Home for Five

homefor5

Hey all

I'm shiny and new here, but need to do something to stop messing about and achieve some goals in the years ahead... so here we go with the productivity and accountability!

I'm 35, married and a mama of two girls with another on the way. I am sh*te with money and always have been... we're in a rented home that we adore but are fast outgrowing, so we need to pull together a sizable deposit for our forever home as quickly and painlessly as possible!

We're both self employed, just to complicate things further. Oh and the girls are in private school.

I've spent the last six months paying off a loan (a year and a half early) and a f*cktonne of credit card debt... so I'm I'm basically at zero, with very little savings. Which is much better place to be than I was this time last year. 

Would love any help and support along the way, and I'm off to read these forums for a bit, to see where to start!

teaandcupcakesplease

welcome!! i look  forward to reading and coming along for your journey! how old are your kids? x

Strether2020

Just a note to wish you well on this journey! I've also been terrible with money pretty much all my adult life, and even when my daughter was born I didn't manage to get better at it, which is crazy (but I guess the more stressed and busy you get, the less likely you are to deal with money, right?). It sounds like you've been amazing at paying off the credit cards and loan. Hopefully that will help you feel confident about what you can do next! I've not yet paid off my debts (getting tantalisingly close!) but what I'm hoping is that when you start seeing a positive return on money you save/invest, you get even more incentive to keep on the right track... (compared with when you're in debt, and you have to keep pushing against the interest you owe). 

All the best for the next phase of the journey - I look forward to reading more! 

So close to debt freedom... preparing for what's next — MoneySavingExpert Forum

homefor5

Woah! I'm back, my account couldn't post since the day I set it up for some reason to do with email verification, but now it appears to be working again so I can get stuck back in!

Strether2020 said:

It sounds like you've been amazing at paying off the credit cards and loan. Hopefully that will help you feel confident about what you can do next! 

So close to debt freedom... preparing for what's next — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Thank you so much, It's been a struggle, but I'm really hoping I can keep the debt off this time. I've been debt free a number of times in the last ten years, then it has a habit of creeping back up again, time to ensue it stays clear, and the saving start to add up, for sure. 

teaandcupcakesplease said:

welcome!! i look  forward to reading and coming along for your journey! how old are your kids? x

Thank you! 6 and 3, with number three (and final!!) due in early March.

Naomim

Hi and welcome to diaryland 👋

It seems you've been magnificent at paying off debts but taking your eye off the ball when there's no pressure to pay.

Have you thought about completing an SOA just for your own peace of mind, so you know what comes out of the bank monthly? Don't have to post it, I never have on my diary but it helps me know where I'm at. 

Do you save for future things like Christmas, birthdays, insurances etc or do you have a plan for the extra now you're not paying off debt?

Naomim 🙂

homefor5

Naomim said:

Hi and welcome to diaryland 👋

It seems you've been magnificent at paying off debts but taking your eye off the ball when there's no pressure to pay.

Have you thought about completing an SOA just for your own peace of mind, so you know what comes out of the bank monthly? Don't have to post it, I never have on my diary but it helps me know where I'm at. 

Do you save for future things like Christmas, birthdays, insurances etc or do you have a plan for the extra now you're not paying off debt?

Naomim 🙂

Hey! What's an SOA please? It sounds like something I need to do for sure!

I don't save. I buy what I need when I need it. Income isn't too bad... but can vary, and I just tend to 'live to my means' - in good months I buy more clothes for the kids and more meals out, if work is quieter I will lay off those sort of things.

I frustrate myself, as I know we're not in a bad position, I've just not got my head in savings mode. Ever. And the years have really gone by...

Naomim

An SOA is a statement of affairs. Theres a link on the DFW board. I'll find it. One thing I found useful too was the budget planner on this site. It's an excel spreadsheet and was really useful at making me think about what I pay for over the year.

I'm a massive Monzo cheerleader as the pots system was a game changer for me. Think of it like cash envelopes. I put money into lots of pots every month then when something is due, I have the money for it.  It means my payments to my debt is less but I also don't need credit to pay for anything as I've saved up. Christmas 2022 has started but I also have house ins, car ins, car maintenance, birthdays, petrol, days out, eating out. A budget for everything. 🤣

Think of it as giving every penny a job.

Naomim

SOA link

http://www.stoozing.com/soa.php

If you want to post it on here, format it for MSE 👍