Third Time’s The Charm

enthusiasticsaver

Baileys_Babe said:

I hope you are fully mended @enthusiasticsaver and thankfully you weren't one of those trapped on the ship and not welcome in any port.

Yes, I am thankful for that too.  Luckily no Covid on board ship but think that may be the last cruise we do for a while.  Too many people concentrated in one area. 

Narola1976

Morning everyone, hope you are all well. Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated . It is really helpful to have other people’s perspectives; sometimes I can’t see the woods for the trees. It’s been a while, work has been so hectic the last few weeks and I even had to work some weekends just to stay on top of things. I wish we got paid overtime but no such luck. 

@Moneywhizz how is your injury - I hope you are nearly recovered? And I hope your granddaughter is on the mend @enthusiasticsaver.

So the life insurance has been cancelled and the amount added to the snowball. The debt free date currently is June 2024, 3 years and 10 months. A lot better than when I started on this road - March 2025. I have not yet been able to add the BB and phone amount as it is taking some time to get it switched over. Hopefully by next month it will be sorted. I think when I added the amount to the snowball to see, I think it brought the DFD forward to February 2024. It seems such a long time away.

So a final round up of the figures now that all interest has been applied:

Starting balance : £35,156.29
Current Balance: £33,257.21
Difference: £1899.08 
I have paid off 5% of my total debt so far. 

The interest rates are the problem. When I look at the repayments and how much I pay in interest, the amount coming off the balance is tiny, about £20 for the high interest cards. My second debt - Argos - will be paid off in February and I am hoping that once that is paid and I use it for the next debt, that things will start to move more quickly. A balance transfer would be good right now but no one is giving them even though I have lots of credit on the cards. I have not yet had my credit reduced like so many people have seen. I wonder if its because I have never used the cards for purchases, only transfer offers. Patience is the name of the game I suppose. Fingers crossed that things stabilise although I think the pandemic has had a long lasting impact on the financial side of things as much as it has had on our health. 

The decision to not go home has been a good one. The money I was saving I will continue to save, the more the better really as I can treat mum better when I am there. Going home is never a holiday in the real sense of the word, its just a chance to spend time with mum, and my sisters. We don’t really do an awful lot when I am there. Thank goodness for the beach, its the best part of going home. 

Total savings / spending pots is now £1405, it will fluctuate, but happy to have money in the bank. Although I feel quite broke, as the money is all budgeted and there is nothing to spend for the sake of just spending LOL - which I suppose is what is needed right now

Have a good Sunday everyone, keep safe and well.  

enthusiasticsaver

5% paid off is good considering you just started dealing with this a few months ago and even better that you have some savings.  Yes it would be easier if you got some 0% deals and hopefully as the debt reduces you will get offers.  For now sadly it is just a case of cutting back and paying off as much as possible. I do not think that financially we will recover from this pandemic for quite some time and there will be more job losses sadly.  
My granddaughter  is fully recovered thanks and had her cast removed  yesterday. 

Narola1976

Morning, hope you are all well. It’s been a few weeks since I last posted.  It’s been a bit up and down. On the up side, I have continued my debt payments and have not increased my debt. On the down side, I have dipped into my savings as I went a bit mad with groceries this month (not panic buying I hasten to add), but also had a day out with my DD last week.  We haven’t been out at all this year and I just decided to heck with it.I don’t regret it per se, but I have lost a little bit of savings ground. I still have over £1000 in savings but need to be strict again now for a while.

So a round up of the figures:

Starting Balance : £35,156.29
Current Balance : £32,598.57
Difference : £2557.72 - 7% of total debt paid off so far

I am pleased with this, currently I am on target to be debt free in January 2024. I will have finished Argos in January next year and then I can redirect these funds to my next massive interest rate.  I also plan to redirect my 2 free council tax months (£254 total) to debt payment when this comes round and I also don’t pay water for 4 months starting November so that £38 will also go to debt payment. Every little helps. If I am lucky I may even be able to shave a month off the target date. To be debt free by Christmas 2023 has a great ring to it. In fact, I am going to make it happen : “Debt Free By Christmas 2023” is my new mantra.

Hope you are al keeping safe and well in these trying times. Things are just crazy out there and people going silly again with panic buying. Government is rather inconsistent with its advice and not very clear either. We really are in for a very lengthy recovery process. 

Have a good day all
N

Baileys_Babe

Are you going to add your new mantra to your signature?

Sarahwithlove

Hey, just caught up on your diary. Well done so far. I love that you have been teaching your daughter good habits and she's using saving pots. It might be worth suggesting that when she goes to uni that she uses ynab then as students get a free year plus the 35 day trial and then 10% off following year.

I was really saddened to read about your hubby not pulling his weight when it comes to the household bills. It's good he's taken on a couple of them now but maybe instead of focusing on yours debts when you talk about money you need to be focusing on geenral household costs which you both should be responsible for. Even if like you said he only pays a percentage based on his income compared to yours that's better than nothing. It seems crazy to me that he is saving all this money up and you are struggling to clear debts which probably wouldn't be as high if he had been paying his way all these years. I understand its been your decision to spend the money and buy nice things for you and your daughter but that's what your work hard for and have a good paid job for to be able to afford those extras. But where you have been carrying you both financially you haven't had the money spare for it and put it on cards instead. Maybe he needs to see the numbers in front of him. Could you input all the joint bills and costs into a spreadsheet so he can see how much you are actually paying out a month on things he should be contributing to. 

