Finally taking back control after a decade of debt

londoner2019

Had a few deliveroo meals over the weekend, but it's not broken the bank and I had budgeted for these anyway. I didn't update my spending spreadsheet for a few days, which made me feel uneasy, even though there was really nothing to worry about!

I'm still very much in the mindset of not running my account down to zero each month (after planned bills and CC payments) - mostly because I don't have an EF just yet. 

londoner2019

My morning routine is to wake up, make a pot of coffee and then update my spending spreadsheet and browse these diaries. My CC statement comes tomorrow - it's quite sad, but I can't wait for it to arrive so I can put my planned £100 into it!

In other news, still waiting on an update re: my house move. We're now under 3 weeks until we are out of this current place, and while I expect exchange and completion to happen really quickly, there are still a couple of bits from the seller's solicitor that we're waiting on. I hate the waiting game!

londoner2019

First trip to the pub yesterday, and I'm really pleased I managed to stick to my budget! It was a quiet one anyway, and I walked an hour to get there to stretch the legs and save that few ££ that would have gone to TfL otherwise...

MuffinTops

Hey londoner2019.  How's the move going?  Did you manage to get the bits you were waiting for?

Well done on sticking to budget on your first trip back to the pub.  Legend has it that some people that went as soon as they were allowed, are still there now!

I like your morning routine. I'm trying to avoid coffee where I can and am doing abysmally at it.  Did you put the £100 on your credit card?

I hope all's going well and you're enjoying the week.

londoner2019

Hey @MuffinTops - thanks for the support! The move is FINALLY happening... should be exchanging today and hoping to get the keys next week. The delay on the seller's side (they wanted us to pay for some fire safety works but we stood our ground and they eventually caved) means that I'm going to be homeless for two days - moving out of here next week. Staying with friends which is fortunate.

I did overdo it a little bit at a dinner with a friend this week (he asked me to be his best man), but I'm moving budget pots around and I know that next month I'll have some significant savings from bills/rent/deposit coming back. 

The £100 went straight on the credit card. So nice to see the figure dip to £6,900 - so much better than seeing a 7 there! 

I know I should really avoid coffee, but genuinely I need about three cups throughout the morning to properly function...

Hope you can enjoy the weekend - I'm looking out the window and I see beautiful blue skies

londoner2019

Well, I'm IN. Slowly getting things sorted and getting things in that we need for the place.

My partner has agreed to bear the cost of getting things like furniture, with me paying back my half over time. So while my debt has actually gone up, it's nice to be able to focus on one debt at a time. For now I'm focusing on hitting the 2200 for the upcoming tax bill, then I'll go wild on cutting that credit card figure. Updated situation below:

Credit card: 5400/12200 (0% until 9-Jul-2022) (6800 to go)
Self employed tax: 1600/2200
My share of solicitors' fees etc: 0/2500
My share of house items: 265/1180 (expecting this to go up a little bit)
Some non-urgent, but desired, dental work: 0/700

This hasn't been agreed, but I want to do this for my partner anyway:
My share of rent owed to partner (who helped me out when I was made redundant last year): 1500

The total of all of the outstanding balances above is a few £££ over 13000, with just over half of it on the credit card alone.

These are planned savings for later down the line:
EF: 0/1000
Having £1k in the bank so I'm not going down to 0 each month: 0/1000
Holiday: 0/2000

A lot of different pots feels a little daunting, but the trick is to keep on top of your own overly-complicated spreadsheet and you'll feel much better about it.

anjyeah

Congratulations on the house move! Just dropped by to say hello. 

Glad I bumped into this thread! 

londoner2019

Thanks for the kind words!

Update: my old landlord has finally repaid my deposit, so there's another chunk of money to put towards things, as well as a bit of spare disposable income I'm hoping to have left over this month. I feel on top of the card at the moment - I've got manageable amounts to take me to the end of the 0% period. As of payday (last Friday of the month), I'll be on:

Credit card: 5600/12200 (0% until 9-Jul-2022) (6600 to go - 1 payment of 600 and then 10 payments of 500)
My share of solicitors' fees etc: 100/2500
Some non-urgent, but desired, dental work: 0/700
Pay back for old rent payments: 0/1500

Self employed tax pot: 2200/2200
My share of house items: 1180/1180 (will have a new pot for future items)

I find it so rewarding to be able to close off some of these pots - it allows me to draw a line under things and move on.

londoner2019

Update: it's my mum's birthday coming up so I've dipped into the "extra" I was going to roll over onto my card. Again, I shouldn't feel guilty about spending what I had initially allocated as disposable income this month which I subsequently tried to save. I also need to start working on a more accurate spending schedule for the month - factoring in things like a cake (who knew they could be so expensive). Something to learn and improve on for next month (starting this Friday on payday).

londoner2019

Well, after a fairly expensive weekend, I'm now allocating my disposable income for the month for where I know I have a day out, drinks with friends, or somewhere where I'll expect to spend more than £20. It's very rough, but it gives me an indication of where I might need to cut back, or when I have to say no to that trip to the pub. Let's see where I get to this month. I've already persuaded some friends to come and sit on my terrace instead of going for a £40+ pub trip. That will save me a fair bit, and I look like a good host in the process.