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Diary of a reformed shopaholic (I hope)
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shoppingobsessed2020
Posts: 354 Forumite
Recently had my light bulb moment and still have to get dh onboard as he is living in cloud cuckoo land! So a brief introduction! I say brief but I tend to ramble 
We are a family of 3. His lordship who doesn’t like change, me who likes to shop (make up and toiletries so now on a self imposed ban) and monkey boy who is 8 and runs us ragged with various clubs and activities most days and nights.
dh works deep sea on a 2 month on 2 month off rotation so when he is home I feel the need to treat him so there’s lots of yummy food and booze when he is home which means the food bill rockets. Then when he’s away monkey boy and I eat pretty simply but spend lots as we are always out and about so it’s too handy to grab a cup of coffee and a sandwich so that seems to be where most of my frittering happens. Costa balance is ridiculous so that has been knocked on the head!
i work as an admin for a local company on not much more than minimum wage. It’s a huge change career wise but it suits our family life even though we still don’t seem to have adjusted to my smaller salary despite it being 8yrs since I stopped matching what dh earned! We made the decision when we had monkey boy that I needed to be home as we couldn’t both work (I did work as a health and safety advisor for an offshore company) but that life didn’t suit what our family goals were so I became a stay at home mum. I then got bored so started a little crafting business but when monkey
boy started school I wanted more and I got a job as an admin which fits round us.
now the lightbulb part. This coronavirus has caused me to take a greater look at our finances as I want to move house as we have outgrown this house and I got the shock of my
life to find out that our great on paper income is just going on paying back debt! So Soa has been some some changes have been made and others can’t yet be made till dh is home and has his own lightbulb moment so
for now im grateful he’s away on an extended trip so I can start making headway into paying this mountain off.
im off to do lunch for monkey boy (known as mb going forward) and myself and I’ll be back.
We are a family of 3. His lordship who doesn’t like change, me who likes to shop (make up and toiletries so now on a self imposed ban) and monkey boy who is 8 and runs us ragged with various clubs and activities most days and nights.dh works deep sea on a 2 month on 2 month off rotation so when he is home I feel the need to treat him so there’s lots of yummy food and booze when he is home which means the food bill rockets. Then when he’s away monkey boy and I eat pretty simply but spend lots as we are always out and about so it’s too handy to grab a cup of coffee and a sandwich so that seems to be where most of my frittering happens. Costa balance is ridiculous so that has been knocked on the head!
i work as an admin for a local company on not much more than minimum wage. It’s a huge change career wise but it suits our family life even though we still don’t seem to have adjusted to my smaller salary despite it being 8yrs since I stopped matching what dh earned! We made the decision when we had monkey boy that I needed to be home as we couldn’t both work (I did work as a health and safety advisor for an offshore company) but that life didn’t suit what our family goals were so I became a stay at home mum. I then got bored so started a little crafting business but when monkey
boy started school I wanted more and I got a job as an admin which fits round us.
now the lightbulb part. This coronavirus has caused me to take a greater look at our finances as I want to move house as we have outgrown this house and I got the shock of my
life to find out that our great on paper income is just going on paying back debt! So Soa has been some some changes have been made and others can’t yet be made till dh is home and has his own lightbulb moment so
for now im grateful he’s away on an extended trip so I can start making headway into paying this mountain off.
im off to do lunch for monkey boy (known as mb going forward) and myself and I’ll be back.
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Been shopping for the first time since my lbm. I’ve placed a bulk order with a local wholesaler for bits I needed and I’ve also clubbed together with some
neighbours so we could meet the minimum spend for delivery (they will bank transfer me when shopping arrives). I was very restrained in what I ordered and can take some bits off my supermarket shopping list.
thats £13 spent of my £250 budget for groceries this month. My month starts when dh gets paid hence starting today.3 -
Made the decision to not pay off my very account as it’s interest free till August. I have note placed in my diary for July pay day to pay this off in full before the interest free period ends. I have today paid £329 and pence to reduce my capital one balance to £400. Have only been paying £7 a month of the actual balance so felt that it was better to pay this as can potentially clear it in a couple of months.
