Clearing my debts 1% at a time

Aimingforthegoodlife

Huge congratulations! Have a wonderful Christmas!

Rud0lf

Made it to half term, didn't realise it had been so long since I've been on here, definitely need to post more often to keep an eye on how much I'm spending, still debt free and beginning to build savings, between Lisa, ISA and holiday savings I'm up to £2000 so far this year.

I have 7 1/2 years left to pay in to the Lisa and can't withdraw from it, this is part one of the saving for retirement the maximum I can pay in is £4000 per year and then it's topped up by the government. Hopefully I should have about £45000 by the time I'm 50 and have to stop paying in to it. Alongside this I'm aiming to save £5000 easy access savings and a further £10000 in savings which are harder to access. 

When I reach 50 I'll save the £4000 a year else where which will be the fund to bridge the gap between retiring and drawing my pension.

The only credit card I'm accessing at the moment is paid in full each month to avoid interest and hopefully I'll get that completely cleared in the next few months so I'm living within my current pay month instead of technically borrowing from future me. I'm slowly decreasing how much I use it each month to chip away at it comfortably whilst saving.

NeverendingDMP

Well done. All going really well!

Rud0lf

Not very MSE but we have decided to get a porch built, it will have a few benefits, the main one being the hall is not very big and with two boys one almost a teen there are countless backpacks, football boots, shoes, trainers and sliders/crocs everywhere which we just don't have the space to store easily. Secondly opening the front door for any length of time without the cat getting out is tricky, we'll also get a plug socket so the cat can still be shut in the house while we hoover the car or pressure wash the front of the house etc. third and probably most importantly the current stone over the doorway is crumbling and is a flat roof which is leading to some damp in the hallway. This means we would need to pay out some money to do repairs so now seems like the right time.

Unfortunately the cost is quite high but we have a good reliable builder and my husband can draw the plans for building regs etc. most importantly I've just about got enough in pots and savings to pay for it with a small contingency incase anything pops up during the process. The holiday fund will have to go on hold while I build it up again but it's doable. 

So the need to keep saving is really important and something I'll be focusing most of my energy on. I've also started calorie counting as I have about a quarter of my bodyweight to lose so I'm determined to shift it. I won't be signing up to any plans or clubs just doing my best to stick to 1250 calories a day and tracking in an app. I've done it before and had great results so just need to keep my focus.

Rud0lf

Positive news this week, in laws are helping with the cost of the porch as an early part of our future inheritance, they like to help out with practical things to help and so savings will stay in tact as our emergency fund and next year's holiday can be saved for.

Digging for foundations has been completed today and a bit of demolishing has been done, 

On the weight loss from I've lost 6lb since starting last weekend which is fantastic and spurring me on. I'm aware this will slow down but I haven't felt hungry and have been getting more exercise too.

Rud0lf

Foundations have been completed, concrete slab and damp course have been done and walls are starting to be built so good progress so far. Very little spent this week 

Have lost 13lb so far and still haven't felt hungry. Busy week in work has helped. Hoping to sort the shed out this week while we have a skip as well as laying some paving where we've removed a flower bed.

Rud0lf

Rud0lf said:

I've been in a dmp since September 18 and am managing to have a little left over some months, I saw a thread from last year about paying 1% at a time, currently I'll be debt free in September 27 and my last negative marker will disappear in may 2026. Hopefully I can pay off 1% at a time which seems more manageable at £250 a time. Here's to saving for the first 1%.

I've just got my 5 year badge which prompted me to go back to the beginning of my diary. It took me 6 months of reading to realise a damp was the answer and 10 months to start this thread. 

I'm sitting here debt free 2 and a half years before I expected and my final markers are due to come off my credit file next month not next year as I originally thought.

If someone had told me I'd get rid of it this soon at the start I would have laughed and told them no chance. 

In that time I've also had a holiday to America all paid for in advance and a new roof as well as a new kitchen. Of course it hasn't all been easy but I'm so glad I took that first step. I'm not sure if anyone else reads this but if they do I hope it helps to see it is possible to make changes to help your future self. 

I'll keep chipping away at saving whilst still having fun as a family. I wonder how things will be in another 5 years.

Rud0lf

Time to re evaluate and try to get the balance in life to work better. I've been so focused on increasing my savings and planning for retirement I've been forgetting to live a little. I've noticed in the past few months I'm not my usual self. I'm not depressed as such but running on empty and just doing things to get through day to day without really enjoying anything the way I usually do. 

I think a mixture of coming to terms with my ADHD and asthma diagnosis and trying to juggle working full time, being a mum and caring for elderly parents whose health is declining is taking its toll. I've started with the healthy eating as well as upping my exercise and taking up yoga around a month ago.

I went for a massage and reflexology today and without saying anything to the therapist she pinpointed the issues I'm having completely. We then talked about the importance of having me time and talked about some tapping techniques and exercises I can try to boost my lymphatic system.

I've decided to book in for an intensive wellbeing course with an hours treatment each week for 6 weeks with the same therapist to give myself a kick start. I had been thinking about booking that when I booked this appointment but talked myself out of it. Listening to her talking about the importance of me time made me decide to go for it. Looking forward to the next 6 weeks and trying different therapies along the way to see what helps the most, cupping and more reflexology are were we are going to start then plan what will work best for the next 6 weeks. I've come home feeling lighter and like someone understands. 

Definitely time to change the balance and have more enjoyment in my life whilst still being sensible and planning for the future. 

thelibrarian11

Hey, I'm autistic I was diagnosed 7 years ago. I get really stressed and frustrated easily and if I'm not careful I get unwell with it. I tend to use extra naps as my coping mechanism!

Rud0lf

thelibrarian11 said:

Hey, I'm autistic I was diagnosed 7 years ago. I get really stressed and frustrated easily and if I'm not careful I get unwell with it. I tend to use extra naps as my coping mechanism!

I tend to have a nap or just lie in the bed for a bit when I'm over stimulated but have been doing a lot of that recently so want to try to unpick the cause a bit more. 

She asked if I feel like I'm just going through the motions doing things because I have to not want to and doing too much for others to do anything for myself and she was exactly right. She also asked if I had had a loss and I explained that although I haven't my dad is very unwell so although he is still with us I feel like I'm grieving the relationship we've always had, he is so frail now, his memory is declining and due to probable bowel cancer he is having a lot of symptoms that he would be really embarrassed about but with his Alzheimer's he doesn't seem to care. It's hard seeing him this way as I know he would hate being this way if he was his old self. 

I'm not a worrier about things that can't change so have decided to focus on the things I can, making more time for me and my health to stay healthy for as long as possible.