My Intentional Journey to Debt Freedom

jwil

Well done on the not buying coffee!

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Thanks for your comments @foxgloves.  I think part of the reflection on the past 6 weeks or so since I started my diary and my journey, is that, even now, some of the ideas we talked about at the beginning are just not going to work in their present format - personal spends is one of those.  I think it will have a place but that still needs to be determined.  Your points are well made in that one of my challenges is looking at everyone's advice and recognising that what works for others can't necessarily be transported over to us unchanged and may be the outcome from a long journey on their part - but there will be aspects that will enable us to start talking and working out what works for us and our aims.  I'm certainly not going to ignore the experiences of others as I massively appreciate the input and welcome as much of it as possible - but maybe I need to finesse to our circumstances a bit more.

My major aim in February (as well as paying all the pots and agreed amounts to CCs etc) is for both of us to keep a diary of expenditure whether it is joint or personal.   I think that will be very interesting and we can review that at the end of the month.  Even without separating into personal spends we have an agreed amount of un-allocated money (less than personal spends but can be used for coffee out together etc) - and once it's gone it's gone.  The rest of the money that would have been personal spends is going into a new pot for the moment - skincare, toiletries etc.  Mr L uses skincare as well and my changes bring me more into line with the cost of products he uses.  I'm not worried about clothes at the moment as we both have loads and if my weight loss continues (slow but steady at the moment) I have clothes in about the next 4 sizes down that I would be happy to wear.  Ditto shoes/sandals/underwear and Mr L has plenty as well.

My other thought (and I am sure that others have been through this) is that when the first flurry of excitement is over, you have to be in it for the hard yards which are much more boring!!!  After my excitement at the balance transfer and actually feeling like we had a plan, most months are going to be quite same old, same old and I know for me, that's where the risk of wanting to spend will come.  But the plus is that I actually recognise this for a change so I am working to be more intentional in my thinking so that when temptation comes, it can be resisted.  We are also discussing our overall aims as well - retirement, mortgage and debt free and then the freedom this will bring.  That is very helpful in focusing us!!  This is incredibly similar to how I am approaching weightloss this year - I can easily lose a stone in 4 weeks if I put my mind to it, but it has never been sustainable.  I remember saying to someone that I had had success at SWorld (I lost 5 stone a few years ago) - and she (quite correctly) said to me that I hadn't been successful because I had put it back on and the only successful approach was one that stuck. I realise this seems incredibly obvious but it really helped me to get of the revolving door approach of slimming clubs and work out for myself where I could make a few small changes that would enable me to make progress.  So I am not aiming for anything except to be less at the end of a month than I am at the beginning even if that's a pound.  Small changes in habits and no time deadlines.   Like you @jwil I am a fan of 16:8 as it fits quite well for me and I feel better when I do it.  I don't manage it every day and don't worry about that at all.  

Pleased about the coffees - hopefully the beginning of another habit change.  I was sort of forced into it by circumstances last week but I can now remind myself that I coped last week and the sky didn't fall in so no reason to have those coffees this week.

Have a good Sunday everyone.

L x 

EssexHebridean

We budget for a monthly amount into our "joint fun pot" which covers things like a meal out or a contribution towards a weekend away, that sort of thing. As a rule spending on such things gets paid on the CC and then I transfer it across from the joint fun account to clear it off. 

As Foxgloves says budgeting is something which you only find a method that fits you when you try it on for size - and yes, it will need constant evolution as time goes on too - whether that's the addition of new "pots" to save for expenses, or whatever. 

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

I think that's the direction we are going in @EssexHebridean.  It seems to work with how we socialise which is mainly what we spend our money on outside of other normal expenditure. We are trying that this month and next month and will review at Easter.
As you, and others, have said, it's a work in progress and I'm pleased with how it's going.
Mr L did the weekly shop for £52 which is good for us and also got a few larder things.  Menu planned until Saturday.  I'm out tomorrow and possibly Thursday but the latter depends on seeing where the predicted snow might hit - I won't decide that until Wednesday.

L x 

Sun_Addict

The brilliant thing about these forums is that you get lots of different ideas and can adapt them to suit your circumstances until you find something that works perfectly for you. I think this principle also fits in with other aspects of life too such as weight loss. 

Well done on the coffee mindset change. 

Blackcats

Taylor's of Harrogate do great coffee bags,  my OH is fussy about coffee and he says they are very good.  You could keep some with you when travelling.

as for evolving budgets and ways of budgeting I completely agree that tweaks, changes and starting all over again if necessary will help to find what works for you.  I used to keep my monthly spending budget in one lump in my current account.  Although I had amounts per category I found I just took from another category if I spent all of my allocated budget in a category.  When I started using chase, I set up pots for monthly spending and put the correct money in each pot.  For example I put £360 into my grocery pot and when I'm going to the supermarket I move the requisite amount into the current account.  This helps me see exactly where money is going and even better see where I have underspends to re-allocate and potentially adjust the budgeted amount for the next month if you see what I mean.

also, chase pays good interest and gives cash back so this is a real bonus for me.

MFWannabe

Blackcats said:

Taylor's of Harrogate do great coffee bags,  my OH is fussy about coffee and he says they are very good.  You could keep some with you when travelling.

as for evolving budgets and ways of budgeting I completely agree that tweaks, changes and starting all over again if necessary will help to find what works for you.  I used to keep my monthly spending budget in one lump in my current account.  Although I had amounts per category I found I just took from another category if I spent all of my allocated budget in a category.  When I started using chase, I set up pots for monthly spending and put the correct money in each pot.  For example I put £360 into my grocery pot and when I'm going to the supermarket I move the requisite amount into the current account.  This helps me see exactly where money is going and even better see where I have underspends to re-allocate and potentially adjust the budgeted amount for the next month if you see what I mean.

also, chase pays good interest and gives cash back so this is a real bonus for me.

Love my Chase Account 👍

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Thanks @Blackcats. I have the coffee bags on my shopping list to try.  

I think we will look at something like Chase at some point.  I have several savings pots in one of our NWide accounts which will do currently.  I definitely couldn’t manage it all in one account- I like things physically separate. Good to hear that you would recommend and thank you @MFWannabe.  

@Sun_Addict.  I’ve only been doing my diary about 7 weeks so it and myself are a work in progress 😁.  I really appreciate all the advice as it comes from everyone’s learning which is brilliant.   I’m sure we’ll make other changes going forward.  Yes - it’s only taken me about 50 years to realise that the best weight loss plan is the one I can stick to for ever ie small sustainable changes.   Never let it be said I’m not a quick learner 🤣🤣. 

L x

Nervous1234

I highly recommend a Chase account - never come across a bank account like it. I have 5 accounts set up but you only have 1 cash card and you just use the app to allocate which account you want to spend from. I’m named mine so this week my account name is 5th- 11th February but you can change them as often as you want have different icons and colours you can use and you can reorder the accounts etc. it’s honestly the best bank account I have ever come across. I still have my main account with The H’Fax as that’s who my mortgage is with but I just transfer my budgeted amounts to my chase account on payday. It is really helping me reduce my spending and you can see all your spending accounts and saving accounts individually but it also totals for you as well (and you can hide accounts) - I 100% recommend 😊

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Thanks so much for the info @Nervous1234. That’s really been useful in explaining how the account might be used.  I am definitely going to look into this as it sounds like it could be really helpful. 

L x