Debt and Budget (Reset) plan

shell16

Ok so Monday again, had a rubbish weekend with car issues.  Feel like Ive had no break at all 

So on the car front, it looks like a cheap fix....thankfully!  A bad earth connection so just a bit of wire and hey presto, up a running again!

My run of bad luck is continuing.  My washing machine sounds like its going to explode!  Put a wash on this morning and its making the most horrendous banging noise. Likely the bearings, but we have had it along time (over 10 years) and its had some serious use during that time and repaired once before!  I have £245 in my EF so I will be using that to pay for another one which I will order today.  

They say bad luck usually comes in 3's......2 cars over 2 days and now Washing machine.  I pray nothing else happens!

Not my usual positive self today unfortunately!  Thats about all for now.  (Oh and my DD for Sainsburys CC was paid today)

Shell x

enthusiasticsaver

Hopefully that is all your bad luck in one go.  2 cars and a washing machine is a bad month. Ours is dodgy guttering, increased energy costs and a replacement cam belt.  Not as unexpected as yours but still a pain. 

EssexHebridean

Oh heck that is a lot of bad luck all in one go! Fingers crossed that's you done for a while now. 

Congrats on both the milestone of 5k paid off AND in having a functioning EF that does things like replace an appliance when needed - brilliant! 

*edit for typos* 

shell16

@enthusiasticsaver and @EssexHebridean, Yes a bad run of luck, but fingers crossed that's it!

I'm feeling like I'm back on the 'positive' waggon today, new washing machine delivered just now, so will have to wait for hubby to come home and fit it as it cost extra to have a few pipes or whatever fitted and transit bolts removed.  I did pay for the removal of my old washer though.  My washing pile is slowly resembling a mountain!

The EF is back to zero, still have not managed to get to £500 since starting my debt journey!  Oh well its the way it goes sometimes and at least I had £245 in the EF to pay for the washer and didn't have to use Credit, so taking that as a win.

Not much in the way of PAD's recently as I have now changed to a zero based budget.  Only PADs being made are save the change and surveys which are few and far between at the moment!  

On the plus side I have managed to save £12 today as Wednesday is the usual 1 day a week I go into work.  But with washer being delivered I managed to save that so I think I will use it towards a PAD payment to Lloyds CC.  I thought my Lloyds and Virgin payments were due this week but dates fall on weekend so they will come out next week.

That's about all for now.

Shell x

GeorgianaCavendish

What a pain about the washing machine! It is great that you had the emergency fund to help with the costs of a new one though, and you'll build back up the EF soon enough. I do feel your pain with breaking into the EF though, I'm ok putting money into my pots but I don't like taking it out again   

EssexHebridean

The fact that you had enough in the EF to pay for the new washing machine really does just sum up why they're so important, doesn't it! Just work away at building it up again - you WILL reach your target point at some stage, and look at it this way - had you not got to where you had previously, you'd have been further into debt again as a result of needing to use credit for the replacement machine! 

I'm with GC - I really don't like having to take money out of the savings pots, even when it's budgeted! 

joedenise

@shell16 - I think I'd be inclined to start rebuilding the EF rather than paying extra off the CC unless of course you're paying interest on it or perhaps splitting it 50:50 between paying off debt and the EF.  I would hate to not have anything in the EF.

I'm another who hates having to take money out of the Pots but it's what it's there for so daft really!

shell16

Thankyou for your comments @GeorgianaCavendish, @EssexHebridean , @joedenise

I usually budget £75 a month to the EF so I will be looking to start building that back up in my next budget month when I get paid on 18th March.

I also HATE taking out of my saving pots, its awful BUT im not adding to credit!

Shell x 

shell16

Happy Friday

Nothing much to report really as I'm not making many PAD payments due to working to a zero based budget.  On the budget front this is now getting easier to work with and pretty much is bang on with what I have forecast to go out.  Keeping track of spending is really helping.  I'm doing a mini check out after each week and keep a running total of what I have spent in each category.  

I have now received my BG bill and I checked what I was paying on DD in October last year which was £155, they did want to reduce this to £117 but I made sure I kept the DD at the same level.  For the last 3 months I have been increasing the DD by £25 per month, to this months £225.  BG think this should now be £250 per month!  Wow!    At least I have been steadily increasing as £95 increase in one go would have been bad!

Today I noticed my local garage had put their price of Diesel up to £1.70 a litre!  This was expected with everything going on but still one heck of a shock.  I do have a coupon with Morisooons for 7p off a litre so I'm going to go and fill up later today.  Extremely worrying how cost of living is shooting up, seems to be all at once and also next month will have NI increases too.  

I haven't updated progress in a while with making no day to day PAD payments but since 11/02/22 this is progress so far

Virgin CC same balance - £1287
Lloyds CC reduced by £120
Sainsbury CC reduced by £51.75
Loan reduced by £371
PAD payments increased by £115.75

All in all not too bad! 

Thats about all for now
Shell x

shell16

Morning All

Hope all had a great weekend and managed to catch the sun?

Virgin and Lloyds CC's payments have come out today, taking my total balance to £9477 ish (Small amount of interest to be applied to my Lloyds CC) and over £5400 paid since my LBM in August 21.

I'm really starting to worry about the cost of living, everything is going up so much.  My gas and Electric payments have sky rocketed as with millions of other households, Grocery spending is going up and I'm also finding it difficult to get certain things too at the supermarket. Petrol and Diesel also increased.

I usually make a PAD payment of £70 every month due to a DD being cancelled at the beginning of my journey.  I am seriously considering using this now within my budget to account for the £100 increase to my gas and Electric payments.  I appreciate my debt journey will take longer but I really do not wish to be 'scrimping and saving' to live every day life!  I think I will leave my DFD as it is, I do not wish to put pressure on myself to hit that target and not do.  My DFD will take as long as it takes so long as I'm not adding further to credit.

That's about all for now, have a great week.

Shell x