Virgo In Pursuit

anjyeah

jokono said:

That's great progress, the debt is almost halved and the savings doubled. You can spend some of that thinking time imagining where you will be this time next year 😊
I know someone mentioned it before but did you look into LISA? You can save 4k into it every tax year and you get 1k bonus from the state on top of that. 

Yes I did but never got round to it. I was overthinking to either overpay my card with my savings and start over. Then, I scrapped that thought. It's one of the things I'll look at this year as the money just sits there and I'm doing okay with my direct debits. Thank you! 

MissRikkiC

Just caught up myself, thankfully not lots of posts as I was back at October! 

So pleased to see you’re doing so well. If not heard of a LISS before either, maybe I don’t scroll around these boards half as much as I thought I did but they don’t suit me like they suit others in that I’ve owned property before. 

That said, as ML says, open one and you have the ball rolling! £1k isn’t to be grumbled at! Just wish I’d have known sooner myself. My daughter will have a nice cushty little pot waiting for her when she’s old though, something I never had and am proud to be able to provide. 

Will be reading with interest

anjyeah

@jokono - I've only just realised, I would really love to daydream of all the extra saving (and self-treat) I am going to do once I cleared the debt this year.

MissRikkiC said:

Just caught up myself, thankfully not lots of posts as I was back at October! 

So pleased to see you’re doing so well. If not heard of a LISS before either, maybe I don’t scroll around these boards half as much as I thought I did but they don’t suit me like they suit others in that I’ve owned property before. 

That said, as ML says, open one and you have the ball rolling! £1k isn’t to be grumbled at! Just wish I’d have known sooner myself. My daughter will have a nice cushty little pot waiting for her when she’s old though, something I never had and am proud to be able to provide. 

Will be reading with interest

Welcome back! I have been in and out, updating as much as I can, mostly monthly recaps. I was starting to wonder where everyone was,

I heard of the LISA again once the previous Help To Buy ISA was discontinued and then I just got confused. For someone who is preparing to go into the property leader, there is no harm setting one up with the bonus that I get. 

I will need to have a proper mindset and read into those again (hopefully over the weekend). Fun! 

anjyeah

Back again! And hopefully in the right mindset as the past couple of weeks had me drained. I have now been given an extra leave at work as a reward and on the mend to sort myself out. I did have my goals prepped before the year ended (thank goodness for my journal) and now I am reminded on what I needed to do for the year ahead. Let's go!

I started with updating my signature with an update about my progress so far - it's slowly to feel addicting seeing my debt jump numbers each time my direct debit hits. My next direct debit for example will see it below the £4,000 mark! And with my leave given - it meant I was also able to book extra shifts to motivate myself further (even though I just want to stay indoors if I could). 

So here's to hopefully a quick run through for the year ahead... 

2022 goals: 

• £10,000-20,000 savings + possible house deposit (Ambitious again, I know but I'm trying) 
• Debt free by June 2022 
• Prepare house deposit and secure mortgage

Actions: 

• Consistent extra shifts - to overpay for credit card and savings 
• Continue MSE challenges - Sealed and Virtual Pots + Pay your debt in 2022 

Things to prepare funds for: 

• Travel Funds - Possible two holidays this year - one already booked on my credit card - aim to be paid by June 
• ?LISA
• Health and Wellbeing - Gym / Dentist

It's a brief overview as to what I'm planning but I may add or remove as I go along as it suits my needs. Sounds good?

bigbeff

Hi, just thought I'd check in and have a look! Big aim for savings... how are you planning to do this? I'm just about to check moneysaving challenges to keep me focused and on track!

anjyeah

bigbeff said:

Hi, just thought I'd check in and have a look! Big aim for savings... how are you planning to do this? I'm just about to check moneysaving challenges to keep me focused and on track!

Hi, thanks for dropping by!

It's a big number isn't it? It's a ball park figure from las year that I just increased a little coz if you're gonna dream big, dream bigger lol. I'm doing extra shifts when I can at the moment and balancing them between overpayment and savings. I guess the savings wouldn't really have a big impact until I finish paying off my credit card hopefully by June. It will be big jump once I have that off my outgoings. I might see much of an impact then.

MissRikkiC

I think it does sound like you’re giving yourself a lot of work and maybe not enough for yourself @anjyeah which is easily done once you’re motivated but in order to keep that going maybe reduce the size of those balances (in to smaller ones) and name them up. EF of £2k for instance, contingency for a month of bills £2k etc. That way you’ll continue to remain motivated as you’ll be achieving smaller, more immediate targets just my thoughts anyway 

anjyeah

MissRikkiC said:

I think it does sound like you’re giving yourself a lot of work and maybe not enough for yourself @anjyeah which is easily done once you’re motivated but in order to keep that going maybe reduce the size of those balances (in to smaller ones) and name them up. EF of £2k for instance, contingency for a month of bills £2k etc. That way you’ll continue to remain motivated as you’ll be achieving smaller, more immediate targets just my thoughts anyway 

Kind of you to think so. I'll be fine! It's just a high bar that I set for myself although behind the scenes there is a range of breathing space. Like last year, I aimed for £5,000-10,000 savings. I settled for £6,000 once I thought about the figures (and the mental health that it will cost me). The main goal, however, out of all is aiming for June 2022 debt-free date rather than my projected August one. The savings projection can come after and I'm only doing at least two extra shifts if I can. 

I like the idea of contingency funds though - especially an increase of EF. I'm already considering topping my HTB ISA unless I decide LISA contribution instead, aiming to building £1,000 at least. All ball park figures for now as I'm thinking of the pros and cons. Thank you!

anjyeah

I finally got my much needed break since the holidays (work has been equally exhausting due to the shortfalls) and just currently enjoying one lazy day after the other. 

Today has been somewhat a self-care day and will disappear out of London for a few days to relax. I have also acknowledged that I needed to lose a healthy amount of weight and none of the home remedies that I did last year worked. So I'm back at the gym with an employee discount and also taking free trials of different activities in my area. Hopefully I'll find something that works for me. 

A few things that I have been busying myself, however, involved a mixture of collecting the sale items I bought last week, activating my reseller accounts once more (I had a dodgy buyer late last year and my account was suspended due to the dispute) and listed a number of things from my recent "closet dive" lol. I also have a few books that can go but I don't seem to have the heart to part ways with them and it seems luck is on my side as the app buying them don't want to. 

It will be payday at the end of this week and so far managed to avoid the December/January pay troubles which I definitely take as a good sign for myself (with a few left to spare to tide me in the next few days). Little wins!

GinoOhGinoGinelli

Hi @anjyeah, I've really enjoyed reading through your diary - I'm now subscribed and look forward to following your debt-free and savings journey!

I opened a LISA a couple of years ago, but I don't currently put a huge amount into it as I have a mountain of debt to tackle first. I have the Moneybox LISA (I believe there were only two options at the point when I opened an account, not sure what the situation is now). I like that the app also has the option to do round-ups etc so that you can make small contributions to your LISA and still feel like I'm making some progress at least!

Good luck!