The Mental Debt Struggle...

Keedie

THE SUNDAY SUMMARY

(Week 10 ~ 9 March 2025)

Debt Regrets

Goal 1 - 100% repayment to Argos Card - due 30 April 2025
🎉 Achievement Date = 7 February 2025 🎉

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

🎉 Achievement Date = 9 February 2025 🎉

Goal 3 - Pay £750 off my MBNA balance in 2025 - due by 31 December 2025
🎉 Achievement Date = 9 February 2025 🎉

Goal 4 - Pay £2,500 off my overall debt balance in 2025 - due by 31 December 2025
🎉 Achievement Date = 9 February 2025 🎉

Saving Grace

Goal 1 - Save £1,500 emergency fund - due by 31 December 2025
Progress Checker = £1,500/£1,500 (100% saved)
🎉 Achievement Date = 7 March 2025 🎉
It's very exciting that this is completed! I've never had an emergency fund that is this high before. I used practically all of the freelance money to fund this, but I am glad that I did. I won't be adding anything to this, and it will slowly trickle from the Natwest current account into the Digital Saver to get the higher interest. I'll review this in December 2025, when the standing order won't be able to continue, as there will be no money in the current account by then.

Goal 2 - Build a Buffer of £500 - due by 31 December 2025
Progress Checker = £300/£500 (60% saved) 
I'm aiming to save £50 a month in this buffer and do my very best to ignore its presence. Once I get this to the £500 goal I can relax, and hopefully by then I would have learned a bit more patience and discipline when it comes to spending. As this is essentially my short term emergency fund, so I have to have a very valid reason for needing it and it will have to be fully topped up before it can be used again. But the progress is exciting.

Goal 3 - Save £500 for 2025/26 Subscriptions - due by 31 December 2025
Progress Checker = £0/£500 (0% saved) ⛔️ ON HOLD ⛔️
I'm just waiting on my council tax bill for the 2025/26 year, as the water rates and rent have come through. That should hopefully be here before next week's summary, and then I can do the final budget for the tax year and see what I really have towards these subscriptions. 

This goal is split into fixed subscriptions (set due dates) and aspiration funded subscriptions (a year's worth upfront). as most of them were funded on a calendar year basis, I have worked out what is needed for January to March 2026 where applicable to fully fund the 2025/26 tax year. So that once that is out of the way, I can then concentrate on the 2026/27 subscriptions. 

Taking into account what I have already saved, the balance I need is £500, as I gave up on the TV licence being paid annually. I'm not there yet, so I'll get on top of everything else, and then include it in the following year's values. My son is now paying for his NOW TV subscription at £10 a month and I'm paying for the Boost package at £6 which removes the ads. So I just need a year's worth of the Boost to worry about. This feels much more doable, and when the buffer is fully funded, I will snowball that £50 a month into getting on top of these subscriptions.

• 3.1 Fixed ~ EA Access = £36/£36 (100% saved) - 🎉Achieved in 2024 🎉
• 3.2 Fixed ~ Amazon Prime = £95/£95 (100% saved) - 🎉Achieved in 2024 🎉
• 3.3 Fixed ~ Apple Care = £85/£85 (100% saved) - 🎉Achieved in 2024 🎉
• 3.4 Fixed ~ Playstation Plus = £60/£60 (100% saved) - 🎉Achieved in 2024 🎉
• 3.6 Aspirational ~ Parent Care £0/£300 (0% saved)
• 3.7 Aspirational ~ Kindle Unlimited = £0/£30 (0% saved)
• 3.8 Aspirational ~ Crunchy Roll = £0/£15 (0% saved)
• 3.9 Aspirational ~ MGM+ = £0/£15 (0% saved)
• 3.10 Aspriational ~ NOW TV = £0/£80 (0% saved)
• 3.11 Aspirational ~ Apple One = £0/£60 (0% saved)

Goal 4 - 50 Envelope Challenge (£1,275) - due by 31 December 2025
Progress Checker = 0/50 Envelopes = £0/£1,275 (0% saved) ⛔️ ON HOLD ⛔️
I've nearly finished designing my 50 envelope challenge, I just need to get a better handle on the envelope sizing to go in my savings binder. I've got some money set aside for this, but I've not officially started it yet. But I will start this next month and see what I have in the budget left over once the increases bills are taken into account.

Goal 5 - Penny Challenge (£667.95) - due by 7 January 2026
Progress Checker = £18.91/£667.95 (up by £4.06 since last week)
This is being done automatically via Monzo's Penny Challenge and they move each consecutive daily amount from my current account balance. Today's amount was £0.61. It will be just over £18 by this time next week. 

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 - £2,300 for April 2025's Budget
Progress Checker = £2,092/£2,300 (90.06% accumulated)
I've set the budget provisionally at £2,400, and will adjust it properly once I have the council tax information and I've worked out the savings plan properly.