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It sounds like you are off to a good start. If you are looking for any advice then it would be helpful if you give some more details about your debts and how much you can afford to pay towards them. Maybe you don't want advice/help but just need a place to record your own journey which is absolutely fine too. Welcome to the boards in any case.6
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Good luck @shoppingobsessed2020! I too love makeup, skincare and general beauty products...it is a process weaning yourself off it! I keep a list of everything I've used up so I can see exactly how long products take me to use up, so the next time I want to buy something shiny and new (like an eyeshadow palette) I can refer back to how long I will have it in my life and if it's really worth it. If I have this new product will I get use out of what I've already got? I have tried to do a no buy year for beauty stuff but failed twice
Nov 19 CC was: £1334.95 Now: £0!! 1% challenge - 100% Savings:£300.83February take lunch to work: 19/18
Made in Feb: £41.68 Made in March: £32.15
Made in April: £31.79, Made in May: £30.183 -
My husband works away most of the time too. What's his spending like? Does it really vary depending on home or away or consistent? You can build that into your plan. Mine is limited on what he can buy while he's away so we do pretty well when he's away for long stretches. He likes to make up for it when he's back.
I totally understand the living in luxury while he's home and poverty while he's away. I am definitely guilty of that too.
How many debts are you fire fighting?
Keep going xxxLoan 1 £5200/£8000
Loan 2 £300/£5800
Total £5500/£138005 -
Thanks everyone. I have an Soa on another post but I need to tweak it. I dug our my laptop and my old spreadsheet from when we first bought the house was still on it so I’ve tweaked that and will work from that going forward but will post my amended and original m Soa when I’m next on the laptop for context
@StartingAgainAt29 you feel my pain I can live without buying makeup but skincare is my real vice. I know I couldn’t do a year no buy so I’m going to allow myself only to buy on birthdays/Christmas. I do have laser hair removal appointments already scheduled and that’s been paid up front on a package deal so I will just get my eyebrows done once every couple of months and that should see my through. I box dye my hair anyway so feel the odd haircut (it’s been 9 months since my last) and my eyebrows will see me through.
@Kitten868 he spends a little bit when he’s away but I don’t count that as it comes off his wages direct. most he’s ever spent a month when at sea was £50 so I can’t begrudge him that. When he’s home though even before I had my lbm I’d wince at what he spent on a daily basis just going to the shops and just buying what he fancied to eat. I like to meal plan as juggling full time work and a busy child means I need a plan the same as most of us, yet when he’s home it’s popping to the shop daily and picking up a bottle of wine or a new gin etc so the spending gets totally out of control. Although I suppose he doesn’t spend much on himself in the way of treats it’s more the food and drink he likes and eating out so he’s cramming such a lot of stuff into a small time period.
debt wise I’m not totally sure of the exact figure off the top of my head but it’s approx £77k which us utterly terrifying so
i need a handle in the spending I can control and need to wait for him to have his lbm and just hope the bits I’m doing now will help him have his sooner rather than later.2 -
Original Soa[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]Household Information[/b]Number of adults in household........... 2Number of children in household......... 1Number of cars owned.................... 2[b]Monthly Income Details[/b]Monthly income after tax................ 980Partners monthly income after tax....... 4000Benefits................................ 82Other income............................ 0[b]Total monthly income.................... 5062[/b][b]Monthly Expense Details[/b]Mortgage................................ 321Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 692Rent.................................... 0Management charge (leasehold property).. 0Council tax............................. 130Electricity............................. 60Gas..................................... 60Oil..................................... 0Water rates............................. 30Telephone (land line)................... 0Mobile phone............................ 70TV Licence.............................. 12Satellite/Cable TV...................... 85Internet Services....................... 0Groceries etc. ......................... 400Clothing................................ 50Petrol/diesel........................... 100Road tax................................ 20Car Insurance........................... 80Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50Car parking............................. 0Other travel............................ 0Childcare/nursery....................... 250Other child related expenses............ 150Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0Buildings insurance..................... 10Contents insurance...................... 10Life assurance ......................... 50Other insurance......................... 0Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100Haircuts................................ 15Entertainment........................... 0Holiday................................. 0Emergency fund.......................... 0[b]Total monthly expenses.................. 2745[/b][b]Assets[/b]Cash.................................... 200House value (Gross)..................... 115000Shares and bonds........................ 0Car(s).................................. 15000Other assets............................ 0[b]Total Assets............................ 130200[/b][b]Secured & HP Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APRMortgage...................... 67715.4..(321)......2.79Secured Debt.................. 11346....(145)......3.74Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 12088....(336)......0<Hp car.........................5367.....(211)......0[b]Total secured & HP debts...... 96516.4...-.........- [/b][b]Unsecured Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APRTsb............................970.......30........30Very...........................300.......0.........0Next...........................2000......120.......30Loan 2.........................15100.....362.......13Loan 1.........................16250.....450.......17Barclays his ..................5345......120.......0Barclays ......................6200......150.......30Debenhams .....................2200......150.......30Capital one....................775.......25........35Mbna...........................10000.....150.......25[b]Total unsecured debts..........59140.....1557......- [/b][b]Monthly Budget Summary[/b]Total monthly income.................... 5,062Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,745Available for debt repayments........... 2,317Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,557[b]Amount left after debt repayments....... 760[/b][b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]Total assets (things you own)........... 130,200Total HP & Secured debt................. -96,516.4Total Unsecured debt.................... -59,140[b]Net Assets.............................. -25,456.4[/b]1
