Taking charge of debt

sunshine_raincloud

Happy Sunday everyone! 

Thanks for the support

I'm glad May is here. 

Although I have been doing well getting rid of cards I feel as if I have let my mentality slip quite a lot recently and have been just randomly going to the shops and buying things again. For example just went to my local shop and spent £20 on not a lot of food for next couple of days! Going to try to have a few NSDs this month. I'll aim for 10, which I have tried before but never quite achieved! 

Other money news, I have transferred £600 of my EF to premium bonds. The interest on the account it was sitting in is only 0.1% so might make a bit more on PB but we will see what my luck is like. I have another savings account at 3.25% that I can put £150 per month in, which is the amount I'm planning on saving per month for the moment. It doesn't make sense for me to open another savings account as lots of them saying you only get the good interest rate for a year or so. I'll review in August once I've hit the limit for what I can save in this one and maybe open another. I've also managed to sell a pair of trainers for £55 and claim back £25 from a delayed train to London. It all adds up! Going to have a look through my wardrobe and see if there is anything else I can sell. My boyfriend has a few things he wants me to sell for him as well.. might have to take at least 5% commission!

Also hit my £1000 target for EF!

savingholmes

Great to have your EF sorted. You are doing well on the sales too. Sounds like things are coming together.

[Deleted User]

Hello I have just read through your diary! I'm feeling very inspired. Well done on all your hard work so far xxx

sunshine_raincloud

Thanks for the messages everyone. 

Unfortunately it is confession time.. feeling rather guilty about having booked an unsaved for holiday on another CC  

Flights and hotel have cost £414. I had held out for so long not booking anywhere with my boyfriend pestering me about a trip but finally caved in! Still feeling terrible about pushing my debt back up over the £4000 mark but trying to justify it by reminding myself I haven't been away for a week of holiday since 2019. My plan is to get my budget back under control in other areas and pay this debt off in the next 2 months to get back on track then funnel any savings from now into a holiday saving pile for the spending money. 

Have I made a terrible mistake? 

I definitely need to get saving as a priority I think!

[Deleted User]

Your journey is personal to you. You're not a terrible person for booking a holiday on a CC, you have a plan, they key is budgeting spending and making good choices where you can and enjoy yourself, life is too short to beat ourselves up after every spend etc, in an ideal world we would all have no spend years and get out of debts sooner but to what cost to our mental health. It is about balance, you get to make your own decisions and only you know the impact positive or negative xx

sunshine_raincloud

Thanks Adeley I appreciate your words! 

Well, it is done now. 

I really do think I need to have another reset and wake up call though! 

It's as though I had my LBM and now it is starting to flicker and get dim! 

It has been a really busy few weeks at work. Last week I worked 7 days in a row despite the fact I was supposed to be off bank holiday Monday and have an extra day in lieu for being in all weekend, which I think has taken its toll. I definitely find when I don't have time to stop I end up spending for convenience. Sounds like an excuse and maybe it is, but just very out of a routine at the minute! I think things at work should get a bit more manageable next week and I am going to purposefully not make any socialising plans until June (after this weekend) so I can have a bit of time to relax and regroup. Will go through my budget and see what can be done. 

I need to look through my spending again and try to shock that MSE frame of mind back into my head! 

sunshine_raincloud

Hello everyone. 

Really not feeling very good about my current financial situation. I have definitely fallen back into old habits and my anxiety currently through the roof! Just hoping I can eek out what money I have left this month until payday after being so wasteful. 

Cat hasn't been very well with vomiting so heading to the vets this afternoon. Hoping he's okay and it is not anything serious! Will use EF to cover cost. Glad I have it. 

Trying to focus on positives on what I have achieved so far but finding it very difficult and quite pessimistic I will ever be debt free as can't seem to get a grip of my spending. I have decided to set up and start saving for a 'non-emergency fund' of around £500 that I will use for when things come up such as birthdays or events I am suddenly invited to etc so it doesn't completely send my budget into disarray when it happens. The fundamental issue though is that I am being stupid with my money again. Lodger is also moving out end of next month so things are going to be even tighter. 

Current situation:
£3222 debt paid since January but £4171 remaining 
£1000 EF saved (about to be dipped into) 
Budget out the window 

Going to sit down tonight once I have got back from the vet and go through everything again, make further cut backs where I can and need to say to my boyfriend we can't keep living like we have been! 

On payday next week going to pay off CC4 in full and forget about that disaster. I have accepted I probably need to pay off rest of my debt more slowly as the current amount doesn't seem to be working for me. Have set up direct debt for £300/month to CC2, which will pay it off in full by the end of the 0% period in around 11 months. I was hoping to have it gone sooner but can always increase at a later date or do extra payments if I manage to get budget back under control. I will continue to save £150/month and then see where I get up to. 

I feel better with a plan but like a bit of a failure my previous plan has completely fallen apart! 

sunshine_raincloud

Back from the vet. They think it is food intolerance, which apparently can happen in older cats. Going to try a new (expensive!) gastrointestinal diet and see if that settles things. If not, he will need some tests. Hopefully it is just this and new diet works!

sunshine_raincloud

Quick question about everyone's budgets if anyone is happy to share.. do you have the same budget every month for everything or do you change it based on your plans for the month? I have been trying to do an individualised budget for each month, which I think might be unhelpful. If I have set amounts every month for each area then anything extra has to be taken out of my 'non-emergency fund' then maybe that might stop me reaching crisis like I have this month? I'm not sure of the best way to approach. Any advice greatly appreciated! 

beanielou

Be proud of the debt that you have paid off & soon you will only have one CC left which is great 
Hope your cat is ok