Diary of a reformed shopaholic (I hope)

shoppingobsessed2020

its been a while, things have been totally mental and then some to put it mildly.

so the good the bad and the ugly.

 the bad:  debt has gone up, dont know how much but about to do my soa again and see where we are at.

the ugly:  his lordship has been royally bleeped by his work and then some!  so the promised promotion and pay rise hasnt materialised despite us having emails confirming upon receipt of x, y and z he would be promoted.  well they have blamed it on covid and it hasnt been a good couple of months fighting them.  the union has been involved but they have been as much use as a chocolate teapot to put it mildly.  we dont know why we have been paying his union fees as they cant help due to who he is employed by and not being under uk law/contract!  this is a work in progress and he is looking for another job but due to having to pay the bills has gone back to his current employer for now but they are aware he is not happy and is looking elsewhere.  

the good:  well there isnt much if im honest, health wise i suppose we are good, my health issues have settled down which is good, still under the surgeon and the consultant but they are happy with where i am.  still not where i need to be but that is going to take a long time so the goal is keeping my weight steady and not dropping any more, i am focusing on weight gain via muscle gain since i can loose weight at the drop of the hat due to how my stomach is.  i havent had to buy any new clothes in a while and have actually gained a few cm on my hips and arms which is fantastic.  i know i will burn more calories by having more muscle and have been focusing on plenty of protein and protein powder for the days that i cant stomach any food so its working for me.  its not cheap but its better than being peg fed as i am only half a stone away from that being a non negotiable with the consultant.  i need to build strength and muscle as i am not used to being this weak.

we did loose my husbands gran a little while ago which is a blessing in disguise, she had given up and had no quality of life so in one way it is for the best, but we do miss her and she had a good life and was ready to go so we were just glad we could be there at the end for her.

other than that though everything is peachy!

shoppingobsessed2020

up to date SOA, better than i thought if i am honest.

my tsb card has an £800 balance on it but i do clear it every month and will be clearing it at the end of the month so this is where our surplus has been going every month plus other expenditure so good to see we havent completly messed up so can start fresh at the end of the month and know we are not going to mess up more.  food we have stocked fridges and freezers so hoping to get away with minimal fruit, veg and ham for monkey boys packed lunches.

i do have an mbna card in my name with a 5.5K limit that has an interest free offer so i need to do some juggling, his barclays is interest free till july so i want to see how i can move things around to minimise interest payments altough we should be able to clear a huge chunk especially if i can cut the food bill down over the next few months.

Household Information[/b]

Number of adults in household........... 2

Number of children in household......... 1

Number of cars owned.................... 2[b]

Monthly Income Details[/b]

Monthly income after tax................ 1300

Partners monthly income after tax....... 4000

Benefits................................ 82

Other income............................ 0[b]

Total monthly income.................... 5382[/b][b]

Monthly Expense Details[/b]

Mortgage................................ 285.6

Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 639.1999999999999

Rent.................................... 0

Management charge (leasehold property).. 0

Council tax............................. 137

Electricity............................. 60

Gas..................................... 60

Oil..................................... 0

Water rates............................. 36

Telephone (land line)................... 0

Mobile phone............................ 65

TV Licence.............................. 12

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 85

Internet Services....................... 0

Groceries etc. ......................... 500

Clothing................................ 20

Petrol/diesel........................... 100

Road tax................................ 20

Car Insurance........................... 50

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 80

Car parking............................. 0

Other travel............................ 0

Childcare/nursery....................... 135

Other child related expenses............ 150

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 20

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0

Buildings insurance..................... 10

Contents insurance...................... 10

Life assurance ......................... 45

Other insurance......................... 0

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50

Haircuts................................ 25

Entertainment........................... 50

Holiday................................. 0

Emergency fund.......................... 50

union................................... 50

house alarm............................. 12[b]

Total monthly expenses.................. 2756.8[/b]

[b]

Assets[/b]

Cash.................................... 150

House value (Gross)..................... 117000

Shares and bonds........................ 0

Car(s).................................. 20000

Other assets............................ 35000[b]

Total Assets............................ 172150[/b]

[b]

Secured & HP Debts[/b]

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Mortgage...................... 65639....(285.6)....2.25

Secured Debt.................. 9905.78..(135)......2.25

Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 16192....(294.2)....NaN<

his car........................3141.....(210)......NaN[b]

Total secured & HP debts...... 94877.78..-.........-   [/b]

[b]Unsecured Debts[/b]

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

lloyds loan....................12198.6...449.8.....3.1

tesco loan.....................10851.....361.......NaN

mbna card......................9000......210.......NaN

my barclays ...................5931.5....130.......NaN

his barclays...................3993.82...95........0

halifax........................4500......65........0

next...........................3000.64...120.......NaN[b]

Total unsecured debts..........49475.56..1430.8....-  [/b]

[b]

Monthly Budget Summary[/b]

Total monthly income.................... 5,382

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,756.8

Available for debt repayments........... 2,625.2

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,430.8[b]

Amount left after debt repayments....... 1,194.4[/b]

[b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]

Total assets (things you own)........... 172,150

Total HP & Secured debt................. -94,877.78

Total Unsecured debt.................... -49,475.56[b]

Net Assets.............................. 27,796.66[/b]

shoppingobsessed2020

sky will be going, i have said that before but it really is, we have just watched netflix and disney plus these past few months so if i can cut the sky bill by half i will be happy as it does include my internet and phoneline as well as tv.

