Countdown from £28k...

Sarahwithlove

I think the gym is a good idea as gives you freedom and will help your mental health as will be doing regular exercise. As long as you are gonna use it. 👍

ryanm8655

Payday update...

Total debt now down to £11,097.50. 

Today I cleared the rest of my Tesco card (£557.64) and a chunk from Barclays (£942.66), with the usual £500 DD plus £96 DDs on Natwest and Virgin to come over the month.

This leaves me with just 3 cards left:
Barclaycard: £2852.52
Virgin £4374.64
Natwest: £3870.29

I haven't yet transferred any money into my EF as had a busy day and couldn't review the spreadsheet in too much depth to work out what I can afford to transfer, will take a look tomorrow. Think I can probably afford to clear a little extra to get it to sub £11k but will see...

As lockdown has eased I'm beginning to think realistically about the future and the potential for my financial situation to change, whether that's moving back to London or potentially being technically out of work if I change career...with that in mind I've decided to forget splitting money between the LISA and debt for the time being. My priority is getting rid of my debt by the end of the year (or at least being close) and until then I'll stick to the token £5 a week in the LISA plus sticking some money away in the emergency fund.

Feeling far less stressed today. Things have calmed down slightly at home and I met up with a mate from London for lunch (£17.60 for a beer, coffee and pub food), which was great as hadn't seen him since pre-lockdown (his parents live locally).Sure there are more ups and downs to come...

Did have to fork out for an expensive candle (£36 - accidentally broke one at home and while the said don't worry about it, it felt like the right thing to do). Also spent about £20 on groceries. Have sold a couple of fragrances and have some more I can sell.

My phone bill this month was also extortionate (£70 vs the usual £35) as I twice ran out of data and had to pay extra for 2x4gb. I have 15gb and don't really understand how I managed to use it all. I suspect it's when I watch netflix in bed as sometimes the wifi drops out and it uses my data instead...but it still seems pretty unbelievable. There have also been a few video calls but that is nothing new... My phone memory was full, so I stopped downloading episodes to watch later and avoid using data but might have to go back to that... £35 extra though...ludicrous...

Had some more good news on the job front, though this time relating to the potential career change. I'm through to the next stage for a city law firm, have a written case study to do and an aptitude test as part of that (already passed application and video interview). If I get through that then the next stage is an assessment centre in November. Without wanting to count my chickens, it would be quite awkward having to hand in my notice a couple of months into the new job but ultimately have to look out for number one...I'll cross that bridge if it comes to it I guess...but if it doesn't work out then my current career as a back up is a good option. COVID is the first time I have really benefited from the security the civil service offers...

Will pop to the gym tomorrow to see if that is going to work (not sure how it will work with booking etc.)

Thanks.

ryanm8655

Today has been a bit of a quieter day work wise so I've been through my spreadsheet in more depth. Have transferred another £150 to the emergency fund so it now stands at just under £350. The account has a fee of £13 a month so I'm effectively paying in £137 a month into there.

Going to call and cancel the M&S, Tesco and MBNA cards. They've all got zero balance and there's something about having them that makes me feel uneasy. I don't know the pin numbers so wouldn't use them but it's just three other cards to think about that I don't need. Was keeping them open to try and lower my credit utilisation level but I'm not going to be buying a place or needing credit anytime soon so I don't really see why I should care...it's just falling victim to the credit score monster...

Going to head and check out the gym now and then take advantage of the sunshine to go for a long stroll as struggling with boredom today and have been considering going shopping to alleviate the boredom.

I really want to try and limit my spends to £120 a week (including groceries and fuel etc.) for this month but the boredom is a barrier...

ryanm8655

All cleared cards now cancelled. Just 3 cards left. Barclaycard should be gone in 2 months and then it’s onto the virgin and NatWest.

Going to be a long wait for the next pay day. Work is quiet so will check out the gym this weekend to give me something to do.

