Virgo In Pursuit

Hazelnutty

Well done for not overspending and it's great that you're keeping on refining your planning and learning from the past month. 

I have a guilt-free spends pot but I find I'm not touching it and being all restrained then it all goes in a splurge! So better to actually spend that little bit of cash on 'me' stuff here. I'm thinking it's kinda like a safety valve - you let off a bit of steam to prevent a massive blow-out!

doingitanyway

Well done for not overspending this month. Good idea to review July and take the lessons forward. It takes a while for new habits to form.  Keep going

MissRikkiC

Well done on not over spending! I allocated a little extra than usual for us this month and spent the extra the day i moved it over! NOT GOOD! Maybe just having that belt a little tighter reminds you why youre doing it in the first place...

anjyeah

Thanks for the encouragement - @Hazelnutty, @doingitanyway and @MissRikkiC. I hope everyone is alright! 

It has been awhile since I last updated but you guys are right, it definitely takes a while for new habits to form, and I am learning as I get by. July was definitely a high spend month. However, still not bad from what I thought it would be. Funny enough, the stuff that I felt so guilty about, I ended up returning half of them, so that is money back to my “me” fund. 

Work has been work and I have been balancing a little bit of social life in between, hence, the high spends. All worth it! I still have those moments when I feel overwhelmed but some downtime allows me to relax a little. 

Anyhow, back to regular demand and I am back to update you with my plans so far: 

>August Plan: 

• It’s a five week month - Book overtime shift when I can 
• Continue with £10,000 ambitious plan in savings 
• Continue to think about debt-free date to 12 months 
• Future goals: Boost affordability, Mortgage broker to kickstart property goals 
• Journal plan: I am thinking of starting a mortgage notebook just so I can prepare for the daunting property ladder process. It's a cross between that and a money log. We'll see. 

> Projected Debt Forecast 

CC1: £ 0 (£196.00 - repaid by budget pot for expenses)

CC2: £8110-500/600  = £7,600 or 7,500 

Total CC debt once debits have gone through: £7,500

Total Savings: £5,500 

I'll comeback with a detailed plan once I am in the right headspace. Do let me know if there is anything else I can do and I will definitely take it on board. Cheers!

MissRikkiC

Nice to see you are back in the swing of things. I find that some weeks, nothing really happens on the debt front and with that i feel less motivated. I guess the more you do something, the more traction it gets and the better you feel. Then the opposite when the opposite happens. 

Your plans are great. How are your budgets coping, the ones you dont really focus much on such as food shopping or gifts etc. Could you squeeze these at all?

doingitanyway

All sounding good. I can see where @MissRikkiC is coming from. It is the everyday budgets that will go a long way to changing habits to enable the bigger goals you have listed. Great to see you planning

anjyeah

Thanks for the sound advice! I do recall someone already mentioning checking my budget a few posts back and me promising to look into it. I haven't reached that part so I guess this month is the best time to actually do it. You are absolutely right, now that my direct debits and overpayments are going through, it can be a bit slow sometimes, and you briefly forget the cause you are doing. So I'll definitely take that on board.

I have missed the slots on booking shifts for this month so have just put myself oncall if they need anyone at the last minute. The second option I have to maybe get a little of cash is too get started on the decluttering and reselling (something that I mentioned previously but never really actioned) so there goes my plan for the month. There was a time that I did consider doing surveys so maybe now is also the best time to look into them. I did Swagbucks for a few good days and got sick of it, been hearing about Prolific so I will try that very soon. 

anjyeah

Just a quick update on things now that the direct debits have gone through. It's a slow month considering I've missed out on booking extra shifts but then it also gives me time to focus on other self-care stuff like my health and fitness, skincare, etc. So just a little run through of things for the month to continue my debt-free journey: 

Where I stand:

Debt when I started this diary: £9201.57 on 22.4% APR 

Monthly payments: Plan to pay £600 - but only paying £500 for now 

Current balance:

CC1: ------ (paid off - only for expenses) 
CC2 (0% balance transfer card) - £7610 

Total CC debt once debits have gone through: £7,610 
Savings comfortably sitting at above £5,500

August Plan: 

• Avoid any expenditure on CC1 (only expenses on budget)
• Reduce any high spend outings - so far so good, not a lot of things booked this month. 
• No overtime shifts so decluttering is my main bet. Started Prolific as well so every penny counts. 
• Continue with no spend days and possible overpayments (how little that can be this month) 
• Continue with money logs and journal 

Future Plans:

• Continue with overpayments and achieve ambitious saving goal! 
• Already contacted a possible mortgage broker and would go over plans to assess what I can and cannot afford. Even if it is even possible to get a property these days!  

A bit ambitious much? But dreaming away...

anjyeah

Hello, September! We are in Virgo season!   

Sorry if I have been missing in action, August was such a semi-slow month with no extra funds coming that I felt like there was nothing else to update about. The only good news about it is the fact I managed to pay my monthlies, live life a little, and keep up without me going broke at the end of the month. Just no overpayments, but that’s okay. 

Although, I’m really learning a lot about rethinking my purchases when I know I don’t have any extra coming in. The only extra amount I manage to get (aside from my roundups) was the £5 Prolific payment I received, lol. 

Oddly enough, the horoscope reading I’ve been getting lately has been all about finances within the ropes of “future you will thank the present you,” and "what you do now will resonate for the next six months". Apparently, the last week of August was the best time for an annual review of my finances and to be fair, that’s all I have been so conscious about lately (on top of my weight gain). Let’s see what benefits we reap with our hardwork come next year… 

How’s everyone been? I’ll do a quick browse around with my other favourite diaries later on before I post a quick recap on my numbers and future plans. 

anjyeah

September has always been my favourite month. However, it didn't feel like it these past few days - just a few down moments that involved a mixture of work being stressful, miscommunications between those close to me, and me just not being up to standard. Nothing a good nap and self-care treat couldn't deal so I'm pleased to have a little bit of annual leave to sort myself out. With the hopes that my favourite month will feel like it again   

Quick recap: 

Debt when I started this diary: £9201.57 on 22.4% APR 

CC1: ------ (paid off / transferred to zero balance - only for expenses) 

CC2 (0% balance transfer card) - £7000

Monthly payments: I am back to £600 monthly now  

Savings comfortably sitting at above £5,500

September Plan: 

• I am back to booking extra shifts now. I was advised to have consistent extra shifts whilst I prepare on getting a mortgage (proof of a stready extra income, I’m told). Seems like a tasking ask but I’m able to prove an extra income whilst the money off it goes to my overpayment. It felt like I’m hitting two birds with one stone on that one. We'll see. 
• I can’t guarantee any high spends this month as it it’s Virgo season (my season)  after all but it will all be within my planned budget. 
• Continue with no spend days and possible overpayments 
• Continue with money logs and journal 

Future Plans:

• Continue with overpayments and achieve ambitious saving goal! 
• Prepare to appear financially reliable to future lenders as I prepare myself into the daunting process of the getting into the property ladder.