Clearing my debts 1% at a time

Rud0lf

Impatient waiting for direct debits as being paid a few days early means the money is sitting waiting to go so I have sent a payment to SLC which covers a reduction of £21 plus the estimated interest due to be added on the 1st this means including my direct debit it will reduce debt by a nice round £150 this month. 

5 days until stepchange are gone and cc1 with them. This is a big turning point for me as here on in I'm proving I can manage and stay in control on my own which I'm confident I can. 

All other debts are coming down nicely and the only expected increase is for essential house renovation. 

Most importantly I've been saving in advance for things I want and reducing my 0%interest debts on things like buy now pay later which have always been my downfall. Both my holidays this year are paid for in advance and spends are in savings or will be before leaving. I've got a Christmas pot which by Christmas will more than cover everything and I have a car pot for emergencies. Once the debt is paid I'll increase the emergency fund then start saving more in the boys accounts and maximise my LISA and aim for a years wage in savings. This all feels achievable for the first time and will be possible whilst still being able to do nice things as for the first time since childhood I'm almost debt free.

fabatfifty

Just read your whole diary Rud0lf.  Fab work. You’ve done and are doing so well. Inspiring. Thanks for writing it, it helps to see how others tackle paying/saving/living, you seem to have the balance just right. 

Rud0lf

Thanks @fabatfifty it's taken me a while to find a balance but I do feel like it's right as it's working consistently. At first trying to pay too much and finding id run out of money as well as not having much fun felt really hard. Once I accepted I could chip away and take a little longer my quality of life improved. 

Things that work best for me are having a direct debits and standing orders account with one bank and a spending account with another. Having realistic savings pots which I don't self sabotage by dipping into. Having a spreadsheet with all my bills in and the total still due to come out and marking it off as they come out. Realising I probably have ADHD and coming up with ways of organising myself so I don't forget a bill has been really important. 

This morning I have sent £37.07 to SLC to tidy current accounts to round numbers. Making yesterday's payment reminded me how much interest I'm paying per month on this at the moment so wanting to chip away as much as possible but need to be careful as I'll have the cattery to pay this month while we have work done to the house, at least we are saving a little as we were paying to him there for our holiday and having some of the work done at the same time.

I found out the other day child benefit is increasing 10 per month so that is good. I'll benefit from the national insurance cut too, this will really help me to teach my goals.

Have budgeted spends for our trip and that should help with this month's budget, next week I should only be spending the euros I have and cash should stay in the bank.

We do have ds1's birthday in a few weeks but most gifts are bought. Will try to be careful with money to have some left for more overpayments nearer the end of the month.

Rud0lf

Cc1 has gone. Bank of mum will increase again soon for house renovations, cc2 has reduced. Overall everything is heading in the right direction.

Rewire is almost finished, myself and the boys have the dentist tomorrow which is my least favourite job in the holidays. I need to pop in to work on Tuesday morning for a meeting and then have the plasterer coming on Tuesday evening to check what materials are needed and then is back again on Friday to do the job.

Somewhere in between I need to start getting the house back to some form of normal. 

Had a lovely trip for DHs birthday but back to reality now. Have spent the weekend cleaning up the mess from the rewire. Slowly but surely getting there.

Rud0lf

Bank of mum has continued to increase, student loan has decreased. Pay in 3 second payment has gone so only one more left. Have been number crunching this week and I'm still on track to be debt free with some savings by the end of the year.

Rewire is almost finished and plasterer has finished. House is looking so much better just need to keep moving everything back in now. 

Only purchases still required are oven, tap and sink trap. Will try to eek some money out of April and May pay to go towards these as don't want to increase debt too much more. 

Putting dates here to hold myself accountable 

Bank of mum end of December if not before 
Student loan is end of September 
Very end of August 
Pay in 3: middle of May
Cc2: end of August 
Total debt £6528.49

Rud0lf

Paydayhas been and gone so £300 to very paying next bnpl before any interest is added, £300 to cc2 enough to make sure it's payed off before interest is added, £350 to SLC my only interest paying debt. Grateful to be able to pay big chunks off the now the dmp debt has gone. However I have replanned my strategy will update below.

Pay in 3 has increased with the last payment for the oven due next month paid the initial payment from bank of mum, then payed this months payment so one more due next month. On track to be debt free by the end of the year.

I have decided to take a step back and look closely at how I'm managing my money again. I've realised that I'm throwing as much as I can towards debt and then struggling to make it to the end of the month and topping up what I need on the credit card, I've realised what a bad habit this is and needs to change it before I'm debt free so I don't end up in a mess again. I've looked at what I owe and when interest is due to be added and split the amounts between the months either until interest is added or until the end of the year. I've decided it's better to be within budget and take until the end of the year instead of sprinting to get it paid off and ending up in a mess.

For the next three months the focus is SLC and Cc2 they will be fine by the beginning of August. Very and bank of mum will be chipped away at until the end of November. 

From now on payments will change each month depending on other outgoings so that I have a consistent amount being paid out to bills debt and savings overall. This will leave me with enough to get me through every month without using the credit card. If there is any extra at the end of any month it will go to SLC with my overpayment to reduce the interest down, it has now dropped to £6.78 but should reduce to about £5.10 next month.

All debt including bank of mum will be paid by the beginning of December. All that needs paying for in the kitchen now is a tap and a waste trap. The rest of the house will need decorating but only wallpaper or painting we have everything needed except a few tubs of emulsion. The hallway will be an autumn job aside like to revamp that properly, slowly but surely we'll make our home beautiful again.

Next year will be a big focus on saving, my LISA will be filled this year but I need to save properly to support the boys when they're older and for early retirement. I'm planning to retire at 57 so 15 and a half years away. I'm lucky to have a good pension scheme and just want to top everything else up to make it as comfortable as possible for us all.

Rud0lf

For accountability if I don't increase debt this month then I aim by the 1st June to have paid off 1128.35 bringing me down to 5350. This will help keep me well on track.

PollyPocket4

What a great diary, you’re doing amazing! 

Rud0lf

Thanks @PollyPocket4 for reading. The last bit is taking longer than I would like but need to keep the balance between living and being debt free. Most importantly I need to know I'll stay debt free.

£100 DD has gone to cc2, 

£129 DD going to SLC on 15th and 

18.49 DD going to pay in 3 on the 11th, 

I am determined it will all be gone by the beginning of December, and I can have a little more freedom to be more spontaneous. 

Rud0lf

A fairly positive week, this month's budget is going okay. Have paid for the tap and sink trap which are finally back in stock so the whole kitchen is now paid for and will be delivered in 16 days. Managed to pay just over half of the money for them out of this month's budget only increasing bank of mum by £90 instead of £200. Hopefully this will be able to be paid as extra next month but no pressure at all from mum as she just wants to help. 

Will need to pay a decorator to do some wallpapering in 2 rooms. He is really good and will cost less than £200 for what we need so that's good. 

I have painted the first coat in the kitchen really looking forward to having a kitchen again this will start to be fitted in 24 days. 

I have a rare night out next Friday so will need to watch the pennies this week so I have enough to enjoy it without borrowing anything. 

Have had a mini money shuffle and have got the money set aside for the decorator and everything should work out 🤞