Got to do a written exercise for the law firm app so going to book a hotel for no distractions. Fortunately already had the day booked off.

enthusiasticsaver

Well done on getting down to almost £11k. £17k paid off in a relatively small time is awesome and I agree that closing the cards is the right thing to do.  I don't think that keeping cards open to keep credit utilisation low actually makes a difference with credit scoring but as you say you do not need credit any time soon so no point in keeping the temptation of empty cards especially as things are starting to get back to normal and you may be back to living in London soon. 

Why do you pay £13 for a bank account? 

ryanm8655

enthusiasticsaver said:

Well done on getting down to almost £11k. £17k paid off in a relatively small time is awesome and I agree that closing the cards is the right thing to do.  I don't think that keeping cards open to keep credit utilisation low actually makes a difference with credit scoring but as you say you do not need credit any time soon so no point in keeping the temptation of empty cards especially as things are starting to get back to normal and you may be back to living in London soon. 

Why do you pay £13 for a bank account? 

Thanks for checking in.

I mainly have it for the breakdown cover and phone insurance, though it also includes travel insurance. Have debated cancelling it but Sod’s law I’d lose my phone and my car would breakdown in the same week ha.

enthusiasticsaver

You can get phone insurance and breakdown cover for a lot less than £156.  As for travel insurance, are you really travelling anywhere at the moment?

IrishSean

WD Ryan.. You're on the race to 4 figures now.. sub 10 will be some shot in the arm with new job / jobs in the pipeline. 
Imagine saving what you're paying: you'll have an even more aggressive savings target, given all this debt paydown! 
If I got something on premium bonds this month it would further incentivise my target.. anything over £25 would be delightful😂 

ryanm8655

enthusiasticsaver said:

You can get phone insurance and breakdown cover for a lot less than £156.  As for travel insurance, are you really travelling anywhere at the moment?

Just looked into it and you’re right. Can get breakdown cover for about £35 with unlimited call outs and no excess. Phone insurance is surprisingly cheap as well. Looks like I can halve those costs. 

My only reservation is that I’ve never heard of the companies that are cheapest for breakdown cover, how quick will they be etc. Or is it reselling of cover where it’ll be AA/RAC turning up?

Likewise on phone cover, I know the bank is great in terms of speed etc. Will one of these cheaper companies try and wangle their way out of a claim?

Will do a bit more research but if anyone has any experience of either cheap and phone and breakdown cover providers then that would be great!

IrishSean said:

WD Ryan.. You're on the race to 4 figures now.. sub 10 will be some shot in the arm with new job / jobs in the pipeline. 
Imagine saving what you're paying: you'll have an even more aggressive savings target, given all this debt paydown! 
If I got something on premium bonds this month it would further incentivise my target.. anything over £25 would be delightful😂 

Thanks - yeah, should be sub £10k on the next pay day! Then the next payday will be the first with the payrise (though I’m anticipating the usual tax !!!!!! ups and being charged emergency tax, since I’ll be paid one week by my old department and three in the new one). Should also be paid a chunk for unused holiday, which I can chuck at the debt. 

Would be nice to do a couple of months here to build up a nice pot of savings once the debt is gone but it all depends on when the office reopens. I can’t stand the thought of commuting again plus I am also going nuts at home. Feel like a child at times and very judged Can’t wait to have my independence again.

Gym is £35 per month, will also see how much the local David Lloyd is as they have a 3 month trial. If that’s £35 or less then I’ll do that for 3 months and then cancel.

Still need to book the hotel for Friday, they’re surprisingly pricey. But I need one with decent WiFi etc.

Thanks.

Sarahwithlove

I've got mine through compare breakdown cover the last few years and it's been fine. They guarantee to be with you within an hour and basically they find the nearest garage to where you are that does breakdown and they come out to you so can be different company each time but I've never had an issue with it. They almost act as a broker and just pay the company they use themselves