📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Save more to work less.

Options
Hi all i have been part of this forum for 11 years.  I still have debt and it's being chipped away at.  I work 36.5 hrs and i am dropping to 32. I will have  few short days a week which will be nice.  I don't want to work anymore hours to get more money  as I feel this amount is what i am mentally capable of at the moment.  I work in the nhs and it is very stressful esp at the moment.
I do the usual frugal things like meal planning making my own work lunches.  I do spend too much on birthdays Christmas and holidays. I also buy 3 bottles of wine per week so need to cut down.  :p
I have bought almost all of Christmas for this year food drink and presents just waiting on the elusive new x box to be avaliable.  I can concentrate now on not spending for a while......
Thank you for reading.
btd

Comments

  • Welcome Beat the Debt 🙂 x
  • Welcome and good luck on your journey
    January 2020- starting point! Update jan 2021
    Loan 1: £10798 £5637
    Loan 2 (DH)  £4586 £3280
    Credit card 1: £2496 £1755
    Credit card 2 (DH): approx £1000 £600
    Mortgage: £234,235 £227,746
    Total debt: £252,125  £239,018
    Savings approx £2k. Approx £9k




  • Welcome and good luck on your journey. Have you done a new budget based on your reduced hours? I don't blame you for doing less it's been so stressful for everyone that's had to work all through this. I work for LA and were busier than ever at the moment. 
    *Dad loan - £5300 - £7200
    *Virgin Credit Card - £3552.50 - £0
    *Natwest - £1828.35 -£0.00

    Barclaycard - £2315.25 - £0.00

    Creation Finance - £960.32 £840
    *Total debt - £8040/£11641.17*


    Savings
    *Savings Buffer - £100/£1500
    *Emergency Fund - £1500/£1500


    New diary- https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6474943/the-three-cs-coffee-clothes-credit-cards/
  • Hi i must admit i don't ,but i waste and overspend so i am sure i can pull it back and also i am lucky hub's will be paid more from jan and i will have a pay rise April i just need to do it or it will break me :)
  • I think it's important you create a new budget because if you can live within that then the extra you get will be able to help pay off the debts. If you don't change your life style and spending habits it will just be a never ending circle of debt. 
    *Dad loan - £5300 - £7200
    *Virgin Credit Card - £3552.50 - £0
    *Natwest - £1828.35 -£0.00

    Barclaycard - £2315.25 - £0.00

    Creation Finance - £960.32 £840
    *Total debt - £8040/£11641.17*


    Savings
    *Savings Buffer - £100/£1500
    *Emergency Fund - £1500/£1500


    New diary- https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6474943/the-three-cs-coffee-clothes-credit-cards/
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 28,971 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Good luck on your journey
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £174.8K Equity 32.77%
    2) £2.6K Net savings after CCs 6/7/25
    3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £24.3K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.2K) = 30.1/£127.5K target 23.6% 29/7/25
    4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
    5) SIPP £4.8K updated 29/7/25
  • BEAT_THE_DEBT
    BEAT_THE_DEBT Posts: 2,219 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker PPI Party Pooper
    edited 1 August 2021 at 1:50PM
    Hi, well where has the time gone??   I am lucky i have had work and hubs through the pandemic.  I have however been doing home improvements which has added to the debt short term.
    I have managed to get a £100 decrease in mortgage which from Jan i am using to overpay.
    Hols have been a but pants this year as me and hubs couldn't get the same time off for longer than a few days so just been hanging around being meh!
    We are going away tomorrow for 2 days by the sea so that will be nice.
    I have booked a meal out  and have a 25% voucher in PRE££O.   I also have either free prosecco or 2 desserts but don't think i can use with 25% and i would think the 25 would give me the biggest saving and also hubs don't drink and i don't have a dessert!
    I just cobbled together a Nice chorizo,cherry tom and mushroom thing with beans and a cheese slice and it was lovely!
    I'm quite good at making something out of nothing as they say!
    Going back to work seems like a new start after my annual leave so back to diet, drinking less and saving towards Aug bank hol as we are away again luckily no accommodation costs as family van and we tend to only spend on food., 
    After bank hol then time to plan........Christmas !!!!!
    see you soon thanks for being here 
    BTD XX

Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 244.1K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 599.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177K Life & Family
  • 257.6K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.