Trying to Hide a Secret £20,000 Debt is as Tricky As it Sounds! (:#)

CMD79

Huh.

I've renamed all of my Lloyds accounts now so that I can save appropriately.

Stop Being A Prat - For paying off my debt - all mystery shopping, Tilly Tidying, Surveys etc goes in there to pay off my debt.

Don't Balls Up Xmas - For saving up for Christmas, obviously!

Gone Tits Up Money - For emergency funds. 

So, yes, I'm going to try divvying the funds up three ways - let's see, shall we! Maybe I'll suddenly become a saver now I like my bank account names!

CMD79

lucielle said:

Would it help to have hubby on board?

Maybe - but I kind of feel like I want to give this a go.... I need to get into good habits, so I'm going to try it. Worst case scenario, everyone gets really terrible homemade presents that they will pretend they like anyway.... and we'll get a curry ready meal each for dinner The husband will pay for the daughter's present anyway, and everyone else will understand if I say we're skint this year.

southern_chick

I absolutely love your savings account names and if it helps you save even better 🥰🥰. Good luck xx

RelievedSheff

CMD79 said:

Huh.

I've renamed all of my Lloyds accounts now so that I can save appropriately.

Stop Being A Prat - For paying off my debt - all mystery shopping, Tilly Tidying, Surveys etc goes in there to pay off my debt.

Don't Balls Up Xmas - For saving up for Christmas, obviously!

Gone Tits Up Money - For emergency funds. 

So, yes, I'm going to try divvying the funds up three ways - let's see, shall we! Maybe I'll suddenly become a saver now I like my bank account names!

Love the account names 

We have always been rubbish at saving but something has clicked this last few months and we are managing to put money away now for the first time ever.

Maybe the account names will be that "click" for you?

CMD79

RelievedSheff said:

CMD79 said:

Huh.

I've renamed all of my Lloyds accounts now so that I can save appropriately.

Stop Being A Prat - For paying off my debt - all mystery shopping, Tilly Tidying, Surveys etc goes in there to pay off my debt.

Don't Balls Up Xmas - For saving up for Christmas, obviously!

Gone Tits Up Money - For emergency funds. 

So, yes, I'm going to try divvying the funds up three ways - let's see, shall we! Maybe I'll suddenly become a saver now I like my bank account names!

Love the account names 

We have always been rubbish at saving but something has clicked this last few months and we are managing to put money away now for the first time ever.

Maybe the account names will be that "click" for you?

I hope so!!! Something's got to change here!!! 

2Scratters

Hi @CMD79
just read your journey so far. WOW! you are doing so well.
There is that thing of paying off the small bits that adds up and becomes self gratification of getting it done and seeing the results quite quickly. (That was me too) Great you are too starting an emergency fund. 
You have saved more money than you think too - remember the no spends on the credit cards? they too need to be considered and congratulate yourself of your awareness. 
I am happy for you that your DH when informed of the truth just treat it as it was and is there to support you. As each debt disappears the freedom that it brings to you will be priceless. Enjoy each triumph as it occurs.
2Scratters xx

Hollie_Hobbie

Hi @CMD79

Just ready your journey, and you've done brilliantly - not just financially but in your positivity

Good luck going forward, and Christmas this year will be different xx

CMD79

2Scratters said:

Hi @CMD79
just read your journey so far. WOW! you are doing so well.
There is that thing of paying off the small bits that adds up and becomes self gratification of getting it done and seeing the results quite quickly. (That was me too) Great you are too starting an emergency fund. 
You have saved more money than you think too - remember the no spends on the credit cards? they too need to be considered and congratulate yourself of your awareness. 
I am happy for you that your DH when informed of the truth just treat it as it was and is there to support you. As each debt disappears the freedom that it brings to you will be priceless. Enjoy each triumph as it occurs.
2Scratters xx

Yes, it is the self gratification! That's exactly the term for it. The notion of not paying off something on the credit card so that I had a bit more available to spend on it, was completely foreign to me! If my credit limit was £3000 and I was up to £2975, I'd pay £25 off it so I could buy something for £50!! And I don't consider myself to be in any way stupid in general... but that really is stupid!! I've lived like that for 25 years. 

Thank you for the support and encouraging words. I'm feeling good!! 

CMD79

Hollie_Hobbie said:

Hi @CMD79

Just ready your journey, and you've done brilliantly - not just financially but in your positivity

Good luck going forward, and Christmas this year will be different xx

Thank you very much @holly_hobby for that! I am very lucky that I am (mostly) a very positive person with a lot of enthusiasm. I realise this is often also my downfall, but it's serving me well to get through this.

Funny enough, I remembered yesterday when I was in my mid-20s having no money but a tonne of Nectar Points for Christmas. I did all my Christmas shopping in Sainsburys with 60 quid of Nectar points! Christmas dinner at mum's house, everyone got a pair of gloves, a scarf, box of Ferrero's... nobody cared at all. We put too much pressure on ourselves at Christmas to spend money to make it good, when actually, we really don't need to. 

Thanks again xxx

CMD79

Following on from the previous suggestion about Christmas, I have just received £150 for switching my bank account today. So, I have paid £50 extra off Very, put £50 in the Don't Balls Up Christmas and £50 in the Gone Tits Up Money accounts.

I'm happy about this as a start, but I think I need to really work out how much I need for Christmas and where this money will come from, as it'll realistically need to be 10 times what I currently have.....