Life After Lockdown

longway2go

Hey V8D, 
Please don't feel ashamed. I have an OD which I am creaping out of atm but was (until lockdown) still making OPs because of I didn't start then I wouldn't make any and would stay in my OD. I have been doing this since July last year and every month I learn something or change something and my finances get better. This is a long road and there is going to be some learning on the way.
You are doing really well, don't forget how far you have come and try to keep yourself in a good position so that you can smash the OPs when the time is right. 

South_coast

Don't beat yourself up V8D, in the black is a great place to start 😀!

V8D

Thanks both. 🙂

I'm really pleased I have managed to keep the spreadsheet up to date, track my expenses so I do know exactly what I'm working with and set up next months; May if you can believe that? Where has April gone? 😂 I also contacted my local authority to have the council tax put on a twelve monthly direct debit rather than the ten monthly one as it should help with the budgeting a little by keeping the same figure each month. 

Been feeling rather low today but have realised I have at least ended the month better than last being out of the overdraft completely. I will keep it there but have no intention to use it unless I really need to. I know I need to get a grip and ensure we carry on living in our means. If this has taught me anything, it's if we can live on this money with a massive surplus I could not have imagined before the lockdown there is absolutely no reason for us to not get the credit card debt cleared ASAP and move onto dealing with the mortgage / investments. 🙂

Definitely a long road ahead and lots to learn. Also today has made me assess that I place perhaps too much value on how I perceive myself according to how much I'm earning. 

savingholmes

Glad you are back on a roll... Have a good night's sleep and hopefully enjoy some sun tomorrow.

longway2go

Well done for getting the focus back. Out of interest today I no iced a comment about paying council tax on a cc to get points or cashback which I hadn't considered before but has provided me with some food for thought. 

jenni_fer

From overdraft to black in one month is a fantastic achievement! Looking forward to seeing how you get on in May!

jenni_fer

longway2go said:

Well done for getting the focus back. Out of interest today I no iced a comment about paying council tax on a cc to get points or cashback which I hadn't considered before but has provided me with some food for thought. 

Interesting...if it's credit card payable I do it...I didn't know you could do council tax by card though!  It'd earn a whole £1 but every little helps right?

savingholmes

I think overspending on CCs is an easy trap to fall into - look at my signature - and should be done with caution or at all unless you have a really health emergency fund that completely offsets any spending and you pay in full each month - from money saved in advance.

longway2go

Makes complete sense savingHolmes, definitely something to be careful with. 

V8D

Thanks all. Re council tax I would prefer to keep it on a direct debit - no need to remember to pay it every month that way. 

I have stopped using the credit card on a day to day basis altogether. Just using my debit card at the moment. There is a spending section to the app which I've found really useful so will likely carry on using it. The credit card we used to use for everyday spending has a points element but we don't see much from it and I'm not convinced its worth it at this moment in time as I know we overspent. 

It's been great to get the food bill down significantly (before lockdown this was regularly over £1k per month (we ate out a lot). Also enjoying food much more as I feel I am eating generally healthier. Since last September I have lost 17kg in weight: I used to overeat as my husband and I both used to love food and eating out. Would like to lose another 8kg and then work on building muscle. I'm not as interested in food as I was but have started to look into eating in a more nutritious way rather than just cutting down what I already eat. After lockdown I do want to spend some money on joining a gym which I do think I will use now. However, I've decided I'm initially going to join one were there is a max 3 month commitment, includes classes and has a swimming pool as I don't want to be spending out on something I don't use. 

Until recently I have not been looking after myself properly which included finances. I know so many people that have been given so much money / property / chances from family etc. whereas everything I have I've had to work for. Sometimes I just feel really behind in life even though I (usually) earn well and love my work which I know I'm very fortunate to.

Going to spend a bit of time later updating this properly with figures taken from my spreadsheet as its helping. 🙂