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Learning to budget and taking control of my life.

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  • WinterWarrior
    WinterWarrior Posts: 6,099 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Both very good ideas. I like the moving of odd pence…I will start that one. I already have separate accounts, but I find it’s still all ‘available’ in my head….I’ll learn! 
    Not all who wander are lost - J.R.R.Tolkien
    🌊 A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor 🌊

    My WW and friends diary is here 😁 … 
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6259606/must-try-harder/p1

  • Disney_Princess85
    Disney_Princess85 Posts: 120 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 100 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 17 August 2021 at 9:22AM
    It takes time and I have my moments where I raid certain pots, but I figure at least I'm using actual cash that I have rather than my credit card which is what I'd have done previously. I then would have had to figure out how to pay of the card, where as I don't have that worry now.

    I'm still not perfect with it , but I'm miles better than I was and I definitely feel more incontrol of my money.
    Emergency Fund: £500/£1000
    Christmas fund 2023: £94.60/£500
    House fund: £ 11188. 32
  • I've updated my signature to reflect the money I've added into my savings.

    I took DD to go and get her school cardigans this morning. I now just need to get her some polo shirts and then she's done for the new school year. Her dad bought her shoes which saved me some extra money. I'm lucky that we have a good relationship, we work together better now that towards the end if our relationship!

    This afternoons job is to sort out DD's bedroom. She has a midsleeper bed and the space underneath has become a bit of a dumping ground so we're gonna sort it out and take some bits to the charity shop. She's had a growth spurt so I'm going to see if we can get rid of some of her clothes as well.
    Emergency Fund: £500/£1000
    Christmas fund 2023: £94.60/£500
    House fund: £ 11188. 32
  • I got a pay out from Prolific for £21.82 so I transfered that into my starling account nd have allocated it to various savings pots.

    I've now hit £400 for Christmas which should be more than enough for what I need I hope!. Anything I don't spend will get repurposed for next year.

    We sorted out DD'S bedroom yesterday and I've now got loads of bags if stuff to take to the charity shop. She's very happy that she's now got a den under her bed.
    Emergency Fund: £500/£1000
    Christmas fund 2023: £94.60/£500
    House fund: £ 11188. 32
  • So my DMP has been ticking away nicely, it was £15071.98 when I first started and I've managed to get that down to £6040. Most of that has come from my DMP payments but I've also managed to do a couple of full and final settlements. I've also payed off a couple of the smaller accounts once they've gotten down to about £100 or so. Mentally it feels better to have less accounts owing and I now have just 3 credit cards that I'm paying off.

    I know lots of people say stepchange like you to treat each creditor equally, but I've just adjusted the figures in my dmp account as and when I've been able to pay off chunks to various accounts. Stepchange have never questioned it and it's allowed me to pay off my accounts a lot quicker than I was first quoted. Whilst I may not be treating each creditor equally my main concern is getting my debts paid off as quickly as possible.
    Emergency Fund: £500/£1000
    Christmas fund 2023: £94.60/£500
    House fund: £ 11188. 32
  • I'm back!

    So I am really bad at keeping up to date with this, however I have persisted with my debt busting.

    My DMP now stands at £3460 and I've just upped my monthly payment slightly to Stepchange which puts my debt free date to November 2023. I'm still overpaying it each month so I am aiming for it to be all paid off by the end of this year. So fingers crossed.  

    My Nan sadly died in April of last year at the grand old age of 97 and as a result I received some inheritance which helped me pay off a chunk of my debt. I Have also got a massive chunk of it in my house fund for when I'm in a position to get a mortgage. I know I could pay all of my debt off, but I'd rather use the money from my Nan for something useful. 

    Overall I am so much better with money that I used to be, but there are definitely things I want to improve on as at times I can waste money on unnecessary things. The main thing that I want to tackle is the food budget as that is where I spend far too much money each month. I also want to get better at putting money away for upcoming events. Last year I managed to save for Christmas which was nice as I didn't have to worry about how I will fund it. So I've joined the challenge again this year and I'm aiming to put away £500 for Christmas. I also want to use surveys to put away money for DD's school stuff for the new school year. I always used to do them regularly as I was able to get a few done during the day in my old job, since I moved into a school though I haven't been able to. So I'm going to make a concerted effort to do them a bit more regularly so that I can top up my earnings slightly. So far I've managed to get my Prolific up to £4.81 which makes a nice start.


    Emergency Fund: £500/£1000
    Christmas fund 2023: £94.60/£500
    House fund: £ 11188. 32
  • Just checking in to say DMP now stands at £3000 exactly. I'm looking forward to the end of the month when I can pay a little bit more off to take it under the £3000 mark. 

    I'm still going for it with the surveys, I'm at 49 credits on Populus live so I'm hoping I get another one through this week so I can cash out which will bump up my school uniform account for DD. My views bank is also £1 off a pay out too so fingers crossed I can add to that this week and cash out. PA is having problems with cashing out at the moment, but I've managed to complete a couple of surveys today so will cash out when I can.

    I'm trying my best to not spend ridiculous amounts on buying food this week. This is definitely my downfall in terms of where I waste money in my budget. Every months I say I'm going to be better and thus far I've not got much better. Must try harder. Today will be an eat from home day as I try and use up odds and ends I have left before I do a food shop. Off to eat some soup and left over crusty bread form the weekend.
    Emergency Fund: £500/£1000
    Christmas fund 2023: £94.60/£500
    House fund: £ 11188. 32
  • Had a pretty non eventful day as DD is at home with a sick bug.

    Managed to sort out the cat insurance and I've upped the level of cover on it for less that what I was previously paying which is a bonus. I'm thinking I need to sort an account to put aside the excess if needed. At least that way I won't have to worry or take it out of the EF. Definitely something to think about and to look into.
    Emergency Fund: £500/£1000
    Christmas fund 2023: £94.60/£500
    House fund: £ 11188. 32
  • Withdrew some cash from PayPal, which was  lingering from a PA payout and one of the receipt apps, so I've got £16.09 in a new pot for DD's school uniform. I think I'm going need no more than £100 as her dad buys her shoes and if she needs a new coat it will come out of my normal clothing allowance. 

    Today's task include taking the cats to the vet for their jabs. I'm a bit late this year so they need to restart and have 2 jabs, cost me an extra £20 each so not very MSE. Must remember to do it earlier next year!

    DD is still off school as she's not feeling great, she's better than yesterday and has no temperature so should be OK to go back to school tomorrow.  S9 lots if cuddle on the sofa and watching TV is in the cards.

    I want to try and cull some of the stuff in my house as I have far to much just lying around not being used. So I'm going to aim to list a couple of bits in a bid to clear the DMP a bit sooner.
    Emergency Fund: £500/£1000
    Christmas fund 2023: £94.60/£500
    House fund: £ 11188. 32
  • So, Yesterday was a complete write off as I managed to catch DD's sick bug. However, I have woken up feeling like a new woman and blitzed the house so it now feels much fresher. DD is also back to school today too and is feeling much better thankfully.

    I managed to bag a £10 survey on Prolific this morning too so, I'm looking forward to that paying out!
    Emergency Fund: £500/£1000
    Christmas fund 2023: £94.60/£500
    House fund: £ 11188. 32
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