Countdown to Part Time…

Spinayarn

I’ve been inspired by your diaries so decided to start my own. Firstly, I am going to say I know I’m in a privileged position of having paid off my mortgage and that although I’m in debt, my financial position is really quite sound.  BUT I am bad at living within my means and I allow credit card debt to rack up, then take a consolidation loan, then let the CC build again. I want to start cutting back my hours at work and stepping down from my management responsibilities. If I do this, I will obviously take a significant pay cut, so I need to get my affairs in order so I can actually afford to do this. 

I’ve downloaded the Debt Payoff Planner app and it seems to think I could be debt free in 3yrs 5 months! I can’t tell you how happy that makes me feel. My current hope is to be working part time in just over 3 yrs and now I can see that this might actually happen.
im still not 100% sure of a  few figures - waiting for a couple of statements to update/arrive, but broadly speaking I know where I’m at.
I spoke to my car finance yesterday. I currently have a PCP with them. I asked them about overpayment - although I think this is my last step of my plan. It sounds like it is possible to overpay, but definitely not an easy task. I would have to phone them every month at least 10 days before payment to let them know what I intend to pay. Not sure if that is standard with a PCP plan. I need to check that out but it’s about 2 years till I get to that stage anyhow.

I’ve looked at my planned spending as I have a number of travel plans later this year. Usually I would just chuck everything on CCs, promising myself that I will pay them off. But I have some seasonal work coming up shortly that means I can earn a good chunk of money that will pay for these plans. Whilst it might not be paying off debt, at least I won’t be adding to it.

Anyway, I’m excited to start this journey. I so hope I can actually say in October 2026 that I am completely debt free and able to be working 3 days a week. What a motivation!

Spinayarn

Signed up to you.gov for surveys. I wonder how long it will take to actually get enough points for any cash? Anything I get from there will go as an extra over payment. 

I’m thinking of trying a “no spend” month for June. I’ll be working extra hours so will have  little time for socialising. If I look at what it’s in my diary I could budget for events then aim for no spend on anything else. 

Sunshine_girl2

Hi spinayarn , I see some of myself in what you have said, that was before I was debt free. I went down to 2 days a week 12 months ago. I started getting ready to do this a couple of years before . I did take a pension from a previous employer to cover the gap from full to part time work. 

I have subscribed as I am looking forward to see how you get on. 

satchmo1

You'll get lots of advice on here, but a useful starting point is always a SOA (Statement of Affairs) using this link:  https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php

Spinayarn

Currently away for the weekend on a work event. I was able to come out shopping this afternoon. This is where I am rubbish though. I gave myself a budget of £25 to spend but spent nearly twice that -£42.00 . Seriously, what’s wrong with me?!
on the plus side, I found out I’ll get double pay this weekend, which I wasn’t expecting, so that’s probably what made me feel I could spend that.
oh and I also found out that I’ve been accepted for a 0% CC so I can transfer my balances over to that. Can’t wait to sort that - I’m hoping it will take a month or two off my timeline.

Spinayarn

So… balance transfers to 0% credit card are on the way. Online registration so I can keep watch of the balance. I need to cancel 2 of the other 3 cards so I can’t accidentally spend on them.
According to my debt app, this reduces my timeline by about 6 weeks.

3yrs, 3 months to Debt Free Day!

Spinayarn

Things are going well, I think. I know I am really bad for impulsive buying though so I have to work on that.
I’m going to aim for a “no spend” challenge in June. We are going to the theatre tomorrow and having dinner out beforehand so I will set a budget of £50 for the two of us for that. Im actually hoping it will be much cheaper than that but it’s not our local theatre so I’m not sure what food options are close. 

I’m not anticipating any other social activities this month because of working overtime most evenings. Biggest issue for me is impulsive online purchases or buying food and snacks when out.

Floss

Why not check out the options near the theatre?

I tend to carry a cereal bar & small refillable water bottle to avoid ad hoc snack purchases. I have also removed my payment details from Amazon and PayPal 😉

Spinayarn

Floss said:

Why not check out the options near the theatre?

Yes - I’m going to look tonight to see what’s nearby. I think I’m paying for both me and the husband but as we’re both dieting as well there won’t be alcohol and hopefully it will be a relatively low spend. Mind you, it can be difficult to find both healthy and cheap! 

Spinayarn

Today’s update…
dinner out last night cost £30 and I spent nothing else. I didn’t even buy a programme at the theatre. 

I’ve thought of a few things I could probably sell to either put in my emergency fund or to put towards debts. But I’ve actually got to sort that rather than just thinking about it.

Completed my first surveys this weekend too. It’s going to take a while to get anything from those though!

I really need to watch the budget. 20 days till pay day. In theory I have £130 on top of my budget but in reality I wonder what I’ve forgotten or will suddenly come up.

jokono

Yougov . finance lets you add up to 10 bank accounts for 500 (current) and 100 (credit card) points. If you don't mind them snooping through your transactions.