The Mental Debt Struggle...

Keedie

My son's coat is fraying at the seams and he can't zip it up properly. So he needs a new coat as that is the only one that he has. So I had to open my coin tins and would you believe I had £51 in pound coins, £26 in 50p coins and £64.80 in 20p coins!

I've put the £51 in pound coins into the coin with my £2 coins so that when that opens I can put it towards my 50 envelope challenge and clearing my debt. I had a good shake of the tin and guesstimate that there's about £100 in there now. 

So in terms of the coat I've got £90.80/£129.90 for his coat so far. I think I'll take £25 out of my final wages when it comes on Friday and just have less money in sinking funds next month. That means I need a further £14.10 and I can take that from Owlie and Lenny and cash in all the coins later this week at Natwest.

My direct debit for MBNA came out today at £50. That's the first direct debit since the money transfer went through in December. In a few days time I'll reduce the direct debit so that I can concentrate on Barclaycard in 2025.

Keedie

I've been a bit silent as I've been working on pushing back a hypomanic bipolar episode. I've been feeling a bit wired and a bit overwhelmed. And so I've just tried to have a think about life and what could help me to get a bit more balanced.

The mental health team have signed me up for a women's group that meets in-person and online on alternate weeks, and an art class that meets in-person fortnightly. I went to the in-person women's group on Thursday and it was nice to not feel alone and to have something to do on that day. I'm hoping that these types of things will help me to feel a bit more settled into a routine. It's a bit difficult leaving work from a routine perspective. And routines help me to stay well. And so I need to reduce the anxiety of having too much unstructured time, as that anxiety pushes my mood higher and that then leads to the inevitable depressive crash that takes several months to recover from.

I've also been trying to very slowly, every day or every other day, declutter a tiny area. It's going well so far, very slow going, but moving in the right direction.

I'm still trying to get on top of my overspending, especially since I no longer have a job. It's mainly food that seems to be tripping me up. So I'm more determined to get on top of food shopping and meal planning. I've watched some great YouTube vlogs about things like this, and it has really been eye opening and inspiring, so I'm looking forward to doing more on this goal. My son has been cooking more and also realising that leftovers are not bad and it's cheaper. 

Keedie

THE SUNDAY SUMMARY

(Week 4 ~ 26 January 2025)

Debt Regrets

Goal 1 - 100% repayment to Argos Card - due 30 April 2025
Progress Checker = £25/£175 (14.29% repaid)
I have not paid anything towards this goal aside from the initial £25 at the beginning of the month. But I've rejigged the budget and I will be able to pay £150 a month towards debts soon, so I'll be able to continue this in February 2025.

Goal 2 - Clear Barclaycard Plan 1 (£1,506.20) - due by 31 October 2025

Progress Checker = £0/£1,506.20 (0% repaid)
The fixed direct debit of £75 will come out this week as it's due on 28 January 2025, and that will mean that Plan 1 repayments for this year has started. 

Goal 3 - Pay £750 off my MBNA balance in 2025 - due by 31 December 2025
Progress checker = £50/£750 (6.67% repaid)
I really don't know how I missed this debt last week as an actual goal, but never mind. The fixed direct debit of £50 came out this week, and so this one is being chipped away at. It's my lowest priority at the moment as both Argos Card and Barclaycard are due earlier.

Goal 4 - Pay £2,500 off my overall debt balance in 2025 - due by 31 December 2025
Progress checker = £75/£2,500 (3% repaid)
This is now Goal 4 as I forgot about MBNA, but with my direct debit to With the payment to MBNA, I am now at 3% of my £2,500 target and that has given me a little happy buzz. Also, I've worked out where I can shave the budget to allow for an additional £50 towards debts. So that means I can continue the £75 to Barclaycard, £50 to MBNA and £25 to Argos Card. By paying £150 a month, I will have shaved £1,800 off the debt by December 2025. So that will leave me with £700 to work out via side hustles and selling things.

Saving Grace

Goal 1 - Build a Buffer of £250 - due by 28 February 2025
Progress Checker = £0/£250 (0% saved)
This still sits at £0 as I am waiting for the Help to Save bonus to come through in mid-February 2025. Then I will be able to complete this goal and focus on the emergency fund.

