's a fairly cheap supermarket near me (I've noticed some people censoring brand names on these threads so I won't name names but think lime green) so my food shop doesn't cost too much. I was hoping to leave the food shop until Wednesday but I realised I didn't have much by way of breakfast food. :mad:
I think the main thing I do that has cut down my spends is to batch cook/meal prep. I cook three to four days worth of dinners and work lunches at once and portion it up into little tubs. It helps at work because our work is right in the centre of town and there are so many food places, especially a McDonalds which we are right opposite. Right. Opposite. Directly. It's maddening. And a nearby site of ours which I go to sometimes shares an air con system with Greggs for some reason so sometimes that branch smells of Greggs all day. But it's easier to be strong with pasta in my bag. It also means I'm less likely to get take out in the evenings because I know I already don't have to cook. I think in July and August so far I've only had one takeout and that was because I specifically wanted Indian. The only downside is then I'm sort of locked into the one meal for a few days. I don't often have the time or energy to batch cook two meals and at a certain point expiration dates are a concern (how do I even judge that for home made items anyway?) so I literally eat the same meal for lunch and dinner for 3 or 4 days straight. Right now it's penne bolognese. I eat a lot of pasta because it's easy to batch cook.
Decided on curry for my next batch cook, with courgette and carrot and sweet potato and new potato and chicken and coconut milk. I’ll cook it Wednesday and hopefully it’ll last until Friday. I put cereal bars in my bag because sometimes I’m insanely hungry after work and that’s another time I’m likely to cave and nip into the McDonald’s opposite for a 99p burger. If I can get 6 cereals bars for £1 Then I’ve saved roughly 80p... it all adds up haha! Also stops me grocery shopping whilst hungry which is the real issue. I use the scan things at the supermarket that track how much my basket is so I can get an idea of how much I’ve spent so far that visit.
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays with 02 priority I get a free coffee. Unfortunately they make me pay extra for coconut milk and caramel syrup (soya milk is free but gross). Still, I got a coffee shop coffee for 90p! :coffee: Also they me scan the loyalty app so I save up points for another free one. I’m hoping Wednesday will be a No Spend Day.
I've been reading up on this YNAB (“You Need A Budget”, for newbies like me) app and it sounds interesting. I don't like their attitude to Debts though... I prefer MSE's “pay off your debts before building an emergency fund” approach to YNAB's “savings first then debt” approach. MSE's just makes more sense to me. And whilst I like YNAB's “give every dollar a job” rule, I don't like their insistence on keeping everything in one account. I think I'm not disciplined enough yet for that, I think I'll lose track of what I have left, of what money belongs to what fund. Sometimes it's easier to separate it all out. I don't think I'm dedicated enough to micromanage my money like they want yet though. Maybe once I'm out of debt/have healthier habits I'll step it up a notch.
I thought I'd give an example of how the sticker chart is working for me. Most days the only points I earn the points are for bringing food into work (as opposed to buying lunch) – that's 50 points. If I buy “lasting” food from Tesco (like bagels and ham that can last a few days at work) that's only 25 points, buying hot food or takeout of some kind is -25 points. If I stay within my weekly spends that's 50 points. It's 2 points for every £1 not spent, or -5 points for every £1 overspent. I get 50 points if I'm able to pay anything extra onto my credit card, anything at all, then 2 points for every £1 I overpay... to differentiate between paying £1 on and £100 on. In July I started this system mid month but I earned 650 points for bringing food from home and lost 210 points for overspending (about £42, on Pride Week, and I saved about £15 on other weeks). Most of the points are given on a weekly basis and then there's a bonus round at the end of the month. I'm doing something similar with exercise points as well so I have EXP and FXP. I'm trying to do that couch to 5k thingy... going well so far, on week 4.
So far this week I’ve spent more than I’m happy with considering its only Tuesday (about £44... :eek: I want to keep my grocery and social and miscellaneous spends under £80 a week) but I’ve only got the one social event this week and I know it'll be £5-£6. Maybe Saturday and Sunday I’ll have to eat cheap. So, Wednesday Goals: Jog (ok, that's not relevant to MSE, but it's still a goal), cook curry, and achieve a day without spending.Follow my Budgeting Journey at Life After Debt!
Debt Free Roll Of Honour - 17/07/20201 -
By the way, I'm reading through a diary thread by "Spekysquarehead" who in March 2016 sounded like he was in a roughly similar position to me. I've read up to Nov 16 so far and he's doing well. Inspiring stuff! I think he plans to debt free by Christmas 2016... No spoilers!
