Flying solo

PennysIntoPounds

Good luck to you both, sounds really positive 

Floss

twiggy86 said:

 ...I was also looking at my old budget spreadsheets yesterday - most of these are a bit flakey and not fully complete, but it really painted a picture of my debt past. I.e. I made attempts at paying the debts down and would make progress, only for them to jump up again. So my debt at the start of 2021 was £8.5k but then in 2022 it was back up to over £17k!!! I wish the spreadsheet was fully complete to help me identify exactly how it doubled in a year! 

Maybe you've got rid of the main reason that happened?

twiggy86

Your comment made me chuckle @Floss - you are so right! But I'd love if I could identify exactly what he spent my money on!!! 

However, new bf got offered the job yesterday!!! He has accepted and will be handing in his notice on Friday - which is his payday, to ensure he gets his commission this month! It does mean he will in all likelihood not get paid any further commission which would be payable next month, but he can't always hold out on that when he is unhappy. The salary is the same but will increase my a couple of thousand at the end of his 6 month probationary period. It will be working 3 days in the office and 2 days at home - which is a balance he is looking forward to (and also means that at least on 2 days he is less likely to buy lunch!) We did nearly have a "celebratory" takeaway, but opted to cook instead - meaning yesterday was a NSD. 

He also bought up bills last night, as his electric and gas is now closed, so he will be paying me half of that next month - although we were discussing the amount and I think I'm going to lower the direct debit as have built up another £200 worth of credit in only a couple of months. Yes it's been the summer months but it still seems excessive to have £300 credit (I left £100 when I took the refund) and for it to have built up so quickly. So will discuss lowering it and then see how it goes. 

Other good news is that both my car and home insurances are due in the next week or so - and throughout the year, I have saved more than enough for both! My renewals are actually the cheapest for both, and it will leave me with £55 in the pot. Car insurance is being taken tomorrow, so I have transferred the amount to the correct account (i.e. where the bill will be taken). I will decide what to do with the excess once both have been taken. 

On to today's bits and bobs...

• Make lunch to take to work 
• Update spreadsheet 
• Shuffle car insurance money to correct account 
• Consider if I can make a CC payment - there will be over £10 left in my "fitness" pot, so I'm very tempted to utilise some of that! 
• Read latest MSE email
• Charge phone at work 
• Pay lowest amount for acro tonight - classes are back on after the summer break and I'm very excited! 
• Maybe just some toast for dinner when I get home! 

twiggy86

Today's pondering - which credit card do I apply for re the imminent balance transfer I need to do?! Do I go for no fee with 13 months interest free period OR 2.95% fee with 27 months interest free??!? 

I won't be able to clear the amount I need to transfer (£3,500) within 13 months - well I could if I prioritise that debt, but have other debts I want to focus on first! I'm snowballing my debts and also their interest free periods are running out sooner, so unlikely to have this part as my focus within the next year. So I'm torn which is the best move!  

badmemory

Would a question not be - will you get another balance transfer at the end of the 13 months, so your debt will be reduced before you need to pay a fee?  So putting off just over £100 for just over a year until it becomes less anyway.  All depends on whether you will get the interest free period I suppose.

twiggy86

Thanks @badmemory - in all likelihood there would be another offer available to me if the past is anything to go by. I have always had options available to me, but of course nothing is ever guaranteed! I did a bit more reading around MSE and it suggests that unless you can pay off within the period, it is better to go with the longer period (even if that means a fee). However, I like your view that it is delaying that £100 if I have to transfer in the future (of course, unless rates change before then!). 

Moneywhizz

I would go for the shorter period too. You never know what your position will be by next year. You may have an increased salary and more income because your boyfriend will be paying towards the bills so you might have paid more off your debt than you imagine at the moment. Put off the fee for another year. 

MFWannabe

I would go with the shorter period too as they are a good card to have and means you don’t pay out the fee until at least next year 

PennysIntoPounds

If you're coping okay with current bills is it worth putting the share from your boyfriend to the debt monthly, or in a separate pot to help cover you at the end of the shorter period payment? Or was that already factored in?

twiggy86

Thanks all! I think I've decided I'm going to go with the shorter card and it looks like I may get a high card limit. So what I think makes sense is for me to transfer both the balance that the interest free period has ended PLUS another balance from the same card which incurs interest at 3.9%. This will save me approx £10 per month in interest - so at least £130. That's the only part of my debt that incurs interest and as the rate was so low I hadn't really thought about moving it before, but if it has no fee then it seems wise to make the most of it!