Sorting out the mess 'past me' got me in to, for a happier 'future me'

FOMO_overspender

Thanks @Lookafterthepennies2020 - it's been a real mixed bag. This was with Vueling, but still not got the outward flight refund which was with Easyjet! Heard they have been notoriously bad during this whole thing... 

Today was another NSD and also managed to complete a few surveys so should have some more ££ to withdraw to put towards my loan soon enough. Pay day is creeping closer & have a busy work week so should be Friday before I know it! 

FOMO_overspender

It's pay day! So first thing's first, an update on the debts: 
Virgin CC: 

• Paid £100 today, so new total is £2,200 
• Still on track to pay off before 0% rate ends 

Loan: 

• Current total is £19,370. I managed to overpay £390.70 on top of the regular £384.30 
• Still have regular payment of £384 to come out which will take me below £19k mark! I will then also try to overpay as much as possible this month (£115.70 at the very least) 

Savings & Pots: 

• Emergency Fund: £250 (+£125) - aim is £1,000 by December 2020 
• Help to Buy ISA: £100 (+50) 
• Xmas fund: £125 (+£62.50) - aim is £500 by December 2020 
• Others (weddings, hen dos, dentist etc): £305 

New debt total: £21,570 
New % of my total paid off: 18% 

Things that went well this month: 

• Did well on extra £ from surveys, with a total of £57.15 cashed out this month. All put towards loan overpayment
• Managed not to dip in to any pots for future expenses (e.g. weddings etc) 
• Kept within Birthday budget 
• Food shopping - managed to meal plan and keep within groceries budget 

Things to work on for next month: 

• Hard to do more than 2 x NSDs per week, so going to try harder on that 

Overall, a positive month and glad to see the debt total go down and my money habits change. I am concerned once the 'pots' total start to increase (it's currently £500 at the moment) I will be tempted to use it to throw a large chunk at the debt, especially as I don't need to spend the money for weddings or hen dos until 2021. However, will keep with it, but think about moving from Monzo to another savings account when interest rates are different. 

Hope everyone has a nice weekend! x

enthusiasticsaver

Great update.  Just think of savings as being your buffer to stop you going further into debt and that may stop you dipping into it. If the others are things that will definitely go on hold then nothing wrong with using that though. As things open up though other things may need paying for so I would think it is worth keeping some back.  If the Virgin CC is going to be paid off by the time the 0% deal ends and you are overpaying your loan you sound on top  of the debt.  It will be great to see that big number come down though. 
Have a nice weekend.   

FOMO_overspender

Thanks @enthusiasticsaver - I think what I will do is  just reduce the monthly payments to the things I know are a year away (weddings, hen dos), keeping a token £10 a month going in to the pots to keep them building slowly and then increase after Xmas.

This weekend was a bit of a spendy one. Had two takeaways (split with the housemate) over the weekend and also got some new clothes. Although now they are home, I think at least one item will be going back. All within budget though! 

Going for a run in the morning and aiming to do more surveys this week to go towards the loan. 

FOMO_overspender

Some more payments came out today, so update on debt totals: 

• Virgin CC: £2,200
• Loan: £18,970. Made an overpayment of £15.70 and my regular £384.30 came out, so £400 in total paid 
• New debt total: £21,170
• New % of my total paid off: 19%

So close to the 20% mark! I also got a refund back today of £110 for another flight, so have budgeted that to go as an overpayment to the loan. This month feels like it is going to be tough to keep to budget due to everything easing and the potential to have to travel to the office, so just being cautious not to over pay too much too hastily and leave myself short. 

Hope everyone had a good Monday! Mine was a NSD, the first since pay day and I went for a run, so positive start to the week. 

FOMO_overspender

Today has been another NSD! So that's two so far since pay day!

Have done my meal plan & have a food shop coming tomorrow and then got sent a promo code for 30% off next two boxes on HelloFresh so have decided to do that. Food shopping is coming in at £40ish a week, whereas this is £30 a week and tends to last me lunch and dinners for a week. Should overall reduce my monthly groceries spend (hopefully).

Not doing so great on surveys this week - never seem to be able to reserve a spot fast enough! 

FOMO_overspender

Decided to pay the £110 refund from the flight to my loan, so that brings the total to £18,860. 
Went for a run this morning and managed to avoid temptation to go and buy lunch and made most of food left in the cupboard before the food shop arrives. 
Not been doing well at all on surveys! Only managed one since lockdown but think it's because work is picking up so much, so not able to spot the surveys come up as quickly. Been a few today that I couldn't get a spot on... ah well! There's always tomorrow! 

FOMO_overspender

Today has been another NSD! Seem to be doing much better on keeping to NSDs at the moment - think it's also because I am trying to lose weight so I am not just nipping to the shop for wine, chocolate or crisps!! See how long that lasts though 😄

Managed to do a few surveys today so hopefully be able to cash out soon enough on there. Saw someone's recommendation for Panelbase so signed up for that too - every little helps towards to loan. Also back to 100% salary, so next month I am going to use the 10% I haven't had the past few months straight to debt clearing. I lived without it long enough, so I shouldn't miss it! 

Glad tomorrow is Friday - it's been a hectic work week! 

FOMO_overspender

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. 
Quiet weekend so far... I took back a dress from last weekend shopping trip, so that's £10 refund. I also cashed out £5.50 on surveys so that has gone to the loan already, taking me to my £115 min overpayment goal 🙌 Got another £6 pending, so as soon as that is approved I will cash that out as well and pay towards the loan. The small and often overpayments helps keep me motivated between paydays. Also I see it all as cash I didn't have so would rather it go to reducing the debt no than use it to pay for things I haven't budgeted for. 
So far, so good, but can see the real test being when I feel more comfortable going out for dinner and/or drinks! 

FOMO_overspender

Another NSD yesterday 🙌 which brings me to five in total since pay day - so doing much better on those this month! 
Also managing to do a few more surveys during quiet periods of work, so now got about £10 pending approval. Will be putting that straight on to the loan as soon as I cash out. 
Meal planning is going well and definitely helping keep food shop down by not popping to the shops and being tempted to pick up stuff.