I'm considering separating out some of my spending categories. Right now, as I alluded to above, my groceries, Amazon-type, and social spends are all grouped together. I have a spare current account that I use intermittently and inefficiently at Barclays. I wonder if I should make that my "social spends" account and keep the groceries separate? Food for thought...Follow my Budgeting Journey at Life After Debt!
Debt Free Roll Of Honour - 17/07/20200 -
Hi
Just a quick bit o advice RE posting from a word document... DON'T!!!
Type it up in Word but then save it to Notepad and copy and paste from Notepad into the Forum.
Will need a wee bit of editing before you post up but it's safer.
A few folks have been locked out of the forum for copying and pasting directly from Word...BUGGRITMILLENIUMHANDANDSHRIMP I TOLD EM! - Foul Ole Ron
It is important that we know where we come from, because if you do not know where you come from, then you do not know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you are going. If you don't know where you're going, you're probably going wrong.
R.I.P. T.P.0 -
UncannyScot wrote: »Hi
Just a quick bit o advice RE posting from a word document... DON'T!!!
Type it up in Word but then save it to Notepad and copy and paste from Notepad into the Forum.
Will need a wee bit of editing before you post up but it's safer.
A few folks have been locked out of the forum for copying and pasting directly from Word...
Oh ok! Thanks... it's actually open office, not word, does that make a difference?
Why on earth do they ban people for that?Follow my Budgeting Journey at Life After Debt!
Debt Free Roll Of Honour - 17/07/20200 -
Not sure, open office is a different application, however if you've been using it already with no probs then you should be ok.
I believe the issue with Word was due to the way the forum was set up; a wee glitch in the programming. The glitch meant that anyone copying and pasting from Word into the Forum was flagged as a spammer and automatically blocked by the system. Happened to myself and a few other folks. The MSE admin / mods are great and they were able to help and lifted the block but I don't know if the glitch was fixed.
If I am planning a LONG post I do the Word to Notepad thingy then copy it into forum for editing before I post, just to be sure.
Have a grand day.BUGGRITMILLENIUMHANDANDSHRIMP I TOLD EM! - Foul Ole Ron
It is important that we know where we come from, because if you do not know where you come from, then you do not know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you are going. If you don't know where you're going, you're probably going wrong.
R.I.P. T.P.0 -
Been thinking and comparing YNAB and MSE some more - if any YNAB graduates care to give me their thoughts, I'd be interested
I like YNAB's "give every dollar a job" approach, but I feel their insistence on keeping it all in one account makes you over reliant on thier app... let me explain
Under both systems, you give every dollar a job. For this scenario your budget is £100. £10 is for Christmas, £10 is for social, £20 is for petrol, £20 is for paying off debt, £40 is for groceries. You have already spent £22.63 this week on groceries.
Under YNAB rules, you either need to memorize your spends or check thier app to see how much grocery money you have left. Checking your bank app tells you your entire remaining balance, but not all of that is for groceries. You also need to type in every amount you spend into the app, when you spend it.
Under MSE/piggybanking rules, I just check the balance of my groceries account.
Ok, so I havent personally got it working perfectly yet. But I feel like if I cant make piggybanking work then I have no hope for YNAB. Maybe one day after some practice I can work my way up to YNAB but I feel like it requires more focus and attention to detail than I currently have. Anyone got any thoughts?Follow my Budgeting Journey at Life After Debt!
Debt Free Roll Of Honour - 17/07/20200 -
You don't need to keep all your money in one account with YNAB. I have 3 current accounts, 3 credit card accounts (all paid off every month), and a Savings account.
I don't use the online version. I'm still using the old YNAB4 which was purchased outright so no monthly fee.
I'm not sure how YNAB5 works as never looked at it as I'm happy with the old version.
Denise0 -
Just had a quick read of your diary. The points system is genius. Mind if I borrow it? I'm very much into making things a 'game' of sorts. Like I have a goal of 12 NSD this month and it's almost fun making the days add up and planning my spend days. It also stops me wasting money unnecessarily because I tell myself I have to wait for a day or two and by then, I realise I don't need to buy that thing I was going to.
Anyways...
Good luck with everything. Seems like you're focused and locked in with a plan. I look forward to reading more of your successes.0
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