My Intentional Journey to Debt Freedom

[Deleted User]

Fantastic update. I like detail lol! Can I ask how much you have paid so far/still owe? Best wishes.

PennysIntoPounds

That all sounds on track and in hand, well done to you both! The Christmas trip sounds lovely, nothing wrong with enjoying yourself as long as you know the budget adds up. Proud of you for deciding to return the bag, will you put the £300 in another pot for a mse reward 'hit'? If you have loads of bags that you're not using you could also see if there are any you could sell on eB*y or V!nted to add to your Christmas fund or get one of the debts cleared sooner...
Looking forward to your weekly updates. Enjoy your Easter egg!

MFWannabe

Well done on the decision to return the bag 👍
I’ve bought and returned things quite a few times in the last 6 months 

Blackcats

Great update.  

Interesting thoughts on the handbag temptations.  I'm finding myself loitering around handbags at the moment.  I recently sold an expensive branded handbag and I was very comfortable selling it as it was an item that i used for work but wasn't a day to day type bag.  However, the stitching on my navy blue bag is coming apart and I've got a voice telling me that I need/deserve a nice new blue bag.  This is now compounded by finding a bag I like on vinted so the voice can tell me what a bargain it is.   I'm going to sort through my 2 boxes of handbags (yes 2 boxes) .  Oh and the voice is also telling me that it's my birthday soon and so a handbag is definitely a good idea!  

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Hi @[Deleted User]   
I don't mind you asking at all.  I have enjoyed the posts in your diary and all of your posts on the How much to live on threads.  I find all the discussions on there totally fascinating in terms of differing views on what constitutes enough.
I can't really say how much we've paid back overall because, to be honest, it has been a bit of a rolling situation in terms of we've always had some debt and it's never bothered me that much.  However, in the current situation if I took our amount from when I started my diary we were:
£11,200 of CC debt - 2,200 of which was at 0%.   We now have £8000 left which is all at 0% so £3200 paid off since the new year.   That will go down to £7000 by the beginning of June and that will be on one credit card.  
Home Improvement loan - we have paid off £1200 since the new year and it has 22 months to go.  That is at 1.9%.  As the remaining credit card is set to pay off before the end of the interest free period, we may overpay this loan in order to just get rid of it.  From an interest rate point of view, it would make more sense to over pay the mortgage but from a motivational point of view I would like to get rid of all of the non-mortgage debt.  We may use Mr L's state pension to do this because we could clear that loan in less than 12 months if we did that.  
The mortgage is £90,000 give or take a few pounds.  We pay a high amount each month as we deliberately set a challenging time target when we re-mortgaged but, as I said in my earlier post, I am way better paying something I have to pay than setting a longer time period and over-paying.  This is a much more reliable way for us - the mortgage will be paid back 65 months from now if we don't do anything at all  (except keep up the payments, obviously) and I still feel we will have the option to make overpayments at some point during that time so I see that as a maximum time period.
I have a few years until SPA (assuming current retirement ages stay for my year of birth) but OH gets his state pension later this year which will add to our income.  He also has a very good occupational pension and I earn well from my job which is very stable.
I'm not seeking to re-invent the wheel on any of this - we may downsize at some point but don't feel we have to decide or think about that yet.  At the moment our primary focus is to get rid of the non-mortgage debt and get into a rhythm with all of this rather than the feast/famine approach we have had previously.
Hope all this makes sense.  

