Newbie

DMc92

Hi guys!

So as you may have guessed from the title, I am new to this forum. In a nutshell, I have been struggling with money management and debt for a number of years now and thought it would be a good idea to surround myself with likeminded people who also want to escape the debt spiral.
I’m in my late twenties, have existing debt of roughly 5.5k. This includes the bane of my existence, an overdraft (which makes up the majority of this debt). It transitioned from my student OD and I now pay approximately £70 a month in interest. I live with family and pay fairly cheap rent but it’s an expensive area and food costs a lot. The idea was I would live at home for a year to save up for a flat using the help to buy scheme. Three years down the line and I’ve gone between having savings and being down to the last few £ before pay day. I went through a terrible cycle of binge eating disorder and impulsive spending to cope with a high pressure job and abusive manager - my self esteem was in tatters, and I tried to shop and eat to make myself feel better. Which obviously didn’t work out!
I am in a better place now overall. I moved to another department, met a wonderful man with whom I now plan to buy a place to live and am now physically much healthier. However, I have given myself a hefty challenge. A promise to move out of the house (two years more than I meant to is long enough and my boyfriend and I need our own space), to get out of my overdraft, and get together whatever money possible for a deposit. All by next year. We have about £5000 from savings his parents put aside for him but I need to pull my weight as well and get at least the same amount.
So ultimately I’m here to get into the frame of mind to allow my budget to determine my lifestyle, not the other way around. I have an excellent credit score and would rather pay off my debts by careful budgeting and no excessive spending to increase our chances of getting a mortgage. I have definitely made terrible mistakes with money in the past as a way to deal with stress and anxiety (counterintuitive for sure) but I need to turn this around.
Hopefully this will be a way to hold myself accountable and will pick up some tips on how to be financially responsible once and for all!
Thanks for reading if you got to the end haha!
Peace.

twiggy86

All sounds really positive! This forum is a great place for ideas and motivation for making more and spending less! Good luck!
(Should say - from my signature it looks like I'm a newbie too. However I've been here before, cleared my debts but then forgot all the lessons and tricks I'd learnt!)

MovingForwards

Welcome to the first chapter in your new book, you are in good company

With your savings start small and get used to a routine. Look at the 1p a day savings challenge. Also my favourite trick is moving the pennies from my main bank account into another account(s), everything 99p and under goes.

I also have a dedicated current account for my debts, money goes in and direct debits to creditors go out from that, yes some of my pennies go into that to build up a debt payment fund. I then can see exactly how much money I have in my normal account for bills/food/rent/fun etc.

FootyFanDan

Hi

Welcome to the forum and good luck in your journey, there is loads of people here that can provide some amazing advice, i would strongly suggest reading some diaries as i found this really helped me pick up some tips.

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary

DMc92

Thank you all for your kind welcome! I can’t wait to read up and get some hints and tips

Willing2Learn

Hi DMC92 and welcome to the forum

I just wanted to say that you need to tackle your overdraft as a priority. An OD that is always in use looks bad to prospective mortgage lenders when they view your file, as it makes it appear that you are living beyond your means. Also an OD can be withdrawn at any time, without notice. You need a strategy to address this. Are you able to post your SOA (Statement of Affairs)?

DMc92

Hi WillingLearn

Yes I will post my SOA later today The OD is absolutely my number 1 priority and I pretty much live in constant fear of a letter from the bank saying it’s been taken away. I did consider a balance transfer card but I really do not want to compromise my credit score!

sourcrates

Can I just tentertivly remind you this is the diaries section of the forum.


SOA`s, and any advice arrising from them, should be posted in the general DFW forum.


Thanks.

savingholmes

Good luck on your journey

DMc92

Morning everyone,


Been spending a lot of time crunching numbers this past week. Happy to say I've made some much needed cuts to the budget. These consist of subscriptions I wasn't using regularly, also signing up for the free version of Spotify instead of Apple or Amazon music; this has the Killing Eve playlist so a very happy woman!
Also decided to finish up PT sessions at the gym and fly solo for a while. While the fees themselves were cheap compared to other trainers, I admitted to myself it was a massive luxury and I can trust myself to get by on my own.
I cannot describe the relief I'm feeling from making these changes. Also looking at meal planning and setting a budget for food shopping. Found out I can reduce my overdraft by any amount so as well as throwing a set figure at this each month, I will trim small amounts off wherever possible. Very excited for this!
Despite cutting back on luxuries, I am going to allow myself a little 'fun money' each month. It feels like if I don't, I will slip back into massive spending sprees. My partner and I are looking at flats we would potentially consider buying so this is all the more motivation.


Hope you all have a nice day (and it's almost Friday!)