Goal 2 - Save £1,000 emergency fund - due by 31 December 2025
Progress Checker = £0/£500 (0% saved)
This took an embarrassing nosedive back down to £0 due to some random decisions I made this week. They felt logical at the time, but it wasn't really worth it. But I'm trying not to stress over it and I will just put the Help to Save bonus into the emergency fund to restart it and take it from there.

Goal 3 - Save £750 for 2026 Subscriptions - due by 31 December 2025
Progress Checker = £0/£750 (0% saved)
I've not done anything with this as yet, but should hopefully be able to start this in March 2025. This goal is split into fixed subscriptions (set due dates) and aspiration funded subscriptions (a year's worth upfront). The overall amount is £730 but I have rounded up in case any of the subscriptions increase.

• 3.1 Fixed ~ EA Access = £0/£40 (0% saved)
• 3.2 Fixed ~ Amazon Prime = £0/£95 (0% saved)
• 3.3 Fixed ~ Apple Care = £0/£85 (0% saved)
• 3.4 Fixed ~ Playstation Plus = £0/£60 (0% saved)
• 3.5 Aspirational ~ Kindle Unlimited = £0/£120 (0% saved)
• 3.6 Aspirational ~ Crunchy Roll = £0/£60 (0% saved)
• 3.7 Aspirational ~ MGM+ = £0/£55 (0% saved)
• 3.8 Aspirational ~ Apple One = £0/£225 (0% saved)

Goal 4 - 50 Envelope Challenge (£1,275) - due by 31 December 2025
Progress Checker = 0/50 Envelopes = £0/£1,275 (20% saved)
I have not officially started this, but I have been designing my 50 envelope challenge folder and there is some money than can go in here once I figure a few things out. I'll be saving up £50 at a time via smaller savings challenges, so I'm working on those. By saving in £50 increments, I will be able to cross off two envelopes at a time, like 1 and 49, 10 and 40 etc.

Goal 5 - Penny Challenge (£667.95) - due by 7 January 2026
Progress Checker = £1.90/£667.95 (up by £1.12 since last week)
This being done automatically via Monzo's Penny Challenge and they move each consecutive daily amount from my current account balance. I made a spreadsheet so that I can keep a track of where the balance should be and how much is needed in each calendar month to keep on top of the challenge. I should have enough to cover up the end of April 2025 by the end of this week, as some money is owed to me and that should come through and can sit in Monzo. I gave up on the surveys for now as it was too time consuming for a little payout, so I'll have to figure something else out.

Balancing the Budget

This section of my weekly check-in will focus on how I am preparing for the upcoming month, so that I can stay on track and be more successful in meeting my targets.

Income Tracker - £2,100 for February 2025's Budget
Progress Checker = £2,100/£2,100 (65% accumulated)
I reduced February's budget from £2,165 to £2,100 for February 2025 and as I was paid more in my final salary than I anticipated, I was able to fully fund February's budget early. The surplus £100 has been rolled into March 2025's budget and the child benefit this week will also go towards it. My universal credit is paid on 1 February 2025 and that will go straight into the pot for March's budget. I've also got around £400 coming in from freelance work that I have invoiced for in relation to December 2024's work. So that should hopefully all work out as it should.

Freely Debt Savings - £0 Goal for February 2025
Progress Checker = £0/£0 (0% saved)
There isn't going to be any surplus money for the coming months that can be freely used. Anything above my fixed budget, due to receiving money from siblings and earning freelance income, will all be rolled into the following monthly budget until I am sure that I have got my sums right in terms of projected income and expenses.

Makingabobor2

The groups sound like a great idea. I'm sure that will help you a lot.    The decluttering is also a great idea, I was once told that to declutter physically is actually a good way to declutter emotionally at the same time.  We are on a big declutter this year, aim is to get rid of 2025 items....I count an item as even 1 sheet of paper when I do my declutter on the filing etc.  So far it is going well and I am loving updating the numbers in my signature to keep me focused. 

Keedie

Yes I think you're definitely right about a physical declutter having mental benefits. I didn't think of tracking the decluttering @Makingabobor2, but that would be great motivation to keep going.

The other night son did a deep declutter from under his bed and let go of his nursery books and work that he did when he was younger. I told him last night about the 2025 items (which I'm assuming is to mark 2025 as a year??), and he said we should do it. But we have so much papers, that if we were to count one sheet of paper as an item then it'd add up too quickly. So we've agreed 5 sheets of paper for now and we'll see how we go. I have a lot of my dad's paperwork as I'm still dealing with his estate and international probate, and so I can't get rid of those documents, but I definitely don't need to hold onto his bills anymore. 

