Young And Dumb

Mx_Emmin

Just causally trying to work out whether to use a tram card or buy daily tickets based off how often I THINK I'll walk to work... whilt it rains outside...

Mx_Emmin

Payday! Actually a couple of days earlier then I expected. My contracted payday is the 19th, which is a Sunday this month, so I was expecting to get paid Friday - but they do have a habit of paying a couple of days early.
~*~
My budget is in a weird place right now - I have a plan for post-lockdown and for during-lockdown but we're in a sort of weird half place right now that's really hard to account for. In another month I'll have to adjust all my goals.
Spending and Bills
I've put extra money into my clothes category - about £35 total - because a few things have worn out at once. Jeans, jogging bottoms, and work shoes being the priority. Hopefully I can get all 3 for close to £35 at Primark. 
I've put £50.50 into the long-neglected Social Spends category (I don't know where the 50p came from, it just got left behind as I moved money about). That's still not what I used to put into it but so many things are cancelled. I do, however, have my first restaurant date with someone I've been video dating a few months so thats exciting! I haven't put anything into the RPG Night category as the DM has indicated it wont be starting anytime soon.
Hobbies didn't get any money this month but I don't plan to buy anything. I did put a random amount into Takeout - £18.96 - it was the last category I budgeted so it got the odds and sods.
I haven't been able to put anything into "Charity" yet this month, but hopefully by the 1st when some regular transactions have processed I'll be able to figure out what I've got spare. 
I created a new "medical" category recently, but after a few weeks I'm starting to think I might not need it. I thought I would be buying several prescriptions each month but I'm not going through them as fast as I anticipated. 
Obviously my Tram card category needs to keep money in it, I don't know how often I'll have to get public transport. I've left enough in there for a season ticket if I need it, but I'm hoping to walk 1/3 to 1/2 of the time and I'll save money. 
I'm going to try keep some money aside to keep paying a little extra bills but we'll see how it goes as normality resumes.
It's the last month of my phone contract so after this month I'll be putting aside the money I usually send to 02 into a "New Phone" category. 
Savings Pots
I wont go through every savings category, just the ones with something to say.
I've created an extra savings category called "One Last Brexit Shop" as my stockpile got a little depleted during the inital stages of lockdown. I've set a goal of £50 by December. This technically brings my monthly spending to over the amount I get in salary but not every category hit absolute zero before I get paid again so I can usually scrape together the £8.34 the category wants. It started this month so it's only up to £8.34. I must admit I feel a lot less embaressed about my Brexit stockpile after how Britain handled things like loo roll and pasta in early March. 
I've got a category saving up for a program called "Scrivener" for writing. At one point in lockdown I started writing again and I've been wanting to buy this program to help. But I've already dropped the habit again, so I don't know if to keep saving. I'm up to £40 out of £50 needed.
My Debt Free Whiskey is up to £70! I need to buy that Debt Free Whiskey in the next few days - in fact it's probably my next task after this, see if I can get it online, or arranging a click and collect. 
My FA Diploma fund is up to £200, about enough to pay for one exam, if I can just kick the old Mental Health into gear.
The rest of the categories are all on track to meet thier targets at their wanted dates.
~*~
There isn't much to say on all of this today, its all just about trying to figure out what is needed where - and then most likely getting it wrong, because who knows with 2020. 

Mx_Emmin

So I walked into town and bought the whiskey, as well as some jeans and jogging bottoms and work shoes, slightly overshooting my clothing category by £5 but I made it work. I need clothes, now that I can go out and see people again. On the way back from town, I made a decision. I got paid early enough that I could pay off the card manually without it affecting the direct debit, then I called up the same day and asked them to put a "closing block" on the card so the card would close down automatically once the payment processed... that is to say:

I'm Debt Free!!!

A byproduct of this is that I actually closed the card early enough to save myself the £3 monthly fee, if I'd waited I'd have been charged. Which is helpful, as the whiskey was £73 instead of the £70 I had saved. I found it for £65 online, but then with P&P... anyway. 
It doesn't feel real yet. 

I'm keeping one (no monthly fee) credit card open for large or online purchases, for the extra protection on credit cards. I don't intend to use it more than a couple of times a year, and pay it off immediatly. 
 
I suppose technically, technically, technically, I still have student loans - but as Martin points out, those act more like a tax than a debt anyway. 
 
I don't know what this means for this diary going forward. I'm debt free, and this is a debt free diary, but my journey isn't exactly over. I don't have 3 months Emergency Fund. I don't have a house deposit. I need to improve my career/income situation. This diary is likely to continue a little longer, but at some point I might migrate it to another site. 
 
