24 months to debt freedom

CL21

Good morning! Updating before work now I have my trusty spreadsheet in front of me.

Total damage on debt is: -

MBNA - £13,481.47
Halifax - £6249.99
Total - £19,731.46

All debt at 0% 

I’ve done a spreadsheet with fixed monthly expenses and then a column for sinking funds and variable expenses. This month I have the following: -

Half term and holidays fund - I always ‘wing it’ for this money and always regret it. As I’m a single parent, DD does go to holiday clubs for part of the holidays which obviously cost money although the older she gets the less she likes it. I think it will just be for three days this half term which will be about £60 if I send a packed lunch with her. This is now budgeted and the ongoing pot will be used for holiday spends in April also. 

Car - to pay up front for insurance in May initially but this will be a monthly expense to pay for any unexpected car repairs. Car is 11 years old.

Home improvement fund - as mentioned in my previous post, we’ve had a full rewire and will get the radiators changed. Every room in the house then needs to be decorated. 

Work expenses - I have to travel fairly frequently for my job and always incur expenses I haven’t budgeted for. I know I have a trip in February and one in March so will budget money for these separately 

Dog - food, medicine and kennelling fees. These fees need to be saved for for April holiday (an eye watering amount on top of the actual holiday) and she’s also kennelled when I go away for work (I can’t claim this back).

Gifts - I’ve set a £25 budget for these (each) and will look every month to see what I’ve got coming up plus another £25 extra to save for Christmas 2023. 

Emergency fund - monthly until I reach £1k minimum.

Food and petrol - this will also include DD school dinners two days a week. 

Extra expenses in February will be my final college fees payment but I will keep that pot going for another 2 months while I save up for next years fees 

Once various pots are fully funded, the surplus will be used to up debt payoff. I’ve calculated that the minimum I can put towards debt (with the above payments) is £765. Just paying this will give me a 25 month debt payoff timescale but I’m certain I can be quicker once some of the above is freed up. Most of that will go towards the Halifax card so I can pay that off asap and then concentrate on MBNA. 

Off to update my signature and have a little sob at how much debt I still have. I have a plan though so onwards and upwards! 

CL21

Forgot to add a small amount for clothes is also allocated. We’ve currently got all we need so this will also be saved monthly and used for school uniform etc.

Just booked my MOT for 28th March - we’re in Northern Ireland so can only go to council run MOT centres which are all booked up months in advance. My MOT is due in Feb and this is the nearest date I can find. This is a known issue so the PSNI don’t worry you about it but I hate it being overdue! 

EssexHebridean

This all sounds really positive - and underlines so clearly that you're learning from the process too.  

Welcome back to the boards - let's see you welly that debt! 

CL21

Thanks @EssexHebridean - appreciate the welcome back. Feel like the prodigal debt buster! 

RobM99

One thing I try to do - keep some cash for a "slush fund" - money I can spend on anything I choose that I don't have to account the pennies for. I allow £20 a week , be it coffee  and cakes (or whatever) out, ice cream, anything that's not in the household budget. As the saying goes "when it's gone, it's gone!" so wait until next week.

CL21

Ah yes, good idea @RobM99 - it’s those little ‘extras’ that trip me up! I’ll set aside a small budget for that also. Should have more expenses coming back from work than I’d originally budgeted for (this work trip was much more expensive than it should have been!) so will use that money. 

Appreciate the advice! 

CL21

NSD today. 

Working at home helps with this a lot as there’s no shops to draw me in and really the only time I go out during the day is the school run or to walk the dog. DD had a flask lunch for school today - cheese and bacon pasta with the leftover bacon I saved from breakfast yesterday - and I had the last of the Joe Wicks shakshuka I’d made on Friday. 

Just trying to find the energy for a workout now. I have the Joe Wicks app which is great but tough to get motivated after a long day at work! 

CL21

Only 8 days until payday - feels like there have been approximately 93 days in January so far. Haven’t spent on credit though, even with around £250 paid out in work expenses so far. I’m impatient to get started on the new budget for February as well. 

Today won’t be a NSD as I have to buy dinner for a visiting colleague - which I can claim back - but also a meal from the Golden Arches for DD as she won’t be coming to dinner. 

She starts a sewing course tonight which she’s really excited about. They’re making a pinafore dress over the next seven or eight weeks which is a big step up - she’s made a tote bag and a cushion before this. I’m hoping it’s a hobby she’ll continue with as it’s a good skill to have (and I have a stash of fabric that needs using up!) 

EssexHebridean

I absolutely identify with struggling to find the motivation for any sort of workout when it's the end of the day - I'm planning on running tonight, but it's damp, and cold, and it will be dark, and I was intending to run last night too and didn't for ALL those reasons! 

CL21

EssexHebridean said:

I absolutely identify with struggling to find the motivation for any sort of workout when it's the end of the day - I'm planning on running tonight, but it's damp, and cold, and it will be dark, and I was intending to run last night too and didn't for ALL those reasons! 

Glad it’s not just me! Winter is definitely the hardest season for exercise motivation