Debt and Budget (Reset) plan

joedenise

If it means scrimping a lot in order to just live then I think I would be inclined to use that money so life is a bit easier or at least some of it.  The cost of living increase is hitting us all very hard. I think only you can decide whether you can live with it taking longer to pay off your debt but with the way prices are going I think it's what I would do.

shell16

Thankyou for stopping by @joedenise I appreciate your comment

It really does seem the logical thing to do.  £70 PAD payment to debt each month is alot, its difficult as this will help me pay off my debt alot quicker but also with prices rocketing it also seems the right thing to do with putting it to plug gaps.

As long as im not adding to debt that is all im concerned about at this time.  My loan payments will finish in November but these payments had been allocated elsewhere from December.  I think I will use half that loan payment towards debt, which is around £190 a month so this will help but just not now.  We of course will have a further increase to gas and electric in October and we will all be getting this £200 credit on bills too, so we will see how we get on.

shell16

Im feeling a bit off things today, started well, but has gone downhill.

I have received notification of my pay increase today and to feel miffed is an understatement!  The company I work for has announced record profits and I have something like 2% increase which goes nowhere near what we will all be expecting to pay out this year, after tax its around £500.  Feel really under appreciated, angry too to a point.  I know others on here may get nothing but I can only speak about myself here.  

Ive been with the company ALOT of years (I know this doesnt count for much these days) but I have worked my socks off for the past year.  I have already spoken to my line manager about it and they have said I should put something in an email to our Branch Manager as its them who decided out of the Pot who gets what (so its not an across the board increase where everyone has received the same). 

Im way too upset to do that now, so will need to calm down and think about what I can say in a 'good' way. 

On other Debt busting matters, as I have now decided to use my usual £70 overpayment to Debt to plug holes in my budget due to rising costs (probably best idea now with my paltry increase), I have run through the snowball and avalanche calculators and its saying Jan 2024 will be debt free, so will leave February 2024 to give me some breathing space.

Hopefully nothing else will crop up! 
Shell x

shell16

Thankfully its Friday again!  What a week!

Not lots to report but have been making bits of PADS when I can.  Since last update these are my figures

Virgin CC - £1170
Lloyds CC - £2605.32
Sainsburys CC - £2248.25
Loan £3432.36
Total £9455.93

Will get paid next Friday which cant come soon enough.  Definitely feeling the increased cost of living on my budget.  Im not sure there is going to be enough in the pots.  All DD's have come out which need to bar one which will be taken on Monday.  During the next months pay and budget, my usual payments to debt will take me into the next thousand barrier leaving total outstanding at around £8800

Still unhappy with my pay increase, feel unappreciated.  On a more upbeat note, I have won the postcode lottery!!!  I have received £10 which I used today as my PAD to Lloyds CC. 

Thats about all for now
Shell x

GeorgianaCavendish

I think it’s a good idea to use the PAD money to plug the gaps in the budget. You can always go back to PAD when there are less pressures from rising prices  and the economic uncertainty everywhere, but as you’ve said the important thing is not to end up in the position where you need to borrow more money down the line. 

Good luck with drafting the email re: payrise too! I wish I was brave enough to do that, it’s something I’d like to work on for sure. 

EssexHebridean

We all try so hard to absorb cost of living increases into our budgets by tweaking here and tweaking there - but there's only so much we CAN absorb before something has to give. Better to use the PAD money for the time being until either things ease, or income increases (even if not quite as much as you'd hoped it would) or a combination of the two. 

shell16

Thanks @GeorgianaCavendish and @EssexHebridean, I have now absorbed the previous £70 overpayment to debt into my monthly budget.

Payday for me on Friday and Im also using up holidays at work as these renew on 1st April.  I can carry over 5 days which is good. Im off on Friday so hopefully the weather will be ok and me and OH can get out for a few hours whilst girls at school.

I have literally just sneaked into my overdraft by £8.....I still have 1 DD to come out which is around £25.  Cost of living is really impacting me, its going to be a difficult hill to climb in the coming months/year in terms of debt repayments and making every pound stretch that bit further!

PAD payments are only now coming from surveys and save the change.  I have just over £6 waiting to cash out of prolific but have £2.70 pending so Im going to wait until all cleared then cash out. 

Had a quick look at my credit scores, these having been impacted recently with opening of new Starling account, New Sainsburys CC.  They are now starting to recover.  The addition of a new CC has increased my overall Credit availability and thus had a positive impact  on scores.  Total utilised is now 18% from around £27%. All indicators are turning green with the exception of Virgin as this is over 25% utilisation.  A couple of positive notes on Totally Money states my repayments are back on track in the last 12 months, and utilisation over 25% on fewer accounts!  My score on this platform has increased by 8 points since last month to 637.  Really happy with this, hard work is definitely paying off.  

Have to go to work tomorrow in the office but the cost of travel is already in my Travel 'pot' so will not add to my overdraft.  Need to make sure I take a pack up lunch though and some sachets of coffee as the Costa Coffee machine we have at work (although subsidised) is a perk to going in! 

Loan payment is due out next week which will leave me with 8 payments left.  This cant come soon enough!  Its a large portion of our outgoings at £385 per month.  Once last payment is taken in November, I have decided to use half of this to debt and half to bolster up the budget further as the price cap will have been reviewed again in October. 

Thats about all for now.
Shell x

shell16

Small update, I have managed to make a PAD payment to my Lloyds CC which is a combination of Save the change and Prolific surveys, not a huge amount but an amount off debt.....£9.84.  Prolific is good today, managed quite a few good paying ones, so I have £4.94 pending, only another 6p and can make a further PAD payment.

Shell x

EssexHebridean

OK - honest question. If you've dipped into OD this month should the PAD's not stop until more income goes in? It's probably the case that you have it all under control - but as much as anything ese for others reading this in the future it makes sense to clarify how things are working! 

shell16

Morning All

What a lovely day it is!  A pity weather wasn't like this yesterday when I had to go into work, instead it was dull and raining.  I forgot my coffee sachets and succumb to the subsidised Costa coffee machine....twice!  That was £3.40 but I have paid out of my own spending account, on the plus side I did make my own lunch!  I always feel totally exhausted when I go into work, is this just me?  Although Im up and about from around 6.30 in the morning usually every day, by mid day yesterday I was so tired!  When Im at home, I dont feel like this, strange?

My final DD has come out and now the account is £35 Overdrawn.  On the plus side I have around £127 left in my 'Pots' from this month which I was going to put towards my Living room fund.  We bought a new sofa which should hopefully get delivered in June so still have a fair chunk to pay towards that which is doable (paid £1K and £900 left) as I have allowed for extra amounts in my budgets for the next 3 months and I also receive my bonus in April pay.  As for my spare cash in 'Pots' I think I will transfer £27 back into my account and the rest to my living room fund/Sofa fund.

Im back doing Surveys today and have been lucky enough to be completing some good paying surveys!  Still not enough to cash out yet.  

Im off tomorrow and so busy today at work finishing things off before I return on Monday.  Cant wait to be honest, feel I need a mini break!

Thats about all for now
Shell x