When the bottom line figure is scary! But you have to start somewhere

EchoB

Well done on your progress so far.  I have subscribed 

lockdown is certainly helping minimise frivolous spends for me.

katsu

I personally wouldn't bother with your OH buying life insurance at this stage as you have no mortgage together and no children.  I guess you could consider how much debt you have to clear if he dies but personally I would just clear debt with the money at this time.  But that is just a personal view.  

As you both have £50 each/the £100 entertainment budget, do think if you really need to spend more than that.  Do you really need more treats?  I appreciate you have two years to get debt free, but it is only two years.  See how much you can both focus on dropping the debts  

Well done on Aldi - it is a great place to shop.  

Look and see if you can reduce your mobile phone costs.  Sim only is easily under £10 each.  

mrsmoneypenny90

@Lu2025 Hi there, firstly thanks for signing up to my diary, hopefully I won’t bore you to death and can encourage you to start your own thread soon. What I will say is that I know it’s scary, but could I suggest getting an accurate list of every credit card amount owed and interest rate your paying and then add it into a CC snowballing repayment calculator. You might just be surprised at how quickly you can get out of debt and that will spur you on! Actually, sorry firstly do you statement of affairs so you know how much spare money you have to throw at things. There are some very helpful ppl on her to show you where to cut bills down etc. I promise you will feel more in control once you have done it. Maybe set some time aside in lockdown with a glass of wine or cuppa if you don’t drink (not everyone is a lush like me 😆).

@EchoB thanks very much for signing up, do you have a DFD to follow?

@katsu I agree on reflection £100 is enough for entertainment especially in lockdown as what can you actually spend it on! I guess the only thing would be is if we have a special occasion for a close friend or family to celebrate one month, so we would have to reduce debt repayments that month but we are going to be really strict and be very selective with what we agree to. Does anyone else feel like all their friends seem to be getting married abroad and expect abroad hen & stag dos ! Anyway we have made a joint decision to not go on any hen & stag does next year I know it’s harsh but sometimes you have to put yourself first. 

mrsmoneypenny90

This is my formal check in for today and can I just say for anyone who has not yet watched Dave Ramsey’s baby steps you need to! Link;

https://youtu.be/h-fcI7W-ucY

wow, in 45 minutes my complete attitude to money & finances has changed. Wish I would have watched this in high school! For years I have thought of money as such a negative thing, a dirty word and secret about the debt that hangs around our necks. But actually, realising that money can work for you is so refreshing. The three quotes that I have taken from it which really resonated with me;

”You can wander into debt, you cannot wander out of it” 

”the borrower is slave to the lender”

talking about society’s pressure and obsession with buying a home “do not be conformed to this world- buy a home when you are ready! And do not take out a mortgage longer Than 15 yrs”

anyway, I’d definitely recommend a watch. Thanks for reading 

Lu2025

How are things? Thanks for your comments. I watched some of the YouTube Dave Ramsay and have downloaded his podcasts, so I have been listening to him whilst out running. 😂

EchoB

I do have my own diary, although I’m not very good at updating it 🙈

mrsmoneypenny90

Happy Wednesday all!

@Lu2025 good to hear you have given Dave a Ramsey a go. I find him motivating, my OH thinks he is a bit intense 😀 but each to their own!

so today I have done my first big credit card snowball repayment ! It sounds silly to say it was such a good feeling, better than that thrill you get from purchasing something. 

I have paid £1,447.54 off the Halifax credit card to bring it to a nice round figure of £3,000. Does anyone else have a particular credit card that they hate the most ? For some reason this was the one I despised paying, £140 every month and never getting anywhere with it. It feels so go to pay off a chunk.

this is my first month of ‘proper & strict’ budgeting. Just moved money over to Monzo pots too and feel much more in control. 

Good luck to you guys too x

mrsmoneypenny90

evening guys,

haven’t checked In for a few days so thought I would spend a bit of time tracking finances and updating my diary.

ive realised just how impatient I am! I just want to throw money at the debts now... so I’ve decided to pay another £1,000 of the Halifax card from out emergency fund. Still have £600 in the emergency fund, and now the credit card stands at a much more bearable £2,000 than the £4,400’s That it seemed to stagnate at for months! I’ve also become thrifty on eBay and have £200 sat in my Paypal from sold items over the past week, and I have a table currently being bid on, ends tomorrow and up to £43 so far. All very exciting....

like many others I rely on Monzo pots not to see exactly where our money goes. I’ve budgeted £250 for the month of June and have £190 left ( did a big shop at the weekend) should be doable providing I don’t give in to the urge of stocking up on wine 😊

hope everyone else is still feeling focussed. Keep up the great work 

Lu2025

Hi moneypenny glad your doing well and that is fantastic that you have managed to throw extra money to your Halifax 🙌🏻. I feel the same, we have both just been paid and already when i look at the figures I wish they were going down faster. I have £500 saved in the energency fund and overpay to my Halifax by an extra £100. Im just wondering if I should maybe be getting the emergency fund up to £1000 before overpaying the Halifax 🤔

mrsmoneypenny90

Hi Lu2025, may I ask how much is outstanding on your HF card and what is the interest rate? £500 emergency fund is good going, and to be honest at the moment I guess there is less risk of your needing emergency car repairs etc? I think £1,000 emergency fund is the goal but sometimes you have to weigh up the overall picture don’t you. Well done for overpaying though, that’s a start!!