12 months of hard graft to become Debt-Free.

RandomOne

@CRANKY40 I think mine comes from the worry that if we do split quicker than I'm aiming for, I wouldn't survive financially. So I focused too much on building a good stock of food in my freezers. Plus food scarcity when I was a kid I'm sure plays a part.  I must relax a little more when it comes to food. 

@bekah89 thank you. I really hope I can achieve that, and then I'll be able to leave without worrying about how to survive financially. I'm putting a lot of other things into place. Like I've opened my own Tesco Clubcard and will spend 2023 building the points up so that if things are a little tight when we have split, I can rely on them to do my food shopping for a few weeks. The same with Asda points. 

Today I'm off to work (my 2nd job) for a few hours. I am really looking forward to quitting my 2nd job once I've paid off my debt. The people I work for are absolutely lovely, but working 2 jobs is so tiring some weeks. Especially around summertime and Christmas. 

It's Friday, which means that it's also 'treat day' in my house, so my kids want some sweets. I'll pop into Aldi on the way home, but only get the treats and nothing else. I'm not getting treats for myself as I would rather save money and have had enough junk food recently. Besides, Christmas is just around the corner and I'll have plenty then.

I think that by paying my debt off weekly I'll stay more motivated because I'll be able to see the numbers go down regularly. I'll start that as from next week. I'm funnily excited about it. I keep on imagining the day that I become debt free, what a great feeling of freedom I'll have. 

RandomOne

I'm so glad I started my diary, as it's helping to motivate me to move on with paying off my debt. 

My plan this weekend is to avoid supermarkets entirely. We don't need anything. I don't want to step inside Aldi (or any other shop) until Tuesday at the earliest. Then I'll be going in to get my Christmas shop and the regular weekly shop. That should see me through til New Year. 

Christmas pressies are all wrapped and ready. 
No money needs to be spent between now and after Christmas, apart from petrol to get to work. 

I am off work today, as I work rurally and all the roads are closed due to ice. It's nice to have a day off work, but my husband is already frustrating me. All he wants to do is stare at his phone. I must learn to manage my expectations, as I know what he is like and it just leads to disappointment. 

It's less than a week til my 2023 budget starts (21st December) so today I'm going to sit down and have a look through the budget and see if I can reduce costs anywhere. Unfortunately, I think the only place to cut costs is the gym and personal training. These are the only 2 things that are for me and keep me sane most weeks. 

But I'm sure I can save more on food in 2023.

enthusiasticsaver

You seem to be doing well in your budgeting considering you have not really done it before.  I totally agree that sinking funds and emergency fund are as important as the debt repayments.  I also think you need  to build some money into the budget for treats if you can and if the personal training and gym is important to you then just weigh that up.  Gym  costs vary tremendously so you could maybe look at the personal training less often to save money rather than cancel completely or maybe a cheaper gym? 

If you plan on using the weekly money to reduce the debt that will motivate you as it will seem like it is going down quicker.  If posting regularly helps you then carry on with a daily or two or three times weekly update. 

RandomOne

Thank you @enthusiasticsaver I'm just winging it really, I am not too sure what I'm doing. Someone linked to a budget planner in another thread that I'm on, and that has really helped. 

As I thought earlier, the only place I can save money is by not having my gym & PT, which is not something I will consider cutting out. I love going to the gym and having my trainer, and it's only £120 a month. I can pay off over £1k without cutting that out, so I am happy to keep it in the budget. 

I've looked around for a cheaper gym, but the one I go to is a competitive price and I really like it there. 

I went through my bank statements and noticed how much I spend on Starbucks every month. About £40!! So that is the first thing I'm getting rid of. I'm not cutting down, I'm totally cutting out. So that's some money instantly saved.
It's the same with takeaway food and meal deals etc for lunch. So I'll start taking food to work with me. I think I'll save a good amount doing just those 2 things. 

savingholmes

Just wanted to wish you best of luck on your journey. Getting divorced is likely to take months once you start the process - so although yes you will have legal fees - they will be spread out monthly naturally.

RandomOne

Thanks @savingholmes it's not really the legal fees that I'm concerned about, it's the monthly bills once we have split. I can't afford to pay my minimum payments each month on just my income and I wouldn't be eligible for any benefits. 
Once I've paid off my debt, I'll start saving for the divorce costs, although he didn't bring anything to the home when he moved in, I was already renting here and everything here (furniture etc). 

Today I took coffee and lunch to work, so I didn't buy anything. I was tempted to get a Starbucks on the way home though, as I work right next door to one. 

I get paid every Saturday, so will be making my next2 payments on Xmas Eve and NYE. I presume they won't show on the credit card app until after Xmas/NY though due to bank holidays. 

I'm focusing on my highest-interest debt first, as it's the lowest amount. I've read online that people either decide to pay off debt using the snowball or avalanche method and luckily for me the snowball also happens to be my avalanche, in that my smallest debt is also the one with the highest amount to pay off.

Sarahwithlove

Its amazing how quickly the coffees and takeaways add up. Can you do fakeaways? I gave my gym up and have to say I regret it and will be rejoining in the new year just holding off for the offers they usually have in January. 

Just to clarify Sinking fund is for one off/large expenses you know you will have to find funds for, i.e car insurance/mot/tax whereas emergency fund is for a one off cost that is something unexpected or unplanned and you dont have a sinking fund for. you'll find over time your sinking funds will increase as life happens. 

RandomOne

Thank you Sarah, I think I was getting confused about Sinking funds vs emergency funds!
I can definitely do a takeaway once a month, in fact I'm really looking forward to that. 

RandomOne

I've used a credit card payoff calculator to see how long my debt will take to pay off. It says 11 months, but I'm going to aim for the 1st October. That is my goal. I wish it were sooner, but I can deal with that time frame. 

The job I am in is not in any way what I want to do long-term, so when I've finished paying off debt and have built a good enough emergency fund, I want to quit and find a better job. I have just worked out that from now til the 1st of October is 41 weeks. That gives me 41 paydays to pay off all of my debt and build my emergency fund. I think I can do it you know, I just have to remain focused and determined not to spend any money other than what I need to pay the bills, save for an emergency fund, fill some sinking funds and keep going to the gym. 

I'm hoping that my side hustle (photography) could bring in more income this year. I only earned about £2k from it last year but didn't put a lot of effort into it really. I got some new editing software last year that I never really used. So I'm hoping that will be able to make double that by the time October comes around. Again, all of the money I earn for that (apart from 20% for tax) will be put towards debt. 

2023 is going to be my year. I can feel it. 

savingholmes

Best of luck with your plans. Good to break it down so it doesn't become too overwhelming.