L x 

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Hi @MFWannabe and @Blackcats
Thanks for commenting. 
@Blackcats, handbags - what can I say!!    I have never sold on any handbags and I do have four or five really high end ones and quite a few middle end ones.  One of the expensive ones needs repairing and I will do that eventually although it has been difficult to find somewhere to repair it and it is quite expensive- but I do love it and want to keep it.  I don't do any online selling or buying so am a bit nervous about selling - I do have a Mberry bag that I would sell.  I always wanted one and finally got it about 7 years ago but have hardly used it.  I have another Mberry bag I use all the time.  Who did you sell your bag through?  I have receipts, dust bags etc for the bag and it's in very good condition although there is some discolouration on the handles (sweaty hands i presume!!).  
I hear you on the two boxes of bags - I am quite good in that all of my bags (however expensive) sit on shelves in dustbags but I definitely don't need any more. I do use the majority of them but because I use the same one every worktop with a laptop bag, the opportunities to use all the others are a bit limited.   I definitely had a thought in my head about needing a perfect cross body bag (whatever that is) but I have a about 5 others  (cross body) so not sure why that suddenly popped into my head.  It is a lovely bag but I would only use it as a shoulder bag and I definitely don't need/want that.  I also had decided before it arrived that it was a ridiculous amount of money for something I didn't need and, given what I am trying to achieve, it needed to go back.
I quite like the idea of you loitering around the handbags (step away!!!!).  I can go weeks without thinking or caring about a handbag and then it will pop into my head.  It's funny isn't it, about how different things are our kryptonite, so to speak.
So the handbag has been carefully packed back up and will go back on Wednesday as we are going to drop off to the nearest JL - Mr L is going to drop me off and lurk so I can rush in and return - this is easier as you get the money straight back.  The lurking of Mr L in the car means I won't look at anything else or be tempted into an expensive treat in the coffee shop but will return the bag and leave.  No parking either.

L x 

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Hi @PennysIntoPounds

Nothing special for the money when the bag is returned - probably into the emergency fund as that is half of the holiday deposit we paid out so seems sensible to replace that.
I may look into selling things - I will have a think.  As I said above, I have one bag I might consider selling but I feel I don't need to sell to pay off debt as that is moving forward anyway, so don't want to rush into things.  Will ponder this..... I kind of think that we all do different things re MSE - I also can't get my head around the bank account thing to get the joining offers, even though I totally get it is free money!!  Same with Ebay and other selling.  We are all different I guess.
I'm glad you seem to be feeling better after your horrible virus - I've had a cough on and off since I had Covid in October last year.  It goes away for a while and then comes back for a while.  I feel okay (apart from the cough) and it is finally going I think.  Nothing as bad as yours but definitely some strange bugs and viruses around this winter. 
Easter egg was great thanks - I enjoyed every mouthful.

L x 

PennysIntoPounds

Money back into emergency fund sounds a wise choice.
If you're not feeling to sell the bag now fair enough, don't do anything you're not comfortable with, same with bank switches. Your plan for paying back debt is solid and on track and not so lengthy you need to stress yourself unduly to forward that date (though that's always fun 😁)
And it's always useful to have a few potential tricks up your sleeve in case you need them!
Hope your cough b*ggers off soon, everyone has said that the cough they've had has lingered for months, regardless of what they were ill with. Probably a supergroup made up of the various members of the flu and covid line-ups, like a virus version of the Traveling Wilburys.
Glad you enjoyed your choc!

Blackcats

@Less_Talk_and_More_Action - mine was a mul beree bag too.  I was so happy when I got it and it cheered me up on my long work journeys but since I gave up work I hadn't used it at all.  I was emotionally ready to sell it and the buyer was lovely and seems so happy to have the bag.  I used vinted which I find easy to use both as a seller and a buyer, however I think generally the prices favour buyers not the seller.  If you aren't ready to sell yet then wait until you are - your money plans seem very sensible and realistic.  

Why not see how many times you use the bag in the next 12 months - might make you use it more or help you realise it no longer fits with your lifestyle.

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

That has made me laugh out loud @PennysIntoPounds.  I love the idea of a virus supergroup 🤣🤣.   I think there probably is something around altered immunity in terms of all of us distancing, wearing masks etc which has maybe changed some of the normal winter virus symptoms, who knows?  Last October was the first and only time I have had Covid and I wasn’t too ill.  Just the cough - and yes, I know quite a few people who have had a long term cough this winter.   I have felt okay though - not like your horrible virus. 

Don’t think I’ll buy tickets to see that supergroup in concert 🤣🤣. 

L x