Finding a future after debt

ceremony

I haven't been around on here for a while, but I have been plugging away still. I had to self isolate for a while due to track and trace, and I've not "been myself" because of it. It's funny how missing just going out for walks can mess with you. I'd been planning on putting in extra hours to get some more cash for the holidays. I did indeed do that, but it turned into 'extra hours to get the same amount of work done' because I'm so listless and foggy-headed.

Some good news though. A friend who owes me money for work I did two years ago for them paid me. At the time they couldn't pay due to a horrible family crisis. I just wrote it off and 'used the work for my portfolio' because they're a good friend. They just paid up out of the blue with profuse apologies so I'm pretty happy.

I put some of it towards paying off one of the CCJs and some into the emergency fund. Not the most exciting thing to do with the money but it makes me feel good to have one of the CCJs satisfied. I'll be pouring the money from that arrangement into clearing the other one fast.

So, monthly update:

Debt Jun 2020   Current

CT    5144    3600 (that includes this year's)
Rent    240    0 (arrears)
CCJ  445    0
CCJ    543    315 (being paid back but no arrangement)
Three    40    0
Three    261    231 (has arrangement)
PDL   340    0 (has arrangement)
PDL    114    114 (need to contact)
PDL    200    180 (being paid back but they haven't agreed to arrangement yet))
Washer    509    509 (need to contact)
Business    2200    1661  (not defaulted)

Starting Total: 10,036    
Now: £6,610

Emergency Fund: £250

I'm pretty happy with that! If I have any spare money after Christmas I might see if I can get it down to £6,500 just because I like round numbers.

My husband dropped off some Christmas presents "social distancing style" today, we're not going to be doing anything face to face on Christmas day. I need to go grocery shopping either today or tomorrow to pick up some bits to last the next week or so. I have one more friend that I feel like I should get something for, so if the shops aren't mega crowded I'll browse for inspiration. If not it can wait and we can do something in the new year! We'll only meet outside if the weather's nice so who knows when that will be

I hope everyone else on here's looking forward to the holidays, whatever tier they're in. These are weird times and I feel for those in the South.

moneyonmymindsam

Omg... That's amazing to get that satisfied. Well done. Love the sound of 6500 but don't put too much pressure on yourself.
Funny old times, let's hope for a better year next year. 
Sam x

ceremony

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and new year!

I've had a bit of forced time off since my clients were shut, so I had no work. Fortunately, I'd expected that and kept a bit of money floating around to keep us going/pay all the essential bills. This is the first time in years we've been "OK" over this festive lull, which feels great!

I got a bit of a wake up call when the place I got the business loan from said that their 'pandemic relief' is coming to an end soon though. They were great and froze interest for quite a while. I used that to hammer some consumer debt that was racking up charges/could become a CCJ, but if that's going to have interest applied from the end of February I think I'll have to really throw some money at that.

I made a big overpayment (£361) from some leftover Christmas money and from not needing to go shopping last week since we had loads left over from Christmas. That brings the business loan down to £1,300. I'll see if I can get some extra shifts and really make a huge push to reduce that balance while we're in lockdown. It's hard to get back into the groove of working at the moment, and I'm really going stir crazy, but it's an attainable goal and it's satisfying watching the number go down.

moneyonmymindsam

You are doing brilliantly don't forget that, it is hard to keep all the plates spinning isn't it lol.
We can only do what we can do. You seem to be on a real mission to pay down as much as you can which is fantastic.
So much has been achieved from page 1 to page 8 😁👍👏
Keep up the good work 😁😀😉
Sam 

t2rry

fantastic progress, must be such a nice feeling to have the downtime prepared for and not causing additional stress in that sense, such an achievement in itself but in addition to your ongoing progress it's incredible!

ceremony

Thanks!
I'm trying to make a huge push during this COVID situation because I'm fairly lucky, all things considered. While I no longer have my 'second job' at the moment, I'm also spending an awful lot less and I'm using that extra time to focus on my main business for a bit.

Most of the debts are from a long time ago. I decided to start sorting myself out, slowly, before COVID and we were treading water but it was taking forever to pay those debts off. I do want to go back to the job I had (it's with a not for profit and I love it) before COVID, but there's not a lot of headroom financially with the way things were before.

I'm thinking if I can blast those debts and have a small emergency fund saved up, and not have to service the payment arrangements I had before, I'd be able to sustain my old frugal lifestyle doing a job I loved, and continue to save albeit at a slower pace.

In a weird way, COVID has been a blessing for me, it's bought me the time to make a huge dent in that list of debts. I think I'll have a few more months to get as much cleared as possible, and since all of my hobbies are "illegal" right now I've made debt busting a new hobby instead haha.

I just hope that the organization I worked for still exists when all this is over! 

mark55man

every cloud has a silver lining !! our household is much the same.  but even so it takes real effort to be so disciplined and that's a thing that will be in your bag of tricks forever

Lookafterthepennies2020

Just dropping by to say hello, saw on the PYDxmas21 room that were really close in numbers.  Bookmarked and I'll be cheering you along x

mark55man

Ha ha that's funny you noticed the similarity in numbers.  I was just looking at that thread and did a double take and thought someone had double posted until I looked closer.  you can be debt busting buddies

ceremony

Well, time for a monthly update.
This lockdown is really starting to drag
I had a couple of nice productive weeks but this week's going to be slow with work. My husband's been sick, too. Not COVID and to be honest we're rather confused because he hasn't left the house except for 'going for a walk in the woods' since before Christmas. He almost never gets sick so it doesn't make sense.

We managed another big payment off the business loan but I think that might be it for this month thanks to the lack of orders this week. If it wasn't for lockdown I'd be using this time off to go see my best friend. He's really not doing well at the moment. But for now we're stuck with chatting on messenger, which sucks. 

I chipped a tooth, too, so that meant a trip to the dentist. They've put a temporary cover on it for now (with some vile tasting antibiotic stuff in it) but I've got to go back. I'm mentally deducting £100 from the emergency fund to cover it because it's an NHS appointment but I forgot to ask the price. I think it'll be band 2 though! 

Since I've got time on my hands I've started some online courses. I work in tech and I've been using the same tools and languages for many years because my clients are boring charitable/nonprofits that aren't really allowed to change things without reams of paperwork. That means my job's easy but I never learn anything new. It's fun playing with new tools! I just hope I can finish one of the projects I've started before I get back to the daily grind.
 

So, monthly update:

Debt Jun 2020   Current

CT    5144    3440 (that includes this year's)
Rent    240    0 (arrears)
CCJ  445    0
CCJ    543    300 (being paid back but no arrangement)
Three    40    0
Three    261    221 (has arrangement)
PDL   340    0
PDL    114    114 (need to contact)
PDL    200    180 (focusing on the business loan for a bit)
Washer    509    509 (need to contact)
Business    2200    998  (not defaulted)

Starting Total: 10,036    
Now: £5,762

Emergency Fund: £150