I shouldn't feel skint ...

MatyMoo

Looks like you are doing great, sometimes you need to take a step back and be mindful about what you are spending 🤷‍♀️

I have worked with budgets or turnovers in the millions in the past, my bank account seemed piddly and not worth worrying about at the time 🙄 It was redundancy and inheritance that got me out of debt but I still didn’t save much until my mortgage was paid off. 

chemteacher78

Agreed Maty Moo my my bank account is tiny in comparison to school budgets!

So far so good this month - seem to be on track. Plum has stashed £330-ish into a savings pot for me, which I won't touch and then will put to the credit cards at the end of the month.

I've upped both direct debits - for £325 to the Barclaycard and £100 to the Virgin one. So if I do all of that, plus anything left in my current account (for example - not paying my council tax this month) then I will have made at least a £750 dent in the total amount owed. Determined to dig myself out of this pit, this year. I know it's on )% but those deals will end eventually... and I've been carrying this a very long time.

I've spent some of my earning from Prolific on some veg seeds for the garden. It's definitely not the cheapest veg you'll ever get but I love doing it, and it's a relatively low-cost hobby. I cut some lambs lettuce from my patch this afternoon to have with supper this evening - it's so much tastier than the stuff you buy in plastic at the supermarket.

Right - onwards. I'll try and report back around the same time next week.

chemteacher78

Gah! Hit a bump in the road - just discovered that the 0% deal on my Virgin card runs out at the end of this month for balance that was not from a transfer (ie spending over Christmas) - and I am due to start paying a whopping 28.5% interest on it. I suspect this is a rookie error? 

I have transferred as much as I can onto my Barclaycard - which will remain at 0% until Feb 2026. It leaves me with about £1400 to shift of the Virgin card. Am I right in thinking that it will be the interest-incurring balance that Virgin will shift? Does anyone know?

Anyhow - once that has gone through I will re-jig my direct debits towards the Virgin card: I reckon I can get it gone in three months maximum before focussing on the Barclaycard. Still determined to shift this credit card debt by the end of the year.

Does the above sound right? I'd really appreciate any thoughts people might have?

CT

MFWannabe

Yes it should be the interest incurring amount that gets allocated money first 
Have you had a look on the eligibility checker to see if you could get another 0% transfer card? hopefully one with no transfer fee? 

foxgloves

Farmer Gracey...oh those fab dahlias.....yes, I have also stopped perusing their wares!
Back in the Spendy Decades, plants & garden centres were a very significant area of financial temptation for me.
F

chemteacher78

Again with the updates...,

So - into my third month with shiny new Starling Account and a focus on paying down debts. Last month I managed to put £527.20 to my two credit cards, having re-shuffled the balance payments. And the portion I managed to shift was the interest attracting bit (thank you @MFWannabe!). Not quite as much as I'd hoped as I had a couple of unexpected expenses, but still not too shabby.

Recent money-saving extra steps here:
- Joined Costco purely for the cheaper fuel. There is a branch not far from where I work, and I get a reduced membership through work. I clock up a fair few miles in a week so I figure every penny helps (just need to exert some self-control in the warehouse). Does anyone have any Cost-Co tips for me? I wondered about their tyres...,
- Found a local milk delivery that delivers for equivalent price to supermarkets. This will hopefully prevent last-minute dashes to buy milk that then costs me in petrol and also incidental spends
- Linked to the above - have discovered I can make my own yoghurt in the instant pot, which is half the price of shop bought and delicious. This with meal planning, is paying off (I already make my own bread)
- Eating what I grow. I've been using up all the lambs lettuce and land-cress I'd had growing over winter to clear the bed before spring planting. 

The above doesn't look like loads, but it represents real progress for me. I am at least spending consciously now... which I definitely wasn't for a very long time.

Onwards and upwards.., 

chemteacher78

Just a quick update here..., 

So - I've shifted another £1000 from the credit card debt since I last posted. Still plodding on with Starling bank and saving into pots for different expenses. I've worked out that if I keep this up I should have cleared all of my credit card debt by July next year. Quicker if I get a pay rise (not looking by any means certain).

I have managed to stick to my budget reasonably well so far, despite needing to put new tyres on the car. Lidl and Costco have become new friends, and I haven't bought any new clothes or books (both weaknesses of mine) since January. Plants... we will gloss over that one. But - I've brought in over £200 on Prolific, so am salving my concience with that.. 

Onwards....

Lonelygambler

Hey - I can completely relate to your situation not budgeting spending money and getting into a mess. I’m an addict but also have been crap with money but earning a significant amount. 

It looks like you are really trying well done, keep it up 

chemteacher78

Another month, and another £500 gone from the debt mountain..., it does feel plodding, but I've worked out that I should have cleared all of my credit cards by July 2025, and next month that will only be a year away. Which feels quite postive.

Still plodding along trying to keep my other expenditure as low as possible. One thing I want to focus on this month ois gorceris as I spent well over my allotted £50 per week last month. Any suggestions? I have planted up my veg beds so should see a reduction for fresh produce in the coming months, but am open to other ideas. 

lucielle

Have you tried batch cooking?  This would save time and energy costs. Bulking foods out, like using less mince and adding some red lentils and extra veg?  That’s all I can think of for now. 

L