No more plastic fantastic

RoslinGirl

Hello Fellow MoneySavingExperts! I am a very long time lurker who is finally coming out of the shadows to say a huge hello and thank you for all the inspiration I have read during lurkdom!
Ironically, I am joining in just as we have (almost!!) become debt free. My Husband and I had run up quite a significant amount of unsecured debt (around £50k..eek!!) which was due to several reasons but mostly bad financial management, if I am honest.
We were in the very fortunate position that we had an asset we have been able to sell to allow us to clear these debts. Whilst I am exceptionally grateful that we have had the option of this it was not a decision without stress, pain or sense of loss.
However, on a more positive note we have the opportunity now to finally breathe and at least have a fighting chance of making a budget work.
I am very conscious that we didn’t have to go through the long slog of paying back the debt on a monthly basis and this worries me. I think there are many lessons we will have missed along the way (I know there are from reading so many of the excellent diaries on this forum) and I want to make sure that we take the chance to develop lifelong budgeting skills as there won’t be another get out of jail free card we could use in the future.
I am therefore taking the very daunting step of starting my own diary to give myself some accountability and a regular personal reminder that big debts often start out as very small overspends with a touch of flawed logic.
I have been actively reading these diaries over the last year in the build up to being in this situation and my mindset around money has changed beyond belief, so I do really think I have the best chance possible of making this change.
Although I haven’t made myself known I have regularly read and enjoyed diaries by Foxgloves, HappyNow and TreadingonPlayMobil (amongst others). All in different situations but all with something I can take away and learn from. So, another motivator for my diary is to give back to the community that has unwittingly given me so much food for thought and guidance. If my diary can offer support to anyone (known or otherwise) it will be worthwhile.
I will be back over the next couple of days with a plan as to how to make sure we finally live (happily) within our means.
So…wish me luck as we start the new decade with an actual budget we intend to stick to…..! Wow.

Yellow_mango

Happy new diary!

Blackcats

Good luck Roslin Girl - it's very exciting to start a new phase and a new diary. I plucked up courage to start my diary about a week ago and it's very motivating. These forums are amazing and full of such good advice, kindness and wisdom. I look forward to following your journey

foxgloves

Wow, you have been a secret reader of my diary! Do feel free to chip in.... all comments & discussion welcome & I do try to acknowledge all contributions, as I often get to pick up so many ideas.
You are absolutely right in your assertion that big debts often begin as small regular overspend. Mine certainly did. I could hand over £50 at the till without blinking. It's not that much, is it? But do it just 4 times & that's £200. Do it ten times a month & those insignificant little £50 treats or series of fritters add up to an un-budgeted for £500. That old saying our grannies said about looking after the pennies & the pounds taking care of themselves was a bit cheesy, but also completely true!
F

RoslinGirl

Oh Wow! I wasn’t expecting so many replies and support. Thank you so much to you all. Foxgloves, it feels like a celebrity has commented in my diary, thank you for stopping by!!! ��

Firstly, happy new year. I hope 2020 is a frugal and prosperous one for each of you. It is exciting to be started a new decade where debt it not going to be accruing!

So, the last couple of days has been taken up with the New Year Celebrations. We had friends to stay so I have scarcely had time to think let alone budget. However, they were relatively cheap to entertain so no major expenses have been incurred. Phew!

This morning I bit the bullet and sat down to do a budget for the year. Our debt was only cleared just before Christmas so really January is our first month without those crippling debt repayments and should therefore be easy?!?!?

Annoyingly, we have fallen foul of the spending January’s money on Christmas scenario for which I feel totally stupid. I was aware this was a potential issue and so determined to clear our debt and start on the best foot going forward, but this has not happened in reality. I am beyond frustrated with myself.
In the past I would have walked away from the budget and declared the whole thing a disaster and that is where I will make the change. I have set a budget which should be achievable in February (although worryingly not so full of the abundance I was expecting….things are just very expensive and putting money aside to cover future expenses means there isn’t too much left…no wonder we were in debt!) but January is going to have to be full on survival mode.
January is a long dark month at the best of times but worse that money is going to be tight. Still, I am determined that this will be the last month like this!!
I have opted to use a physical envelope system for things like food, fuel etc as I think keeping and using cash will help make me more aware of spending and it will be easier to keep track of spends. I want to try to keep things as simple as possible, but it all feels quite complicated and a lot to think about at the moment. Ridiculously, I work with figures for my job and I would not say that I was a stupid person in any way but there are so many things to think about that it feels overwhelming. Of course, a good bit of this is fuelled by the emotions around having been frivolous with money in the past. It is such an emotive issue, I think.

Anyway, I will put on my positive pants and keep going. I can only get better at budgeting and learning to navigate the bumps in the road is all part of the fun!

All good wishes,
RGxx

[Deleted User]

I'm recently debt-free too, and feel your apprehension - it feels like it should be easier than it actually is!
I've subscribed too, you're starting from a good place, even with the hints and tips you've picked up from reading so far, and from those you read in the future, I'm sure you'll find your way to a stable budget within your means. It's always a work in progress for the first few months, as expenses creep out of the woodwork, but it's all a learning progress. Making the adjustments along the way, will set you up for the future, even if it feels frustrating at the moment. Hoist up those positive pants, it's all going to be ok

