Finally taking back control after a decade of debt

Strether2020

I've just read your diary all the way through and wanted to say how much I appreciated it - I was so similar to you at uni and just after, and am only now digging myself out of the hole... Thanks so much for sharing your story! 

londoner2019

Thank you @Strether2020! The support has been great, and it’s just a huge weight off my shoulders to write about it. Love yours too - opening up and talking about it helps so much.

An update - it looks like I’ve managed to get in my new company just in time for a little bonus! I’ve NEVER had a bonus before in my life, it’s a fantastic surprise and once it comes in I can look at allocating it to one of my pots.

CL21

Woo hoo! That will make for a good Christmas present. Love a bonus although previously mine have just gone straight to a handbag fund 🤣 

enthusiasticsaver

Great news on the bonus.  Sounds like you have sorted the transition from monthly to weekly.  I would suggest you build a buffer to cover the bills and direct debits and maybe even use two different current accounts.  One just for bills and one for spending money on food etc. 

londoner2019

Thanks - that’s what I’m planning on doing. I’ve essentially calculated what my monthly wage would be and I’m working on getting to a point where I have that amount set aside by the end of each month. Then the income for the next month can go in a pot, where I withdraw the monthly funds I need.

The bonus is going to go towards that. 

londoner2019

My new year’s resolution - apart from all this debt free business - is to stop getting take out food. I’ve signed up with a deal for Gousto and it’s helping me be a bit more creative with meal planning. 

I’ve created a rigid plan to get myself a month’s worth of salary by the end of February, so that I can transfer each weekly pay out of my current account, live off what I’ve built up, and then only withdraw what I need at the start of each month. 

londoner2019

Debt free and wider savings goals mean I’m aiming for £24,000 in the next 24 months. I know it’s only been a few weeks but already I’m feeling less spendthrift.

My spending tracker has been going for a full year now and it really helps you focus on where the wasted spending goes. 

2 years is pretty daunting, even if I’m building in an emergency fund. I’ve also increased the amount i want to save in case I’m out of work. That element really set me back last year and saving that amount has pushed my goals back a few months this year.

I know I’ll likely need to balance transfer the CC this summer but I feel it’s worth it, right? Pain now for long term gain?

londoner2019

Feeling the uphill battle today! I know there’s some house stuff that will be coming up over the next few months to pay for. And that overall figure for what I want to achieve in the next few years is daunting. 

Is there anywhere I should look for some motivation?

EssexHebridean

Other diaries on here are always a good place for motivation - there are plenty of folk at a similar life-stage to you as well so it can be good to cheer one another on!  

Glad to hear you've settled well in the new job and how fantastic getting a little bonus already too - that's brilliant! 

Definitely yet to doing another 0% BT if you need to - absolutely no sense in paying interest if you don't have to - it just makes an already tough job harder. A suggestion though - decide how long you think it will take you to clear that card now, add on 3 months as a safety buffer, and get a card with a 0% period as close to that timescale as you can as that will be a really good incentive to get it cleared. 

I assume you got the mobile sorted out but I hope you aren't paying anything like as much as £20 a month for SIM only?! 

londoner2019

Thanks @EssexHebridean - appreciate the motivating words!

Agreed re: the BT - I need to stop beating myself up about it and minimise my outgoings. I know everything I’m doing is for the ultimate end goal, I need to stop focusing on the number going down as I’m quite impatient!

Re: the SIM only contract - I know it’s pricy but I need a lot of data for work (I’m stuck on a BT broadband deal which is not providing the coverage I need in my new home) and I’m getting £6 pm back via the work from home tax break. It’s down from the £50 pm I was paying for the phone originally.