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Updated soa[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]Household Information[/b]Number of adults in household........... 2Number of children in household......... 1Number of cars owned.................... 2[b]Monthly Income Details[/b]Monthly income after tax................ 980Partners monthly income after tax....... 4000Benefits................................ 82Other income............................ 0[b]Total monthly income.................... 5062[/b][b]Monthly Expense Details[/b]Mortgage................................ 321.4Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 693Rent.................................... 0Management charge (leasehold property).. 0Council tax............................. 135Electricity............................. 60Gas..................................... 60Oil..................................... 0Water rates............................. 35Telephone (land line)................... 0Mobile phone............................ 70TV Licence.............................. 12Satellite/Cable TV...................... 85Internet Services....................... 0Groceries etc. ......................... 250Clothing................................ 50Petrol/diesel........................... 100Road tax................................ 20Car Insurance........................... 80Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 50Car parking............................. 0Other travel............................ 0Childcare/nursery....................... 250Other child related expenses............ 150Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0Buildings insurance..................... 10Contents insurance...................... 10Life assurance ......................... 45Other insurance......................... 0Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10Haircuts................................ 20Entertainment........................... 50Holiday................................. 0Emergency fund.......................... 50Mortgage overpayment - can’t change .... 250Union x 2............................... 50Pension ................................ 45[b]Total monthly expenses.................. 2961.4[/b][b]Assets[/b]Cash.................................... 200House value (Gross)..................... 115000Shares and bonds........................ 0Car(s).................................. 15000Other assets............................ 0[b]Total Assets............................ 130200[/b][b]Secured & HP Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APRMortgage...................... 67715....(321.4)....2.79Secured Debt.................. 11346....(146)......3.79Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 12088....(336)......0<Car 2..........................5367.....(211)......0[b]Total secured & HP debts...... 96516.....-.........- [/b][b]Unsecured Debts[/b]Description....................Debt......Monthly...APRNext...........................2000......120.......30Debenhams .....................2200......120.......30TSB ...........................970.......30........30Mbna...........................10000.....150.......25Capital 1......................775.......25........30Very - interest free ..........300.......0.........0Loan 2.........................16250.....450.......17Loan 1.........................15100.....362.......13Barclays his 0%................5345......120.......0Barclays mine .................6200......150.......30[b]Total unsecured debts..........59140.....1527......- [/b][b]Monthly Budget Summary[/b]Total monthly income.................... 5,062Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,961.4Available for debt repayments........... 2,100.6Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,527[b]Amount left after debt repayments....... 573.6[/b][b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]Total assets (things you own)........... 130,200Total HP & Secured debt................. -96,516Total Unsecured debt.................... -59,140[b]Net Assets.............................. -25,456[/b][i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com.Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]1
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So a quick comment re the updated soa.The cars! Such an easy change that I can’t get make. They are both in his name so I can’t sell them and he is not willing to downgrade either. So loosing battle with them. We don’t need 2 cars but for now they have to stay.The mortgage overpayment! Will be stopping this but until i can get to the bank it has to stay. Dh pays for it through his account and I need to use my POA to stop that standing order and can’t physically go to the bank with ID at the moment so on the plus side it is going towards debt repayment!The £150 child expenses is to stay for now, but I’m planning on using it to pay debt whilst monkey boy isn’t at his activities ditto the £250 childcare. Although things keep cropping up!!!!I’m down slightly on my wages this month, I forgot to account for having a couple off weeks sick so I’ve only been paid £400 this month! I’m also a huge fan of exclamation marks so I apologise. I didn’t realise we only got ssp as I’ve never had time off work but unfortunately before all this covid kicked off I had a planned operation and had some set backs in my recovery and will no doubt have a crappy wage next month as well as I’ve been off sick for 2 months. I’m allowed to go back mid may providing no more complications.
so the child related expenses won’t be paid towards debt this month as it’s absorbed by my loss in wage!
i have however paid the capital one card down to £400 today. So that’s the surplus balance gone already but it’s paid a good chunk of debt down.3 -
Good luck with your debt free journey and your diary!I also am a natural shopaholic (trying hard to reform!), thanks to MSE I discovered a couple of things that helped me do some damage reduction. One is cash back sites and the other is Monzo transaction round ups. I also try not to spend as much (easier said than done!) but these things kind of help with “bonus” money saving when I HAVE to spend!3
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