vampirotoothus

Hi with your partner's job being a bit rocky I would really consider setting up an emergency fund and sitting on the cash for a little while, until things are more settled. This will offer you much more freedom should the job situation come to a head. You quite possibly won't be able to raise much more credit at the moment. Once the job situation is resolved you can pay it off the debts. 

shoppingobsessed2020

thanks, its not rocky to the point that we would be at breaking point if he did walk as there are some offers, its just not enough time to sort it all out as the recruitment process takes 3/4 months in his area so he had to go back to sea to breach that gap in unemployment between ending it with his company and starting fresh with a new.  he has a 3  month notice period hence why having to go back to work in the interim.  

the plan is going to be blasting interest accruing debt and then see where we are.  his car thankfully only has a year left on it so thats good, and we will see where we are at the end of may.  going to use the next 6 weeks to sort out the general day to day bits that have got away from me and hopefully we will get back on track sooner rather than later.

Drawingaline

Good to see you back.

I hear you on losing his gran. I lost an elderly client right back at the beginning of the pandemic last year. But he was so ready. He always put a brave face on to chat to me, but just the comments on how much he missed his wife, and how getting old was rubbish etc when he broke his second hip he just gave up. It is a bittersweet feeling knowing they had a long life and were ready, but also that you will miss them. He wasn't family, but I had really got to know him in the two years I cleaned for him. He adored musical theatre so he was always keen to hear about my west end trips. 

The debt may have grown but you know where you stand. You have knuckled down before and you can do it again. Sometimes you just have to get through a period of time until you know something will change which will help out (like car financing ending) trying to limit the damage and being aware. 

Good luck, and keep posting!

shoppingobsessed2020

been brave tonight and as of the end of next month i will no longer have sky tv after having it for almost 20 years!  got an letter in the post today that my promotional rates are ending and its jumping from £85 to £120 which is insane.  i am keeping the internet and phoneline with them and they have negotiated that without me asking to £28 a month for both which i am happy with.  it is too much hassle to switch internet providers with everything i have connected as we like a smart house so im pleased with what im paying for internet and phoneline now.

i will be paying upfront for disney plus for a year in one go and we will be paying monthly for netflix.  we already have amazon prime which i split with my parents so our tv package has gone from £764 a year to £287 so not an insignificant sum saved.  not that we will notice a huge difference month to month on the saving but it does all add up.

next big thing to tackle is the food bill, as ive said we have a very full fridge, cupboards and 2 freezers, so cancelling the food shop i have booked on saturday as monkey boy is at football so i will use that time he is at football to nip to the local cheap supermarket and not my usual mr s and just get the few bits we need.  im hoping to get through the rest of the month on a £100 for food.  id rather aim slightly higher than i think we will need but its me so ill probably spend every penny if i set a really low budget.

next month i want to half my food bill, it really helps his lordship being back at sea as i can meal plan with ease and just please me and monkey boy.  we have got an event next month which requires me to buy a new outfit and shoes for monkey boy as he has outgrown his current smart shoes so the saving in the food budget is probably going to go to that.  nothing fancy needed just some nice black trousers and possibly a waistcoat and a new shirt, but he has shot up (same size shoe as me and i am not small footed) poor kid inheriting feet like me and his dad.

ive been training with my friend tonight she is no longer doing the exercise class that she ran but instead is going to do personal training.  we have done a trade, she trains me 2 hours a week and I do her ironing every week.  im getting the better deal by far as she lives in sports wear so its only the kids school uniforms that she needs ironing!  

this weekend my plan is to sort out the mbna credit card in my name and work out what im juggling to it plus a meal plan and cheap foodshop.  

Drawingaline

We ditched sky last year. Honestly haven't missed it. Kept the internet, but we have Disney, Netflix, prime and YouTube. It was ridiculously overpriced for what was available.

Drawingaline

Oh and iPlayer. I have been watching loads of old episodes of silent witness and waking the dead 😂

shoppingobsessed2020

today has been a lovely day.  paid a fair amount of money out considering i said i wanted a cheap couple of weeks.  £21 on monkey boys football (out of cash in purse), £11 on a takeaway pizza last night (again using cash in purse), £20 in the local butchers, £10 in the greengrocers (cash in purse), £19.50 for an annual pass for a local attraction (entry today would have been £11 for us both, they have just put the prices up as it used to be free and you only paid if you went into the attraction and not the grounds, we will use it as we go most weeks) we took a picnic with us and met a few friends and we spent nearly 6 hours there this afternoon, so well worth it even if i had to drive back half way through the afternoon for a wee!  it was lovely and quiet and i can see why they have put the prices up as it has detracted from the hoards of people who were at another free local attraction.

i was really pleased with myself as i didnt buy anything special for the picnic, just took stuff that we had in the house.  girls laughed at me rocking up with camp chairs and a picnic blanket but i have a reputation for packing the kitchen sink whenever we go out anywhere.  was a girl guide and the motto is always be prepared but i do take it to the extreme some days.

just need to stock the car with my summer box as it will be needed this year, will do that next time i go up to costco or makro as i like to keep a crate of capri sun or similar in the boot as it saves a fortune when we end up somewhere on an adventure and there is nothing around and kids are gasping for a drink.  i also need to stick a ball and frisbee in the car so we can have something to play with for days like this.

tomorrow we are meeting another friend in the place we went to today for a day out, so my annual pass has paid for itself already.  

ironing and cleaning are on tonights schedule as tomorrow i have got contracting work to do, not much as its been quiet recently but i offered to help a friend with some risk assesments as she needs them as a condition of her insurance.