Narola1976

Thanks for stopping by to comment @Baileys_Babe and @Sarahwithlove

Yes, I certainly will update my signature with my new Mantra...I cannot wait for the day I will be debt free. It’s all I can think about most days. Sarah, its really hard to discuss finances with OH because I just can’t handle the conversation always coming round to my debt. As I cannot be honest with him about how much I owe, for reasons I have touched on previously, it makes discussing finances a no go area for me. Having said that, over the last few weeks he has been much more forthcoming in providing money towards food, which I have appreciated. And its been reasonable sums too, not just a measly tenner. It’s not enough of course, but its so much more than I have ever had before. It’s just needs to be consistent as I can never be sure he will give, unless I ask. I feel like I have to wait for my DFD before I can really be upfront and assertive. Right now I don’t feel have the right given the mess I have made.  He is also going to pay for the car service and MOT which is over £300 which is only fair as he uses my car a lot, being a small run around compared to his SUV. I just realised today, that if all goes well, I will finish this car payment in May 2022, which means that I will have another £245 to throw at the debt then, which will likely bring the debt free date forward by several months. Who knows, I could even be debt free by the summer of 2023. Of course, I should not count my chickens before they hatch. But what I will do is add this to the snowball to see what it says. I am curious

I have been pondering the merits of doing away with the TV licence. Now that we have given up Virgin Media, we only use Netflix, Now TV and Amazon Prime via Roku.  Our TV aerial isn’t even plugged in. I understand you need a licence to stream live TV even from Netflix etc. I am not sure that we do, how would I know if something was being streamed live? We don’t bother with any of the catchup services or ITV or I-player, but I am worried I might inadvertently watch something live on one of the Sky channels via now TV without realising. Or watch the news via the mobile? The more I think about it, the more I think we really do not need the TV licence and I could save £13 every month. But neither do I want to get caught out by a genuine mistake and have to pay £1000 fine! I know people will say why have all 3 streaming services.We do use all of them, and as we don’t go out much, if at all, TV is a life line for us. It’s my favourite thing after reading. I draw the line at Disney plus though. 

I am planning not to shop for food until at least 3 October. I bought enough a couple of weeks ago to see us though to the end of the month.I really hate weekly shopping.  Always used to shop monthly as my mum used to do,  being paid monthly, and the over the last couple of years started to do it weekly, but I really hate going to the shops, so I am going back to at least fornightly.I would prefer monthly but the freezers are just not big enough. I prefer to buy frozen veg as opposed to fresh so it lasts longer, hence the need for freezer space. This October I am budgeting £150 only for food, I have never spent so little but I know its doable if I put my mind to it. I will stick to Aldee this month, so hoping I can maximise the money I have. 

I really have been feeling for people who are so affected by the Covid crisis. I know I am lucky to not have been affected in any way financially and that my job is very secure. But it is also stressful and high risk in many ways and sometimes it makes my stomach be in knots.  It is my dream one day,  when DD is fully independent, debts and mortgage is paid, pension is looking better to try and reduce my hours to find a little balance. This will depend on the pension and savings pots off course. 

Right I must end off, I am trying to get into a proper night time routine. I usually end up on the gadgets until late, playing games or reading books or MSE, and I decided I need to stop. So I try to have gadgets off by 8pm, but I do listen to an audio book, lights off at 9pm, with the audio book to help me fall asleep. I want to get back to being up at 5am and becoming more productive with the house, which is in a mess. I often have no energy to clean up though DD does help sometimes. OH will tend to do the dishes but without cleaning the kitchen LOL. Right, enough, I am a chatterbox tonight! 

Be safe and well
N

foxgloves

I enjoyed reading your nice long newsy update, Narola76. It will be great if your car payment finishing & being able to direct that money towards debt payments brings your debt-free date forward. I can tell you that it is an amazing feeling when you make the final payment & suddenly, all your salary belongs to you. I spent so, so many years where a sizeable chunk of my monthly income simply disappeared down the deep dark hole of my permanent overdraft, then of course more of it went on other debt repayment - cards, loans, etc. Reaching that golden day where you no longer have to pay for stuff you probably bought ages ago..... well, it is a day to savour. It will come & you will be able to feel proud of reversing that debt habit. Then maybe you will feel in a stronger position to run your household finances as more of an equal team. It took a bit of time for Mr F & I to start singing from the same budgetary hymn book, but once we did, it did simplify matters. 
I'm going to copy your good example now by putting gadgets away! 
F x

Narola1976

Morning on what feels like a really cold and blustery morning. I slept really late - 7am despite having gone to sleep just after 9pm. I did wake at 4:45 for the loo, and debated the merits of staying up, but I am sad to say I boo’ed that idea and went back to bed. It’s a work in progress is all I will say to that  

Thank you @foxgloves for popping by, I cannot wait for the day I can do the Happy Dance. I inputted the car debt into the snow ball and it has brought the debt free date forward from 3 years 4 months to exactly 3 years!! So September 2023!! I don’t think I have ever wished time to go by just so much even though I will be inching ever closer to 50. I will be debt free by 47. 

It’s Friday, which makes me very happy. I will have to spend Saturday cleaning as the boiler man comes on Sunday to service the boiler. At least it forces me to clean up and then I have said we are all going to have a rota and take responsibility for an area to keep clean. Let’s see how far we get. 

Not looking forward to work today, really busy and there is a colleague who is really annoying me with his attitude. He is senior to me - sort of - hard to explain, but he is just so confrontational. I am going to discuss it with my manager today and get some advice. 

Anyway time for a spot of breakfast. Speak soon, stay safe and well

N

Baileys_Babe

Brilliant news on your revised debt free date.