Dilemma, Dilemma, Dilemma

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hello Sunday evening from a very tired me! 

Myself and OH have had a very busy day "vaccuming the garden". It really was looking weedy, tatty and unloved so while the kids were away we worked our magic and its looking much improved. The time went incredibly quick and was a good "green gym" workout. 

The other big task completed today was catching up with the email address inbox I use for side hustles. The emails were mainly now expired surveys but managed to complete where I could so happy with that and going forward am having a new push on them. 

A bit of fun but this morning before the gardening we enjoyed Celebrity Traitors after reviews from friends..! 

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hello Tuesday, 

Yesterday was monthly finances review and overall debt reduction is down by £29.70 from the previous month, please don't berate me for the poor progress. Its honestly really a lot harder than it sounds. Interest from credit cards are biting and depressingly high. Credit card debt was the highest in August 2025 and has slowly been falling. Mortgage and small family loan is falling consistently and savings is growing too. Am now in a predicament, do I use some savings to to pay down my credit cards. My hours at work are due to go back to part time in January and tbh its scaring me and pretty depressing. One the positive though since tracking total debt inc mortgage in June I can see total debt has gone down from £126,624.51 to £124,613.29.

Today is another normal working day, tonight is line dancing class No.2 and also need to do packing for tomorrows trip back to the city. 

Have a good day everyone. 

beanielou

If the interest on the cc’s is higher I would definitely consider paying some off the cc’s. 

debtfreewannabe321

I would keep back perhaps £500-1000 savings and throw everything at the CC if the interest is high.
Don't be hard on yourself though you've had a tough year and the fact the debt is going down rather than up is a win surely, no matter how small! 

Queen_of_the_Hive

Happy Sunday! 

I have a rare free Sunday! The kids have been staying with us but OH has taken them back to the city "gifting" me a little break. I feel so tired though so it'll be a bit of tidying, going for a walk and catch uo with admin. 

Yesterday was a little treat day, we had a mini family autumn photo shoot in a local beauty spot. This idea came from my youngest, he wanted a family photo for his birthday in the summer. We loved the idea but left it a little longer for OH's recovery. The shoot was £50, paid from savings and includes 10 images. The photographer was lovely and we had a lot of fun posing! Looking forward to the images coming through in the next day or so. 

One week left of school before half term - my mum (nanna) has a week of activities planned for the grandkids and i've got a couple of days off school and very much looking forward to a few days off.  

Spending wise - i've been trying hard to spend wisely, use cash instead of card & also added a rewards app (related to work) to my phone and used it for a planned purchase of gardening tools and a couple of halloween decs.  

Thanks @debtfreewannabe321 & @beanielou- it would make sense to put some savings in the cards, want to get Christmas expenses out of the way and will look at this for end of the year. 

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hello hallow eve! 

Its getting spooky in the hive and we are very much enjoying halloween half term at home. I'm not usually bothered about halloween but i've made a bit more of an effort and decorated the house a bit more than usual. Its been fun. I bought these gorgeous fake pumpkins that are now on our inside stairs. One on each step. They look cute. Tomorrow we go out and enjoy our second year of trick & treat in our new town. 

I have been worried lately about money and its been impacting on my anxiety. My full time hours are due to come to an end at the end of the year and am getting worried about going back to part time money. My complicated family life make getting another job not so easy. Christmas is fast approaching etc & my partner is feeling the pinch too Don't feel like am in a good place at the moment but pressing forward in baby steps. 

On a practical level, it was payday this week and tbh I have been resisting to pay my bills but tonight most of the money has been moved to various pots. Mortgage is due to be paid on this coming Monday which is always brings a feelling of relief of a little bit of pressure is paid off. 

In a moment of positivity my pension reached a new milesstone this week... combined pots hit the 200k mark. I'm chuffed. New milestone has been set to get to 250k. My S&S ISA is continuing to do well also. 

i'm on annual leave now until Tuesday so looking forward to a bit of an unwind and recharge.  

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hello Monday Morning!

How can we be in November already! Life is going too quick! But life is good and sometimes you need to take 5 to remember this. In my last diary I was feeling a bit gloomy, a mix of feelings. This time of year always seems to get to me, this time last year was hard and i've been wondering a lot whether where we live now is for me. Its really a "grey" retirement town and I do miss my old life back in the city but has some beautiful elements too. Am really torn & miss my friends a lot. Today I have no answers but will press forward and have a good day. 

Its been a nice half term week - it started for my youngest to have a sleepover at one of his besties. We then as a family went to a local park to do a night light trail set around a large boating pond. It was magical! Half term was partially working for me so mum took the kids out to a teen halloween scare fest, we caught up with my brother & his family and seperately my sister. As a family we are not that close in distance and emotional connections but it was great to see them. My eldest is doing Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, we are very new to this and have had the challenge of setting him up and getting him going. TBH he is a kid that doesn't get up to much outside school and my living situ makes it a bit more tricky to navigate. Anyway we have started the physical challenge as a family it was a surprising highlight of the holiday. We started couch to 5k. My DS and his brother have loved that moment of carefree, my OH even tried to run a few steps. He used to run and be more silly but his illness has impacted that. I haven't been so good with looking after myself so maybe this is the dynamite we all needed?! Lastly we had a wonderful time on friday for trick & treat. The kids have declared they'd had a good time but want to do halloween with their dad next year and myself and & OH fancy being the ones to get dressed up and hand out the sweets so halloween will be a bit different next year. 

Today is mortgage day and the balance is now down to £103,899.61 & 27% equity! 

I have some expenses that haven't yet been paid and its feeling an expensive month. Haven't really started Christmas shopping yet, the kids don't ask for much but will take their wishlists and see what can be done. 

Queen_of_the_Hive

Today's travel home was a bit of a disaster. I'd basically booked a coach for a bit of cheap travel instead of taking the train but the coach had broken down and was running late.

Long story short, ended up having to buy a very last minute train ticket at the station at full price and now have the hassle of sorting out the refund from the coach company. Wish me luck for tomorrow?! 

edinburgher

Is there no option of a balance transfer for credit card debt(s)? I have paid £30-40 interest in the last two months just for misunderstanding how purchase interest was applied on a seldom used credit card, it's infuriating! 

Queen_of_the_Hive

edinburgher said:

Is there no option of a balance transfer for credit card debt(s)? I have paid £30-40 interest in the last two months just for misunderstanding how purchase interest was applied on a seldom used credit card, it's infuriating! 

Morning @edinburgher, i'm in a bit of a pickle. Low credit score and high debt and don't look to qualify for any new cards right now. I have one balance transfer card which is in use.