I brought a little trolley in the Amazon Prime sale months ago that I have finally put in my kitchen. As it's a galley kitchen I have limited surface space, but I now have somewhere to put appliances that means I can easily reach them and free up space in the cupboards. I was a bit surprised that I woke up to an email from Amazon stating that they are refunding me £1.59 for my trolley as they've reduced the price since Black Friday deals. I dunno why I get a refund when I brought my stuff before Black Friday, but I'm not complaining. Perhaps they looked at all purchases for that product within a certain time frame and I qualified 🤷🏾‍♀️.

The direct debit for Barclaycard has come out at £75 and so those repayments have now started for 2025. My debts as of today, is £8,250 and since the year has started, I have paid £150 off my debt. It's been a loooooong time that I have been in debt. My whole entire adult life and I am just so so over it.  I can't wait to one day say that I am debt free and write in The Debt Free Roll of Honour.

And there's also the issue of not having any proper savings. I don't aspire to be rich, I just want to be comfortable. And that comfort simply means to be able to pay my bills with ease and have some savings. It's not a complex or unrealistic goal. I've realised that I like. And simplicity and routine is all that I need to sustain me. I love staying at home and doing my thing. But I'd like to be able to meet my friends, or go on a day trip without lots of planning and scrimping and saving.

I'm manifesting it for myself. I'm 43 now, and so by the time I'm 45 (October 2026), I aim to be debt free, so that I can start the savings portion of my journey properly.

Makingabobor2

I read in one of the many books on manifestation & visualisation, that we should never say we " cant afford" something,  or that we " don't have enough money" but merely that we  " haven't yet allocated funds"  to whatever it is that we want.  I try & do that all the time now.

Keedie

You're absolutely right @Makingabobor2, manifestation is really about speaking things into existence. I definitely do need to change my self talk, as it's not always very positive. I find that I'm very kind and considerate of others, and very harsh on myself. I'm trying to work on that though. And I do need to change my money mindset and manifest a better life... 🤗. 

I have a bit of a conundrum with my bookkeeping course. There's a special offer on at the moment that gives 15% off the course price (usually it's 10% off at various times in the year), and the offer ends on 31 January 2025. Essentially the difference between 10% and 15% is £164.50 saving which is not to be sniffed at. However, you get 12 months from purchasing the course to complete the Level 2, and I'm not ready to study just yet. So I was thinking maybe April or May 2025 I could start. I don't know how I'll feel by then, but I know that I definitely want to do it. I've been working through the free sample course and I'm learning a lot and liking it. And the actual fees themselves increase every tax year. The only downside to paying for it now, and delaying when I start it, is that it then leaves me less time to complete it. Which could put me under more pressure, but extensions can be granted.

One of my sisters said that I shouldn't consider the money, I should just take a proper break and do it in September, as I need time to heal and just take life slowly for once. The other said that I should just buy it now and start studying when it's spring time, and my mood is a little more balanced as I won't be studying all the time and I'll benefit from the structure and routine that studying will give me. There's the option to pay for the course monthly, or my mum said I can borrow the money and start repaying it when I am working again (and the course will help to change career). I'm not fond of the idea of increased debt, although this is an investment in my future prospects. So I'm still pondering what to do...

PennysIntoPounds

That is a conundrum, and one only you know how either decision will make you feel. Does the idea of paying £164.50 extra give you a stressier feeling than the thought of taking on more debt or having to find monthly payments before you're ready to proceed?
That is a large amount of money to lose out on, but a bargain price for not feeling panicky when you should be absorbed and enjoying achieving...
If you buy it now, will you just spend the next two months feeling anxious that it's lurking in the background, or will you feel like buying it now means a job done and one less thing to worry about in the meantime?

beanielou

As you get the opportunity for the 15% off & a year to complete your course I certainly think it’s worth thinking about. Especially if you’re able to borrow the money to pay from your mum. 

Scary to think that in a year it will be 2026. 

Makingabobor2

@Keedie, just wondered, have you read either The Secret, or The Power?  Both great books when it comes to manifesting etc