Trying to get the balance right

enthusiasticsaver

I tried it but found it a bit too time consuming to keep updating every spend but I would imagine it focuses the mind on what you are spending if you can stick with it.  As you say lots of people love it so maybe I did not give it long enough.  My budgets are more general and accounting for every penny didn't work for us. 

MFWannabe

I tried the free trial but also didn’t have the time to keep updating 

I have a Chase account which I transfer the amount every month into for food and fuel
i also have savings accounts for Xmas, car maintenance, etc in there 

Mrsfreshstart2023

I think this was my worry, I don't have much spare time and I can't get my head around how my actual money is on 1 account but then YNAB has put it in different pots. 

I'll have a little play with it and see how I get on. I don't want to pay £90 not to use it or find it too time consuming.  I would however like to know where all my 'spare' money goes. 

Spendless

Mrsfreshstart2023 said:

Spendless said:

Hi 

Perhaps re-adjust your budget figures that might help. Some months are more expensive than others in day to day life and not all can be anticipated. 

Only *IF* you feel disciplined enough then you could just pay the minimum off the 0% CC bang the difference into a high interest savings account which you don't touch   and then when the CC 0% deal is about to be up you pay off and the interest is yours.

That is what we have done. Our CC debt won't be paid until July but we are on track to have enough savings to cover whereas to the CC company it looks like we only just pay off  min amount each month. One  of our HI accounts has recently paid out interest and though we had no prior plans to what to do with this money, I lost my job back in December and still haven't found another so the interest is going towards our DD's student rent.

Thank you for your advice, it is certainly food for thought. I like to see the balances coming down each month so dont know if this would be the best method for me. 

Sorry to hear about your job @spendless. Hope you find something soon x

Yes ours goes down but only minimally and the savings go up more . Eg currently there is £8305 on our 0% CC. Tomorrow when we pay £100 (min payment rounded up) we will owe £8205. As of 1st of this month there is £6000 in savings  to pay this card off so an overall debt of £2205, then next month we will pay a further £600 into savings so £6600 and when we make the £100 payment it will show we owe £8105 meaning we have an overall debt of £1505 BUT you have to be disciplined the savings can only pay for the CC debt, no dipping in (we have other savings for emergencies)  and have to be paid back before the 0% deal ends. It also helps to keep a spreadsheet  so you know where you are (why I had figures at hand) 

Thanks for the good wishes. I got offered and started a job last week. 

Lonelygambler

Hey. I think you’re doing great. Well done. 

I just use a google sheet for budgeting. Can access it on my phone and use pivot tables for fancy graphs. 

Reality is it’s not needed. Just spend less and save more! 

LG 

Mrsfreshstart2023

Lonelygambler said:

Hey. I think you’re doing great. Well done. 

I just use a google sheet for budgeting. Can access it on my phone and use pivot tables for fancy graphs. 

Reality is it’s not needed. Just spend less and save more! 

LG 

Thanks for this @lonelygam. We really have came a long way in just over a year. 

Spreadsheets scare me and I just don't know what I'm doing. So I'm an old school pen and paper type. If I knew what I was doing on a spreadsheet I'd be winning life 🤣

Your last comment has really hit the nail on the head for me. I don't want this to consume my life to the point I want to know every penny I give my kids etc. I want us to still enjoy holidays, fun days out and to treat ourselves. So long as these things are spent using our money and not on a credit card. 

The last year has been a steep learning curve financially and I won't ever go back to using a credit card for day to day spending. So it's important as well as having that mindset that we build our savings up along side paying credit cards down.

🙂

joedenise

I think it helps with YNAB to read some of the posts on their website and blog.  I've been using it for about 10 years now - originally with the old YNAB4 which was just on my PC rather than on the web.  Once it's set up I don't find I spend very long on it at all.  You can have as many  or as few pots (called categories on YNAB) as you want.  You don't have to have loads if you don't want to - you can just have a few more general pots.  I like to keep track of where the money goes as we are pensioners so money can be a bit tight but we still want to enjoy our holidays both in the UK and abroad so it works for us.

Give it a go and then you can decide if it's for you.

Mrsfreshstart2023

It's getting to the end of the month so time to do my monthly figures. Credit card debt as of the end of April will stand at £8555. 

One of our 0% deals ends at the end of April, I have completed a 0% money transfer onto another card to clear this, fee was £31. I will pay this on top of payments to make sure the balance stays as it is. 

This now means the debt is spread over 4 cards as follows

Barclays- £1650 
Natwest - £2550
MBNA - £1730
Sainsburys- £2625

Sometimes I find it difficult to pay larger amounts off one card due to other bills being due and I often feel it leaves us short. 

I'm thinking I will use the idea given to me by Spendless and pay off the minimum or an agreed direct debit and filter the remaining amount throughout the monthas we can afford it and when is best for us, instead of a larger lump sum which we always seem to miss more. Then pay off in full as the balance transfer deal ends. 

I have £750 of the barclays to pay off by October then the Natwest deal is up 17th November. On paper I think this is achievable. 

Have a good day x

peb

Maybe the minimum plus a fiver if you can manage it,  will prevent suggestions that you are in persistent debt and Al may help with the finding of new offers

Lonelygambler

^ Good advice this. 

I’m currently snowballing my debt. Focusing all extra payments on one card and then paying minimums plus a bit extra on others. 

Keep going!