Debt free by 40

jokono

Almost Friday!!! I didn't start next week's budget yet, this is the third day of spending  0️⃣💷. I managed with greens from the allotment, veg and fruit I bought at the weekend and bread, pulses and potatoes from stores. 

I'm in the office tomorrow and I might start the week budget one day early as I can get an amazing lunch for only £4. It's a long journey and I can't be bothered to carry something in the heat, my bag is quite heavy anyway.

jokono

Very spendy months coming up! I need to book Child2 into holiday clubs and the children pot is empty as I had to book his birthday party. My usual monthly contribution to that pot will only cover one week and ideally he would be in 2 weeks this summer. I'll probably book one after this payday and the other at the end of July.

But then I will also need some money for a couple of days out. I ran out of banks to switch to, I hope I win some in PB this month! 🤞

WinterWarrior

Holiday clubs sound so expensive 😖

MissRikkiC

As children, my sister and i would often go to holiday clubs in the summer. My mum worked 3 jobs most of her life so it was really the only option. That said I was a real brat at that age and always moaned about having to go. 

On reflection, the cost of them would have probably been 1/2 of my mums earnings for those weeks if not more for 2 of us and as an adult now I can really appreciate how hard she would have had to work to stay afloat. Especially as what was left would have then probably only have been the same as any benefits she might have received had she have not worked at all. But I know she wanted us to have fun and enjoy our holidays so worked her bum off so that we could. 

I haven’t thought about that for about 15 years or more however now that I have I thought I’d share. 

I’m certain your children will have such a great time and will look back and realise the financial implications of how lucky they are to be able to go. 

WinterWarrior

I must be older than you @MissRikkiC as holiday clubs weren’t a thing when I was young. We just ran wild, but it was perfectly normal for children to be feral in the 80’s. I don’t think anyone could have afforded holiday clubs. You’d think there would be some help for working parents to cover clubs in the holidays.

jokono

@MissRikkiC I appreciate my mum so much more since having children. She worked her bum off to raise me and my sister.

Growing up in a developing country, we didn't have holiday clubs either, during the summer we would be sent off to our grandparents in the country side. I am now thinking about my poor grandma who sometimes had as many as 6 children to look after while also looking after her farm, animals and working the land. And she always had a joke ready, amazing woman my nan. My youngest aunt was usually there helping out, she was only a few years older than me but worked so much to help her mum.

@WinterWarrior your 80s sound like our 90s, we were out running wild all day after school and during Easter and other shorter holidays.

Thanks for questioning help for parents, you just reminded me of tax free childcare, I can get 20% towards the cost of the clubs!

MissRikkiC

I really hope that my children, born during and since the pandemic have the scope to also spend their days running around fields and playing in the dirt and being grubby little things even though time had moved on since that was what children did.

@WinterWarrior I love the idea of just being free to roam so to speak. It’d have probably curbed me from being such a terror if it was an option. 

@jokono I feel for your grandmother. I think having a small family and not growing up in that environment, it wasn’t possible or necessary for us but I love the sound of all those children running wild and being on the farm. I do Hope my children have lots of offspring 🤣

jokono

I got my £50 cashback from wealthify, it was an offer listed here a year ago. I have invested the vast sum of £100 in an ethical fund and it has done very well, an approximate increase of 8%. 

This year I opened an ISA with a different provider to get considerably more cashback after seeing an offer on TCB, the initial investment is higher as well. I plan to switch it to wealthify when I get the reward in about 3-4 months.

jokono

I am debt neutral!!!! 🎉🎊💃

July 1st
CC: £9,859
Savings: £10,110 (102% of the CC balance)

Most of my savings go into regular savings which will mature end of January 2024. My first 0% CC ends in early January next year and I will have £1154 left to pay when that happens, so I started a new pot for it and will save everything extra in there. I've got £138.70 already, this will be my focus for the rest of the year.

The next 0% CC ends in may and it will be substantially more, around £4k, then there will be another approx £2k in Nov. Savings should increase by then too, I mainly want to use them to buy a car in Sep-Oct next year, but there should be enough to cover the cards as well. Unless I find another BT with no fee, then I can 'stooze' them.

WinterWarrior

Brilliant news 🎉