Finally taking back control after a decade of debt

Rud0lf

Have read your diary start to finish and you are definitely right, lots of similarities between us. You have done so well, when it comes to being mortgage free an overpayment calculator is very motivating. Even a small payment of £5 can save a massive amount of interest, I used to use any money I wasn't used to having to it for example if I finished paying for something I would use hat money the next month to pay off the mortgage, that way I never got used to having the extra and didn't miss it.

londoner2019

Thanks @Rud0lf - our mortgage is massive so it feels so overwhelming to try and pay off sooner. But you're right - the amount saved in interest can be a motivator. 

I need to start chipping away at it properly, and I think being a bit more disciplined with my frivolous spending this month might help me focus again.

Got paid today, so shuffled money into various pots and over to my Chase spending account, and paid off the Amex bill in full from its savings pot. Chase add the interest tomorrow, so looking forward to seeing how much I'll have earned this month. Of course, all of that goes immediately into its own savings pot (to keep all the other pots neat and rounded).

Booked my dental check up - I have to pay up front but my partner's company is American and as is their wont, they provide medical and dental insurance. So it just costs me the premium to get two check ups and two hygienist visits a year. Which I'm very grateful for! So the reimbursement will go back into one of my savings pots, so as not to confuse me with my monthly spending budget.

Generally feeling much better today - managed to get a big work task completed and I went for a run last night - both of which helped me sleep much better.

londoner2019

A cool £38 in interest this month to add to my tickets/fun pot. Really making the most of saving my tax bill - that should continue to grow and earn interest now until the end of July next year (when I need to make a payment on account) and beyond.

Rud0lf

Running definitely helps with sleep especially with ADHD, I'm running the Great North Run next weekend.

Well done with the amount of interest too, my next step is to work on the savings. I've opened a chase account today after reading your thread will play with that a bit more. 

londoner2019

My friend has signed up for a half marathon next April. He’s going to have a newborn by that time and he also hates running with a passion. If he can do it, I can do it too! Something to aim for. 

@Rud0lf - I think having an app with an easy UI is such a huge factor for me in banking these days. For instance, my partner opened a Sainsbury’s bank saver - they don’t even have an app. I’m 2023!

A few big spends at the start of the month (train tickets and a big online shop) but nothing too drastic since, and a quiet weekend in means my budget is looking healthy so far. I know things even out over the month, but it’s a nicer feeling to not be playing catch up throughout the month - also makes me
less inclined to spend / more determined to have NSDs.

londoner2019

What a glorious week. Went for a run at lunchtime on Monday - that was too hot. Shuffled it back to around 10am on Tuesday - unbearable. 8am on Wednesday - that I could manage. Woke up too late for the early one this morning... I guess sweating it out is a good thing for fitness...

A couple of pubs near me do an £8 lunch deal - good idea for them to try and get some midweek, daytime trade. Took our laptops and sat in the sunshine to work yesterday afternoon.

September going ok so far, money-wise. Trying to focus on building some good habits (NSDs, runs, AFDs) which is helping me obsess less about my budget and enjoy things a little more.

londoner2019

A few little things to update over the last week - melted in the sun and humidity last weekend and have been a little under the weather this week.

Work has been quite stressful, and while it pays well, I know it's not really what I want to do long-term. I'm trying to motivate myself to do some stuff on the side which is more fun and enjoyable, but lacking drive right now for that.

Budget-wise - the month is ticking along ok - with 2 weeks to payday I'm relatively on track. We've begun discussing travel plans for 2024 and I'm trying to get ballpark figures calculated so that I can prepare.

Paid our building's annual building insurance and that came to 100 under what I had put away - leaving that money there for next year.

And finally - opened up a Santander savings before the deadline - spotted that I've got 4% in Chase but they offer 5% - with my tax bill pot sitting at 8.6k already and it's only going to increase up until Jan 2025, that's a chunky amount of extra interest.

londoner2019

Back at it after a lazy-ish weekend. Found some cheap comedy tickets for Saturday night, and did very little on Sunday.

Finally feel like I've shaken off a cold, so back out running today. Always hate leaving it too long, and being sedentary for much of last week made me feel lazy, lethargic and adding to the waistline.

londoner2019

Thought I'd count up my NSDs this month (as well as monitoring a few other habits): today will be my 6th NSD out of 20. Not sure if that's good or not... will aim for 10 this month.

Budget's looking OK... I have one more weekend before my reset on Saturday 30th, and this weekend is a trip up north, but travel and accomm already paid for. So I'm hopeful that it won't eat into the budget too much. Big shop arriving later today too, and no other big plans for the month.

Have even sorted a small trip to Spain in November - dipped into the holiday fund for that - and travel to my family in October - travel booked for that out of my September budget. 

Horrible day today, but managed to get out for a run before the rain arrived.

May have some house improvement works to do in the coming months. Our building is so old and cracks appear outside and in. It's not subsidence (phew) but it's likely going to need some work to brickwork and the beams over the top of the window frames... expecting a full quote next week sometime, but at this stage I have zero idea what the ballpark figure is.

londoner2019

Well into October, and it's been a quiet start to the month, which my back balance LOVES. 

Ended on 9 NSDs for September, and while I've technically only done 1 in the first 4 days this month, two of them were on solitary bus journeys. I've set up a little tracker in my spreadsheet which figures out what my daily spend budget is, and what I've actually spent this month "per day". It's come in significantly lower so far. I know things even out, but it gives me more motivation to see how much I'll have left over at the end of October if I continue at this rate. I've even colour coded it.

My fun pot has increased thanks to the monthly interest rates I'm siphoning into it. Even watching that pot grow makes me more reluctant to dip into it. It's got to be something I REALLY want to do.

Had broadband issues for a week. Finally fixed - was thinking I should go and try and get some compensation, but Sky have emailed saying they'll knock it off my next bill - so should be getting 15 pounds back, and next month's bill will also be nothing. Nice win! But relying on my hotspot for work was a pain (thankfully I have some ridiculous amount of data on my sim only plan).