The Mental Debt Struggle...

Keedie

Yes @beanielou it really is great news! I'm so excited.

Cherryfudge

I'm so pleased you have your former carer again! And glad TfL have refunded.

Will your carer be able to help with your hair? Mine was literally a pain after I broke my arm (years ago). It was the only thing that made me cry and having someone to help would have made a big difference.

Keedie

Yes I'm glad TfL finally sorted the refund. But the ironic thing is that I realised that pay as you go isn't even more expensive, as outside of going to college, unless he's off on a date or going shopping or something, he mainly uses the bus which is free. But the travelcard does still make more sense, as some weeks he's rarely home and he's travelling all over London with his friends and his dad doesn't live in South London.

My invoice has been paid, and so I completed my emergency fund, and topped it up even further. I now don't have to worry about that one until I've completed or made serious headway with my other goals. I put £900 in the emergency fund, so it now sits at £1,500. I didn't really take much out for my tax (bit of a gamble but hey, I've been unemployed since January 2025 and I've barely invoiced or earned anything so hopefully my projection is correct and I don't get bitten with a big tax bill😬).

Anyways, I have £1,725 set aside in the business account for tax. I worked reduced hours for most of the tax year and then stopped working. So hopefully I don't have a big tax bill. My personal tax account shows what I earned in total at my old job. I think at the moment, I'm about £250 short on the tax accumulation, but I think I overpaid in tax at my job in relation to what I actually earned. But we'll see how it all goes when I do my tax return next month. And there'll be enough time to correct it if needed, as the payment won't be due until January 2026, as I have £7.79 in credit and so there is no payment due in July 2025. 

Keedie

Done some productive life admin this morning...

My son has cashed in his Child Trust Fund and had over £650 in there, so he's extremely happy! It was so touching to see him navigating this adult task, of registering for an online account, verifying his ID on an app and then closing the account. I could see that he felt accomplished and he's even more excited about the fact that time time next week he should have his money. As I'd forgotten it was there, he didn't really have high hopes, and it was just literally up to two deposits of £250 from the government when they launched the Child Trust Fund, so he's super excited. I told him that I think it was just the one deposit, as I couldn't remember when it ended, so we guesstimated around £400 including interest over the years. So he's super happy now.

I've also registered my Ninja cookware online and got my 10 year guarantee emails. Usually I forgot these things, so I was proud of myself for remembering. Yay me.

My mobile is doing some weird glitchy behaviour and I'm scared that it's going to give up the ghost within the next several months. So I need to start saving for this. The iPad is not working properly either. They always like to throw technological fits at the same time huh? 😬.

I'm pondering starting a new diary for my savings journey and navigating a life after debt, and trying not to slip back into being in the red. I feel like I need to categorise the different chapters in my life. I won't delete this one. I'll just start a fresh one next month on the savings thread. It'll be the beginning of my new approach to budgeting yearly on a tax year basis and figuring out life as I go.

Baileys_Babe

Well done on registering for the 10 year guarantee, that is one of those small life admin jobs that is easy to end up forgetting to do.

My eldest also needs to cash in their CTF I don't expect this to be a quick or easy task as they overthink virtually all tasks and even worse if the are perceived as an authority, no doubt I will need to offer a lot of support and offer solutions to problems that they have conceived may happen in one of the scenarios they have thought about.

~FlowerPot~

Keedie, well done on getting debt free. I suspect it's sunken in now and you must be very pleased. 
It feels like this year is going to be good for you. Look like we might see you over on the savings board!
Although, there's very little saving going on for me at the moment. Hopefully this will be resolved soon! 

KajiKita

If you do start a new thread, (I can understand why you would - it would be a metaphorical and energetic closing down of what has gone before, some which has been quite hard for you), please share a link here as I would be sad to lose touch with you 😊

KK

Keedie

With the CTF @Baileys_Babe, it was a looooong administrative process for my son. Not becaust it was difficult, but because he kept putting it off and I'm bad with filing and paperwork... 🥴.

I filled in the form on the government website to trace the CTF as I had no clue where it was, and this was August 2024 so he was still under 18 then. When he turned 18 in October 2024, I couldn't remember where I put the letter, but after a couple of months half heartedly looking for it, I found it and he was excited. But when he realised that he needed to call them up, he kept avoiding it. He hates speaking on the phone and was upset that he had to do these adulting things. So a few more months went by. But then on Friday he was incredibly determined and we called and he put it on speaker and we went through the options. As soon as he realised we could do it all online because he's 18 now, he hanged up so fast and made me go on their website. Apparently, I fill in his details on the form better than he would because I'm used to it 🙄. With the app stuff, where he had to verify his identity, he managed to do most of that without too much prompting, but I realised he just doesn't read what's on the screen 🤦🏾‍♀️. Anyways, between us we worked it out, and I kept asking him to tell me what to do next so that he could take more ownership of everything, but that aspect was a partial success. He was so proud (and extremely quick) to whip out his phone to show me his bank details so that the money could be transferred. I deliberately typed it wrong so that he could take over and then he finished the process. So it was nice to see him do it, but it was a very heavy hand held situation just to be clear 😂.

It's still all sinking in to be honest @~FlowerPot~, but thank you. I think the fact that the debt disappeared practically overnight because of that generous gift, has kind of messed me up a bit. I still feel untethered. And it's nice to be able to plan and spend a little more freely. But I find myself hella paranoid that I'm a decision or two from being back in debt. So I definitely need to focus on savings. It's a bit scary, as the savings were always just creeping along and then getting used. But I actually have to be consistent now, but at the same time be kind to myself, and I'm not exactly sure how to do that. I'm trying to find a new calibrated balance. The savings will kick back in FlowerPot, as life exists in phases and series of events, so our ability to manage finances and save often depends on what life is doing.

I'm still a bit on the fence about the new diary @KajiKita, as I don't feel like a bonafide saver to be able to have a whole savings diary. So I might be here for a little while longer. I'm still in a transitionary mindset. But I would definitely put the link here so that if people wanted to follow the journey they could. I'm still trying to figure out my budget (and my life 🥴), but I think it's moving in the right direction (budget wise). I need to figure out my savings priorities. As suddenly everything feels like a possibility that I overwhelmed myself. I think my budget might be stretched a bit too thin, in terms of sinking funds, so that's still a work in progress.

But I had a lightbulb moment with the tax money that I've set aside for HMRC, and managed to kickstart my buffer with £300. I initially thought I was short on the amount I needed for the 2024/25 tax bill by around £250. But then I looked at my personal tax account again, and added up my total employed and self-employed income to date, and worked out the overall tax due, and then deducted the amount I've already paid via PAYE. If my calculations are correct, I needed significantly less than what I've set aside. So I moved £300 into my buffer (homemade overdraft), and if when I do my tax return I am wrong, then I'll move it back and start again. But having the emergency fund goal completed and starting the buffer has helped. As those two are the most important.

Cherryfudge

I love your teaching style! One of these days he will take off and fly by himself but there's nothing like a seemingly 'incompetent' parent to get youngsters to do things for themselves.  

Keedie

Yes, us 'incompetent' parents can really push these young uns into action 😂 @Cherryfudge. He was strutting around like a peacock after it all went through 🤣. Lord only knows what he's going to blow it all on. I told him to think about things like driving lessons, but I think that fell on deaf ears as he now believes he's rich 😬🥴.