Finally taking back control after a decade of debt

londoner2019

Tax rebate has come through. All allocated to various pots. I've gone back through my spending and am now filling up a Christmas pot, a clothes pot and a tickets pot. The latter two tend to be impulse buys (a gig that gets announced and goes on sale in three days time), so by having a pot I'm not dipping into my regular monthly spend budget.

The Christmas pot is fairly obvious - I've never saved for it before, so again, I'm being a bit more organised with things and can then better manage my monthly spend in December.

Made the most of the glorious sunshine yesterday in the sun, and with a full fridge I really don't need to spend anything until Friday when I get paid.

One last update - my partner's Amex had a refer a friend offer, so I've applied, been accepted for, and received, a new card. I'm going to shift my spending over there for the next few months to make use of their generous rewards scheme (it will far outweigh the 1% cashback on Chase) before reverting back to Chase for other spends. I'll keep my spending diary going, but now working out a fiddly extra column to show which card I'm using (Chase debit v Amex CC). That way, I can keep tabs on my overall monthly spend.

I've also closed all but one of my other CCs (keeping open as an emergency). I feel super organised today!

NeverendingDMP

Sounds like it's going well. How exciting to put some money in all those pots. Always a good feeling!

londoner2019

Pay day means I spend the first half hour of the morning over coffee shifting money into various pots, updating my spreadsheet with some lovely green colour coding and getting myself set for the month ahead. 

And now I’m ready for the working day, the busy weekend ahead! Need to clean the house today - it gets so dusty so quickly for some reason.

And a quick shop to restock the fridge today will be my first spend since last Sunday. It’s amazing what can be achieved by doing an online shop and committing to a week at home instead of popping out! Bonus extra is that it also helps me carve out time for myself.

SarahSaves

I've read your diary through so just wanting to say you've done amazing to clear your credit cards, it must be a wonderful feeling.  You've built up alot of little funds as well, you're doing great!  

londoner2019

Thanks for reading! I’ve gone back to the start of my diary a few times to remind myself how far I’ve come.

As others say, it’s a bit underwhelming when you clear that last card to zero, but by looking back I can see I’m no longer putting a huge chunk towards repayments, but instead saving for holidays and rainy days. 

The knock on effect of focusing on clearing the debt is the control you get over your finances - I used to run out of money with two weeks to payday, or leave myself with pennies. Now I am in control, I no longer look forward to payday so much, as the budget and the spending is much smoother and more even.

londoner2019

End of summer approaching. Usually summers are when I tend to overstretch my budget with little trips here and there, abroad or in town (it's a nice day, let's go out for lunch and drinks). (Who am I kidding, I tended to overstretch in autumn and winter too...)

I'm still within budget for August (almost unprecedented), and have been able to put that £500 a month away so far. 

I've been managing my Amex really well too, since I got it in June. Anything I spend, I shift that amount into an easy access savings pot, which I can then clear at the end of each month. It's really sad, but I do it with literally everything, and then I end up spending a minute or two just looking at all the little pots I've made in my Chase app. I've decided to siphon all the interest earned each month into its own interest pot, which I'll treat as fun money. Still find it mad that I've got savings pots...

The trick though is not to get complacent (I can do this when I've got things under control or I'm nearing the finishing line for something). I need to build up enough spare cash in the bank to keep me going for a month if I'm not working; I need to save a small chunk to finish off my student loan (it's at 6% interest right now!); and I need to save a little more for some big trips I'm planning next year. 

Note to self: stay disciplined!

londoner2019

I'm absolutely shattered this month. Not sure why. The humidity? This three-day weekend can't come quickly enough. Anyone else feeling like August has been a drag?

Having a quiet BH weekend, which includes a lie in tomorrow, a workout, and some travel planning. The goal is to put anything remaining from my current account at the end of the month into a fun pot (it's not going to be much). 

enthusiasticsaver

Nice that the student loan will be gone soon. Yes I think August has been a drag too. Too much month for the money as we have been out and about on day trips with grandchildren and on our own spending on bits and bobs. 

londoner2019

The student loan is a weird one - until this year I haven't seen it as a debt as such (it's a tax) but now the rate is going up, I'm looking forward to clearing it.

I pay through self assessment at the moment, which I think there is a bit of a problem. I have submitted my tax return (and with it how much I owe in student loans for 2022/23) and paid it to HMRC - BUT Student Finance doesn't get that money from HMRC until January 2024. So while that amount isn't much (only about 500 as I switched to SA late on in the tax year), interest is being added to my account, despite me paying another gov department.

My plan for next year is to clear the student loan separately to my tax return (I'm already putting away what I owe each month in a savings pot) so I don't have this issue again. 

londoner2019

Another night of insomnia… it’s hard to stop my brain thinking, which ends up having a knock on effect with work and attempts to exercise. Need to find some energy today to tire myself out so I can sleep better tonight.

Had to dip into my tickets pot for a slight overspend this month of £9. Shouldn’t be too annoyed about it but still feel I can make my budget work harder. I worry I’m not putting enough away in savings and in my pension (sipp). I look at everything I want to save for and clear and there’s not enough to go around.