The Three C's - Coffee, Clothes & Credit Cards

Sarahwithlove

CreditCardJunkie said:

Sarahwithlove said:

CreditCardJunkie said:

Sounds like a lovely weekend Sarah! Just been catching up and your budgeting is going so well! 

Just a thought, would you not clear the creation with your savings & call your dad's debt a direct debit? From what you said previously your dad isn't concerned about getting repaid quickly (or maybe even at all). I really think that switch could flip your mindset if you were debt free, it seems you've the budget nailed and are unlikely to get into debt again! Might just be freeing!

Thanks, I have considered it but there's something about having savings that reassures me. Creation loan is also 0% so whilst it would be nice to have it gone I'm not in a massive rush. My dad is still very much not in a rush to have it paid back and happy with his £100 a month. But again part of me is like it will be nice when its gone. But you could be right, treat it like another payment. 

Given me alot to think about 

Ahh yes 0% didn't think of that! Fair enough! Sounds like you've got a really nice balance of budgeting and enjoying life!

My plan is to get my savings to £2k with overtime then start overpaying Creation to have it gone. 

Willowtree222 said:

I also have a 0% creation and savings and have had that dilemma loads of times. I always come to the conclusion that whilst there is no interest, having it in savings is best, but then, like you, wonder what it would be like with it gone. 

Its a tricky one, once I am in good place with savings I will get it gone to free up the monthly payment. Though it is only £20 that's extra towards my mortgage which i plan to tackle next. 

Sarahwithlove

Hello! Hope we all had a lovely Christmas. Mine was nice and quiet. 

Currently off work until 5th January which I am very pleased about. Plan is to do some DIY but that's not going well due to getting poorly. So i've been listening to Dave Ramsey podcasts. 

This resulted in my biting the bullet and repaying my creation loan. Well other than Mondays payment as too late to cancel it in time. So on Monday that will be gone. It only frees up £20 a month but it all helps. 

Payday on 31st is a good one due to overtime, so with the break in repaying my dad (come on to that in a minute) it means I will have about £700 in total to put into savings/sinking fund. That's basically repaying what I spent on paying loan off. 

So to my dad loan, well he has agreed for me to pause payments and build savings up as he won't be in position to bail me out again. He has enough to live on and savings of his own for anything he needs and I'm helping him budget so he will be saving up again. 

So I have adjusted my budget, and worked out I can put into savings/sinking fund about £400-500 a month. This does mean I will have to stick to my budget I have set myself. So as bad habits have slipped back in I have restarted my YNAB trial and see how goes but think I will subscribe because using a spreadsheet isnt working for me.

The reason I put the buffer of £100 is because I have restarted weight loss jabs, trying the other brand to see how get on and plan to stay on low dose to reduce side effects. My hope is that I will save alot of the cost in reduced food costs. But will see how it goes and then adjust budget as needed. 

Let's hope the overtime picks up again in January so I can get the savings up some more. 

CreditCardJunkie

Happy New Year Sarah! Congratulations on paying the creation loan! Hope all goes well with the jabs! I'm currently back on the fasting wagon so Monday will tell how successful it has been!

Blackcats

Good work on shuffling and re-jigging your finances.  I do the same on a regular basis as things change, priorities emerge and different ways of thinking happen.  This is in contrast to the previous iteration of me which operated on an ignore it and hope it goes away approach.

happy new year!

Sarahwithlove

good god its been a while and don't I know it. Money situation isn't great, there's been a lot of comfort eating in form of takeaways and impulsive purchases. My dads health has deteriorated, he is needing a lot more support from me, and i am doing a lot of overtime at work. I then don't have energy to cook in evenings and end up buying a takeaway. I tried ready meals but haven't found any I really like the taste of that's made me want to choose them. I need to find a better solution though as takeaways aren't the answer. My weight has increased as well as a result.

My dad is looking to move which will free up some capital for him, but his new place is going to have a hefty service charge so I will have to restart my £100 payments at that time. The only good news is I am due a payrise in next months pay for moving up a step on pay scale, plus payrise once agreed by unions. My hope is combo of 2 will cover the £100 for my dad so I only have to absorb the increase in bills/cost of living. I will worry about that nearer the time, for now I am going to focus on paying down what I can.