Freely Debt Savings - £0 Goal
Progress Checker = £0/£0 (0% saved) ⛔️ ON HOLD ⛔️
This is not likely to happen in 2025, unless I stick to a smaller budget (which isn't always easy with my lack of discipline) and then accumulate any surplus I may have in a few month's time.

Baileys_Babe

Thank you @Keedie for explaining claiming CTF and your hints and tips so my eldest takes on a bigger role in process.

AntoMac

A great turnaround for you Keedie. Love to see you continuing in a positive and focused way. It would be very easy to ‘fall off the wagon’ after clearing all your debts.
Keep up the good work

Keedie

You're more than welcome @Baileys_Babe. Not sure which part your oldest will have the most tolerance for, but you can always stretch it out over a period of time if you think that they would feel overwhelmed by it all being done at once. My nephew has just started the process for his CTF (via my sister doing the government bit) and he said he'll be waiting 15 days for the letter to come through to see where it was transferred to. So if you do need that step, it kinda builds a staggered a timeline within itself.

Thanks for the encouragement @AntoMac. It is incredibly easy to fall off the wagon! And I've had to have a few stern words with myself. A few times. I have to keep reminding myself that being debt free doesn't mean that I can suddenly get all the things I've wanted, and that I need to save for it. I'd reduced my fixed minimum payments on the credit cards down to £150 a month, so the actual extra disposable income is that amount. And I've increased my personal spending money, and so that has come out of that new surplus. So I need to be patient with what I want. 

I went to Suffolk for the day yesterday, and met up with my friends for the day. On the train there and back, I was able to sit and work out my savings plan. And I realised that I was trying to do too much at once. And so I will have a focus each quarter, and no more than 3 things to consider at any given time. So I put all my savings goals in priority order and came up with a savings plan between now and December 2025. Then I'll reassess. I feel less overwhelmed by it all now.

But I am extremely tired today and I have a bone to pick with you @in_need_of_direction... 😉. Slow Horses. Waaaaay too addictive! I devoured the first season in one sitting 😳. Binged it until the early hours of this morning. I only realised the time when I realised that the birds were singing 😂. Utterly brilliant. Thanks for restoring my interest in Apple TV. I honestly just saw it as this thing that is part of our subscription bundle that had little to no use, and boy and I am glad that I was wrong. My son saw my bloodshot eyes this morning when I was dropping him to the station and declared that if I was that "locked in", then he needs to see it for himself. I told him it's like Luther but not, and he more or less told me it was a done deal. It's on his to be watched list now 🤗.

Aimingforthegoodlife

@Keedie I saw on the PAD thread your exciting news and needed to come over and read and catch up! Congratulations on becoming debt free! Makes the most sense to use the money that way, so so pleased! Also so happy that you have your old carer back, this will be so good for you! Keep up the amazing work!

Keedie

Thank you so much @Aimingforthegoodlife! It's very slowly starting to sink in. Still feels a bit odd, but I'm enjoying the freedom of being able to plan my finances differently. I've been trying to work out a stress free way to budget, and how to get ahead of next year's budget, and I think I might have it worked out. So my focus will definitely be on saving for specific things that can help me in the future. Having debts was stressful but focussed my finances, so I need to learn to the same with savings.

And things with the old carer are so comforting. I feel comfortable again in my own home. I'm still waiting for the bill from the council to pay towards the agency carer since December 2024. They don't seem to be in a rush to ask for the bill, but then expect you to just pay it immediately 🙄. I need to save some more, as by my rough calculations, I'm about £350 short, as I started saving in January 2025 and I had to pay upfront for the direct payments to start this week. I might be wrong, and it's less, but without a bill from the council, I'm not sure what's going on really.

I dunno if I mentioned that my wet room is on hold as the council ran out of money? They told me to call them on 1 April 2025 when the budget renews, to see where I am on the list and when someone will come to do the measurements etc so that it can processed and the adaptations can be booked in. I've got some bathroom paint, so that the bathroom can be revamped after the shower is fitted. But I think it might have gone stale as it's been in the cupboard for a couple of years. I don't know if opening it to check if it's okay will then make it go bad (if it's currently decent enough to use). Or if I should set some money aside assuming it's gone bad, and if when I am ready to get my son and nephews to paint, check it then, and if it's all good count it as a saving 🤷🏾‍♀️. I should probably Google this, as the hallway cupboard needs decluttering - desperately.

in_need_of_direction

if they are that cash strapped, maybe point out that you are also waiting to be rehoused to a suitable place.  it could save on an adaptation

beanielou

in_need_of_direction said:

if they are that cash strapped, maybe point out that you are also waiting to be rehoused to a suitable place.  it could save on an adaptation

Good point. 

Debsnewbudget

I think Unopened paint can last for years 

Sarahwithlove

Congrats on being debt free, that's such a generous gift from your family member and you definitely did the right thing. 

Good news about getting your carer back as well. Hopefully you get a better service for your money.