RoslinGirl

Happy Saturday Everyone!
I didn’t intend to leave my next post so long. However, I was fully intending to post once I had set a sensible and realistic budget for myself and was easily and comfortably living within it. I thought I might post about a fun way that I had saved lots of money on a planned and necessary purchase. However, I am having to accept that imperfect and shambolic are going to be more my style!! Ha ha
This is the progress so far:
I have made a plan that will get us to the end of January with no style or comfort but fed, watered and transported to only the most necessary locations.
I have made a start and have a draft budget that I hope will be a long term plan from February onwards. Great debate on how much to budget for the more discretionary things like Christmas and Birthdays etc is ongoing. My very first draft would have required at least one major lottery win to be sustainable, so I have climbed down quite far! We have added up all the relatives we buy Christmas presents for and tried to set a budget so we can get an idea of how much we need to save each month. I was quite happy to excommunicate most of my Husband’s family, but he has (unreasonably!!) vetoed this. It is hard trying to be sensible AND realistic with these figures. We need to make sure we don’t set the figures too low and then give rise to the temptation to use credit cards when the actual time comes. This is a work in progress…..!
I then felt great success as I have a meal plan for not only this week but next week too. I did a thorough audit of the cupboards, fridge and freezer and found that we didn’t really need to buy very much at all (hooray – some help with the January budgeting fiasco!). We live very rurally and although we do have a supermarket (it is little more than a corner shop type affair) it is very limited. Also, the average price of a tin of beans there is the equivalent of an entry level family car! However, our nearest proper Supermarket is over 30 miles away so if you only need a few items there is a debate as to whether it is worth the fuel and time to go to the bigger one or just pay the higher prices.
I opted to go to the local shop after intense internal debate (I bored myself let alone you dear reader with this). It was a complete disaster to say the least. Firstly, I brought the whole shop to a standstill as they tried to cope with someone buying a great deal more items than their usual clientele who can only buy one pint of milk at a time. Then as they only had half of what I needed I now must make the longer journey for even less items!!
Not a sparkling performance so far, it is true. However, I am still here and still trying!! ��

RoslinGirl

[I'm recently debt-free too, and feel your apprehension - it feels like it should be easier than it actually is!
I've subscribed too, you're starting from a good place, even with the hints and tips you've picked up from reading so far, and from those you read in the future, I'm sure you'll find your way to a stable budget within your means. It's always a work in progress for the first few months, as expenses creep out of the woodwork, but it's all a learning progress. Making the adjustments along the way, will set you up for the future, even if it feels frustrating at the moment. Hoist up those positive pants, it's all going to be ok ]

Thanks so much BlackCoffee...it is good to hear that it isn't just me who is finding the budgeting hard even without the debt. For me, it is just bringing into focus how much we were living beyond our means so this is going to take some adjusting to. We will get there I am sure!

Incidentally, black coffee no sugar is exactly how I take my coffee....just think of how much I must have saved over the years in milk and sugar?!?!?! There is hope for me yet!! Ha ha

RoslinGirl

Hello Everyone,

It is a horrible wet day where we live which is a wonderful backdrop to the usual January blues! It is a long and boring month and financially I will be pleased to see the back of it!

I have been working on maximising the food we already had (which is actually lots and lots when you look with an open mind!). So, I have made two portions of braised cabbage and beetroot for the freezer which was made from left over veg from the holidays. It could easily have gone to waste so I am pleased to have made that effort. I have also made an Earl Grey Tea Loaf from some leftover mixed fruit, beef and mushroom stew from lots and lots of left over mushrooms (not sure how we had so many...Mr RG must have been in fear of some great mushroom shortage!) and I mixed a large pot of Greek yogurt with some frozen mixed fruits and portioned it up into small pots for the freezer so they can be used for packed lunches. Finally, I will make a toffee and pecan loaf as I have all the ingredients for this (bought specifically just didn't get round to it) and I will likely freeze that so we have a lovely slice of cake for packed lunches once the tea loaf is finished.

I am pleased with this progress but I still feel a bit at sea with the budget as it feels a little impossible this month. I would usually give up at this stage but I will keep going as it will get easier, I know.

I feel that making sure I know the reality instead of sticking my head in the sand is the most important hurdle. It is the same way I feel about weight gain. I was convinced I had put on at least a stone over the holidays (I absolutely deserved to do so...I am not sure I stopped to breath between large mouthfuls of chocolate for a full two weeks!) and I had to force myself on the scales and believe it or not I had not put on any weight at all. Had I not stood on the scales I would have continued shoveling chocolate as I would have believed the whole thing to be a disaster thus creating the actual disaster!!

This is all good insights but making myself do this is certainly a challenge!

All good wishes,

RG Xxx

RoslinGirl

Tonight I have cooked up some burgers and sausages (we sound healthy, I know! that were left over in the fridge. I would normally have thrown them out as they have been in there a while (oops!) but I have managed to make two meals out of them, so I am delighted with that.

I am enjoying reducing our food waste which was despicable. One of the reasons for the name of this diary is that I would like to generally reduce our household waste food and otherwise. I think over consumption of all things (including money) has become the norm and it is so difficult to appreciate and care for what we have when there is so much. We are a family of three (one of whom is a toddler, to be fair) but the rubbish we generated over Christmas was just shocking. My Husband has a trailer for work and over the Christmas week we piled all the cardboard (and just the cardboard!!) into the trailer to be taken to the recycling centre and it was piled high! You literally couldn't have fitted any more on it. Imagine that replicated in each household. It is scary.

[Deleted User]

All sounds good! I'm also trying to reduce the waste I generate - particularly around food shopping, as that's where I generate the most waste.
Budget-wise, the first month (and the second) are all a bit of an adjustment, I find, as you're trying reconcile what you think you're paying out each month (pre-budget, where it's not documented) and then what you actually are paying out (when you've got a budget in place, and are watching each transaction). Keep going! If it doesn't balance out exactly this month, then you've got a good basis to work from next month. It will get there