I am basically in not a great place at the moment and want to try and get some control back in one place I know I can, my finances. YNAB is my friend this month, I am keeping track of spending. I have taken my 0% credit card off my phone so I can't be tempted to spend on it some more.

Current circumstances

£2500/£2500 in emergency fund

£1000 in long term savings - plan to cash this in soon to pay off card, future me can worry later on.

£2064.85/£3000 in sinking funds

Credit card payment pot £381.78

Credit Card £3652.32

I do need to get my bathroom ceiling replastered though, not sure how much that will cost me, but my emergency fund may have to fund the difference between my home maintenance fund and cost. Though I may have to use my season ticket money instead as I wont be renewing it next football season, my plan had been to put it towards a holiday. But things are still very up in air for my brother with his kids so I don't think I will be visiting for a while.

I'm off work this week and next week, so trying to get some things sorted for my dad, relax a bit, do some gardening and chill out. I had planned to go back to gym, but not sure whether that will happen. I do need to try make an effort but in typical me fashion I have got poorly whilst on annual leave. So need to see how feel after the weekend, I know once I am back to work it will be hard to get into a routine.

Chocolatefund

Hi @Sarahwithlove

Sorry to hear about your dad and hope he's getting better. I am also facing the reality of ageing parents and went through a dark spot last year with multiple hospital visits. Thankfully he's in a much better place health wise, but it certainly took its toll on my mental state and financial decisions.

I hear you on the no desire to cook. I hate cooking and barely do it. I did discover last year that I was able to stop the takeaways completely and was just as happy eating Te$cos finest series of ready meals and cheap £2-£4 pizzas that I can just shove in the oven for 10 min. Sure, it's not as cost effective as batch cooking from scratch, but it sure is a lot better then takeaways. I also like cheap chunky soups with with lots of bread that are only about a pound a tin.

I think takeaways are more of a habit and dopamine delivery satisfaction then the actual food itself.

liselle

What about jacket potatoes? Very quick, and filling,with a variety of fillings, and salad.Or frozen sausages and mash, or fish fillets,just shove in the oven…..

Sarahwithlove

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81949135#Comment_81949135

thanks, its hard as they get older, his health has definitely got worse in last few months, and he doesnt tell me until last minute rather than when issues start.

I havent tried the tesco finest, my issue is alot have milk in and i cant have dairy so it stops me having alot of stuff. But I will take a look when i next go to Tesco.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81949222#Comment_81949222

I went through a phase of jacket potatoes and think now I've had them too much. Maybe I need to mix it up a bit and have microwave rice with my curry instead. I brought some fish fillets this week and had to play jenga with freezer to get them in, so really need to just be better and more organised so i am using items from my freezer.

Sarahwithlove

So I made my first payment towards credit card today from my credit card pot, I knew if I left it in the pot then I would be tempted to use it on other things. I have been reviewing my budget and without overtime I can put approximately £200 a month towards the debt. Possibly slightly more if I hold off saving more for a possible holiday, I think I can make more plans about new budget once I know what my new wages will be next month and how much my bathroom ceiling is going to cost to be replastered.

New balance in credit card pot is £1.20, that's £1.08 from round ups on todays purchases and 18p cashback. I am going to try and do the payment a day, even if its just £1 on non spend days.

ArtyJ931

I am similar in terms of disliking cooking and I have used gousto in the past and really like them. I ordered 3 meals for 2 people per week so every other night is leftovers and I don’t have to cook. I choose exclusively from their “10 minute meals” or “prepped in 5” options and they are straightforward easy and delicious. I have also kept all the recipe cards and slowly bulk bought ingredients and am now making the recipes myself just buying key ingredients as I have the sauces and spices and bits (if you know what I mean).

You can often get 60-70% off the first box which means you could get 5 meals for 2 people for about a tenner. If you haven’t tried it it’s definitely worth doing for a week :)