Debt Free! 
 
Edit: I put my name on the Roll Of Honour

DancingInTheRain

Congratulations on your debt free status 🎉 enjoy every drop of your whisky, you deserve it! 🥃

Mx_Emmin

So I havent been keeping this quite up to date the last few days  but only 2 or 3 things happened
~*~
Firstly, although the concept of "debt free" still feels very meta and difficult to grasp, a good thing happened that was more real to me and felt good
I was on a date (not the good part... although, actually, yes, the good part) and at the end I was able to go "I'll get this one, you get the next one" and pay for the entire meal for two people like it was no biggie
And it wasnt a biggie either! 
I remember going to that exact restaurant about 18 months ago and freaking out a little at the prices but the other week I was just like "I got this"
That was pretty cool
~*~
I'm trying to book my first FA Diploma exam for the end of August. The module is called R01. I've bought the voucher for the exam, I'm just having trouble redeeming it for a date online. I'm going to call them tomorrow and try speak to a person about it.
There's a slight chance I've just left it too late in the academic year to get it done before the syllabus change. If I have to take the exam in August I'll need to pay £40 for an updated textbook... I mean, I could really do with NOT paying that as this entire course is hella expensive, but £40 isnt the end of the world.
~*~
Finally, I'm actually getting my nan's money soon. The cheque has arrived at my parent's house - although the cheque has a typo on apparently so chance it gets rejected initially, but they can just rewrite the cheque if needed.
I'm wondering if, instead of putting £400 into my H2B ISA, I put £400 into my FA Diploma fund instead.

It would make more of a difference there and at this point it feels about equally likely to happen and have a long term impact on my life.
In my H2B ISA I need £10,000 minimum, likely more, before buying a house becomes a serious prospect. To finish this course I shouldn't need more than £2,500. It would go further in that pot than in my house deposit fund.
An investment in my future **cheesy finger guns**
Right now I'm still planning a split of £500 for Canal Boat Lessons, £100 for creature comforts, and £400 for Investing In My Future, be it H2B ISA or FA Diploma.

Mx_Emmin

I recently recieved the inheritance cheque from my late Nan of £1000.  I'm just waiting for it to clear - the solictor spelt my name slightly wrong on it, so waiting to see if the cheque needs to be reissued or if the bank accepts it.

I've decided to split it 

£400 into my Finance Diploma fund

£100 for some creature comforts (a shapeshift binder, when they reopen, and some wireless headphones)

£500 for Canal Boat Lessons. Although, and this slightly cheating and breaking the rules, it's temporarily going to do two jobs: Canal Boat Lessons/Emergency-Emergency Fund. Basically, I don't see Canal Boat Lessons happening in 2020. I've got an exam happening at the end of this month, and then I hoenstly think we'll be in some form of lockdown again, and even if we get out of it this year - it'll be winter and cold. And, frankly, this year we could do with a little extra in our Emergency Funds.  Sometime in Spring 2021 I'll actually spend the money on Canal Boat Lessons - but by then I'll have been putting money into the E-Fund for a bit longer and there will be more to fall back on.  So it's not going to offically be in my E-Fund category, but it'll be handily close by if 2020 does something.

~*~
Seeing as this is technically no longer a Debt Free Dairy, I'm in the process of moving my journal over to the YNAB Forums. Basically I will be posting in both journals for a few months, but as some point yet to be decided I will wrap this journal up and move permenently over there. If you do decide to join me over there, don't worry: I'm not going to be reliving the past few years over there for me. That journal is called Life After Debt, which is what I want it to be.

Mx_Emmin

Literally an hour after I made that last post I thought of another (temporary) category I need: Winter Running Gear. I've been doing the Couch to 5K and when the mornings start getting darker I'm going to need some lights and reflective jackets and an alarm.

Mx_Emmin

A yarn I'm running low on for the temp blanket just came back into stock so I spent my haircut money for this month on yarn 😬😬 I'll just have to last until payday (...which is admittedly only 10 days away)

jusferbrowsing

Congratulations on your debt free success. It sounds like you have some exciting plans for the future

Mx_Emmin

jusferbrowsing said:

Congratulations on your debt free success. It sounds like you have some exciting plans for the future

Thank you! 
Yes, exciting plans haha I just need to stick with it! 
 ~*~
I did manage to get that exam booked for the end of August, so it's time to really buckle down on the studying  😬😬😬 £153 for one exam! And that's the cheapest option because I'm mooching textbooks off a friend.
(Thier textbooks only cover the 2019/20 syllabus though, not the 2020/21 syllabus, which is why I need to sit the exam before the syllabus changes or pay for an updated book)