Twelve Months To Turn It Around?

ChasingRainbows

SSDD23 said:

Haha, "fridge triage", I like that. X

Thanks, trying to avoid food waste so it's a case of freeze it or use it up  x

ChasingRainbows

Bizzywizard said:

Hi ChasingRainbows,
I have just read your diary Good luck with your debt free journey!
Does your overdraft have interest added or is it interest free? Overdrafts are what really hurt me/us!
Overdraft - £2100 – I have an arrangement in place whereby this is reduced by £150 per month. I’m happy to let this do its thing but am conscious when I provide bank statements as part of the mortgage application process this doesn’t look great. I suppose I need to know if this is more detrimental than the consumer debt and shift focus accordingly?
My husbands overdraft is what was killing us each month as the interest was bonkers! We had the same problem with money as soon as you paid in, it gotten eaten up by overdraft and interest! We both switched bank accounts  to -

Nationwide's FlexDirect account offers a year's 0% overdraft, as long as you haven't had a FlexDirect account before.

I had £2500 in interest free debt and was able to pay this off, with NO interest. It was hard work but worth it.

This is the link to Martin Lewis main page about how to get out of your overdraft, it really helped me. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/cut-overdraft-costs/

I have two bank accounts one where my salary goes into and mobile and child tax credits goes out of (Flexdirect) and another one just for bills (RBS). I have removed the overdraft facility from both accounts, its nice to be in the black.

I have an excel spread sheet for each month of the year showing:

Council Tax (spread over 12 months, this has helped me budget as the two old free months didn't help me at all)

Mortgage

Water

Insurance

Netflix

TV Licence

Gar and Electric (I always give my meter reading and have had £85 back this month as I was charged to much, better that's in my account than the companies)

Credit card DD (I spread them out over their repayment period, for example £1200 CC for 12 months means I pay £120 a month. 

Anything else goes into my LISA account (I can only take out 3 times a year). I must say for the last year I have barely brought anything, my focus was my DEBT FREEDOM.

Hope this helps in a small way.

Bizzy

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this! I am paying around £30 per month in interest on the overdraft. I did wonder about switching accounts but as I want to make a mortgage application in the next twelve months I wondered if keeping my longstanding account would serve me better? It's so hard knowing what to tackle first to have the best impact on my chances!

I also have a spreadsheet for income and outgoings and have used this religiously for years. I think like you it's really cutting back on the spending and impulse buys and maintaining the motivation

Thanks again xx

ChasingRainbows

Well yesterday was indeed a NSD so 1/10 achieved so far. If all I pay out today is postage for the eBa* sale I'll claim another as I'm not actually spending my money. Another couple of household DD's have gone out today but no movement debtwise. 
Today will however be my first day cigarette free *fingers crossed* 

thriftyish

Hello, It sounds like you are making good progress! Have you completed a SOA or Statment of Affairs? This one from stoozing.com also has a snowball calculator, I found that really helpful when I had multiple debts because it prioritises the highest % debts first to show the way to pay off to save you the most possible money.

The SOA is helpful as it helps budget for the things you don't always remember, like haircuts ect, and an emergency fund is a good idea, even if only £20-30, then if anything goes wrong you don't feel like its such a big setback.

Good luck with stopping smoking & with your debt busting journey

ChasingRainbows

thriftyish said:

Hello, It sounds like you are making good progress! Have you completed a SOA or Statment of Affairs? This one from stoozing.com also has a snowball calculator, I found that really helpful when I had multiple debts because it prioritises the highest % debts first to show the way to pay off to save you the most possible money.

The SOA is helpful as it helps budget for the things you don't always remember, like haircuts ect, and an emergency fund is a good idea, even if only £20-30, then if anything goes wrong you don't feel like its such a big setback.

Good luck with stopping smoking & with your debt busting journey

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I haven't done an SoA as yet due to the uncertainty around child maintenance. Hoping that will become clearer over the coming weeks and I can get one posted. I think the snowball thing is really interesting though. I suppose my "reluctance" to go down that route has been down to trying to understand what is the best approach in terms of mortgage applications rather than a clear path to debt free if that makes sense?

ChasingRainbows

Yesterday was NSD 2/10 and Day 1 of No Smoking 
Today another couple of DD's have gone out bringing my current debt total down to £13,456.42 although the loan will have some interest added which will take it back up slightly. Today won't be a NSD as I need to pay £20 for my Child Maintenance application so will also draw out £10 needed to pop in a birthday card. Should then be able to get a couple more NSD's this week if all goes to plan!

ChasingRainbows

Not much to report. NSD 3/10 today and Day 3 of No Smoking underway. Have managed to find a couple more items for eBa* and have done some surveys for a little extra cash. Just monitoring the budget and trying not to overspend. Bonus will be paid in next months salary so hoping to get rid of the dreaded loan on next payday. Time is dragging a little and it feels like I'm not making any headway so think I'll only look at debt totals on the 1st of each month from now on

ChasingRainbows

Couple of days since I last updated. Still on 3/10 no spend days but hoping for a fourth today. Have sold a couple of items so that money will be put in the Xmas savings pot. Quitting smoking is going well and I've taken advantage of a 10% off code to order some more vape refills so that will keep me going in to next month. Haven't spend too much, a small top up shop and treated myself to a few beers for the weekend. Fingers crossed the weather stays nice and I can get out for a walk tomorrow. No update on the Child Maintenance situation, apparently it could be up to 12 weeks before I receive any payment 

Scloud

Well done for keeping up with quiting smoking! It can't have been easy. 

ChasingRainbows

Had a lovely weekend and the budget remains intact (just!), the last of my direct debits went out today so the bank account is looking extremely lean. Thankful for Child Benefit due in a week!

I went for a walk with DD yesterday to a local beauty spot and treated us both to an ice cream. Saturday bagged me NSD 4/10 
Work is set to be busy this week so just need to stick to the meal plan and maintain focus. Not smoking is getting easier the more time that goes on