Debt free by 40

EssexHebridean

Brilliant progress - well done! 

savingholmes

Fantastic news - well done.

jokono

I didn't do my December update as we got paid early and I normally do my numbers before payday. But I was sure I have updated my signature with my last update as it would've been one year since I started tracking and I remember doing the %reduction in debt. Let's see if I managed to save it properly this time.

As I said we got paid early but here we are mid January and I am not using my credit cards. This is the first January in many many years this has happened, maybe the FIRST one since having my first credit card. If my signature has updated you can see my debt has reduced considerably since Dec 2020. I have been sticking to my budget, I am doing a kind of 0 budget with £100 spend per week for groceries & others. And even though I couldn't stick to the £100 every week, I have stopped to think before buying anything - do I really need it? will I use it more than once? will I ever use it? 😁 This works for me and I am sticking with it, maybe even after all my debts are paid. Still trying to convince partner, it's a work in progress.

Emergency fund has been topped up with matched betting profit. It might have been more but I lost around £50 trying to do some casino offers but that doesn't work for me, I am too risk averse and it's stressing me out. I stopped the matched betting too after making about £600 profit, I have used most welcome offers so the profit would slow down now, it also takes quite a bit of time. 
Another £200 from the MB profit went towards a new bean to cup coffee machine. I've wanted one for a long time but I was going to wait until my Argos espresso machine died, which has happened a couple of weeks ago. I could've gotten a cheaper one during Black Friday or Christmas sales but I didn't need one then, I really thought the espresso would last longer than just another month or so! Partner topped up the £200 and we got a fancy one on sale from Curry's, still getting used to it.

I am feeling a bit low this week, I am very bored at work. Not as in I don't have any work, I have loads, but I have been in this job for almost 7 years, I came in as a senior and there doesn't seem to be any space for me to grow. Quite a few of my colleagues are being promoted. Admittedly, they've started as juniors and they're not necessarily changing jobs, only getting more experienced and a new role name to reflect that. But still, I've been here 7 years and I'm doing the same thing, I am not developing any more skills or growing in any way. I am extremely comfortable and I don't like that.
I told my manager this at our appraisal meeting end of last year and he said he had some ideas he wanted to run by me but that's where it stopped. That annoys me as well, just book a meeting and let's go through them already! 
In the meantime I am in the process of booking a meeting with a recruiter.

edit to add - the signature had been updated 👌

Naomim

Wow Jokono, you are doing great! 

I have read about people having successes with MB before but the idea scares me. I'm definitely too risk averse! 😂

I know what you mean about work. It's always peaks and troughs. I'm in a trough at the moment. Plenty to do but no inclination to do so.  I went in the office yesterday and had a hugely productive day.  Could you maybe prompt your boss into a meeting to discuss what plans they were thinking of?  

NM

savingholmes

I would ask for the meeting

jokono

Thanks @Naomim and @savingholmes ! I will email and ask for a meeting. He did call me last Friday towards the end of the day wanting to talk about it but I was too busy to drop everything and have the conversation then. I think it would be best to set a time for it and as you say, I should ask for it as it's been a week and haven't heard anything.

MB is not risky but you need to dedicate some time to it. Even so, I think it was the easiest £600 I made.

EssexHebridean

Great progress over the year - well done! 

MB’s not for me either - too prone to getting distracted and making silly mistakes as a result could prove expensive! 

jokono

Thank you @EssexHebridean
I did make a few mistakes at the beginning, you have to be very focused. Then I made some more towards the end when I was feeling too confident with the process 😅

My prolific balance has been £24.98 for a few days with another £5 pending and I have a self imposed £25 cash out threshold. This morning I have received a pound bonus so finally cashed out and sent it to the loan to get it under £15k. Feels like a big milestone. CC will be under £10k next month too, I'm aiming to halve them this year.

Jill12

Brilliant progress you have made, keep the focus and think where you coul be at the end of the year x

savingholmes

Great progress